Well it’s been an exciting couple of weeks for Sean and I. Saturday December 20th we drove to Waco, TX to my Aunt Barbara and Uncle Mickey’s home for Christmas with my Dad’s family. I made a lovely ham, with some delicious sides and Dad cooked up some beautiful shrimp. I was very excited about the shrimp as I can’t eat pork, I’ve got a stomach issue with that particular meat. Anyway, I believe everyone enjoyed the meal and we had a great time catching up. I hadn’t seen my Pawpaw or my cousin Thomas in a while and it was great to sit back and just enjoy each others company. We were also able to meet Vanessa, Thomas’ new girlfriend. She was lovely and has a great sense of humor, she added a lot to our Christmas get together. We were only able to spend the day together, but it felt good to start the Christmas week off with family.
Then on Sunday December 21st we had some friends over for Sean’s 26th birthday. We enjoyed tamales and some other Mexican fare for the festivities. I believe all had a good time and I know for sure that the birthday boy did, as we got to play games. Though he was a bit disappointed when everyone had to leave but it was a Sunday evening and some had to work the next day. I assured him we would have people over again soon to indulge his board game fetish. Julie did stay a bit late and watched a movie with him, Wall-E. It was one of his birthday gifts.
Then Monday December 22nd we enjoyed the day relaxing and that evening we met Jenny and Chauncey at the Hula Hut for dinner. We were also lucky enough to see quite a bit of both of their families. We always have a great time catching up and enjoy the conversation. They were also nice enough to bring us real Swiss chocolate of which we don’t plan on sharing. 
It’s good to have friends who live in places where they make amazing food. During dinner we learned more about Jenny’s change in position at her place of work, which made me a bit jealous because she gets to travel a lot. We also got to congratulate the new Dr. Graetzel on completing and defending his thesis. He also enlightened us a bit about his new job with a start up in Switzerland. Obviously I could go on about the good conversation and as always the evening was too short, but we wish them the best and hope to see them again soon.
Then Tuesday, Sean’s parents and brother arrived in Austin to start the de la Haye Christmas festivities. We enjoyed a great meal at Shady Grove and then took them to their first ever tour of the Trail of Lights. This obviously has a special place in our hearts as it’s where Sean proposed to me and he did so exactly two years ago on his birthday. If you need a recap you can read this. Ahh the memories. These are the moments I truly love Austin.
Then on Christmas Eve, Sally and I did some work in the kitchen to produce a wonderful Christmas Eve dinner. I’d list the goodies but you might get hungry, as they were all wonderful. We then proceeded to talk the family into some games, I should note that Sean was very happy about this. Sally, Julie and I had to admit defeat to the men at one game, but I know we’ll kick butt in the rematch. After games Sean flamed his first pudding. For those of you that don’t know about this tradition you can read more about the pudding here. The flaming part is only briefly touched on but I can tell you it’s a great experience.
Christmas Day we woke up to stockings and gifts under the tree and I do believe that everyone enjoyed what they found. Though Sean and I received wonderful gifts I do believe the best part was watching others open what we had given. After gifts in the morning I proceeded to work in the kitchen in hopes of making Toutière. Sean always says there’s no such thing as Canadian food, but I do believe I could open a Canadian themed restaurant with the multitude of foods I’ve discovered to be traditionally Canadian. This would be one of them and I hope I made his Grandmaman proud, as this dish was one of Dickson’s mom’s specialties.
We spent the rest of our time with Sean’s family doing puzzles and relaxing. Friday came quickly and we went into a packing frenzy as we headed to Lake Jackson for Christmas with my mom and her family. Friday were were able to see our friends Adam, Beth and Hazel. It was great to spend time with them and unbelievable to Sean and I both how fast Hazel has grown. She’s past the baby phase and full sentences come out when you ask questions, I was so amazed and we’re blessed to have them all in our lives.
The next day we spent with mom, Larry, Mark and Dee. We enjoyed a beautiful meal and some great conversation. After dinner we opened gifts. As I said in an earlier post I tried to make many of the Christmas gifts we gave out this year. Our friends received baked goodies and family received many different things. One of the gifts I was most excited about was Mark’s. I put together a shadow box with things that were my mother’s father’s from his service in the military. I also made mom’s gifts, which were two of the hardest sewing projects I’ve had to date. I have to admit it felt even better giving when I’d put so much into it. The rest of the day was spent setting up electronics and looking a photos. Sean and I really had a nice time with the family, and as always it seems there’s never enough time.
We left Lake Jackson Sunday, and on our way out dropped in on some old friends. Sasha Tarrant was a professor both Sean and I had while attending Brazosport Community College. She’s always been an inspiration and a blast to chat with. Sean and I both don’t know how we’ve gone so long without seeing them but it was a real treat to catch up. We hope to see Sasha again soon when she’s up for a conference in February.
And as for New Years week, well we’ve enjoyed each others company and the time Sean’s had off from work. He’s only had to work a couple of days this week thus our place has been de-Christmased and is back in normal working order. We decided to have a low key New Years and went out for dinner with Adam and Jessica. Adam is leaving for Michigan and Jessica will follow in a few months once things are wrapped up here in Austin. We’re very happy Adam found a job and we wish them all the best in their new home, though we will miss their company.They had to leave after playing only a few board games last night, as they had an early flight out this morning, but they left us some champagne and told us to ring in the New Year in style. We stayed up baking cookies in my new pan and counted down to 2009.
Well I quit babbeling now, but from us both we wish everyone a Happy New Year!
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