Maya gave her brother what she described as a gorilla like monkey. I can only imagine what inspired her to select this gift for him. 

Jeanine received her very own camera selected for its user friendliness. I was inspired to make this gift by complaints that Nicolai monopolized the camera I sent them to Tanzania with. Jeanine mastered the unit within five minutes and then proceeded to photograph everything in sight. I may have created a monster. 

The boys received a Sonos whole house music system with a subscription to Rhapsody. Basically, they have immediate access to any song ever recorded and internet radio stations from around the globe. To say they were enthralled with this gift would be a huge understatment. 

Maya has been wishing for her own sewing machine. Apparently, Santa thought she was pretty nice last year and her wish was granted. 

Christmas Eve would not be complete without Zeppole Balls. I have forgotten the actual name for these fried dough balls bathed in honey and sprinkles but we make them every year just as my Italian grandmother did when I was a child. Jeanine made the dough, Maya was in charge of rolling it out into long strips, Nico cut the strips (with unusually high precision) into marble sized chunks, I cooked them, and Kyle cleaned up the mess. Our team effort resulted in one of our best batches ever. 

The girls pose with the statuary as we depart the restaurant. I like the notion of sword bearing soldiers standing guard over these two and may call them into service once they become teenagers. 

Here the girls take special care to ensure that their drinks are at exactly the same height. Why this is important, I can not say, but then I am not an eight year old girl. 

After the service we enjoyed another holiday tradition, diner out at our local Chinese restaurant. This year we invited the Budris family to join us. Sarinaugh is Maya’s soul mate and her two sisters are the same age as Kyle and Nico. It was a great meal spent in the company of great friends. 

This evening the family attended the Christmas Eve service at First Parish which culminates in the singing of Silent Night by candle light. Despite the fact that only one and a half members of the family can sing to save their life, everyone participates to the best of their ability. 

Jeanine shows Kate our photo wall which features enlarged black and white versions of our Christmas cards going back for a decade. We are going to have to start another wall to accommodate this year’s photo. 

Kyle was invited to dine with Chloe’s family. Knowing that Chloe’s mother enjoys peanut brittle he made a batch using Jeanine’s family recipe. It should be noted, that at no time during his life has Kyle ever made peanut brittle for his father who is also known to enjoy it.  

This evening we had the Yoder family over for dinner. Nicolai takes great pleasure and pride in being the official punch master. His concoction, as he refers to it, was outstanding and included freshly sliced fruit and frozen rasberries. 

Despite all the hardship created by the snow this year, there can be no argument that it makes for a wonderful white Christmas. It was almost midnight when I took this photo of the view we have from our front door. 

Nicolai scored 2 goals and had one assist to help his team to a 6-4 win. His first goal, pictured here was a short range chip, beating his defender and the goalie. His second was a gorgeous full volley that ripped into the upper corner.