Silent Night - Week of Dec. 23rd

"It's not what's under the Christmas tree that matters, it's who's around it." ~Charles M. Schulz"

"Always give without remembering and always receive without forgetting." ~Brian Tracy

Pooh says, "Christmas is a together sort of holiday."  

We knew this year would be a bit different as our first time without Opa.  We had a packed agenda to fill our time.  Monday afternoon, Cam and his mom made their way to Rosy Mound.  Jane and son were scheduled to give a presentation all about Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) to the senior community.  Since it was Dec. 23rd, they really didn't expect much of an audience.  They decided Oma should be hired for all community outreach since more than 25 people were in attendance!  Jane and Cam brought treats and prizes and had a great time teaching everyone about A.I.  After the session, Oma gathered her things and traveled with her daughter and grandson back to Grand Rapids for the next five nights.

Oma brought her homemade sugar cookies and peanut butter/chocolate bites and on Tuesday, we made her famous candy cane cookies.  While Cam's grandma claims they are easy to make, it is a work of art to watch her twist the dough into canes.  These Christmas treats remain as Jane's all-time favorite.

In the early evening, we drove the short distance to Thornapple Covenant Church for the Christmas Eve service.  We joined Steve and Patti there for the beautiful service.  For dinner, everyone met back at Cam's house for homemade chicken noodle soup with homemade bread.  Fruit was abundant along with an enormous amount of Christmas cookies and chocolates for everyone to choose from.

We all decided to sleep in a bit on Christmas morning.  We didn't start on our stockings until almost 10am.  Presents were sorted and couch spots were reserved.  Since Cam's baclofen pump surgery, sitting and relaxing on the sofa is a more regular occurrence for him.  Cameron's stocking is very special since it was crocheted by Auntie JJ, Jane's cousin, when he was a baby.

There were many highlights in our gift giving- the photo calendar for Oma (Cam's tradition), a photo blanket for Chris, KitchenAid mixer for Jane, and a robot vacuum for the house, nicknamed McCleaner.  The most impactful present for Cam, though, was a set of handicap buttons with door modification destined for the inside door entrance from the garage.

We all watched a movie together and made a trip close to home to see some Christmas decorations.  One of them had music from a radio station synchronized to their light display.  It's so much fun to see the elaborate twinkling illuminations.

Oma and Jane laughed about the fact that they bought each other matching sweaters because they liked them so much.

Friday afternoon, we welcomed Ms. Ann and Auntie Jo for some holiday cheer.  We all opened gifts and ordered pizza from our local JTs.  After dinner, we carefully chose the Christmas cookies and chocolates to partake in.  

Like Winnie-the-Pooh, we all agreed that Christmas is about togetherness and we were very happy to be surrounded by so many special people.

Camology Quotes:

One of Cam's favorite presents he gave to Chris was a "Dad Joke" button which promised 75 'Bad Dad Jokes' in its description.  Chris has chosen to place this button on the kitchen counter so that he can press it every time he passes through.  So far, the collective favorite was: 

"How did the computer catch a cold? It left a window open!"  

"Good one, 'Dad Joke button'!"