Have Christmas...Will Travel

We have always had to be a little creative with  the time and date of celebrating Christmas with my side of the family.  This event took place on Sunday, the 20th. You would think that with all of us living in the same small town this would be a simple task.  It is always more complicated than it first appears.  Add a pilot and a nurse and the various extended families to the mix and we just take what we can get.

This year we had to be a little creative with the venue as well.  Dad was in the hospital.  Couldn't do Christmas without him.  Since he couldn't come home to be with us, we moved the party over to him.  Have you ever celebrated Christmas at your local hospital in the cardiac rehab department?  As you will soon see, it makes for some pretty interesting pictures.

It all started traditionally enough.

Adult table.

Kids table.  Yes, we like it like that.

Adults partaking.

Kids partaking.

Kleyton partaking all by himself.  Kleyton takes a little longer to partake than the rest of the kids.

We also had the toddler in the traditional velvet Christmas dress.

Hi Lizzy.

Don't you look just like your momma?  Beautiful.

From there we moved the party, and an awful lot of presents to the cardiac rehab room at the hospital.  Otherwise known to me as "work".

Sheesh.  Think there are enough presents? And look, Charlie Brown forgot his tree again.

Here's the man of the hour! Hi Dad!  Glad we could join you!  That's my older brother Don.  We used to tell people we were twins and they would believe us.  I think we could still get away with that.

Here's the gang.  Like I said, it makes for an interesting picture with a crash cart and treadmill in the background.  We told the kids that if they didn't behave we would get out the defibrillator or make them run a mile on the treadmill.

See?

Everyone had to tow the line.  Even toddlers in velvet Christmas dresses.

What is up with these two?  Feeling the Christmas love?  We are marking the date on our calendar and will check back with Nate and Tanya in 9 months....

Even after 12 years, The Captain still wonders what he got himself into.

Actually, he got himself into a wicked game of Twister.

You are in big trouble, Honey!

And Nate, so are you... that left foot on red will get you every time.

May not be your traditional Christmas in some ways, but yet in many ways it was.  We were together for a few hours, we took a break from our crazy busy lives just to hang out over some good food and a couple games of Twister.  And Dad was there.  Dad was there.  Words cannot express.

All this because (excuse the cheesiness) two people fell in love.

Merry Christmas!