I don't care how poor a man is; if he has family, he's rich.

We went home for the Christmas. While some things change over the years many things stay the same. Our family is big, loud and leaning very close to crazy.

Family lingering over coffee after a yummy feast

It's a whole different world back in Hartland. With a language all it's own. You have to pay close attention or you will get lost in translation. I am sure my family is no different than yours. The parents are now the grandparents. The siblings are all grown up: The successful engineers who travel all over the world; the working moms who do it all; the ones who think they have it all; and the ones who really do have it all. Note to self, I want to pick up a book on birth order.And the kids of all ages running amuck.

The food was plentiful and so was the laughter. Did I say it got loud? Oh yeah, everyone needs to be heard at these gatherings (I included). Even when everyone is listening they sometimes don't feel they are being heard so a bit of exaggeration is thrown in to spice the story up.
As crazy as this family is they have taught me a few things:
1) Time does not stand still, so make time for family. One day you will wake up and they will be old and not able to remember your name.
2) Always make time for game night. There is something about sitting around a table having a bit of fun over a game to bring everyone together.

Mom cheating and Amanda literally up in arms about it. LOL

3)Success means nothing if you don't have a family to share it with. You can have all the riches in the world but what good is it if you are all alone. I think Ebeneezer Scrooge found this out one Christmas Night.

 Each one of us is so unique and special, clever, intelligent and little on the witty side but what my parents have tried to instill in us that trumps all of that is love. I have said many times over the years "We never had much growing up but I have always known I am loved". I may complain about the craziness sometimes but this family has made me who I am today and that I am grateful for.

Traditions

It's Christmas. I love Christmas. The whole season. A time for reflection. A time for caring and sharing. Laughter. Surprises. Celebration. Great Food. Family. Gifts and decorations. My favorite parts of Christmas are the traditions. 
As I type I am flooded with memories of some of my favorite traditions over the years. There are the classics like getting up at 3am to run out to the tree and see what Santa brought us. Or the special Christmas cereal - the only time that mom would allow us to have sugary cereals. I always picked Frankenberry or Lucky Charms.
Some of my favorite traditions I made with Grant and Georgia. Christmas Eve is a big day for us. We can't sleep in too late or we miss all the action. We head to the mall around mid morning where we grab our specialty coffees and a comfy chair in the center, sit back, relax and people watch. This is so much fun. Some are racing around. Some laughing, Some fighting. There are the women who are all dolled up in their high heels and party hair. Others still in their pj's or sweats. We sometimes take a break from the sitting and do a little self indulgent shopping but nothing that needs to be delivered or put under the tree. After the crowd dies down we head home to prepare for our Christmas Eve dinner. Everyone has a tradition here. For us, it's wings and ceasar salad. The wings slow cook in the oven all night and we head to the Christmas Eve service at church. This year, I am singing in the service. A little nervous. The service will end with Silent Night by candle light. No matter what church we are at this is always solemn and beautiful.
We'll arrive home to the wonderful aroma of chicken and garlic roasting. The wine will be chilled. The salad tossed and we will cosy up and watch one of our favorite Christmas classics.

After years of watching our own parents frantically run around on this day we decided we would not carry the panic on. I look forward to this day with Grant and Georgia so much. It is completely self indulgent. With no expections of me or of anyone else. The hardest decision all day is, what kind of coffee will I order.