Fourty Christmas Factoids

This Christmas: 40 things you need to know about our James Family Christmas Experience

So, a lot of folks have been asking about us.  The come up to us and say "How was your Christmas?"  So, I compiled a list of thirty-six things you NEED to know about the James Family Christmas experience.  It's really important, so read carefully and share with your friends.

1. I hate the song "Last Christmas, I gave you my heart...."
2. This Christmas season, I was flipping stations and I heard a remix of the above song.
3. I suddenly felt sick to my stomach over the fact in the previous statement.
4. We had a tree decorating ceremony in which we listened to traditional Christmas music and sipped home made hot co-co, and watched Jedidiah remove all the "balls" from the tree and throw them across the house in hysterical laughter.
5. Isaiah was very pleased to NOT be listening to "rocking around the Christmas tree in your bikini" type music that seems so popular on EVERY radio station this time of year. 
6. Our tree was decorated and was "Naked from the waste down." Ask my little son about that one.
7. We celebrated our Christmas by doing something special.  We did not know what that "Special" thing was until we got into the car and made a crazy decision to go to the "Coast."  This was the day before Christmas eve, because that's when we had to celebrate Christmas because Isaiah worked on Christmas Day.
8. So, we went to the "Coast."  If you are from Florida and you are reading this, please don't mistake the "coast" for the "beach."  The beach is a place you go to sit, relax, lay in the sun, play and make sand castles and ride in waves.  The "Coast" is where you go to stand there with your jaw dropped in awe and almost terror of the wildness of Nature. You probably don't want to play in the waves unless you have been trained by a professional and you have a wet suit. 
9. We were going to go to a Casino for lunch because we heard that they had an all you can eat buffet for 7.77, but we arrived there and immediately left because it was very sleazy.  There was no Japanese man making food in front of you and what we saw looked on par with the Hospital Cafeteria food.  Not much is worse than hospital cafeteria food.  We left even though that meant we would be spending twice as much money somewhere else and not be able to eat for several hours. 
10. We vowed never to go into a Casino again. 
11. We made it to the Oregon coast but I have no pictures to wow you with. 
12. The reason why is because Isaiah threw our Camera into the Pacific North West ocean.  
13. This was actually in an attempt to rescue Little Jedidiah from a wave that sneaked up on him and knocked him over.
14. As Isaiah put it, the salt and sand were not kind to the camera.
15. They were not necessarily kind to Jedidiah either, but he got over that much quicker than we got over the loss of our camera, because he was suddenly barefoot and wrapped in a towel which he thought was very funny. 
16. Our camera was bought less than a month ago, to replace the one that was destroyed a year ago by our son stirring it in a glass of water.  
17. We will never buy a non-water proof camera again.
18. It was not my fancy pants camera that got lost in the ocean. Isaiah had told me to leave my DSLR at home, for good reasons.  Now all I could do was stare at the magnificent beauty of the mountains jutting out of the sea and the sun setting over them.  Every moment seemed completely picturesque, and I had no means to capture it and bring it home with me besides my memory.  I guess you can say, it was oddly liberating. 
19. I am just glad that I have my family and no one got swept away by the scary NW waves.  Its funny how quickly your perspective can change on your material possessions. 
20. Also, I am sure people suffered from greater loss than us this Christmas. Which reminded me to reflect on the fact that we celebrate because we were given something imperishable. All the other glitter and "stuff" of Christmas will soon fade away, but there is something greater that came into the world that will never ever change and can never be taken away from us. 
21. We drove away from that lovely place, and had a delightful diner just the four of us in an amazing seafood restaurant. 
22. I don't think I like seafood too much.  But it was a fantastic restaurant, would recommend to anyone!! (They had other stuff besides seafood.)
23. What a good day.
24. After that, we went home and woke up Christmas Eve morning and I was so thankful for the rich blessing of "Florida like Christmas Weather."  Finally, I felt like "home."
25. Our kind neighbors  brought us cookies and fudge.  
26. We went on a walk
27. We went to Church.
28. Afterwards we went to the Market, because I felt desperate to get something nice as a side for our Salmon diner so I did not have to cook. 
29. The marked closed five minutes before we got there.
30. I busted into tears. (you think I would have learned something after my camera experience about what's important)
31. I got over it.
32. We went home and had a delightful salmon diner and we ate it alongside wild rice pilaf.  It took us ten minutes to prepare and it was delicious and perfect despite of my concerns that I would be overwhelmingly disappointed by not having fancy sides to go with it from the market.
33. We settled into watching "Charlie Brown's Christmas." I had never really watched it as an adult.  I found it to be creepy, and when I was a child I never knew Charlie Brown was suicidal. I liked it anyway, and was grateful to watch something that was neither politically correct or border line irreverent. 
34. Went to bed and woke up Christmas morning.  I am not a child so I did not run down to open all of my presents immediately, we would do that later in the evening.  Besides, I bought ALL of our gifts this year so I knew what everything was. 
35. In a desprate attempt to make our Chrismas even remotly what it would have been at home, I baked my mother's recipe for pecan fingers.  They were the only cookie I have ever successfully made.  
36. Jedidiah and I went to a "White Elephant gift party" at our neighbor and friend's house. I won a massage something or other and some chocolate truffles. I was very worried that I had now had a clunky massage something or other that I was going to have to find a way to get rid of.  But I use it almost every day, what a blessing!
37. We ate a diner of Lamb, "Christmas" mashed potatoes and a delicious salad.  We also visited friends who graciously gave us a smoked turkey as a gift, and opened our presents under the tree which was a very ceremonial and special occasion full of surprise and delight.
38. I don't know how long Jedidiah will be happy with dollar tree gifts, but he was beaming.
39. Just like that it was all over. 
40. This took me two weeks to write.  Maybe some time in the next year I will "publish" our Thanksgiving story which is still waiting in there somewhere.