Christmas

We had a very low key Christmas this year with no plans to travel.  It was very nice, though I do miss seeing some family during the holidays.  We always get the joy of kicking Christmas off with a celebration of our best Christmas present ever, Ethan.  After his earlier party with friends it was a very small celebration at home with some cake and presents.  I can't believe my baby is 7!

We felt very lucky to have Abe around for the holidays.  We usually have to share him with the ER, at least for a little while. But this year he had time off around the holidays and it was great.

 Even Brooklyn had a few presents for her first Christmas.

 We decided to try something new for Christmas dinner and we made homemade pasta and sauce for Christmas dinner.  It was delicious and fun to make together.

But the best part of the meal would have to be the Turtle Cheesecake.  With the allergies that the kids have (and that I have to stick to while nursing Brooklyn) it is hard to find desserts that are amazing but this one is impressive.  Homemade caramel just made this cheesecake phenomenal.  It was so good that I had to make another one a few weeks later to share with my mom.  Well worth the effort.

But probably the person with the best Christmas was Abe because he got a fancy new truck right after Christmas.  We are all pretty sure that he loves this thing more than anything in the world (but he promises that he does love us more).  Anyone who knows Abe knows that he has wanted a truck for many years (since he sold the last truck he had to buy a family vehicle).  I really thought he was the only man truly obsessed with trucks but I have come to find out that he is not alone.  I can honestly say that no one has ever come up to me and asked me the engine size of my mini-van or how much the towing capacity is.  But random strangers will eye Abe's truck and ask him all sorts of questions.  Good thing he sits in there for hours probably memorizing the owners manual for just such occasions.  I even watched a group of construction workers all stop working and just watch the truck as we drove by.  It is a strange phenomenon that I will never understand.  But it makes Abe happy so I will just go with it.