Christmas Day 2012

We got an early morning Christmas present in the form of an absolutely gorgeous sunrise.  This was the view out Mom and Dad's kitchen window this morning:

One real sign the kids have grown up:  we didn't start opening presents until after 8am!

After a lovely Christmas dinner, the adults sat at the dining room table for awhile, catching up on each other's lives.  We watched the birds out the window for quite some time, and Erin captured some beautiful shots:

We also enjoyed seeing some wild turkeys, several bald eagles, and a golden eagle.

It was a peaceful, merry Christmas indeed.

Christmas Eve 2012

We got up while it was still dark and headed over the Mississippi and through the snow-white fields, making it to Mom & Dad's house by noon.  I jumped right in and started helping Mom with the final food preparations, which included divinity, a candy that tastes almost like a homemade marshmallow:

Christmas Eve Dinner Menu:

Prime Rib

Ham

Potato Casserole

Green Bean Casserole

Classic Iowa Sweet Corn

Grandma's Homemade Rolls

Grandma's Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

Cabbage Salad

Cranberries

Lots of sweet homemade goodies after presents

Intergenerational bonding always happens before, during, and after presents.  It's a Christmas Eve highlight for me to watch it in action:

Visiting Santa

I mentioned recently how I'm up against the "this is the last time..." when it comes to our Christmas traditions.  As we were planning out the Christmas season, I made it clear to the kids that I know they're getting older, but I have a collection of photos of the kids with the Marshall Field's/Macy's Santa every year, and I want one last pic of the three of them with Santa.  Thy balked.  I said, "Please."  They bellowed.  I said, "This is very important to me."  They caved!
We already did the Walnut Room and Christkindlmarket on Friday, but due to a time crunch on Friday evening, we put off Santa until this morning.  We scored street parking directly across from Macy's - truly a Christmas miracle,  Chicago style.  My favorite pics of the day:

The Walnut Room, 2012

As I've mentioned before, Kelsey's a senior this year, and Baird and I find ourselves saying to each other this is the last time... when it comes to some of our family traditions.  We know it's not like we'll never see her again, but we understand that things will be different next year.  She may or may not be home for the holidays in 2013.  We're working to try and balance long-standing family rituals and traditions with growing children who are leading increasingly busy lives.
It was in this context that we headed to the Walnut Room after the girls finished finals this afternoon.  The ornaments on the Walnut Room tree are average this year, but the decorations at the base of the tree are more stunning than any I remember:

And while my girls are certainly growing up, they were both willing to close their eyes and make a wish when the Christmas fairy came around and sprinkled her magic fairy dust:

It's Christmastime in the City