Christmas 2015--Looking Back & Christmas on the Farm

  

We have five Christmases a year.  And no one is divorced.  Christmas with my dad's side of the family, Christmas with my mom's side of the family, Christmas morning with just the six of us, Christmas with my mom, dad and sister, and Christmas with the Midwinters--immediately followed by Grandpa Barry's birthday.  At first, this was a lot to juggle. But we said to ourselves, how long will these extended family Christmases continue? In some years it is the only time a particular side of the family gets together. As it turns out, those extended family Christmases have continued 15 years and counting--and we wouldn't have it any other way.  

Trimming the tree and Grandma and Grandpa's house

After year three or four, we hit a rhythm.  Extended family Christmases usually fall early or late in December.  Stockings and gifts appear the morning of Christmas Eve at our house. Our parents swap Christmas Eve and Christmas Day back and forth.  At least a part of the 26th is spent with the Midwinters for Grandpa's birthday.  There are usually at least one or two overnights in there--not because we live far away, but because it is more fun.

And trimming our own tree

 In many ways, my extended family is our close family.  Not until 2017 did my kids get a first cousin, so all they know about playing with cousins comes from my first cousins and their kids (my youngest cousins are only two years older than Solomon).  Both aunts have lived out of state for the vast majority of the kids' childhoods, and the extended family on the Midwinter side is spread all over North America. For a good long stretch they were in Manitoba, Oklahoma, California, British Columbia, Illinois, The Northwest Territories, and Minnesota.   We see them when we can, but it is not every Christmas.

   

In 2015, we had Christmas on the farm.  This only happens once every three years or so, so there is always excitement about going to see all the animals.  Cousin Katrina gave us a tour.



First we saw the dairy cows, classic black and white holsteins.  From there we saw the many, many birds.  It was a cold day, so they were all inside, running around together.  I believe there were geese, chickens, ducks and quail.  Katrina showed the eggs of each--all different.  There was also a huge difference between dirty and clean.



Then we walked over to see the brown jersey calves.  They were quit cute. Along the way Ariadne got to sit on a hay bale, and the older girls 'skated' on large stretch of ice.  I remember one of my first skating experiences happened on the same farm on a similar patch, but with actual ice skates.




Back inside we talked, played games and I would venture to guess we sang some carols.  My cousins who grew up at the farm are good singers and piano players.  We had our annual ornament exchange, which now has both a child and an adult category.  Though I can't remeber exactly what we ate four years removed, I do know Christmas at the farm almost always includes little heart shaped waffles with lingonberry jam and whipped cream, and lots of christmas cookies of all varieties.  The last decade or so had included a revival of traditional Scandinavian recipes such as Swedish and Norweigan meatballs, lutafisk (always served with many other dishes, as not everyone likes it), several soups, and the fish chowder my Grandma always made on New Years Eve.

Back at my parents' house, Nova taught Aunt Brynn a song on the guitar, we got in a good game of Settlers and Granne showed Ariadne her finished quilt club quilt (a group of roughly 8 quilters met once a month and took turns adding to each other's quilts).

Cooper and his dad

This was just two of our Christmas celebrations in 2015.  I wish I had recorded more details, but the whirlwind of celebration took over documentation fell by the wayside.  We had a fine time with the Midwinters as well.  It was one of Marianne and Sylvain's 'on' years for Christmas (they alternate between here with us and in France with Sylvain's family).  My parents hosted for the other side of extended family in 2015.  Ariadne enjoyed seeing her second cousins Brooks and Cooper, who are just a couple years younger than her. Now that they are out of the baby stage, they seem so much closer in age.

A gift of fine French cheeses from Sylvain's parents

On the last day of 2015 my mom and I went on a tour of the St Paul Cathedral.  It was a jubilee year, which is why the middle doors are decorated.  They are not even open in a non-jubilee year (something I never knew before).  Our tour guide was quite good, explaining how the Cathedral functioned as a storybook would, telling the important stories in the Bible.

I just have these two shots from the outside, because my camera died.  There was much more to see inside, including a life size reproduction of Michelangelo's sculpture Pieta.