Christmas & New Years
02 Jan 2005
Printable Version
Taken December 21, 2004
Tony, Elena, Emily, Danae, and Jerry after an evening with the Hutchinsons.
Taken December 24, 2004
Emily helped Aunt Danae wake up Christmas Eve morning!
Taken December 24, 2004
The carolers at the Waffle House, where we ate breakfast on Christmas Eve Day!
Taken December 24, 2004
The whole group patiently waiting to be seated for breakfast.
Taken December 24, 2004
Jerry was able to catch this picture of the present covered floor, just after Santa Claus left.
Taken December 24, 2004
Danae with her fully loaded stocking just after Santa filled it. It was too full/heavy to hang!
Taken December 25, 2004
Danae surprised at the letter Santa wrote her, thanking her for being such a good girl this year (and for putting up with her husband).
Taken December 25, 2004
Emily used each of the combs she received for Christmas to comb "Lambies" hair.
Taken December 25, 2004
Opening presents Christmas morning. Half way there!
Taken December 25, 2004
Mostly done opening presents. If you didn't notice, Matt who was helping Jessica hold her presents is now buried!
Taken December 25, 2004
Madeline and Uncle Jerry with her "My First Christmas" Stuffed Santa.
Taken December 25, 2004
Danae with her loot on Christmas morning.
Taken December 25, 2004
Jerry with his loot.
Taken December 25, 2004
Aunt Danae playing Go Fish with Emily. Jessica talking to Grandma Fails on the phone.
Taken December 26, 2004
Joanne and Emily taking time for some true Christmas Time at the DC Temple Visitor's Center the day after Christmas.
Taken December 26, 2004
A quick candid of the whole group at the DC Temple Visitor's Center. From left to right: Danae, Emily, Matt, Tony, Elena, Joanne, and Emily.
Taken December 27, 2004
A picture of the rest of our booty that we opened after we returned from PA. Danae is modelling one of the sleeping bags we received!
Taken December 27, 2004
Madeline and Joanne chilling at Aunt Danae and Uncle Jerry's apartment.
Taken December 27, 2004
Jessica liked playing with Danae's exercise ball, while Matt checked his email.
Taken December 27, 2004
Aunt Danae and Emily had fun playing on the couch.
Taken December 28, 2004
The girls, as always, enjoyed reading time with Aunt Elena.
Taken January 1, 2005
Kirt and Lilian Fulcher, with whom we entered the new year. If they look tired, it's because they are (as are we). If you can't see the clock on the wall, it says 12:50 am. We JUST finished playing Canasta. :)
Well as you can see we have gotten quite behind. Instead of trying to catch up right away we are going to start with just the most recent news. As for the future, one of Jerry's New Years resolutions is to post something each week — even if it is small. (If you didn't notice, this is an open invitation to harrass him if he falls behind! :))
The last couple of weeks have been very enjoyable. Jerry has been less of a stress case. Its amazing how patience increases when outside stress decreases! Lately, stress has slightly increased while he's been planning a "surprise" getaway for Danae's birthday that is coming up soon. It should be fun so I'm sure it will be worth the work and expense.
Tuesday, the 21st, we went over to Tony & Elena's for dinner and conversation. We saw Emily and David that night. As always, it was great to be in their home!
Thursday the 23rd, as soon as Danae finished her last two hours of work for the week, Danae & I headed up to Washington, PA to spend Christmas with the North Family (Jerry's sister and family). We ate with them and then all played. In the morning we all went to Waffle House for breakfast! It was a lot of fun and good food. While there was some question as to the competence of the hostess to get us seats (we waited for almost an hour to be seated), Uncle Jerry, Aunt Danae and Jessica sang Christmas songs. If we had put out a hat for money we probably could have bought a few extra Christmas presents since a few people complimented and thanked us for our caroling.
Christmas morning, I acted as the present pusher giving gifts to people to open as quickly as they finished the previous one! We all had fun and of course ate too much! It was so fun to witness the joy Santa Claus brought to Danae, Jessica, Emily, & Madeline. Jessica almost even enjoyed each of her "thousand" gifts! It was such a treat to have spent such a memorable Christmas with the North Family! While there, Matt & Joanne taught us how to play Canasta which they gave to us for Christmas. We love the game and have already taught and played with a couple of our friends here in DC. Matt & I then watched the kids while Danae & Jojo scoured the discount stores for some self-gifted presents.
Sunday (Boxing Day), we went to church with Matt & Joanne and then headed back to DC to the DC Temple Visitor's Center where we sang in two concerts that evening. Matt & Joanne followed shortly after us and came to one of our concerts with Tony, Elena, & Emily Hutchinson (Jerry's aunt, uncle and cousin, respectively).
The next few days we enjoyed meeting with the Hutchinsons and the Norths at Tony and Elena's house. It was enjoyable spending so much time with family. Besides conversing and eating (which we did aplenty), Tony & Elena introduced us to one of their family traditions — to do a Saint George's play. It was fun and the girls loved it even if Uncle Tony the dragon scared them a little bit!
We celebrated New Year's with friends, at a party Friday night at the Fulchers, and going out for dinner Saturday night with the Clarys. Both nights included more of the game Canasta. We're getting hooked.
Danae & I both taught at church on Sunday the 2nd. We utilized the long morning to prepare our lessons as we are on the 1:00-4:00 schedule at church now. Wishing you all a bright and happy New Year!
Love,
Jerry & Danae