Married Christmas

Another eventful Christmas season has come and gone once again. This one was special, of course, because it was our first Christmas as a married couple. I suppose we were fortunate, in a way, to have been able to see my side of the family a few weeks ago when we gathered for Grandma's funeral in Cedar Rapids, so in a way we were able to celebrate with both sides a bit this year.

Vivian and I spent our Christmas Eve in Bellevue. We dropped by the Bellevue Christian Center, Vivian's old church, to attend their candlelight service. They had a couple very cute skits and several of our favorite Christmas songs to sing together. After the service, we drove up the road to have dinner with Vivian's parents and open a couple presents. It was a memorable occasion for me, because I got to learn for the first time that there is, in fact, a big difference between "yams" and "sweet potatoes." I'd grown up calling those orange things mashed up with marshmallows and brown sugar "sweet potatoes." In fact, sweet potatoes seem to be golden yellow mashed things that you dress up with butter and garlic instead. At least that's the way Jack does it.

We opened a couple presents, including Dilbert on DVD and a book on marriage from my parents, and Vivian surprised me with a lovely pair of black dress shoes! They'll be perfect for dancing once I break them in.

On Christmas Day, Vivian and I made some bacon and eggs for breakfast together and watched It's a Wonderful Life on the couch, snacking on some egg nog and pumpkin pie fudge throughout the morning. We also opened more presents. Vivian gave me the Star Wars Robot Chicken video, which was hilarious, and I gave her a sushi starter kit among other things.

We gathered at Vivian's parents' house together that afternoon. We stuffed ourselves with hors d'oeuvres, and then filled what space we had left with turkey, stuffing, and green bean casserole. Vivian invited Eric and her friends Sherry and Rob to join us. My brother Nathan also came. Sherry is quite an artist, so we enjoyed passing a sketchbook back and forth and "improving" one another's artwork. We opened our stocking presents later, which included such trinkets as a colored pencil frog, a boxing snowman pen, and mismatched socks. After the presents, some friends left and others came to play an extended two-hour game of cut-throat solitaire together before calling it an evening.

I was busy getting photos and video here and there and put together a brief video summary of the season for you all below. It includes footage of our Christmas tree, Vivian's office Christmas party, and gathering at her parents on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

Merry Christmas, everybody! We'll see you all next year.