And Many a Hall Was Decked

This Christmas was a goody.

Our morning tradition had a bigger attendance this year, being our first one with Jessi and Hanna joining us, not to mention it was Matthew's very first Christmas.


They arrived around 2:00 (our equivalent of morning) and Hanna took on the duty of passing out the presents.

I love a good hat.

Santa did great this year, I got some new speakers I had been hoping for, an excellent Superman statue, a whole bunch of DVDs including Once and the collector's edition of the soundtrack. I also got a really nice hat, just like my old Superman hat (minus the S emblem) which I lost that fateful night at the wine bar so long ago. I even got a lightsaber.

Add that to the DVDs Mikey got me, the awesome books Corey gave me, and the Festivus greeting from Eric, and I'd say I received quite the haul.

Giving gifts just gets more and more enjoyable each year. It was my pleasure to perform my unclely duty and give Matthew his first CD. I decided to meet our worlds halfway and give him For the Kids, a CD full of modern artists signing kids songs. It even has Raine and Chantal doing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.


Keeping to tradition, we loaded up and headed over to Grandma's, where Matthew met all of his crazy (in a good way) relatives.

Kayla holds Matthew
Erin takes a turn
Maude's in her element
My grandma and her great grandson

It was a nice and laid back time just eating, drinking, and visiting with everyone. At one point, I busted out one of the DVDs I got that morning. It wasn't just any DVD, it was a magical flashback DVD of epic proportions. Never did I think I'd find myself at the age of 25, sitting with Brendan, Jacqui, Jeff, and Ronnie as we watched Fraggle Rock.

Classic.


Later on, we all opened a couple more books. Mine were a beautiful hardcover edition of Justice, Volume 1 and a great looking 12" figure of the Cyborg Superman.

Photo by Brendan

As the night went on, everyone slowly filed out. We were the last to leave and got home at 10:30 after a long day.

Despite the total lack of snow, this Christmas really felt like Christmas, which I remember wasn't quite the case last year. It was really nice. And I'm glad.

Now I'll spend the days leading up to New Year's playing with my new toys. Ralphie better grab his Red Ryder BB gun and scram. This is how the big boys play.


Oh, and I got a pony too. His name is Bill.

Thankful

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
Well, it's been quite a day in Jacobland. I woke up just before noon and watched the end of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. I basically turned it on just in time to see Santa's appearance, which seemed a bit awkward to me. Don't get me wrong, I'm a Santa fan, Christmas is my favorite time of year, but the big guy didn't look well. He's always been a jolly old soul, but today he was extra jolly, I couldn't tell if he was HO-HO-HO-ing or if he was having a seizure. He was convulsing as though Rudolph rebelled and rammed an antler in an uncomfortable place. Santa, take it easy, you've got a busy few weeks coming up. Drink some tea or something, dude.
Anyway, if you're interested, I'd like to share a bit of my day with you all. My family and I headed over to Grandma's house around 2:00 to help her get everything ready. Everyone else started showing up around 3:00, the holiday fun begins. It was then that I met my new cousin, Faith, for the very first time. I know people say this about all babies, well, most, but she's just the most adorable little thing. She's got the biggest eyes and the cutest wild head of hair. Except for when she first got there, she didn't even cry, and even that was short lived, as if she was just briefly taken aback by all these new faces. It was so cool watching her eyes as they explored the room and studied everyone's faces, all of this information for her to take in. I couldn't help but smile as she looked at me with such a curious gaze, most likely wondering who I was.
Everyone gathered at the tables, 17 people in all digging into the holiday feast. Turkey, mashed potatoes, corn, rolls, a bit of applesauce, pudding, pumpkin pie...I'm still full.
I told my aunts, uncles, and cousins of my recent adventures in Toronto and Niagara Falls, they all seemed to enjoy it. My cousin, Jacqui, told of her internship where she'll be spending a semester working at Disney World. It's just so crazy hearing these stories, watching my cousins and realizing how much everyone's growing up.
As the day wound down, group by group the relatives left to go home or visit other family. As Uncle Joe and family left, my Aunt Mary brought little Faith over to me to say bye. As Faith looked at me this time, she gave me the cutest little smile, as though she had studied me enough and approved, she then cooed the cutest coo as I nuzzled her.
Mom and I headed home from Grandma's shortly after midnight, time just disappeared. It was a great day.
So, you may be curious, what am I thankful for? I'm thankful for family and friends, old and new, those who have just arrived and those who have passed on. I'm thankful for all the incredible things I've seen and experienced this past year. I'm thankful for the opportunities that have presented themselves to me that will hopefully grow into even more wonderful experiences over the next year or so.
Until next time, cheers. :)