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Celebrating Chirstmas 2022!

With everyone's working schedule, we managed to get together on December 23rd for our family Christmas celebration. It was a wonderful night of good food, good laughs and family hugs.

We met at my place. The picture to the left shows our over-abundance of gifts to one another as well as the Christmas stockings which typically hang over the mantle of the fireplace. Cynthia & family had their own Christmas tree and spirit (right).

We started the evening off at Pappasitos Mexican Restaurant. Our dinner was peppered with a variety of alcoholic beverages. Pictured is Erica's frozen margarita. To the left, Sylvia was able to join the festivities!

At one point, Cynthia said that none of the "men" in the group could make it. She knew I was coming, so I'm not sure what category I was in when she said "men", but I showed up anyway. As it turned out, because of the unusual cold weather, James did not work that day and Andrew made it in plenty of time after finishing his anesthesia cases. So it was a richer gathering then initially thought. Clint, unfortunately, couldn't get away and was missed by the group.

Of note, notice Michelle's "ugly" Christmas sweater. It was actually quite "pretty" with tiny lights on the front, the most obvious one being the green light at the bottom.



Over the course of two hours, we shared some great drinks, delicious food and great stories. Then it was time to head to the house for the present opening. This was preceded by 3 games of darts. Jordan was clearly cheating as she won 2 of the 3 games that night. (I'm claiming the alcohol as a negative influence on my part.)

With Christmas music from Alexa in the background, Jordan and Cynthia handed out presents. Of course, the greatest fun is watching the kids open their presents. It is always a magical time for them and brings back memories of our youth when we waited for Santa to come. Little did we know at the time that "we" would become Santa Claus in the future. I think I'm really starting to resemble him physically. I just need to grow the white beard now.

The newest generation hug -- Stella, Kevin & Sophia.

My three girls once again! Michelle with her "ugly" Christmas sweater.

I love the other "ugly" sweater in the group worn by Sylvia (below).

The pictures below need a little explanation. The picture to the left shows Jordan in her best modeling poses in front of the Christmas tree. The beautiful coat she was wearing was bought by Cynthia on their last trip to New York City. To the far right, Michelle makes a "jenga"-style game out of building blocks to make an impressive skyscrapper of blocks without dropping them. (What is not shown is Jordan shaking the table a little bit later and bringing them all crashing down.) But the picture I am most proud of is the middle one. Stella was running back and forth stealing Kevin's presents and bringing them to Erica. I took at least a dozen pictures but only managed to get her to look at the camera this one time so I could get a decent photo. That girl had way too much energy!

I made out like a bandit. I got a black Cowboy hat from Sylvia and Sylvia and I got two airplane tickets to Boston for a vacation trip planned in October from Cynthia! I also got multiple bottles of fine liqueur and gift cards to some of my favorite restaurants. Not to mention that my oldest grandchild bought me a delicious bag of sugar-free licorice (the only one to give me my favorite candy), and a book by Bob Dylan.

Above is a group picture of us at the restaurant taken by our waitress!

It really was a memorable Christmas celebration. Sharing it with the people you love most in the world makes it so special.

And as always, Connie was there in spirit. Although her stocking appeared to remain empty this year, it was full of the love we all had in our hearts and memories.

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