A Christmas to Remember

We survived Baby's First Christmas. It was not as bad as we feared; everything fit in the car. He got lots of toys, books, and adorable outfits.

But that was all overshadowed by Uncle Craig and the Christmas E.R. After preparing the Christmas Turkey, Uncle Craig was removing the pan of drippings from the barbecue. The pan splashed, fat hit the briquettes, flames shot up, and Craig got a second-degree burn over the back of his hand, a free trip to the E.R. with follow-up at the Burn Center, and a stylish bandage to wear for at least a month. He and his daughter missed Christmas dinner, and with Craig's wife, daughter, mother, sister, and mother-in-law in attendance, the level of worry and fluster reached previously unimaginable heights. They were back in time to open presents, which was good. Here's Craig's mother-in-law demonstrating a lobster maraca.


But overall, even Uncle Craig's hand had to take a backseat to Christa's Surprise Marriage. That's right, Thomas has his first uncle! We heard about this when we arrived on Friday, but apparently two days before, she told her parents that she got married August 20th. It was quite a surprise since no one knew they were even engaged. Here's a copy of one of the wedding photos, with her husband, Jeremy. They had gone to the local courthouse (which is next-door to the police station).