Thursday, December 15, 2016

Two Turtle Doves: Every Eddy Christmas

As far back as I can remember, (except for those annoying years when Christmas ends up on a Sunday *cough*) our Christmas Day goes something like this:
Ironically, we hardly EVER get this much snow...so the picture (taken this year) is not accurate to the title bestowed it. ;)

I wake up to the sound of voices downstairs and my dad's knock on my bedroom door. One eye cracks open to test the surroundings. Am I dreaming or is it really Christmas morning?
"Coffee's up and on the counter," Dad says. Ok, so it's not a dream. Mixed feelings on that. 
I roll over and open both eyes. If I don't get up now, my coffee with get cold. Which would be almost as bad as a sudden tornado hitting our house. Almost. So I get up and put on my bathrobe and stumble downstairs, half asleep. 
Younger siblings are already running around the tree with way too much energy for their own good (and they haven't even had any sugar yet!!), the living room is lit up with various Christmas lights and I can now smell the coffee. Also, I think Mom is running some kind of essential oil in the diffuser, because the whole downstairs smells like pine trees and cinnamon. 
Holding on to the steaming mug, I carefully make my way to an open corner of the couch, avoiding the ecstatic younger siblings who have already found all the gifts with their names and created small piles of them next to their unopened stockings. 
Finally, all the older kids are up. (Parents and younger kids have been up for more than an hour already...what can I say? We're not really morning people.) No gift wrapping flying across the house? Not yet. Be patient. That part is coming. First, we have our Christmas Bible time. 
Dad takes out his Bible and opens it. The excited voices quiet down and I can begin to hear my own thoughts again. I suddenly realize that our Christmas music playlist is going in the background...something I didn't hear up until now. 
After clearing his throat, Dad begins reading Luke chapter two, that beloved tale we all know and love. In some ways, a "rag to riches" story, in other ways one of those "only this hero can save the world" stories, and in still other ways a romance. The true story of a baby King who was born in a stable only to grow up and die in order to save us from our sins, then be raised from the grave and into glory...all because of His infinite love for us. 
Like every family Bible time, we end with us praying around in a circle. THEN, and only then, do we start opening our gifts. Stockings first, youngest to oldest. A few smaller gifts, a candy cane, an orange, and a few snacks are usually what we find within the personalized stockings. 
Now come the bigger gifts (and, coincidentally, the gift wrapping all over the living room floor part) which are either under our Christmas tree or piled up on the window seat (if we are unable to get a Christmas tree that year). A few middle kids help with handing out the various presents, and then when they're all distributed, we open them in as organized a fashion as a family with ten kids can. Ooooos and aaahhs are given to each gift, and hugs to parents/siblings who gave you them. 
My gifts, now opened and sitting in a pile beside me, are put away as soon as my coffee is finished and Mom mentions the word "breakfast" so I can skillfully avoid having to eat the Christmas Tea Ring (given to us by a sweet older lady of the church each Christmas Eve for us to eat on Christmas morning) because I don't like candied fruit. *shudders* 
We begin to be able to see our floor again as everyone pitches in to clean up the brightly colored wrapping paper, tissue paper, and bags after breakfast is finished. 
At this point, it's practically lunch time (I TOLD you we weren't early risers) and we barely have time to clean up the breakfast dishes before its time to make sandwiches for the younger boys and get the middle kids working on their own. 
Gradually, the various gifts make their way into their new homes and we spend our afternoon either playing with new games/toys, reading, checking email/blog, or in my case, writing as well. Sometimes, my Mom has us watch a Christmassy movie or read out loud. But the afternoon is usually spent doing restful things like I mentioned above or spending time with family. 
Evening arrives and us girls make dinner. Sometimes it's special, sometimes something ordinary, but whichever it is, we probably enjoy it while we talk and laugh at the table. Clean up happens inevitably, and we girls try to persuade Mom into giving the task to the boys...
Upon occasion, there is some sort of dessert...though not every Christmas, in which case we might have cousins or grandparents over to share it. Otherwise, the evening is spent quietly. Towards our bedtime, we brush our teeth, certain siblings care for certain animals, Mom reads aloud to the younger kids, and after they are safely tucked away, we older kids have some free time until our own bedtimes. 
I go to bed after taking a shower. I put in my earphones, turn on my iPod, and play the Christmas playlist. That's when I begin thinking...and thinking...and thinking...and then I become drowsy...
And that's about five to ten minutes before I fall asleep. 

So, how did you enjoy that sneak peak into the life of the Eddy family? Is it anything like your family's Christmas, or is it completely different? Hope you all are having a wonderful day! :) 

(Only ten more days until Christmas!!! :D :D Who else is excited??)

17 comments:

  1. That sounds like the best Christmas ever *sighs* ;)

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    1. Except for the getting woken up early part...yeah. ;)

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  2. Ah, sounds lovely.
    Christmas at my house is a bit different in that I'm the youngest and there were only three siblings. I was the one always up early and waking everyone else up. Then we would open stockings on my parents' bed. This was followed by getting dressed, having our own quiet time, and then breakfast whenever we were ready. Finally, after all that, it was time for the tree. Since there are only five in the family, it never took hours to open gifts. Then we'd pack, load up the van and head off for a 3 hour drive to my grandparents'. We would spend the rest of the year with my mom's side of the family at a camp in the country near the Missouri River. We would hike in the woods, play games, sit around and talk, and do all sorts of things.
    And that, is what our Christmas days used to look like.

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    1. That sounds delightful. :) Big family vs. smaller family Christmasses are so fun to compare! ;) We have some things in common, yet some things that are totally different!! :D

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  3. Lovely post, Rebekah! I enjoyed reading it!
    Christmas varies by year in our home... When we lived away from family, it was always a quiet day with just us. Now that we live near by both sides of the family again, what we do depends each year. And now that the our 20+ cousins are all getting older, it's harder to get us all together for Christmas Day. :) This year I think we might have my grandmother and uncle over for Christmas dinner, but not entirely sure yet. ;) The thing I look forward to most on Christmas is giving my gifts and watching them get opened!

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    1. Thank you! I'm so glad you enjoyed it! :)
      Wow...busy holiday for you guys! Sounds like a lot of fun though. ;)

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  4. I love this post so much!! So cool to see a look into your family's Christmas days. :D Thanks for sharing, Rebekah!

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    1. Aw, thanks. :) You're very welcome. Thank YOU for commenting! ^_^

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  5. Aw, sweet post. :) In some ways it's similar to my family's Christmas, and in other ways it's different. But that's the beauty of family Christmases, right? ;)

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  6. Haha! Sounds fun and crazy! I like how awful it would be for your coffee to go cold even though you have a microwave 😝

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    1. I might *cough* have a slight prejudice against heating things in the microwave... ;) Thanks for your comment Madi! :)

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    2. Except popcorn. Popcorn can be done in a microwave. ;P

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  7. I really enjoyed this post, Rebekah! :) It was fun to see what your family does on Christmas. :)

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    1. So glad you enjoyed! It is fun to read what other people do for Christmas. :)

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