Traditions

Lately, I have been asked what my family's tradition is for Christmas... it is hard to explain my family's tradition at Christmas... it has always fluctuated depending on whether or not my dad was at the fire station and which day he was at the station!

As a younger child, I remember going to my mom's parents house to open gifts on Christmas Eve, then FINALLY getting to open our gifts on Christmas morning before going to MaAlan's for breakfast and more gift opening and eventually dinner... as I got older, dad gave in to our pleas and started allowing us to open our gifts at their house on Christmas Eve before going to church with MaAlan... this allowed us the time to be together as a family with my brother and his children. Then on Christmas day we still did breakfast and gifts with MaAlan... but throw in the random year when dad had to work on Christmas... then we went to the station for dinner... craziness!!!

Some traditions that we have in our family, which even though my beloved grandmother is gone we are trying to keep alive include:
- the girls getting an ornament every year (except this year cause we didn't find any we liked)
- taking Christmas pictures all dressed up on the stairs, in front of the tree and in front of the fireplace...
- SCOTCHEROOS!!!!
- family breakfast before opening gifts (regardless of the day we open the gifts)
- for my nieces they have been able to go with my parents to pick out the tree just about every year that we have been in the new house
- I have been blessed to be part of the Marfechuk holiday traditions with decorating the tree, the advent calendar with Ana, the family (me, Blake and Ana) picture in front of the tree after we are finished, putting the angel on top of the tree (and having a picture taken as we do this) and putting Ana's first ornament on the tree. I have also participated in exchanging gifts with Blake and Ana on Christmas for several years now!

I can only hope that these traditions will continue into the future and that some day (sooner than later) I can have my own family participating in these traditions too!!!! !

One thing that I had as a child that I am wanting to be able to give to my nieces and eventually my own children is a beautifully decorated stocking... my MaAlan made stockings for me and my brother when I was little, and eventually she made stockings for my three younger cousins. I want to make stockings for my nieces that are similar to the stockings that granmda made for us.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Christmas is here again...

I can't believe that it is already time to celebrate the birth of Christ Jesus!!! It seems like just yesterday I was iced in at my friend Brian's house (see blog from Jan 07) over MLK Jr weekend!!! Alas, it is that time of the year again and we have, in usual family fashion, started the holiday process...

Last weekend I actually got to decorate the tree WITH my family, not a weekend AFTER them... Kenzie was very happy to have me there with them!!! She enjoyed seeing all of the ornaments that were hers and mine and her sissy's...

Here she is hugging her Clifford ornament... this is the ornament that she got her 2nd Christmas. She even picked him out herself!!!

Just like her Aunt Tracey, Kenzie is carrying on the Barnes tradition of taking pictures of EVERYTHING at all family get togethers... although, I would hope that I am a little more methodical about HOW I take the photos and WHAT I take photos of... thank heavens for digital cameras!!!!

Last weekend I got to decorate the tree with Blake and Ana, another tradition that was started way back when Blake was little... in all of Blake's 20 years on this planet I may have only missed a handful of years decorating the tree with him and his parents! Ana and I have a tradition of putting her first ornament on the tree together. We have a picture of me and her when she was only a few months old looking at the ornament... here (above) we are putting it on the tree in her room.

Blake just came home from working at a TU basketball game... and yes we all had on Santa hats...
Another tradition... the Blake, Ana, Tracey picture in front of the tree... this year Blake had the honor of being Santa, I am an elf and Ana is one of the reindeer...

I hope that everyone is having a wonderful holiday season despite being iced in and powerless for the past week!