Oh No, Not Santa!

A Denver Christmas with the Denham, Stauter, Sherman, Kirby Family:

Greta meet Santa 3 times this Christmas and despite the fact that she loathed the sight of him, she still managed to get more then coal in her stocking (Unlike her cousin, Jena, who proclaimed on Christmas Eve that she hated Santa Claus because her mom told her had to give up her binkies this year in exchange for presents...yeah, she got coal alright).

Greta's first run-in with the jolly old bearded man was at her school Christmas pageant. The pageant was fantastic. Greta, seven of her classmates and her two teachers pranced around the stage to the Nutcracker. We were so proud. Her encounter with Santa after the pageant however was much more traumatic. She lasted less than a second before leaping from his lap into our arms, balling her little head off. But of course, like the good parents we are, we made her stay in his arms just long enough for the photo op. Then if that was not enough, we did it to her again....yes, for another photo op...but this time it was one with her cousins in Denver.

And as the saying goes,"third times a charm".
As luck would have it, Greta's final meeting with Mr. Kringle was sealed behind a foot of glass and gallons of water. Santa was swimming with the fish at the downtown aquarium....luckily for him she loves fish and actually enjoyed seeing him that time.



Our sleigh ride home to Denver was a white knuckle Wyoming special. 50 MPH winds, blowing snow, no road in sight and mad semi-trucks zooming by at mock speed. But after a short 11 hour drive (that should have only taken 8 hours) we arrived at our destination... the crazily fun fill and packed to the gills with events... Home-Sweet-Home.

We enjoyed every minute spent with Dad & Linda, Mom & Mike, Ang, Scott & the girls (Abby & Jena), Grandma, Uncle Pat & Aunt Connie, Aunt Sandy (for the first time in 37 years without her soulmate Uncle Bob....we miss you Bob!!!), Aunt Susie, and all the step family (step sisters, bothers, uncles, aunts, cousins, 2nd cousins & grandma).

Our Christmas Marathon was filled with dinner at Moms, dinner at Dads, Lunch with Grandma, Christmas Eve dinner at Moms and Christmas dinner at Step Grandma Marges. In between all the eating, there was a trip to the Aquarium, last minute shopping, the occasional stroller walk... Oh and frantically helping Mom & Mike complete their remodel (which turned out GORGEOUS!!!) in preparation for the traditional Christmas Eve dinner...which by the skin or our teeth they managed to pull off! And even though it is almost as exhausting recapping the weeks events as it was actually participating in them ... I would not have miss it for the world!


Then just when you thought I was done, the craziness continues... in the form of a little tradition that my mom has kept up ever since I can remember. The Christmas Eve Present. See, in my family all the presents get opened on Christmas Day, expect for one....the Christmas Day Pajama's*! (*Shipped express to my mom's house from Santa, to be opened the night before Christmas so that Christmas morning we all have matching outfits) All I have to say is that this year Santa went way to far!!! To far being defined as; red silk shorts with HO HO HO embroidered on the tush accompanied by matching Santa hats... I do love my mom for keeping this tradition alive, but I am starting to think that she may need a little help next year :)





























So as the tradition goes we woke up Christmas morning, dressed in my HO HO HO's, (Somehow Santa always forgets about Stefan...I may have to write him a letter next year), and ran down the stairs at 6am to witness another memorable Family Christmas. Greta really got the hang of the gift thing this year. Of course the bows were way more interesting then the gifts themself.

Amongst all the running around Stefan sought refuge in the mountains for an afternoon with his big dog and his mountain house property. I'm glad he got a chance to go spend some time down there to unwind. It's the place he tells me that he feels closest to his Dad, something I know he needs! The land is recovering beautifully from the fire and we look forward to rebuilding soon (well, at least in the next 10 years or when ever we win that lottery)!

The only part of this Christmas that was missed this year was time spent with Stefan side of the family. We look forward to their visit in the coming new year! To all our friends and loved ones... we wish you all peace and good health as this year comes to an end. We are so fortunate to have all of you in our lives. Seek happiness, spread kindness and get out & enjoy life!

More Kirby fun to come in 2009!

It's Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas

There is no other holiday that makes me think of family more then the one quickly  approaching. Christmas was always the one time of year were my mom really "did it up"! 

Every square inch of our house was dripping with red, green and gold. Garland seemed to literally grow in our house, wrapping itself around every possible surface darning itself with lights, ribbon and pine-cones. A year rearly went by where my sister and I up weren't bundled up and packed into our Bronco 4X4,  bound for the Front Range Foothills and the nearest tree cutting area.  We would walk for what seemed to be miles to find that perfect tree. Perfect being defined by my mom as "That's it", no other question where asked.  

Even the year when the "That's it" was 26 feet tall (No really, picture the scene from Christmas Vacation, it was us). I always thought she was a crazy woman for spending so much time and energy just for a few days in December.  

But now as distance has placed itself between me and home and now that I have a home and family of my own,  there is nothing more that I long for then to fill my home with the same warmth and holiday cheer as that created by my mom.  

So, as the tradition stands, the week following Thanksgiving was spend sifting through the closet under the stairs in search for those magical boxes labeled "X-MAS", 

picking out the "That's it" tree and spending the rest of the day with holiday music filling the air while me and my family placed each memory filled ornament on the tree.   

I know that Thanksgiving is the time for saying "thanks" but for me it is the week after Thanksgiving that I feel so thankful.  Thankful that I grew-up in a warm and loving home, a home filled with memories and tradition that I am honored to continue and pass along to my own daughter.