Merry Christmas to All!

Sorry about the pictures being all at the top and in no specific order... for some reason I can't get blogger (or my computer, for that matter) to do what I want. Oh well.

I think I can pretty much say, without a doubt, that this was the best Christmas Martin and I have had in a looooooooong time. It was really great! No family stress, very little baby-related stress, and lots of excitement and magic. A short rundown of Christmasses past: Up until we were married, the best thing about Christmas was our Christmas Game Nights, when on Christmas Night we got together with all of our friends and played board games. This was a VERY fun tradition that has lasted many years. The year we got married we were wed on the 22nd, spent the 23rd buying groceries and everything we needed as newly-living-together people after living in our parents houses forever, spent the 24th buying all of our stupid, thoughtless gifts for our family members, spent Christmas bouncing between both families, planning out some kind of honeymoon for some time in the future... which we never got, but that doesn't matter. Year two: The year of The Screaming Anja. In short, Christmas was awful. Year three: Better. Still kind of weird though, having a child, but one who didn't quite care about Christmas. However, Anja did take her first steps on Christmas night! Also, we spent Christmas Eve doing all of our shopping. BARF. Year four, this year! WONDERFUL!! Anja LOVES unwrapping gifts! We got wonderful gifts for people! We were so excited to be with our families, to give them meaningful things, to eat food that Martin had shot and I had prepared! Everything was really great!

On Christmas Eve we went to the 4:30 mass with Martin's family and my parents. The girls were really horribly behaved, despite the fact that they'd both had naps. Oh well. For the past fifteen minutes of Mass, Anja shouted, "Gagy! Gagy!" (baby! baby!) wanting to go up to the big nativity scene to visit the baby Jesus. She also was crying out for the donkey. She really likes donkeys.

Christmas at Ooma and Oompa's house was so fun!! We got a Seal-A-Meal from my parents, and a woodstove from them too, which means when Martin comes home with squirrels, we can seal some up while the rest are frying atop the woodstove. SO EXCITING. Anja received a baby doll that is pink, which is the first doll she's named herself: Pink-Pink. Pink-Pink is now a treasured member of the family. I'm afraid Greta has been teething, which is torture for everyone around, but she got a funny orange teether doll, and a lot of other good toys to gnaw on. Anja got a gorgeous wooden doll stroller from my parents as well. We ate loads of food. It was loud and crazy and fun. Aunt Anna May came! Everything was perfect. Best presents we gave: A monetary contribution to The Gorilla Foundation in my dad's name, to buy Christmas presents for the gorillas; a deer antler coat/hat rack for Christopher made with antlers we had here (not from anything Martin shot) and a piece of wood from my grandparents' barn; a quilt kit for Grace with pinwheel block instructions, all in a cute white basket.

Santa came in the night and left Anja and Greta all sorts of lovely treasures. A family of colorful gnomes with mushrooms, a new umbroller that is brown with pink butterflies, some books, some toys, some tights. After all the hard work on Anja's blue slippers, she hasn't really cared much about them. Too bad! Maybe they'll grow on her. After opening presents in the morning, my parents and Martin's sister came over for Christmas breakfast. I had put a venison roast in the crock pot overnight, and I mashed up some potatoes and we had a loaf of challah bread, and it was a really fabulous Christmas breakfast. Shortly after we ate, we all took off for Chicago for Christmas with Martin's side of the family.

More craziness, fun, good food, and presents. Anja and Greta were showered with thoughtfulness, as was I. My sister-in-law made aprons for everyone, including Anja! They are reverseable and wicked cute. She gave Anja a doll carrier that looks like a tiny Ergo. !!!! Greta got more things to gnaw on. Martin's mom gave him a pulley thingy for his deer, and renewed his NRA membership! My other sister-in-law gave me a flower necklace that is much like the one she wears that I've always secretly coveted. We gave everyone gift baskets full of Martin deer sausage, Fair Oaks cheese, Oliver wine and dried salted peas that I imagine must be local because they are from D&R. I think everyone really appreciated them. The ride home was scary slick. We were going 35mph down the highway and still sliding. We passed wreck after wreck and were sure we were going to get pounded by one of the idiots whizzing past us. Scary! Then Greta woke up and we pulled into Fair Oaks Farms and got her out of her seat for awhile; Martin bought a little thing of ice cream and a big cup of coffee and it was snowing the Star Wars snowflakes, and it was really pretty cozy.

On Boxing Day we went shopping with TusaRebecca and I got two shirts from Gap, but I got home and decided to return them because, thanks to two years of nursing, my "girls" just aren't what they used to be and I don't look right in any kind of clothes. *sigh*

Anja is so cute. My mother-in-law found sheepskins for all the grandbabies. We put Anja's and Greta's on the floor in the living room and Anja has been rolling around on them all day, burrowing in and snuggling up... too cute.

We've been taking it easy for the weekend. We're getting some snow--nothing major, just a few inches--and it's a very cozy snow. We did run out to the store this afternoon, but other than that, we've just been cozied up in the house together, letting everyone come to us. Last night Martin's family brought pizza over for dinner, then our friends Perkins and Joel came by. It's been a really nice little Christmas weekend. Tonight we're going to try frying squirrels and see if I can succeed at doing it. I have never had success in frying anything breaded... so we'll see. And from what we've read, frying seems to be the best way to have them, with gravy, so I do hope they turn out. Martin was going to go hunting today after mass, but he got halfway there and realized he hadn't changed the barrel on his shotgun. By the time he got home he decided it wasn't worth the drive back out, and the roads were getting full of snow by that time as well. Maybe next weekend!

This afternoon we put the girls in their snowsuits and played outside. Greta and I came in early, but Anja had a great time playing out front while her daddy shoveled the walks. Yay snow! I'm glad it's finally here. Winter is so much more cheerful when there's snow on the ground.