It has been an eventful week since I last wrote.
Both sets of my parents (Memere Linda & Pepe and Papa Dane & Amy) my sister, and my friend Lucy, all arrived at our home on Christmas Eve. We ate a dinner of ribs from the pigs we raised, sweet potatoes and kale. Drank wine. And set the presents under the tree.
And after Lili went to sleep we filled her stocking and set out and wrapped the kitchen Alex built for her:
In the middle of the night we experienced a heavy ice storm. We woke up in the middle of the night to the power turning off and trees breaking in the woods. In the morning it was beautiful out, but we quickly realized it would probably be days before power, phone, or even driving out would be possible.
Luckily, we still had heat, running water, and lots of food. Lil open her Santa presents after she padded downstairs in wonderment (okay, I confess we were totally prodding her on with exclamations of Santa?!!! the whole way down the stairs...). It was a precious moment with just the three of us in our silent house. Then we went next door (we are house-sitting the Carmona's house while they are in Utah) and tried to figure out how to cook breakfast with no power. It is funny how long it takes to figure out the simple things... Like you can't grind coffee with an electric grinder. Or, you can't toast toast in the toaster oven. duh.
Alex slipped and slid down the road to another house we were house sitting and borrowed the generator, which enabled us to grind the coffee. Once some candles were lit, and coffee was made, every one's spirits lifted considerably.
We all opened presents at our house. Some very thoughtful gifts were passed around. Here is Lili wearing a hat her great-grandparents sent her and an apron Memere Linda made her:
Lili also received a large indoor/outdoor, collapsible tent/tunnel playground from Papa Dane and Amy, and some beautiful handmade, hardwood building blocks from Pepe and Memere Linda:
Every year I go through a phase of questioning the whole consumerism of giving and receiving gifts at Christmastime, but when it boils down to it, I love to both give and unwrap presents from people I love... Also, we don't buy Lili much of anything the rest of the year, so it is extra special to see her to get to new toys to play with.
All in all we were out of power and phone for 3 days.
Lili got lots of quality grandparent and aunt time:
and we hung out by candlelight. and cooked with a headlamp:
It ended up being a little more work, but also a unique and special holiday.
Everyone went home in the past 24 hours, and although we have our refrigerator humming again, there is a new kind of quiet that comes after the family has gone.
Lili and I had a nice picnic lunch on the floor this afternoon, (we had to take our table out to fit the Christmas tree in the house) and we are preparing to get back into our regular routine of life. I am off to clean up as our house is quite messy!
Merry Christmas to all of our loved ones we couldn't physically be with this Holiday! We love you!
Both sets of my parents (Memere Linda & Pepe and Papa Dane & Amy) my sister, and my friend Lucy, all arrived at our home on Christmas Eve. We ate a dinner of ribs from the pigs we raised, sweet potatoes and kale. Drank wine. And set the presents under the tree.
And after Lili went to sleep we filled her stocking and set out and wrapped the kitchen Alex built for her:
In the middle of the night we experienced a heavy ice storm. We woke up in the middle of the night to the power turning off and trees breaking in the woods. In the morning it was beautiful out, but we quickly realized it would probably be days before power, phone, or even driving out would be possible.
Luckily, we still had heat, running water, and lots of food. Lil open her Santa presents after she padded downstairs in wonderment (okay, I confess we were totally prodding her on with exclamations of Santa?!!! the whole way down the stairs...). It was a precious moment with just the three of us in our silent house. Then we went next door (we are house-sitting the Carmona's house while they are in Utah) and tried to figure out how to cook breakfast with no power. It is funny how long it takes to figure out the simple things... Like you can't grind coffee with an electric grinder. Or, you can't toast toast in the toaster oven. duh.Alex slipped and slid down the road to another house we were house sitting and borrowed the generator, which enabled us to grind the coffee. Once some candles were lit, and coffee was made, every one's spirits lifted considerably.
We all opened presents at our house. Some very thoughtful gifts were passed around. Here is Lili wearing a hat her great-grandparents sent her and an apron Memere Linda made her:
Lili also received a large indoor/outdoor, collapsible tent/tunnel playground from Papa Dane and Amy, and some beautiful handmade, hardwood building blocks from Pepe and Memere Linda:
Every year I go through a phase of questioning the whole consumerism of giving and receiving gifts at Christmastime, but when it boils down to it, I love to both give and unwrap presents from people I love... Also, we don't buy Lili much of anything the rest of the year, so it is extra special to see her to get to new toys to play with.All in all we were out of power and phone for 3 days.
Lili got lots of quality grandparent and aunt time:
and we hung out by candlelight. and cooked with a headlamp:
It ended up being a little more work, but also a unique and special holiday.Everyone went home in the past 24 hours, and although we have our refrigerator humming again, there is a new kind of quiet that comes after the family has gone.
Lili and I had a nice picnic lunch on the floor this afternoon, (we had to take our table out to fit the Christmas tree in the house) and we are preparing to get back into our regular routine of life. I am off to clean up as our house is quite messy!
Merry Christmas to all of our loved ones we couldn't physically be with this Holiday! We love you!
3 comments:
This is such a beautiful and special post full of magical memories. Thanks for sharing. I just know that it will be a Christmas that you will remember fondly for years and years especially because of the unique circumstances. Thank you also for making our Christmas extra special with the two amazing paintings that we were so happy to give to our mothers. Both moms loved them soooo much!
xoxo,
Liz
Thanks for sharing! I am glad you could be with everyone for your Christmas day! I love Lili's apron. My mom made one for Corbin too :-) We have had plenty of power so I have no excuse for not blogging our adventures.
This past Christmas was one of the most magical in memory ... in addition to the lack of power due to the exquisite ice storm, the fact that we were able to be with some of the most precious and beloved people in our lives gave it an endearing and memorable place in the long era of Christmases shared with you. Thanks for all of your amazing HARD work over our visit with you!!!! I love you and miss Black Mnt. & Asheville already!
xxxoooo
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