Christmas Eve

So, Here we are on January 6th and I am just now getting to write about the main event - Christmas! We had such a great Christmas this year, I can honestly say it was one of my favorite ones yet! It didn't begin great -

I decided to undertake a HUGE project this year as a gift for my entire family. About a year ago, Abuela Meme gave me all her pictures from when she was dating my grandpa until current day. I was excited to have them but also a bit worried that the family would be mad that I got them all and they didn't. I know I would have wanted to share in those memories if I hadn't gotten my paws on them. So I decided I wanted to share, but beyond that, I wanted them to be preserved to last for years to come.

There was a large magnitude of pictures and I spent time sifting through them and pulling out the best ones that I knew everyone would love to see and have. There were over 1500 pictures. I didn't have the time or patience to scan them myself, so I found a lady who does this for a living (a mom at the preschool) and paid her to do that second step. She returned them to me on preservation Cd's and I loaded the pictures onto my computer and made a 2 hour slide show out of them complete with story telling frames that put our lives as a family together. This project took me 2 months. I wanted to burn each member of the family their own copy of the slide show on a DVD so that everyone shared in the wealth.

Christmas Eve came and it wasn't done. Despite my best efforts, there was still a lot to do, and as the file was so large, my computer was having a hard time with it. I worked all day - and at 5:30 PM that evening (an hour and half before we were due at my uncles for the festivities) I still hadn't showered or packed my things but at least all the work was done. The only problem was that I didn't have time to render the file and put it onto a DVD. I was crushed that I had worked so hard and didn't even have the gift to give them. I was in tears and very exasperated.
Then steps in the knight in shining armor, my wonderful husband. He knew how hard I had worked and how crushed I would be to not have it to give so he suggested that we take my entire computer (mind you, I have a desktop, not a laptop) and set it up there and have the family gather round to watch it and then finish the DVD later and give them their copy after Christmas.

At first I wasn't sure, it sounded like a lot of trouble. There were all the cords, and the monitor and the speakers and the sub woofer and the keyboard and mouse, and don't forget the tower itself. Lorne offered to pack it up for me and set it up when we got there. I thought about it and I agreed, it would be better than nothing.

We headed over to my Uncle's house with a car full of presents and our overnight bags and my computer. We had a great Christmas Eve dinner - I cannot even tell you how good the food was, if you weren't there you absolutely missed out! We ate these amazing manicotti (I totally need the recipe) and a stuffed pork loin. I devoured my plate. It is good to have a chef for an uncle!After dinner, we read Jasmine Twas the night before Christmas and we baked cookies for Santa. She was so cute, I had bought her a little baking set from Bed Bath & Beyond and so she had an apron, a small cookie sheet, a rolling pin and some cookie cutters. We make chocolate chip cookies but we still used the shape cutters. Jasmine was totally into it. After we baked the cookies, we peeled some carrots for the reindeer (can't leave them out) and made some hot cocoa to go with the cookies. Jasmine was so excited to leave them out for Santa.It was then time for her to say goodnight to everyone and settle in for the night. We got her into her Christmas pj's and read the Christmas Story to her. It was so nice because my cousin Natalia came into the room and shared this moment with us and it was so nice to have her there. Jasmine loves her titi very much.After putting Jasmine to bed and indulging in some sweets for dessert, it was time to sit around and watch my creation. I have to tell you, I didn't expect the reaction I got. I knew the family would love it but I didn't expect the gratitude and emotion. It was truly the best gift to me - to see them loving the gift of the slide show. My abuela, uncle and mom were in tears and my uncle was especially touched and expressive in his thanks for the gift. It made me feel so loved that everyone loved the gift and I hope they all know how much I love them.

Midnight came and we had a toast and kissed each other to wish ourselves Merry Christmas. Then, as tradition goes, my uncle plays Santa and distributes the gifts to everyone. This has always been one of my favorite parts because he makes jokes and makes fun of us while he does it. This year he was on - and we were all rolling with laughter before all the presents were distributed.

Before the opening frenzy began, my aunt annouced that I needed to open the gift her and my uncle had gotten for me. I thought that was odd, and wondered what it could be that I had to open it in front of everyone. It was the most thoughtful and touching gift I received. They bought me a chef's coat embroidered with my business name, Occasionally Cake and my name and Executive pastry chef underneath it. It was such a sweet moment. It was also sweet because I had thought to purchase one for Marcia and I knew she was sitting there with it in a gift on her lap. I had her open hers and we posed for pictures. It was an awesome moment and I know my uncle is proud of me for continuing the line of business in the family. I guess deep down inside I always knew if someone was going to do it, it would be me.We all then opened our gifts and thanked each other and showed off our wares. Then Santa Lorne and Sabrina got to work, eating the cookies and leaving some crumbs, munching on carrot sticks and drinking some cocoa. We also had to put together some gifts and get all of Jasmine's things under the tree. I built the train and Lorne built Jasmine's power wheels pink Volkswagen Beetle. I was up until 5 am with my family as we finished watching the slide show and then went to bed. Thus ended Christmas Eve.