Christmas

Christmas was an eventful and exciting time in the Chopin household. We fulfilled our annual tradition by going to pick up our tree on December 6th, the feast of St. Nicholas. After scanning the selection of our favorite Christmas tree lot, we came across our humble and beautiful tree. We spent the evening making it look its best. The kids pitched in by helping hang ornaments and ribbon. And as every year, we took in a cup of cheer. It's fun to have these traditions. Hopefully the kids will look back and have fond memories of time spent decorating the tree.

Something Cindy decided to do this year was to personally decorate the gifts we were giving to family and friends. This allowed us to put a personal touch on each gift. The gifts were wrapped in a brown "canvas" wrap and then the creativity and artistic touch of the decorator transformed it into a loving, personalized token of love. Here are some examples...

Also a tradition for the Christmas season is the touring of the lights at the Acadian Village. The kids always enjoy the array of lights and they never get enough of the elf caricatures. And of course, soaking up the holiday sounds of Christmas music always puts our hearts in the right place.

This year we experimented with a gingerbread house. The kids enjoyed it. It was pretty messy but messy is fun, right?

Family time sent us all over the Acadiana area. From GiGi's to Grandma Dee's to even Mamou, our family spent a lot of time on the road. All visits were pleasant and we certainly didn't spare our wastelines. The kids were blessed with an abundance of gifts which brought them so much joy. But playing with cousins was just as joyous.

We went to Christmas Eve mass at the Cathedral and the Chopins were a part of the celebration. Since Beedle is a First Communicant, he was allowed to participate in the processional. He dressed as a wise man (knowing Beedle's affinity for costumes) and strolled in in advance of the Holy Family. Gracie and Gus also pitched in by singing in the children's choir. Their angelic voices brought a sense of peace and innocence to a beautiful mass. Later that evening, we came home and Cindy and I maintained our Christmas tradition--watching It's a Wonderful Life.

It was safe to say that the Christmas season was fully embraced by the Chopins. We felt a little stressed at times, but the peace of the season over-ruled. We hope your Chistmas season was fulfilling as well!