christmas cheer

December seemed to pass in a whirlwind this year - not that it doesn't usually but as you can tell by my all of two posts during that month this one was exceptional.  I wouldn't say that it was one thing exactly but just the normal concoction of this and that.

Dad decided that Christmas celebrating would officially begin when the college brothers came home for break.  He and Mom decorated the living room and fixed lights around the house.  

When Sam arrived for the holiday he and Dad began making the cookies.  Something I had not realized is just how much cookie making is done by the men in my family.  Dad uses his family recipes from years of baking - everything is measured out by weight and came from his father.

 There was an army of iced ginger men.

 Dozens of butter cookies (aka insta-death for Sharon).

They also made Mexican wedding cookies.  All lead to a sugared frenzy.

 Speaking of sweetness.

Risk seemed to be the game of the holiday.  The brothers even went as far as to make their own more updated modern board.  Risk goes in the category of video games for me - activities I leave to the brothers.

 The computer population around the apartment doubles quickly with the brothers home.

By Christmas morning we had finally gotten some snow!  I am not fond of winter without snow.  It just help to brighten things up.  I find it is just too dark and gloomy without the good white blanket.

 Sam and Lewis started the silliness of gift opening with a good jig in the living room.

 Our pile was wrapped in brown paper - one of the benefits of having brother who owns a paper company.  I wrapped my gifts in ticking pillowcases.  I began with hand-stitching the names on them but ended up machining them on to speed it up a bit.  Sam and Laura ended up being the only hand-stitched.  

 My feet are super grateful for the new pairs of wool socks from the brothers.  That really is the gift that keeps on giving.  

Christmas Day found the Telschow Tribe (plus two Dahlgren sisters) at the cinema.   Somehow a Christmas Day film has become a family tradition of ours.  We are film junkies and going to the movies is often one of family time activities.  This year we saw Les Miserables.  I very much enjoyed it.  So much so that I didn't even lean over to whisper to my brother during the film for want to not miss a single moment.  There were multiple moments that moved me to tears.  It was a such a beautiful and quite fitting film for the day.  Jean Valjean says at the end of the film, "To love another person is to see the face of God."  Too much.

This Christmas was busy.  I did very little making and gifting was kept to just the brothers and parents.  For the past few years I have made ornaments to send to friends - this year I barely had a few sketches of ideas on paper.  It was just one of those heads down pushing through years.  In the midst of it I realized that I had failed to look up and breath it all in.  Though I did enjoy taking brothers on gift buying shopping trips.  That is a fun, special moment that we have been able to share over the past couple of years.  Now in the blink of an eye December 2012 is complete.