Merry Christmas, Everyone!
Ethan:
The big news of the day for me is apparently
supposed to be sharing family Christmases with Naomi in an official sort of way
for the first time. We’ve had a lot of
fun, and that has been amazing, but there have been a lot of awesome moments
that have added up to a best-ever kind of Christmas.
Cassie and Michael’s first Christmas as a
married couple was special; exchanging gifts and finding out what Santa brought
for us was great; and we made an exception for Christmas Day Tai Chi because we
were actually able to do that outdoors by the river thanks to another warm day
gift from Mother Nature! There was a
special breakfast; we had a bit of time to play with new toys and games; and
then we got ready for incoming guests because we hosted the hometown family
Christmas dinner. There were snacks for
lunch; Naomi came over in time for the gift exchange; and then we were on the
go for an early Christmas dinner at the Ayres’ home. Our day felt rushed, since we had that meal;
had more gifts to open; and then there was a bit of outdoor play time before we
needed to be back at my house for Christmas dinner number two. The Everetts are away, but we still had a
fairly-large group for that meal because some of the Carrington-Johnson locals
joined us.
Naomi and I ate again, if not a lot; we had
fun with everyone – even when we were getting teased about being a couple; and
then we were on kid control with Ehlana while the adult guys took care of the
clean-up. There was gaining in the
lounge; movies in the living room; and other entertainment going on elsewhere
around the house – whether that was somewhere out of the way for playing toys
or gatherings in the sunroom or other places for conversations that didn’t need
to happen over the louder noise levels in other places. Naomi’s parents and brother stopped in for a
visit on their way home from Uncle Nick and Aunt Deborah’s house; I played
video games for most of the time after that until the rest of our guests headed
home; and then Ehlana and I helped out with some of the clean-up before coming
up to our rooms for the night.
I’m skipping over details for things I wasn’t
involved in – like Ehlana’s afternoon with Cassie, Michael, and May at his
Bassett family Christmas. That gave her
something to do – and a friend for Sophia to hang out with – while Naomi and I
were busy; and Mom and Dad were okay with some quieter time to spend with
Grandma, Grandpa, and the Carringtons. I
don’t want to make a big deal of the gifts, since the family and friends time
means more to us, but I will include a couple of mentions for things that we
were given that will be important to us in the near future. Our new musical instruments top that list – a
guitar for me and a ‘real’ keyboard for Ehlana.
It isn’t coincidence that Aiden got a digital drum set and Naomi got an
electric guitar – though it is a bit funny that their parents picked
instruments that can be played quietly when used with the headphones provided
too! On a less-important level, the
little quad-copter that I got might not be worth mentioning for anything
serious, but even junior Magi Masters can enjoy playing with toys; I’m a guy;
and remote-controlled flying toys are cool!
We’ve had bedtime chats since coming
upstairs; it’s getting late; and we have another busy day booked for tomorrow;
so I guess that’s all for tonight. My
last Christmas music pick of this holiday season is from our favorite a
cappella group; so enjoy it – and then we’ll be back with those bonus bits of
music fun next Christmas.
Ethan – out!
***
Ehlana:
After Ethan’s report, if you’re trying to
picture us – with Naomi and Aiden – in some radical, cutting-edge rock band; I
doubt that you could know us and do that without laughing. We want to learn to play music – and be ready
for learning band instruments in a few years too, but while being in a band
would be fun; we’re still years away from that sort of thing too – not to
mention the fact that we still need to learn to play first too.
There are a few things that Ethan didn’t
mention for today – and that’s entirely because we were on the go all day. Aiden couldn’t spend much time with us, but
we did get together for a cameo gift exchange this morning. I was glad to spend time with Naomi whenever
she was here with us; and Sophia was really glad to have a same-age friend to
hang out with at her family dinner. Yes,
Aiden and I could have set up a date for today too, but we’re not ready for
that; and might not join that club for quite a while. All of the busy meant that we didn’t get to
go out and enjoy the warm weather as much as we’d have liked, but there was one
short bike ride this morning; and some park play time this afternoon for Sophia
and I that included some play time with cousins and friends that we crossed
paths with while out and having fun.
Two big Christmas meals are too-much, so
there are lots of leftovers; and I do not need to use the Sight to foresee a
near future with turkey pot pies and other similar meals over the next week or
more. I’ve enjoyed the wind down play
time tonight – especially when Brianna and I played in my room and away from
the video gaming. We had some Mom,
Grandma, and big sisters time too; and let’s just include May as an adopted big
sister for that. I don’t have any gifts
that I want to mention, but should include the news that Cassie, Michael, and
May got a Christmas break vacation for one of their gifts; so they won’t be
here for as long as we’d hoped before heading back to school. We’ll be back at school anyway, and wouldn’t
have seen them as much, but I’m glad that they’re getting to have an adventure
in the sunny south – along with Rowen and Tim.
We’ll keep you posted on that news when they’re away; so stay tuned for
that added bonus in the New Year!
I guess that’s pretty much all I have for
today. This has been a best-ever-so-far
kind of Christmas; and I’m glad that we’ve been able to share it with so many
of our favorite people! My last music
pick might make you cry, but there are a lot of people dealing with sadness and
loss at Christmas – including for people we know here at home; so this song is
for them – as well as a hopeful message for all of us.
This is Ehlana Proctor; coming to you live
from what is now my past!
