The Christmas season has certainly put a dent in my blogging frequency. At least I have a good excuse: we have been busy traveling to far-off lands – a.k.a. California! We spent a wonderful week with my family there, and now that we’re back home, it feels as if the whole trip was an exquisite dream from which I awoke far too soon.
Much to our delight, the girls traveled like seasoned pros. I know many of you were on the receiving end of my near-frantic requests for prayer prior to the trip. Thankfully, your prayers were mercifully answered, and the girls behaved like angels. It also helped that the Delta gate agents and flight attendants went to great lengths to accomodate our family. On all four legs of the flights (we had a layover each direction), we had at least one spare seat beside us on which to lay a sleeping child or two. I had worried that our fellow passengers would view our presence with a mix of dread and loathing, but my worst fears were avoided. No cheers of relief greeted our departure off each plane – in fact, we had several people congratulate the girls on how well they traveled.
Jim dubbed our time in California more of a "tour" than a vacation – and indeed, at times I did wonder if I had unwittingly given birth to miniature rock stars, given the crowds of adoring fans we received at get-togethers. I was very flattered by the attention paid to our girls (and very thankful for all the folks that were were willing to hold them for a while!). The girls handled the attention as if they had expected as much – they often fell soundly asleep while they were being admired. At least they were quiet!
Another indication that the girls took well to traveling and touring was that their normal eight hours of nightly sleep suddenly leapt into the realm of the too-good-to-be-true: they started sleeping 11-12 hours at night! My mom is convinced that their extended sleep pattern is an unequivocal indicator that the girls are Californians at heart. While I can’t discount that California is in their blood, I tend to think the girls were simply exhausted by the constant socializing. Perhaps they take after their mom – we are all tuckered out by talking so much!
We celebrated an early Christmas with my family, and this will definitely be a holiday to remember. We were blessed that my grandparents from Washington were able to fly down to celebrate with us and meet the girls. It was amazing and wonderful to have four generations under one roof!
My aunt and uncle drove in to spend time with us (and the girls, of course!). This was the first time my Uncle Bruce had seen them, and I think it was a mutual case of love at first sight.
My Gramma also met the girls for the first time. She has been my most devoted blog reader, so it was a thrill to be able to show her the real thing! Gramma brought out a bunch of pictures of me as an infant, and we concluded that although both girls definitely resemble Jim’s side of the family, Rebecca looks quite a bit like my baby pictures. Gramma even found a handmade cat family that my sister and I had played with as children, and I thought it was marvelously apropos that the mommy cat had two baby kittens attached with velcro! (Now if only I could figure out a way to velcro the girls onto my clothes…that would definitely free up my hands!).
The most unintentionally memorable aspect of this Christmas, however, was a project that my dad started. The simple purchase of a flat-screen TV necessitated a place to hang it. Dad decided the perfect spot would be in his "man room," formerly known as our family room (my dad christened it as such once he realized that my mom was consistently nixing his decorating ideas, and he seized one room in our house for his own in an unprecedented coup that created shock waves still reverberating within the Cole family). Of course, the TV was slightly too large to fit in between the stone columns of the fireplace, so dad enlisted the help of my granddad and my husband to alternatingly saw/chisel/pound/excavate the offending stone away. Their construction efforts resulted in massive amounts of dust that soon blanketed the household. Although I’m sure Dad tried to convince Mom that he was simply creating a white Christmas within our walls, it wasn’t exactly what Mom had in mind. However, Dad was determined, and after many hours of amateur masonry work, vacuum wielding, and heavy-object lifting, the TV was finally in place. And to all of our surprise (well, except Dad – he has an eye for these things), it looked great!
We had a very merry early Christmas, and the girls even got their own stockings. My grandmother had knit each of her children and grandchildren a large stocking personalized with their name and year of birth, and after my grandmother passed away, my aunt Christie took it upon herself to find the pattern and knit stockings for the next generation. It’s a wonderful way to honor Grandmother’s memory and continue the tradition. This year, the girls could almost fit inside their stockings!
A grand time was had by all. The girls had a ball with their Aunt Angie – I think Susanna inherited her infectious smile!
My Dad bonded with his granddaughters, and also kept them entertained by wowing them with his new Nintendo Wii.
My mom was able to snuggle and cuddle with the girls to her heart’s content (although I think her heart would have been content with much, much more!).
Saying goodbye was tough, but we’re praying that we will all be together again soon. We’re thankful for airplanes (oh, I can’t even imagine doing the 3,000 mile trip by car!), and especially for girls who travel so well – at least for now!
OH EMILY! I MISS YOU ALREADY! As I’m sure you can tell I have checked your blog at least 10 times within the past 2 days to see the pictures from your trip. I’m SO loving all the pictures and kind words from our “tour.” You do indeed have rockstars for daughters as they can steal your heart with one crinkle of their eyes 🙂 Thanks for being the BEST big sis and having such AWESOME kids!!
Thanks for posting all the great family pictures – I really enjoyed seeing everyone – I don’t think I’d seen Bruce or your Grandmother Sinift since your wedding. Your blog is a wonderful way for us distant family members to keep up with each other! Have a wonderful Christmas!
Love, Trish
Dear Emily,
What a great synopsis of our time together! Our week seems like a beautiful blur of joyous activities centered around friends, and family and faith. It was the countless prayers of so many people that contributed to such a healthy outcome to your precarious pregnancy. We are all rejoicing the precious new life that you are nurturing so well. Thanks for letting so many others share in this double miracle of God’s goodness.
You and yours helped our “Early Christmas” be one that I shall never forget.
Love Forever and Always,
Mom/Grammie
What wonderful memories! I’m glad to see your blog again! I was getting worried you may have ran away to some far away warm island! It looks like you had an amazing time! May you have a wonderful Christmas at home and keep the blogging coming! It keeps us all quite entertained!!! Merry Christmas!!!
God Bless-Brittny
It sounds like a wonderful trip. The pics are great. Thanks for the update on your visit to California. Wish we were closer to your folks and we could have seen you as well.
Love you,
Deanna