Christmas 2008

Choir performance
After the choir concert (Tristan is in trouble so he won't look at the camera)

Trevin's "Christmas around the world" program
My
Kaydin didn't want to audtion for the play, so he was the lighting specialist
5th grade play
Choir concert

The Baker family had a great holiday season in 2008. As usual, I took no pictures Christmas morning, but here are some highlights of our holiday:
I spent the week before the kids got out for Christmas break living at the school (well, almost). There were 3 choir performances, a 5th grade play, a 3rd grade program and a geography bee. Lucky for me, the 1st and 2nd grades didn't have their own programs, or I may as well have parked the van at the school and slept in it. I was so proud of each of the kids at their performances. Kaydin won his class geography bee and went on to compete in the school-wide one. He didn't win, but we are still very proud of him and he has been studying like a maniac because he is determined to win next year. Trevin was to only 3rd grader who had his entire speaking part memorized (and it wasn't short-about 5 paragraphs). The kids all did beautifully at their choir concert, and I loved it. Then, we were all home for 2 weeks. I actually love when the kids are not in school. Things are so much less hectic. We had our traditional Christmas eve dinner of crepes and made our cookies for Santa. It is so funny how excited the kids are to open their one present Christmas eve, even though they know it is going to be pajamas. And they still love it "oh my gosh, I LOVE these pajamas"! I won't regale you with gag-inducing stories of how much crap the kids got for christmas. Needless to say, they were a happy bunch. With my signature grace, on Christmas morning I stabbed a knife into the palm of my hand cutting some caramels. Did it need stitches? Yes. Did I get them? Heavens no! I had too much to do, and I didn't feel like a $500 ER visit. So we wrappped it up, and went on with life. And luckily, I didn't get any blood on the caramels! Grandma Young came over for Christmas dinner and my brother Paul got us a Scrabble game, which Joseph and I have been playing like maniacs. During one of our games, the kids - who were upstairs with popcorn and treats having a "movie night" came downstairs to find out if something was wrong because there was so much yelling. We really get in to our Scrabble. We spent New Year's eve at Joseph's parents' house. It was pretty low key. We just played some board games and smooched at midnight. New Year's day a neighbor brought us a traditional Haitian soup called Joumou. Haitians eat this soup on New Year's day. It is to celebrate winning their liberation from slavery, so they made a soup with all the things they were forbidden to eat. It is pretty tasty, and Tristan had 3 bowls of it. But now, it's back to real life. Back to school, back to work. We had a wonderful holiday season and we were overwhelmed by the kindness and generosity of friends and family. I really wish Christmas could last all year. Not the presents or the decorations and music (ok, maybe a little of the decorations and music -and the food), but because of the shift in attitude and behavior, the change of heart that takes place in so many people but seems to disappear once the tree comes down. Myself included. It is my absolute favorite holiday for that reason. And this year was one of the good ones!