First Christmas at the New House

We host the Christmas Eve Day gathering with my family - a break from tradition as usually it is at mom's house. Mom's had a tough fall with knee replacement surgery, the death of her mother, and trying to work full time while in the final year of her Master's degree. She is exhausted, and we are happy to do it. We wanted a home we could entertain in. Although my brother, Scott, isn't with us this Christmas, we set up family pictures with a time delay on the digital camera. We take a couple normal, happy smiling pictures. Then, during the delay before the last click, Ray announces "Oh, by the way... we're having a baby!" SNAP. My sister, Kathleen is already hugging me by the time the photo is taken, and there are great looks of surprise and excitement on the faces of the rest of the adults. The kids however... look pretty oblivious. Emily is most excited, though, when she realizes what's going on. She is FINALLY getting a cousin (the first one for her!) The first niece/nephew for Kathleen and Andrew. Kathleen intermittently cries throughout the day out of joy. Dinner, by the way, was FABULOUS: Prime Rib (Andrew's first), Honey Baked Ham, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, Andrew's sausage stuffing, coconut cream pie, blueberry pie, pecan pie, pumpkin pie. More food than 9 people could ever eat in one day.