Feliz Navidad - Part 2

Christmas Day started with a bang. Henry woke at 6 AM wearing his red Santa pj's and ready to see what the elves had left him at Grandma and Grandpa's in Blackwell. We left the house at 7:30 and made it to B-well by 9:15...not bad. In fact we made it all the way to Grandpa's drive before we got stuck. We tried plowing through the mammoth drift, but nothing we did worked...nothing but the shovels Wade and Grandpa finally resorted to later that afternoon.

Ann's fiance, Omar, arrived soon after we did and the Christmas festivities began. Grandma's breakfast casserole and famous poppy seed bread, stockings, gifts, Chevy Chase and Christmas Vacation, Henry trudging through the snow with Pa Pa (this is as close as Henry gets to actually saying "Grandpa"...he latches on to the last syllable) to feed the dogs, a game of spoons, Apples to Apples, and dodge ball with Henry. Henry was having so much fun, he tried his darndest not to nap, but finally fell fast asleep on his Aunt Ann's lap late that afternoon.

Aunt Ann and her sweet fiance, who we all adore.


Henry's favorite part of opening gifts was his stocking. Treasure after Hot Wheel treasure. We have discovered that Henry absolutely LOVES cars. Had Santa known $0.99 Hot Wheels would be such a hit, every package under the tree would have had been filled with metal.






Pistol in its holster, and cars lined up on the coffee table. Ah, to be one again...


What else did Santa leave?


Oh boy! I think I know what it is, Daddy!


Let me see...shake, shake, shake...yep, definitely a wooden block w/ beads.


I must have been such a good boy!


Thank you Santa, and Baby Jesus...for giving us the greatest gift of all.

Every morning this month while I was getting Henry dressed we talked about Baby Jesus, the Christmas story, and how Christmas was a time to celebrate Jesus' birth. Happy Birthday, Jesus, we would say.

Henry helping Grandma ice the cinnamon rolls.




Saturday the entire Riseling family gathered at Grandmother Happy and Papa Bo's. Madison was there, guitar in hand, to sing her lyrics to The Riseling's House.

The Riseling’s House

You’ve got kings in the corner,
And ice cream in the fridge.
Papa’s smokin’ cigars,
And Happy’s playin’ bridge.
You’ve got Mitsy up in Papa Bo’s lap,
People are always hollerin’
When Henry’s tryin’ to nap.

CHORUS:
Christmas is always whiter at the Riseling’s house,
Spaghetti-O's taste better at the Riseling’s house,
See a man about a cow at the Riseling’s house,
At the Riseling’s house.

You’ve got Clark Griswold always on the television,
Teeth in, Teeth out, it’s a big decision.
Brown colored ketchup,
And out-of-date food.
Papa’s golf swing puts me in a good mood.
Pick up some hang yangs in the red Chevy nova,
Papa’s giving Mitsy the leftovers.

CHORUS

You’ve got Linda, Lesa, Creyton, Carol, and Larry.
Grandkids, Great-Grandkids, Had Snitsy and Mitsy.
They met years ago on New Year’s Eve,
Made a beautiful family with all these memories.

CHORUS

After singing and reliving Riseling memories, a sinful game of Dirty Santa ensued...Wade and I walked away with a broken candle and book about how to make the world's greatest cupcakes. Other gifts included a Chia-Obama, blender, board games, snuggies, and much, much more. Laughter became more intense with ever gift opened.

After Dirty Santa, we packed our bags yet again to begin our journey home. We met the Shaw family for dinner at Texas Roadhouse to bid our final farewell to Uncle Garland, Tia Carolina, and Cousin Ricky. We hope to see you sometime this summer!