Christmas 2024

It was a perfect Christmas for the Judds this year! Since Clara now has a part-time job, at American Eagle Outfitters, the family celebration needed to be in Houston. That was OK with me, because it meant I didn't need to put up a tree or decorate our house. (I must be getting old!) I did, however, do quite a lot of cookie-baking. Some of the French cookies went to friends here in Temple, and some traveled with us to Houston. 

On Sunday, December 22, Tim drove from Albuquerque to our house. He spent that night with us, and the next morning the three of us traveled, in two cars, to Houston. (Tim likes to have his own wheels while there, so he can be a bit more independent.) 

As is our custom, we had our big holiday dinner on Christmas Eve, and since Clara was scheduled to work that afternoon and evening, we feasted at noon. It worked out perfectly, and the meal was lovely, thanks to Kelsey's delectable side dishes - pasta salad, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, hot rolls - which accompanied the ham that I brought.

Christmas morning started with Kelsey's hot-out-of-the-oven Monkey Bread.

After breakfast, the kids opened their gifts. 

Robert with Zephyr in his Santa suit

Afterwards, I herded everyone into the family room for the gift-giving activity I had planned, which went like this: Each person was given a small plastic box with six jellybeans inside. On the floor was a "flock" of paper bags of various colors, matching the colors of the jellybeans. Everyone took turns, going around the room, eating one jellybean and then choosing and opening a bag of the same color. The presents in the bags ranged from a candy bar to a $100-bill, with many other gifts in-between, including gift cards and cash. Some gifts didn't fit in the bags, so the bag contained a number which matched a wrapped gift. A few of the bags had a Werther's candy inside, as well as the gift. When someone found a Werther's in their bag, they got to wear a Santa hat until someone else found a Werther's and took the hat away. When all the bags were gone, the person left wearing the Santa hat received an extra gift. (Robert was that lucky one.)

Chris and Kelsey's gift to all of us was a Christmas afternoon outing to the movie theater to see Wicked, along with all the popcorn, treats and drinks we wanted! Kelsey had already seen Wicked, and Clara had seen it multiple times (as well as having seen the stage performance more than once), but they both wanted to see it again. It was a good movie, and the time spent together as family was priceless. Now I'm looking forward to Part Two of Wicked, which will come out next year. 

There was a fun photo booth in the mall. We took a few pictures when the movie was over. (Tim declined getting his picture taken.)

We stayed Thursday - the day after Christmas - and then, fairly early on Friday, drove home. Tim spent one more night with us in Temple, and then left on Saturday. He made it back home, safe and sound, by about 7:00 PM. It's a gift to us that he takes the time and makes the effort to drive all this way every Christmas, to spend the holidays with family. 

Maybe the most wonderful gift was seeing Chris strong and healthy again, after his challenging months of illness, surgeries and chemotherapy. He has recovered, although still has neuropathy in his hands and feet. But he isn't letting that hold him back. He walks almost every day, usually around 5 miles. For the month of December his goal was a total of 100 miles, and he was on track to achieve that when we left on the 27th.