Family Photo 2022

“Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmastime.” ― Laura Ingalls Wilder

This is Trevor and my first family Christmas photo with my adult children.  Unfortunately, my daughter has been absent.  I chose the colors blue and beige for the theme color this year.  It's not my regular color, and I definitely prefer red, but I figure nobody wants Christmas colors in frames all year long.  Blue is less "Christmassy" and can be viewed all year.  Our initial spot to be photographed was by reservation only (I did not know this), and then our second location was extremely sunny, so rather than keep trying for a better place, we decided we would get something to eat first.  

After brunch, we found a different location in a building with Spanish architecture, and thought that it was amazing enough to try for a good photo.  

So, this is the best photo of the bunch and will be used in Christmas cards this year.

My sons have gotten so grown up, and I am so happy to have been able to document the holidays over the years.  

New Ornaments

“My idea of Christmas, whether old-fashioned or modern, is very simple: loving others. Come to think of it, why do we have to wait for Christmas to do that?” ― Bob Hope

My mother-in-law, Jodie, is the best.  She always sends us a Mele Kalikimaka or an Island Heritage ornament every year.  This year, she's been in Washington but still lives in Hawaii.  She went back to Hawaii and picked us up two cute ornaments.  One is the Lucky Cat and the other is Santa and Mrs. Claus.  I actually had the exact Santa and Mrs. Claus ornament on my Amazon Wishlist, so I went ahead and deleted it.  I'm so excited.  This year, we will be living in a new place and hope to be able to use my Christmas ornaments if we can get unpacked soon enough.

Kiss Me Under the Donut

“The donut dunked herself in coffee But burnt herself in the process And despite the scars she bore She was delicious anyways” ― Brendan Bigney, Atomic Kiss 

 Trevor and I went to the Donut Life Museum (now closed) and on the way out, he wanted to kiss me under a donut, just like we would under the mistletoe. He HAS to have a mistletoe for Christmas. This is reason #847 why I love him so much.

I wrote this on November 16, 2012 in a Facebook post:

Mistletoe was held sacred by the Norse, the Celtic Druids and the North American Indians. The Druid priests would cut mistletoe from an oak tree with a golden sickle. The branches had to be caught before they touched the ground. 

They then divided the branches into many sprigs and distributed them to the people, who hung them over doorways as protection against thunder, lightning and other evils. The folklore continued over the centuries. It was believed that a sprig placed in a baby's cradle would protect the child from goblins. Giving a sprig to the first cow calving after New Year would protect the entire herd. 

Mistletoe is a symbol for peace and joy. The idea originated in the ancient times of the Druids: whenever enemies met under the mistletoe in the forest, they had to lay down their arms and observe a truce until the next day. From this comes the custom of hanging a ball of mistletoe from the ceiling and exchanging kisses under it as a sign of friendship and goodwill.