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| Roads on the Way Home |
The treacherous drive was, of course, worth it and I arrived to Hampton an hour and a half later. That night the women of the family were supposed to go see the Lion King. At this point the snow had stopped falling but the threat of black ice was all over the news and weather channels. After much debate and a little hesitation, we decided to try and make the journey.
Before we headed out, we stopped by my house to switch cars with my father. Since I had gone straight to my grandparents that morning, this was the first time I had been home since Thanksgiving. Imagine my surprise when we pulled up to find a vast array of flashing and colored lights filling our yard and lining the house! For years we have had the same Christmas decorations, two light up reindeer and lights on the bushes and in the tree. Now, after all those emails to my parents about the Tacky Light Tours in Richmond, we had our very own version at home! I was, obviously, in love with the display and am so happy my dad decided to surprise us!
After a few minutes admiring the lights, we finished loading the car and headed to Norfolk. The Lion King is my absolute favorite Broadway show and, no matter how many times I see it (this was my 3rd), I always find myself in complete awe of the performance. The show was the perfect way to start a perfect weekend.
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| The Lion King |
I love spending time with my family, probably as much as I love Christmas, and when the two of them combine I am in heaven. :) Our family has grown so much over the past year (with great grandchildren, boyfriends, fiancees, etc.), so it is wonderful to have a chance to get together and enjoy each other's company. Not to mention being spoiled by Papa's amazing cooking skills (fried shrimp for Christmas dinner?! Heck yes!) and Nama's traditional contributions of Christmas cookies and Vodka slush (YUM). Have I said I love this time of the year?
To continue with my holiday cooking kick, Chinda taught me how to make his corn pudding recipe for our Christmas dinner, which ended up being every bit as delicious as I remembered it being last year. Watch out Paula Dean, here I come!
After an amazing dinner we headed to the living room to open our gifts. They were all, once again, incredible but the highlight was definitely from Nama. My grandmother gave each of her daughters and granddaughters a piece of jewelry from her own collection. It was such a extraordinary suprise, and something we all will surely cherish for many years to come.
Once all the presents had been opened, and the parents had gone to bed, the grandchildren spent the remainder of Saturday night staying up to visit, which led to far more laughter than talking. It was the perfect end to our "White (icy) Christmas".
Everyone headed home on Sunday and I headed over to see the other side of the family for a "Christmas Surprise" orchestrated by Marsha and Shelby. I had two instructions: dress decent and show up at 4:30. When I arrived Shelby whisked me away to their church for a special musical performance called "Voices of Christmas" where Brayden was playing the piano. The performance was wonderful, and I was very curious about what the rest of the night would bring.
We left the church and drove down a street filled with Christmas lights. Each house was more spectacular than the next, but nothing like what Shel and I had seen in Richmond. That is until we reached a house on the right side of the road. I immediately said "Wow! Shelby look at that one!" and she informed me that is where we were going. Where we were going? Inside? Yep.
Aunt Marsha and Brayden met us at the front of the house and we climbed the stairs to, what turned out to be, the most incredible, Christmas-related, amazing, thing I have ever seen in my whole life. It was SANTA'S HOUSE. Really. Santa.
Unfortunately, Santa had come the night before and was unable to greet us, however, we were welcomed into the house and told spend as much time as we wanted wandering around. The owners of the house welcome the less fortunate children into their home once a year to meet and receive a present from Santa, as well as tour his house. To really prove it was Santa-worthy, the house had 51 Christmas trees and every room boasted a different Christmas theme (Nutcrackers, Disney, Santa's Room to greet children, etc). It was the most beautifully done Christmas tribute I had ever seen and I was speechless, which rarely happens during Christmas related events.
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| Room Where Santa Greets the Children |
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| These Pictures Do Not Come Close To Doing The House Justice |
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