Christmas with my family is primarily centered around going to church on Christmas Eve at my brother's church in Lowell. Secondarily, it is focused on food, and finally there are the presents. On the drive down to the Carolinas, we read some books in the back of the car; I just started Quicksilver, a novel about the dawn of the age of reason, and Laura perused her Snowflake book as we heard it might snow for Christmas. We arrived to a luncheon feast of piggies-in-a-blanket, spinach and pumpernickel bread, meat balls, shrimp, and cheese and crackers. Everyone then bundled up for the evening service at Matt's church; my favorite part is always the lighting of candles for Silent Night, and I try to keep my candle lit as long as possible. I used to have fun letting wax melt on my hand, but those days have passed. Ernie arrived after the service, and we snacked again before heading off to bed, with sugarplums and all running through our heads.

Christmas morning, we were awoken bright and early by our nephew Will (at the encouragement of Matt) to see the delights under the tree. There were many, many presents exchanged and we enjoyed seeing all of them, both gifts and given. Our breakfast was make-ahead-eggs and a very tasty make-ahead french toast. We opened presents in traditional Rich fashion, one at a time, saying "ooh" and "ahh" and "Thank you" for each one, until just after noon, a rather quick one for the record books! Lunch was a tasty ham and turkey meal made by Mom with all the trimmings and fixings of mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberries and sweet yams. Ernie had an evening flight back to Florida, so we said our goodbyes and hope to see him longer this summer sometime, and we all went to bed early, with sounds of kids toys ringing in our ears. Sam's first christmas brought many new noisemakers to the house, and he and Will enjoyed the festivities immensely