Christmas 2009

This year for Christmas Becka's mom, twin sisters (Beth and Hannah), and younger brother John came down to visit us for their Christmas break. During their stay we were also joined by Louisa (Becka's friend from College and Ramona's Godmother), who was traveling up and down the east coast for her holiday break. We had such a great time with them while they were down here.

On Christmas Eve we went to the Christmas Pageant at the Episcopal Church in town. We are currently searching for a church to attend, and we thought Christmas would be a great time to check out a service. After a lovely pageant we headed home to trim the tree and enjoy a dinner of homemade pizza, and open Grammy Lynn's traditional Christmas Eve gift of New Pajamas!! Wyatt received TWO pairs of Thomas the Tank Engine PJ's, and Ramona received the cutest pair of reindeer pajamas!!
The next day (Christmas) we slept in until 8am and then started to work on our breakfast quiches. The Kazimer Family came over around 10am to enjoy a Christmas Brunch and open presents. It was nice to do Christmas a little later; something we know will change once Wyatt, and Ramona start understanding the holiday. We were very blessed this holiday. Wyatt got plenty of trucks and games, and he even got a play tent w/tunnel from Grammy Lynn which he loves playing in. Ramona got an Exersaucer, some board books to chew on, and her FIRST TOOTH!!! For a family gift we got a membership to the YMCA which we have been putting to good use. That evening for we went to work cooking our Christmas Feast. We decided to be daring this year, so we steered clear of the traditional dishes and came up with our own Mediterranean Christmas Menu.

The Kimble Family Mediterranean Christmas Menu
Appetizer: Pita Chips and Hummus, Black and Green Olives
Salad: Cranberry Walnut Spring Mix Salad with Blue Cheese, Tomato and Feta Salad
Main Course: Grilled Leg of Lamb Marinated for Two Days in a Rosemary and Lemon Greek Yogurt Marinade, and Baked Potatoes
Dessert: Eclairs and Cream Puffs
We are very proud of ourselves for pulling this meal off, and we're looking forward to trying more daring recipes in the future.

The next day we went down to Ft. Myers where we all met up with Tracy and Terry Schwab (our friends from Wyoming), at the Thomas Edison/Henry Ford Estates. We had a great time catching up with old friends and watching Wyatt run around the beautiful gardens of the estate. From there we took the Kazimer family to Sanibel Island to show them the Gulf Coast. John and Hannah stayed ashore while Grammy Lynn and Aunt Beth both took turns conquering the waves. It was nice to be able to enjoy the beach at sunset.
For the rest of the stay we enjoyed lounging around the house, playing with all the new toys and games everyone had gotten for Christmas and eating delicious food. We also got a chance to go up to Dunnellon to see Becka's Great Uncle Harry and his wife Jean. We had such a lovely visit with them and we enjoyed hearing Harry's state trooper stories, and Harry and Jean's golf tales. We also got a kick out of Aunt Jean's collection of musical Christmas Animals.

The next day we said our goodbye's to Louisa, as she headed off on the next leg of her road trip adventure. It was so great having her with us during the holiday, we feel blessed to have such an amazing friend.
The rest of the day was spent enjoying each others company and getting in a few more games. That night we said our goodbye's to the Kazimer Family since they had to leave for Boston early the next morning. I think we can all agree that the week went by way too quickly!! It was sad to see them go, we had such a great week together, and it was great watching Wyatt and Ramona interact with everyone. We are so thankful that they were able to make the trip down here.

The remaining part of Bill's Winter Break we've spent getting the house back in order, and organized for the start of Becka's school year. Becka will be starting class on January 6th every Mon and Wed night. It looks like it's going to be a very busy New Year but we're looking forward to all the challenges and fun times ahead. We've made a family resolution to become more healthy and active parents, and to put aside more time for family time. This will be really important since we will all be going in so many different directions from now until June. See y'all at the end of the school year:D We hope everyone else had a wonderful Christmas/New Year's full of love, and happiness!!
Love,
The Kimble Family