A Funny Thing Happened Around the Christmas Table

We always get to celebrate two Christmases.  The first occurs on Christmas Day; and besides our little celebration and gift-opening in the morning with just our boys and my parents, we also have the fun of having people over for dinner.  Basically, any friends we have that don't have somewhere else to go that day get invited to our house!  :)  We've done this for years--as young marrieds in California, as expats in Israel, and now here in Virginia--and it's always interesting to see who turns up and what combinations of people end up together around our Christmas table.

The second celebration usually happens a few days later when my brother and his family from Pennsylvania come down, and any other family members that we can rope into coming are here as well.  Unfortunately, it's been years since we had all my family (my parents, siblings, spouses, and kids) together in one spot; in fact, I can't even remember the last time it happened.  But we celebrate with whoever can be here, and we remember those who cannot.

Besides being a chance for the adults to converse with each other, our times together are also a hoot for the younger generation.  Cousins are just so much fun!  It's also precious to see how quickly our boys reconnect with aunts and uncles.  I may be a bit biased, but I think my sons are exceptionally warm and affectionate.  ;-)

These pictures that I took during our celebration a week ago are poor technically, but the family togetherness they capture is precious to me.  

Tobin made himself comfortable...

...between his aunt and uncle...

...and looked at all the pictures in the photo book they made for my parents...

...before my parents had a chance to look at it!

You woulda thought he owned that thing!  :)

Anyway, what I was thinking about, when I started this post, is that as we were sitting around the stretched-out table eating, Josiah took a bite of something, felt something hard in his mouth, and discovered that one of his teeth had fallen out!!!  It had been loose for a little while, but not a very long time; and as far as we knew, it wasn't exceptionally loose.  But somehow he happened to bite down on something just right, and it knocked the tooth clean out!  That was the easiest tooth removal we've had so far.  ;-)

We *always* have to take a cousin picture.

A few things have changed since these cousin pictures from years ago.  :)

Right before the cousins started their trip back to PA, my David shouted, "We have to take a picture of me and Uncle David!"  He was right; we have to.  Always.  :)

Some things never change.  And you know, we really wouldn't want them to.