A quick recap of our Christmas experience in 2009.
Christmas Eve began with brunch at the house of these two adorable munchkins.
We presented their family with a copy of “You Are Special“. It’s a must-read, must-own in my opinion.
We made prepared an enormous brunch spread, with waffles (gluten-full and gluten-free), sausage, eggs, and Magleby’s/Kneaders syrup. I put myself in charge of getting the frame of the gingerbread house up while we ate breakfast.
That Husband and I had some minor disagreements about the syrup but it all worked out in the end.
After breakfast, all I wanted was a nap.
The promise of little candies in pastel colored bowls lured me away from the couch though.
Apparently I did a lot of this while decorating?
Martha would likely scoff at our efforts, but I’m feeling quite proud. Notice the “snow” falling in the top left photo? 
.
When we got home it was time to give That Husband his Christmas present. I wasn’t really planning on giving him anything but a few days before he came up I realized I could give him one of the things he talks most about wanting.
Was it a puppy, like That Sister said it was?
Nope, no puppy. Cake! Strawberry white chocolate from Simply Desserts, the bakery where we bought our wedding cakes from.
I think he likes his surprise.
I cut the cake up into sections, saran wrapped them (twice), wrapped them in foil (twice), and flew it all home to Texas with us to enjoy over the next few weeks.
Christmas Eve evening my dad’s side of the family came over for dinner and gift opening.
What did we have for dinner that night? Tacos. KISS was the motto for christmas this year.
And we couldn’t forget the green goop! It’s a must-have for this side of the family.
Time for presents!
I let Keestan know I did not approve of her mismatched socks. Tanaya presented several of us with the sweetest little scrapbook all about her. I loved it!
TH received his first gift from grandma A (this is definitely something you want to have happen), and baby got a gift as well!
One of my aunts makes jewelry and it’s always a treat to see what she’s giving us each year.
I think the best gift of the night were these frames of an image from my grandparent’s ranch, stamped with their brand.
The Andersen brand is everywhere in our family!
I gave two of my cousins a photo shoot as their gift, and That Sister rocked the latest in Utah fashion.
After all of the gifts were opened it was time for my favorite tradition of all — the Christmas sock! Reach your hand into one of grandpa’s tube socks and pull out as much change as you can.
Somehow I was able to dip my hand into the sock twice this year! Once for myself and once for the baby. Baby now has $7.49 in his/her piggy bank.
My first video with the new camera! As you can tell I need some practice with the focus.
2009 Christmas Sock from Jenna on Vimeo.
The next morning we woke up nice and late to open presents with my immediate family, the same way we’ve always done things. It looks like we ahve a ridiculous amount of gifts because my mom likes wrapping things individually so there is more to open. One of my gifts was a spatula wrapped in a box big enough to fit two pairs of shoes.
That Sister crafted 5 adorable onesies for baby.
I told her it was a gift worth $100 since the same type of onesies are sold on etsy for $15-$20 each.
We opened up one box and found a can of beans inside…
along with a check to cover the cost of a Beaba Babycook!
That Sister and her husband drove up which meant no suitcases to pack. They were more than happy to pack this home with them.
Not sure why I am making this face but as you can tell I was ridiculously excited about the robe my parents gave me from Nordstrom. It’s like going to the spa every time you get out of the shower.
That Sister is taking this coat back because it doesn’t fit right. Sad, huh?
And then we learned about the jeans.
My brother-in-law is such a good sport for showing off these jeans for you.
That Sister got a shootsac! She’s going to love it (I absolutely adore mine).
Dad got new luggage.
But when we used the new luggage scale we got we learned the bag weighed 12 lbs so I think this gift is getting returned too.
The last gift of the morning? A plane ticket from Th & I to That Sister so she can visit baby next Spring.
Christmas day ended with a family portrait session out in front of our house (photos coming soon!) and a night spent out at my maternal grandparent’s house (no pictures from that because by this point I was exhausted. We look forward to having the same experience two years from now!
To our dear friends and family,
Only one year ago we were writing about wedding memories and looking forward to our first Christmas spent in Poland, it’s hard to believe how much has changed since then.
That Husband is still working at “the company” after being offered the chance to extend his contract for one more year. He is currently working on MBA program submission applications, though as we have explained to friends and family many times, nothing is for sure in our life until we are unpacking the car and moving into our new place. If all goes as planned we hope to be moving somewhere northeast of Texas next Fall.
For now we are living in Irving, a small suburb just outside of Dallas, feeling quite blessed to have such mild winter weather after another blazing hot summer. Jenna’s cousin and her family moved down to Dallas a few months ago which means we can finally say we have family close to us! We loved spending Thanksgiving with them this year.
After a few days spent in Vegas at a photography convention with her mother Jenna decided to launch a photography business of her own, Jenna Cole Photography. That Husband is hoping that this venture will give him the chance to someday add “retired” to his resume, although much to his dismay it doesn’t look like that will be happening any time soon.
Within the past year we’ve somehow managed to live in three different wards, giving us the opportunity to hold a variety of different callings. We were ward missionaries, have been blessed to serve as ordinance workers in the Dallas temple, and Jenna is currently serving on the activities committee while That Husband serves as a ward clerk.
Oh yeah, we almost forgot… we’re having a baby! We’re pleased as punch to be providing the first grandchild to both of our parents, although we’ve heard a few grumbles from those who wish we were going to find out whether our Christmas should be themed blue or pink. Jenna likes surprises though so we are going to wait until April to find out. Spring can’t come soon enough for us!
Other than welcoming a new baby our plans for the next year involve moving off to business school and a trip to Poland for the once-in-a-lifetime chance (at least for Jenna) to take part in a Polish wedding when we fly out for That Husband’s sister’s nuptials the second weekend in October. Who wouldn’t want to celebrate their second wedding anniversary in Europe?
I’m sure we’ll be writing about many other exciting yet-to-be-planned adventures in our 2010 Christmas letter. We hope that you and your family were as blessed as we were this year, and that you will continue to be so.
Love,
That Husband, Jenna, and Baby
Mom said she would set up the tree, but wait for me to fly in to decorate it. Then I realized I wanted That Husband to participate in this annual tradition with me, so we put it off until two nights ago.
Mom sat on the floor unwrapping ornaments and attempting to guess who they belonged to when they hadn’t been labeled properly. My mom has presented That Sister and I with an ornament each year and opening them up to see what she came up with that year is one of my favorite traditions.
This year my ornament is (what else?) a pregnant lady holding a tub of ice cream in one hand and a jar of pickles in the other.
It’s a good match don’t you think?
This shot makes me laugh.
TH surprised me by saying that he actually liked decorating the tree. Yay! I hope that means he will be willing to buy and decorate one of our own next year as we aren’t planning on coming back to WA every other year which means next year we’ll be on our own.
A closeup of my 2009 ornament hanging on the tree. Don’t you love it?
This year That One got an ornament as well. Mom bought one in pink and one in blue since we don’t know if it’s a boy or girl.
Each of my mom’s children has a Precious Moments figurine on the tree. The sweet little fisherman in the corner belongs to my baby brother, who passed away at birth.
Out of my 24 ornaments, this one might be my favorite. I received it the year I participated in the Junior Miss program, where I placed as a finalist and spent the summer touring parades throughout Washington.
The phrase on her crown is my favorite, “Actual Princess of Some Place Grand.”
That’s me!
The finished tree! Now it feels like Christmas.
I stepped off the plane in Washington last Wednesday and the next day life started moving at a million miles an hour. Both sets of grandparents live within an hour of each other (and my parents live in the middle), so when I come home I get a lot of family time in.
My mom’s parents are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary this December so we spent a few days last week celebrating with that side of the family, a bit of Christmas before Christmas if you will.
My two days of family time started with a trip to my former elementary school to watch a few cousins sing. It was all exactly the way I remembered it. The same lady is still leading the music!
This little photographer wanna-be cracked me up. He snuck up to the front for every number and held the camera high over his head to take some pictures. I wonder if any of those pictures turned out? I hope my kids are this enthusiastic about taking pictures.
You can spot one cousin grinning at me in the left photo, third from the left on the back row, and the other wearing a blue shirt completely dedicated to the song in the middle of the frame.
Later that evening 6 of my greandparents 7 children, their spouses, and a few grown-up grandchildren (like myself) got together for dinner at Applebees and a night with Manheim Steamroller.
Grandpa.
My funny mom.
Grandma and Grandpa were presented with a triptych of photos my mom took. They loved it.
I snuck a few photos at the concert. The graphics were cheesy but the band definitely knew how to rock out. The woman who played the recorder was my favorite.
My great-grandma. Isn’t she darling?
Is it weird to take a picture of your uncle’s bum because you like his wallet?
Harvest is over but the packing shed is still running full-time so my dad is still working crazy hard. I won’t tell whether he made it through the entire concert with his eyes open.
My grandparents and their kids (minus one brother). I’m not sure what that peace sign is all about.
The sisters. Our family gatherings are pretty crazy, as you can probably guess from a photo like this.
When you own the camera you don’t get your picture taken very often. I look so different in photos than what I see in the mirror!
My parents. Love them!
The happy couple, still smiling after 50 years. I hope TH and I are just as smiley 49 years from now.
This family gathering we went a little fancier than usual with gouda, brie, and blue cheese, along with our usual snack of cheddar.
My aunt and her family are selling potatoes (they started selling them out of Target parking lots) so baked potatoes were the main dish that night. I took this picture after everyone had already eaten!
Because these grandparents are dairy farmers they always get gift boxes of cheese/meat/crackers which they share with all of us.
That darling great-grandma you saw pictured above makes the best cookies. The chocolate chip are my favorite.
The adults gathered around the dining room table.
While the teenage boys took over the video game consoles. The teenage girls? They tucked themselves away into different nooks and crannies throughout the house for some girl time.
The youngest kids? They took over the racquetball court (yes, my aunt’s house is the coolest ever) to play a game called “butt ball”. To play you throw the ball at the wall, and then you (or someone else) tries to catch it when it bounces back. If the ball bounces off you in any way you have to run toward the wall before someone else picks it up and throws it (at the same wall you are currently running toward, I found it a bit scary). If the ball reaches the wall before you do you get a b, then u, then t, etc etc. I liked it!
I joined in for a few rounds to try to burn off some of the chocolate chip cookies I ate, with strict warnings that my belly was off limits and no craziness around me would be tolerated.
When I stepped off the plane two days earlier I told my mom “I still don’t feel like I look pregnant”. What the heck was I thinking?
I handed over my camera to a responsible cousin while I played and asked her to take pictures for me. The portraits that resulted crack me up.
I snuck home with my dad shortly after this and collapsed into bed after two full days of family fun. Don’t mind the water spot on my chest, as my belly grows so does my chest, and I’m a bit clumsy in my new body. The little kids definitely got a kick out of it.
Now that Christmas is almost here I think I’m ready to do it all over again.
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