Christmas

As you can see from my previous post, we had a white Christmas.  The snow started falling the morning of Dec. 24th, and didn't stop until the late afternoon of Dec. 25th.  Shanna had off the entire day of Christmas Eve, so we had a relaxing day.  Since it was snowing outside, we didn't leave the house.  We had plans to go over to some friends house on Christmas Day for a potluck style dinner, though, so that morning we cooked.  Shanna made deviled eggs, homemade ice cream, and a something I don't know the name of, but consisted of apples, onions, and Brie wrapped in a giant pie crust and baked in the oven.  I made my usual, the Mac & Cheese.

By early afternoon, I'd already been out shoveling once and the snow was still coming down.  At that point Shanna said she had grabbed a last minute stocking stuffer for me, but wanted me to open it now so we could watch it.  She had me guess, and it didn't take long before I guessed the Shrek holiday movie.  I was right, but before I opened it, I said she had to open one of her gifts.  I then gave her one gift to open...the complete box set of all the Shrek movies, including the holiday movie.  We had to laugh at that...we essentially got each other the same thing. :)  Since Shanna hadn't unwrapped the DVD's she got, she was able to return them.  That afternoon we spent watching Shrek and some of the football games that were on TV.

Later in the afternoon we Skyped with Shanna's parents.  While being in person with family for the holidays is the best, we're fast learning that Skype is the next best thing.  It's one thing to call friends & family on the phone, but to sit & watch them open presents and see them has been fantastic.  I've been saying for the past month that I need to get a winter hat, but haven't gotten around to it...one of the things I got from Billy & Pattie (Shanna's parents) was a Chargers winter hat.  I've already used it several times when we've gone out or I've been out shoveling.  We also got some great clothes and I got some Playstation games I've been wanting.

A few hours later, after my brother had gotten to my parents house, we Skyped with them.  We had shipped the package home with their gifts a little late because we were waiting on one last thing to come in, but surprisingly it only took 3 or 4 days to get to them.  So we got to see them opening their presents and we opened their presents to us.  Shanna got a necklace & earrings, and I got the noise-cancelling headphones I've been missing since my last pair broke.  I hadn't even really realized how much I missed them until I started using the new ones.  Mike had sent me money early on to pick up something for Shanna from the Christmas Markets, so I got her a female Oktoberfest smoker to compliment the male one she already had.  Mike also got me a Playstation game I've been wanting.

It was great seeing both of our families again, even if it was over the computer.

The next morning Shanna was up bright & early.  There are few people I know who get more excited about Christmas then her.  I woke up about 7:45, and it was a good thing too...she said she was going to come wake me up if I wasn't up by 8am.  She had been up for at least an hour at that point, if not more.  She made Sausage Balls for breakfast, which I love.  You should have seen the look she gave me when I said I was going to go shovel again, then take a shower, then we could do presents...I would have been in trouble if I'd been serious. :)

The dogs got their presents first...beanie babies.  They LOVE them.  They even played Tug of War with one of them!

Next, Shanna opened hers.  First was a Blu-Ray box set of The Sound Of Music.  Next was something she'd seen at the Ludwigsburg Christmas Market and liked, but didn't get, a wood carving of a Razorback.  For those who don't know, Shanna went to the University of Central Arkansas, but was only a short drive from the University of Arkansas, whose mascot is a Razorback.  She's a huge fan of their football program, so I had to get it for her.

Next up I opened my gifts.  I got a "do it yourself" beer brewing kit, and the entire series on DVD of Home Improvement.  I can't wait to watch those again!  And once things settle down next week after New Years has passed, I'm going to start on the first beer batch.  It comes with a Blond Ale and a Lager, and Shanna, knowing the kind of beer I love, bought me an IPA packet to try.  I'll get the first two down, then try my hand at the IPA...I'm so excited!

Around 1:30pm our time we Skyped with Shanna's brother & his family.  It was 6:30am their time, but from what he was saying, the kids had gotten them up about an hour prior to that.  As fun as it was opening gifts with our parents, it was really fun seeing how excited the kids were opening their presents.

Later that day we headed over to our friends Jenny & Chris's house.  They live about 30km from our house, which normally doesn't take long, but the roads weren't great.  The Autobahn was fine, but their house is pretty far out of the city, so the roads by their place had barely been plowed.  We got there safe & sound, but it took some time.  Dinner that night was fantastic.  In addition to what we brought, there was steak (which isn't easy to get around here), green bean casserole, and a dish I'd never heard of, but apparently is pretty common in Milwaukee, where Christ & Jenny are from.  It's basically hashbrowns mixed in a crock pot with cheese.  GOOD STUFF.  We also had a White Elephant gift exchange.  That was fun, and ended up working out for Shanna & I since we both got little mini smokers.

We brought our laptop & webcam with us so that we could Skype with Shanna's nieces & nephews when they opened their presents later in the day at Shanna's parents house.  Around 7pm our time (noon theirs) we started.  I remember how crazy it was last year when the go ahead was given to the kids to start tearing in to their presents.  It was funny to watch, and almost as fun to watch over the webcam.  After things settled down, we opened their gifts to us.  Pattie, Shanna's Mom, had taken the 5 kids to the mall and given them each $10, and told them to pick something out for both of us.  It was by far the most interesting stocking I've ever received.  I got a 1 pound bag of Reese's Peanut Butter cups (not a bunch of small ones, it literally contained two 0.5 lb cups), a Razorback cup with accompanying lid, an Iron Man 2 comic book, a plastic Candy Cane filled with M&M's, and a word scramble book.  Shanna got a little dog that's used to put your rings on at night, some lotion, a princess coloring book with sticker sheets, and a few other things I can't remember off the top of my head.  It was funny seeing how excited the kids were watching us open our presents, they all crowded around the webcam.

After we were done we stayed for a bit longer, then headed home.  It was getting cold out, and we wanted to get home before the snow on the ground turned to ice, especially since we live part way up a mountain.  When we got home we had one last Skype session to do.  My parents & brother had gone up to CT to do Christmas with my Dad's side of the family.  Some of them I haven't seen since the wedding, and some of them I haven't seen in years, so it was great seeing the whole family again, including my Grandmother.  We talked for a bit, then it was time for bed.

Shanna had off Monday, so Sunday was spent cleaning around the house, doing laundry, and watching football.  On Monday I had a phone interview for a job at 2pm.  I'm not getting my hopes up, but we'll see.  An interview is definitely a step in the right direction.  After the interview Shanna wanted to head down town to see if there were any good after Christmas sales.  We walked around town, going in to various stores, and had a good time.  I enjoy walking around downtown, and for Shanna, it was one of the rare times we were down there with no agenda other then just walking in & out of stores.  We ate dinner down there at an Italian restaurant (which still had prices listed in both Euro & Deutschmark on the menu), then headed home.

The last thing we did that night before heading to bed was to Skype with some friends who live in VA.  Pat Batu was my best man at our wedding, and we'd been trying to coordinate skyping all week with him, his wife Luzette, and their 2 1/2 year old daughter Marella.  Luzette had to work, but Pat & Marella were there.  They had wanted to skype with us mainly to have Marella tell us the news.  Shortly after we connected, she told us that "Mommy & Daddy are pregnant".  Yup...they have another son or daughter on the way.  We were so excited for them and can't wait to meet him/her.  Marella also wanted to show us the presents she'd gotten for Christmas, but the funny part was she hadn't quite grasped the webcam concept down yet, so when she'd show us something, she'd put it right up in front of our faces on the laptop screen, not the webcam.  So she thought we could see it, but in reality she was holding it way down.

So that was it...all in all, a great Christmas weekend.  We wish we could have spent it with family, but it was nice that we could at least see all of our family in the same day, even though we were thousands of miles away.

You can see a link to a handful of pictures here or click on any picture above.