Daily Intentions: Christmas blog in January!

Well, I guess I was too busy celebrating the holidays to write about them and the past few weeks I have spent sooo much time on the computer searching for a job, that I couldn't get myself to sit and blog.

So- quick recap of the Czerwinski holiday celebration....
Christmas eve we usually begin at my dad's house since I have 3 younger brothers and we like to still pretend Santa is coming. Lets admit- its just more fun for everyone that way! During the day we took advantage of the snow-less Christmas and played some ice hockey on the perfectly smooth lake. I mostly just skate around which was I guess obvious based on the fact that people told me I was holding the stick the wrong way!

In the evening we went to a candlelight church service followed by a nice dinner of beef sandwiches.These past few years my dad and I have gone to Costco beforehand to plan out the menu. We were quite proud of how well the crock-pot beef sandwiches went over this year considering we have a large spectrum of picky eaters. We also didn't wait until the last minute to shop this year and since I am unemployed, I offered to wrap all the gifts (that was before I really realized how big of a commitment that was!) so everything came together pretty well in the end. Overall, especially compared to a few previous holidays spent in the hospital for random events, this Christmas was calm and relaxing.

The morning is always my favorite because we have our traditional homemade cinnamon rolls (which turned out only mediocre this year so I need to stick with the old recipe) and multiple cups of coffee while slowly opening gifts from each other and Santa.

Later in the afternoon we usually go to my mom's for a big dinner and we open gifts later in the night. My mom went way overboard with food (as usual) and made a turkey, ham, twice baked potatoes, famous tequillaberry salad, rolls, and of course dessert. This year we had brandy cake and cookies. She even told us to bring Tupperware for leftovers and we brought home food that lasted a week! My mom truly creates a Christmas wonderland with tasteful, elegant and well coordinated festive decor. The presents are perfectly wrapped with matching shiny bows! Everyone gets PJs to wear and way too many gifts (even though we are all adults now). I guess she needs some grandkids to spoil. This year I got a mixer and a handmade apron. It was by far the most relaxing Christmas ever and so wonderful to know I didn't have to rush back to Georgia after for school. I felt so blessed with a healthy happy family holiday!

After Christmas, the family time continued as we drove up to Michigan's UP for a ski trip at Indianhead. We all love skiing and its a great way to spend a family vacation since none of us can really sit still.

Dave and Dan

Bill and Matt

We were so grateful to have been invited to stay with the Andrews at their cabin. They invited my dad but we still aren't sure they realized we were a family of 7!?!? I have four brothers and Dan came along too. When we arrived they were all quietly reading by the fire and then our spitfire family took over the quietness.

Lots of fire-cooked s'mores

Jessie the cutest cabin dog!

Bill, John and Krista

David and Elizabeth

The Andrews cooked every night so we ate well on chili, breakfast burritos, spaghetti, ice cream, cookies, s'mores... and the list goes on. After skiing we had appetizers, played cards or games, had some cocktails and warmed up by the fire. It was like vacationing in a winter holiday greeting card! They were amazing gracious hosts and I especially enjoyed having women around too since I am always way out numbered.