yes, these were happy, happy, holidays for us. how was the 2019 holiday season for all y'all? (borrowing kensey's texan drawl) it was a christmas wish come true for me with all of my children and their spouses here together at home. but i'm getting ahead of myself. let's begin at the beginning of this holiday season....thanksgiving. paul and i drove to provo, utah to attend the grand meyer thanksgiving table at his sister tessa's home. she is always game and generous and giddy for a large party and has an expansive room wherein to set a meyer table for 24. so we did. grandparents mervyl and gerry sat at the head with four generations in the surround. we'd driven in from california, colorado and around the state to savor this time together yet the 21 family members still not in attendance were truly, truly missed. it was also so nice for paul and i to spend the holiday with sebastian and maddi as well as our dear gabi.
after the big thanksgiving weekend, my mom joined paul and i on the trip home so she and i could spend time together as paul flew out the next day for a long business trip to the southern hemisphere. my mom and i lunched out, visited some of my favorite boulder hot spots, finished up a few christmas projects as my mom is an ace at knitting and crocheting and then settled down each evening to watch a christmas movie from my expansive christmas classic movie collection: white christmas, the bishop's wife, the shop around the corner, it happened on 5th avenue, it's a wonderful life...... it was also my sister's twins' 13th birthday so my mom and i invited lila and ryan over to celebrate and make gingerbread houses. james, their 16 year old brother, wanted to come too! you guys are the best.
on to christmas...gabi arrived first and as usual, got the party started. then sebastian and madison arrived with their dog smudge and settled in. nicole and brandon flew in saturday afternoon, it was so so good to see them, and then that night ben and kensey drove in from dallas where they had spent time with kensey's family after arriving from prague. finally, margo and andrew arrived sunday evening with their dogs nigel and arnold after two days drive from northern california. so, all safely here and accounted for. phew. it was all too wonderful and almost too much to take in. i wanted our six days together to go slow-mo. to see my sons together, to hear margo and gabi's familiar guffawing laughter, to have dogs running around and to hear constant food making kitchen noise and the piano at work truly was music to my ears. speaking of music, sab and gabi were asked to perform at church the sunday before christmas so before margo and andrew arrived sunday evening the rest of us went to church together to hear gabi sing the first noel for the congregation with sebastian beautifully accompanying her on the piano which invoked tears all around and a heartfelt joyous beginning to this family christmas.
paul and i did a bit of planning for this family time. we made sure we fit in a hike together with the dogs and everyone, but mostly we planned in the food/dinner department. the first night, paul made a beautiful spaghetti bolognese, another night a delicious seafood chowder. christmas eve is our big and i mean paul's best over-the-top holiday dinner with my sister and her family in attendance, christmas morning is set for our favorite breakfast casserole served at gift opening intermission (i promise christmas morning with the family is still a highlight of the year!) and christmas day is a graze your way through the day to end with our traditional raclette christmas night. we didn't want to organize family outings (oh, except for my you-have-no-choice-but-to-attend-the-family-christmas-card-photo-shoot) as we figured everyone wanted to have as much downtime together as possible without distractions and obligations leaving time open for spur of the moment whims which ended up being - hey, let's........go to the buff for breakfast...go to pearl street and finish our christmas shopping...all get in the hot tub...play scattergories...take the dogs for a walk...go see the movie little women...take the motorcycles out...wrap presents...look for a recipe and make an egg nog cake for christmas eve dinner with italian frosting and carmelize it with a butane torch right at the table for a dramatic effect...start the puzzle...meet for lunch at cosmo's...play stupid deaths. we were also surprised by heartfelt visits from our children's friends. da boyz, sab and ben's high school besties and fellow band members, made a point of spending a lot of time together again while they could. (photo by the barn) i couldn't help but remember the many years and happy times they've shared. these guys have all grown into amazing men and have made their dreams come true. this group consists of an architect, a story producer for a television series, an opera singer, a financial analyst and an actor/singer who hits the big screen later this year! i love that each of them have made it a priority to keep each other as well as music, in its various forms, a part of their life.
i was determined to capture this very special occasion of being all together with a family photo. i had some ideas for the shoot and consulted with gabi's dear friend and master photographer caroline. she was game. so we scheduled the shoot and i gave clear instructions to everyone of the list of colors they could wear (black, white or winter white, denim, plaid, christmas red), time (2:00pm monday afternoon) and place (barn, west side). i don't demand my way very often with my husband nor children but after all these years, they all know i am serious and in charge when it comes to the family photo. it's rather an interesting/fascinating change of energy (i kind of bask in it :). so you better believe it, everyone was there on time, dressed and waiting for my cue. my vision was a moment captured in time of the reality of our family life with paul and i hand in hand holding down the fort, looking forward, resisting distraction so we are prepared for whatever challenges (we know they are coming) or opportunities (we know they are fleeting) lie ahead for our family as the combined chaos and energy of each of our children happens around us with their individual personalities focusing on their full, fun lives knowing their family is always close and there supporting them. for design, i wanted the barn we look at each day at home to furnish the background with its beautiful distressed wood color. i wanted the dogs to be a part of the family photo as well as they are legit family members and very dear to everyone. the wreaths were to be a stabilizer, giving the eye a festive connection amidst the movement. we purchase these wreaths every year to support our children's high school choir department and its holiday fundraiser event. the wreaths have been a constant festive feature in our home each christmas since we first moved here 15 years ago. so, caroline had quite a challenge to portray! but, after a few shots (okay, 200) caroline nailed it!! i mean, how in the world did she perfectly capture the moment with not only paul and i looking at the camera, and no one else, but each of the adorable dogs as well! brilliant. thank you, thank you caroline. i was able to post this family treasure of a photo on social media in time to convey very, merry christmas wishes but then ordered happy new year cards to be sent out with our family's best wishes for a wonderful 2020. as 2019 comes to a grand end, what is in store for you this brand spanking new year?
.....happy new year to you.....
Families are the
compass that guides us.
They are the inspiration
to reach great heights,
and comfort when
we occasionally falter.
- Brad Henry
No comments:
Post a Comment