...and to all, a good night.
Every year, I think I find myself saying the same thing: "It's over already?"
And yet, every year Christmas seems to pass just a little quicker and all of us seem to be home just a little bit shorter. Never the less, it's one of the holidays that (to ramp up my cliche use) truly makes me feel so blessed.
Christmas Eve has quickly turned into a night where friends who have turned into family head over to the Angel household. It now includes delicious lasagna (home-cooked by the amazing stupendous Chris Pecorella) and a spirited singalong in which we've recently added "So This is Christmas (War Is Over)" as a nod to Ricky's favorite carol. We've learned it's also the song that never ends. Mark claims "it just fades out then it's over" yet our Christmas Eve version can often carry on for a good ten minutes. As Jen pointed out this year, Christmas Eve is often filled with the same songs, the same routine, the same pictures, but different clothes. Yet none of us ever complain.
I love that the crowd seems to multiply each year and I love that this year we could celebrate two engaged couples. Two Jasons, one Jen and one Chris Anne. We had the fathers of the bride pop the bottles of champagne open and the mothers of the bride pour.
Growing older (not up), I found myself looking around our T-shaped dinner table (I claimed it was in honor of Da Bears...we'll never forget the way you thrilled the nation, with your T-formation) and thought how awesome that all of us fit in this room and have created the festive atmosphere.
Maybe I should have warned you this post was going to be a bit sappy. It happens.
Though Dad and Larry are ridiculous on the piano and guitar and make quite the pair, every year, I moved just a bit more by Mark's clarinet playing. It's an annual tradition for he and Larry to play "Oh Holy Night" (personally, my favorite carol) and it's an annual tradition for us to all to watch in awe.
The girls lost again in the great trivial pursuit battle - but we held our own. Even though we got a repeat question - which is curious in and of itself since we changed versions of the game this year - we still struggled with "What does IMHO mean in Internet lingo?"
First of all) I've never seen that used before and second of all) neither had the rest of the team.
Bless Lauren Pecorella's heart for thinking it meant "I am a HO!" Knowing that wasn't the right answer, we came up with "in my home office." Correct? No way. Amusing? Heck yes.
It was a holiday for the books and so it's only appropriate to wrap this post up with a
Merry Christmas to all...and to all, a good night.
And yet, every year Christmas seems to pass just a little quicker and all of us seem to be home just a little bit shorter. Never the less, it's one of the holidays that (to ramp up my cliche use) truly makes me feel so blessed.
Christmas Eve has quickly turned into a night where friends who have turned into family head over to the Angel household. It now includes delicious lasagna (home-cooked by the amazing stupendous Chris Pecorella) and a spirited singalong in which we've recently added "So This is Christmas (War Is Over)" as a nod to Ricky's favorite carol. We've learned it's also the song that never ends. Mark claims "it just fades out then it's over" yet our Christmas Eve version can often carry on for a good ten minutes. As Jen pointed out this year, Christmas Eve is often filled with the same songs, the same routine, the same pictures, but different clothes. Yet none of us ever complain.
I love that the crowd seems to multiply each year and I love that this year we could celebrate two engaged couples. Two Jasons, one Jen and one Chris Anne. We had the fathers of the bride pop the bottles of champagne open and the mothers of the bride pour.
Growing older (not up), I found myself looking around our T-shaped dinner table (I claimed it was in honor of Da Bears...we'll never forget the way you thrilled the nation, with your T-formation) and thought how awesome that all of us fit in this room and have created the festive atmosphere.
Maybe I should have warned you this post was going to be a bit sappy. It happens.
Though Dad and Larry are ridiculous on the piano and guitar and make quite the pair, every year, I moved just a bit more by Mark's clarinet playing. It's an annual tradition for he and Larry to play "Oh Holy Night" (personally, my favorite carol) and it's an annual tradition for us to all to watch in awe.
The girls lost again in the great trivial pursuit battle - but we held our own. Even though we got a repeat question - which is curious in and of itself since we changed versions of the game this year - we still struggled with "What does IMHO mean in Internet lingo?"
First of all) I've never seen that used before and second of all) neither had the rest of the team.
Bless Lauren Pecorella's heart for thinking it meant "I am a HO!" Knowing that wasn't the right answer, we came up with "in my home office." Correct? No way. Amusing? Heck yes.
It was a holiday for the books and so it's only appropriate to wrap this post up with a
Merry Christmas to all...and to all, a good night.
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