The festivities began on Friday, December 21st when we went to Dickson and attended the Dickson County High School Christmas Concert. Austin and Arica were both involved in the choral program when they went there and it is tradition that at the Christmas concert, alumni are invited to join the current choirs on stage and sing "The Hallelujah Chorus" and "The Lord Bless You and Keep You". That was definitely the highlight of the concert for us.
We hung out with Austin's family in Dickson Friday night and all day Saturday. My awesome mother-in-law and I made and decorated Christmas cookies and Saturday evening concluded with a fun game of electronic monopoly with Austin's parents!
Sunday afternoon was the celebration with Austin's mom, maternal grandparents and siblings at his sister's beautiful new home. Arica and Dylan were gracious, fun hosts and the time together was special. We had an array of tasty goodies: Chick-fil-A nuggets, meatballs, chips and dip, veggie tray, cookies, candy, cheese and crackers, peanut butter fudge. Sadly, our nephew, Ewan, wasn't feeling very well, and my allergies were acting up, but it was good just to get to spend time with everyone. We received wonderful gifts: books, CDs, a racquetball racket, a beautiful apron for me made by my very talented sister-in-law, Leslie Ward, photos and other keepsakes. The most priceless gift however, was a collection of recordings by Austin's grandparents, telling their stories. We are so excited to listen to them! Such history!
As is customary at Ward family gatherings, we took a group photo! This one is definitely getting framed and put up in our house!
Left to right (starting in the second row): Austin, me, Nancy Zamora (Grandmomma), Al Zamora (Granddaddy), Arica, Dylan, Adam, Leslie, Ewan, Ailidh and Carol.
After the time at Arica and Dylan's, we hit the road and headed to Paducah (only after a slight detour on the incorrect interstate!!!) We listened to my new CDs, the "Walk the Line" Soundtrack and Two Cellos. Before we knew it, we were at my grandparents house!
Christmas Eve was spent mainly visiting, eating, meal planning, running to the grocery store and doing some last minute wrapping. Mom, Mary, Larry and Donna Maye (our precious puppy!) all came up from Atlanta. Out of my mom's three brothers, two of them live in Paducah with their wives, so we had a fun gathering for Christmas Eve dinner.
Christmas morning we all slept in, then Mary and I prepared a breakfast casserole for brunch. We were both excited to open our presents from "Santa" (the tradition has been that we open our stockings and presents from Santa in the morning, then open presents from family that evening after dinner), but since it was already mid-afternoon, we went ahead and opened up all of our presents- haha! Austin and I each brought one gift for each other. He gave me a gorgeous infinity necklace encrusted with tiny diamonds. I love it and have worn it often since! I gave him a wallet keychain, which he had been wanting (due to his keys having caused damage to several pairs of slacks!).
Christmas afternoon, we prepared for dinner that night with the entire family (minus Uncle Wesley and his family who arrived the day after Christmas). My mom's oldest brother, Uncle Richard, brought the most delicious, tender ham for the main course. We also had mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, corn pudding, Sister Shubert's rolls, grape salad (brought by Aunt Sherry), and mashed sweet potatoes with marshmallows. Everything was so delicious! Somehow we managed to squeeze everyone into that small kitchen!
After dinner was the gift exchange. It's so fun to watch everyone open presents and see wrapping papper and ribbons cover the floor. It makes me miss the my childhood days when it was considered "cute" to play in the wrapping paper. Now, I would get strange glances :-)
We concluded Christmas Day by going to the movies at 9:35 p.m., braving icy sleet to see "Les Miserables". Oh. My. Goodness. If you have not seen it, I HIGHLY recommend that you do so! The music, acting, costumes, set, history and the timeless theme of grace versus law are outstanding!
The next day we relaxed and looked forward to seeing my cousins, Michael and Matthew, and Uncle Wesley and Aunt Joan that evening. It was a joyous reunion when they arrived, as we barely missed each other last Christmas. We enjoyed a delicious meal from Texas Roadhouse, then Austin and I said our good-byes and headed back to Jackson!
I realized this after the fact, but we didn't take any pictures from our time in Paducah. Sad!
Sunday afternoon was the celebration with Austin's mom, maternal grandparents and siblings at his sister's beautiful new home. Arica and Dylan were gracious, fun hosts and the time together was special. We had an array of tasty goodies: Chick-fil-A nuggets, meatballs, chips and dip, veggie tray, cookies, candy, cheese and crackers, peanut butter fudge. Sadly, our nephew, Ewan, wasn't feeling very well, and my allergies were acting up, but it was good just to get to spend time with everyone. We received wonderful gifts: books, CDs, a racquetball racket, a beautiful apron for me made by my very talented sister-in-law, Leslie Ward, photos and other keepsakes. The most priceless gift however, was a collection of recordings by Austin's grandparents, telling their stories. We are so excited to listen to them! Such history!
As is customary at Ward family gatherings, we took a group photo! This one is definitely getting framed and put up in our house!
Left to right (starting in the second row): Austin, me, Nancy Zamora (Grandmomma), Al Zamora (Granddaddy), Arica, Dylan, Adam, Leslie, Ewan, Ailidh and Carol.
After the time at Arica and Dylan's, we hit the road and headed to Paducah (only after a slight detour on the incorrect interstate!!!) We listened to my new CDs, the "Walk the Line" Soundtrack and Two Cellos. Before we knew it, we were at my grandparents house!
Christmas Eve was spent mainly visiting, eating, meal planning, running to the grocery store and doing some last minute wrapping. Mom, Mary, Larry and Donna Maye (our precious puppy!) all came up from Atlanta. Out of my mom's three brothers, two of them live in Paducah with their wives, so we had a fun gathering for Christmas Eve dinner.
Christmas morning we all slept in, then Mary and I prepared a breakfast casserole for brunch. We were both excited to open our presents from "Santa" (the tradition has been that we open our stockings and presents from Santa in the morning, then open presents from family that evening after dinner), but since it was already mid-afternoon, we went ahead and opened up all of our presents- haha! Austin and I each brought one gift for each other. He gave me a gorgeous infinity necklace encrusted with tiny diamonds. I love it and have worn it often since! I gave him a wallet keychain, which he had been wanting (due to his keys having caused damage to several pairs of slacks!).
Christmas afternoon, we prepared for dinner that night with the entire family (minus Uncle Wesley and his family who arrived the day after Christmas). My mom's oldest brother, Uncle Richard, brought the most delicious, tender ham for the main course. We also had mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, corn pudding, Sister Shubert's rolls, grape salad (brought by Aunt Sherry), and mashed sweet potatoes with marshmallows. Everything was so delicious! Somehow we managed to squeeze everyone into that small kitchen!
After dinner was the gift exchange. It's so fun to watch everyone open presents and see wrapping papper and ribbons cover the floor. It makes me miss the my childhood days when it was considered "cute" to play in the wrapping paper. Now, I would get strange glances :-)
We concluded Christmas Day by going to the movies at 9:35 p.m., braving icy sleet to see "Les Miserables". Oh. My. Goodness. If you have not seen it, I HIGHLY recommend that you do so! The music, acting, costumes, set, history and the timeless theme of grace versus law are outstanding!
The next day we relaxed and looked forward to seeing my cousins, Michael and Matthew, and Uncle Wesley and Aunt Joan that evening. It was a joyous reunion when they arrived, as we barely missed each other last Christmas. We enjoyed a delicious meal from Texas Roadhouse, then Austin and I said our good-byes and headed back to Jackson!
I realized this after the fact, but we didn't take any pictures from our time in Paducah. Sad!
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