Ethan and Ehlana:
This afternoon report is happening because we’ll be split up tonight while I hang out with Naomi and her family and Ehlana is with Aiden. There is so much that we could write about from our holiday weekend. Our Christmas Eve highlights included the new song we shared with the congregation – our favorite for this year from Matthew West. It wasn’t our original choice for the service, but we really loved it after hearing it for the first time; Pastor John and Stacey agreed with us for the change; and we practiced it with our own spin on harmonies and arrangement that included Sophia and Aaron on violins; and it was definitely a favorite part of the night for everyone.
It felt a bit weird saying goodnight to Naomi and Aiden after the service, and then we had some unexpected quiet time at home too while our visiting grandparents spent some time with their grandkids at the Everetts’ or Jacobs’ homes – and we mean Violet and Dillon’s home for the Jacobs! Mom and Dad were happy for a bit of time to deal with some chores and laundry; we helped with that work after putting our band gear away; and then Ehlana and I ended up putting our gifts under the tree before our guests returned. We joined in on a bedtime snack and short visit; came up to our rooms after that; and that allowed the adults in the house to play Santa without staying up half the night to do that! For the record, there were two-less Santa-approved treats on the plate before we went to bed. We probably ended up with one of the quietest homes in the family; and then we slept in compared to normal too – skipping Tai Chi; and letting Dad and Grandpa Rick get up first before joining them in the kitchen once they had coffee made and other hot drinks and snacks available.
It was different again to be the only kids in the house for the first round of gift-opening, but we had fun with that too; and didn’t really mind missing out on the crazier starts to Christmas morning that happened at some of our cousins’ homes! We also don’t usually want to write about gifts that we get, but need to mention two from today that were especially-awesome. The first best gifts of the day were the flute and trumpet that Ehlana and I got from Santa, and we eventually found out that our four best tween friends got instruments too – a matching trumpet to mine for Naomi; a tenor sax for Aiden; an oboe for Sophia; and a trombone for Aaron. It was not a coincidence that we each received the second most-awesome gift. Cassie and Michael are taking the six of us to Florida for our March Break, and while most of our cousins will not find out about this until next year; Cassie has coordinated that trip with some of our favorite parents and we’ll be doing that trip with most of our hometown cousins and some friends – not including the youngest, next-gen cousins.
Cassie and Michael gave us that gift after our family brunch; we kept that news quiet so that they could still surprise Sophia and Aaron at Michael’s family Christmas; and that was easy to do anyway because I went home with Naomi for the family Christmas that her parents hosted while Ehlana did the same with Aiden and his family. Naomi and I attempted to get in on both family dinners, but we only managed to get back to my house in time for dessert – though we saved dinner plates to enjoy later once we had room for more food and when we could fit that in around the ongoing fun that we continued to share at both homes. Ehlana and Aiden didn’t try to do both meals, so they were at our house for the mid-afternoon meal, but then they split their time between homes too.
Some of our weekend guests opted to head home yesterday by around six o’clock, so some of us needed to split up to help them with getting packed and ready to hit the road for their homes. Everyone else stayed until today, and as we’re writing this; only Jaimie, Kaitlyn, and Jayden are still here – and they’ll stay for most of this week before heading home with Micah and Jeremy for the New Year holiday weekend in Granite Park that will also be the family Christmases for the other sides of their family. This is skipping around a bit, but it has felt like we’ve jumped from moment-to-moment both yesterday and today. Okay, that’s also actually what we did; so let’s skip along through just a few of those moments through until now.
Ehlana and I spent more time with Aiden or Naomi respectively, and whether we were all together here or split up and with the Seagers or Drapers, we had a blast. For me, I also had the bonus of the time spent with the Ayres’ side of Naomi’s family – including with Aunt Deborah, Uncle Nick, Leah, and Sebastian. They all visited our house too, but were with Naomi’s family most of the time yesterday. Naomi’s Seager cousins and family were there too, but the visiting members of that clan also headed home again by early-evening. Ehlana and Aiden had fun with both sides of his family too, and while they all live locally; they also had an earlier night because Aiden’s father still needed his normal bedtime ahead of work at the bakery this morning. Ehlana and I didn’t have any overnight cuddle buddies or kid guests, but we were with Naomi and Aiden until fairly-late; and we were all ready to get some sleep by the time we split up to our own homes for the rest of the night. Ehlana and I needed to help with a few chores before getting around to nap time last night and we had more work to do this morning – especially after the rest of our weekend guests left to either head home or spend a bit more time with others before hitting the road.
Mom set us free to hang out with our friends by late-morning; we ended up with eight tweens and some younger cousins for most of the time since then – including lunch at our house; some outdoor time; a visit with Cassie and Michael; and some video gaming and music time in the lounge that pretty much brings us up to now. Mom and Dad are getting an unplanned kid-free night, and while the rest of our gang has moved on; we’re packing overnight bags and dealing with our usual daily computer checks, this update, and an early twin chat break. While we have our respective adventures with the Seagers or Drapers, we can also report that Jayden is with Violet, Dillon, and their kids tonight; Susan will at least be with him for dinner and the evening if not the night too; and Sophia is going to have Aaron with her tonight. We do plan on having more group adventures and sleepovers over the holidays, but we’ll keep you posted on that as we work out the details that might include one of those sleepovers with Cassie and Michael before Jayden heads home again. This report is beginning to ramble; so that’s enough for today. The Christmas video pocks are done for another year; so we’re finished too and ready to move on to the rest of our adventures for the day!
Until next time, live with love, fellow Magi of the Light!
