martinzoo

Merry Christmas to all my blogging buddies!

We had a great Christmas here. In fact, GB decided that it WAS the best Christmas ever, which is really funny if you are a family member because my mother says this with absolute sincerity every year — and we all crack up.

This was the first year that GB did not believe in Santa. I thought it was going to be really sad, but just like his older brother he seemed more excited than ever. I think it was because he felt like there was some control over what he would get. You can’t truly predict what Santa will bring. But his anticipation was on high status in the days leading up to Christmas. And on Christmas Eve he could hardly stand the slow passage of time.

Of course, he got the things he wanted the most. So he was very happy about that. We didn’t get him very much because the one thing he really wanted was an X-Box 360, which cost a fortune. But we got it and one game (Halo) to go with it. He also got a new G I Joe because his others are in such decrepit condition. These are definitely his lifetime favorite toys. He has them with him constantly and they are always fighting each other. My dh also insisted on getting him this helicopter thingy that actually flys around. And they are planning on the maiden voyage soon. His Christmas Eve gift was a little used game from Gamestop. We love Gamestop and can’t figure out why people would buy these video games brand new. He was very content all evening after he got his game.

Aquagirl seemed really happy with her presents this year. We got her a robe from Carnival Cruiseline. She and her friend had just been in love with these robes when we took the cruise and I knew she’d love to have one. But they chose not to use their vacation money for them. I tucked that little information away for later and….. voila…. Christmas! We also got her a Sonicare electric toothbrush because she is very fanatical about her teeth, ever since she worked in our dentist’s office a couple of summers ago. I have one and I knew she would love how it makes your teeth feel. And she does. They’re really great. We also got her a Zune Mp3 player, which we haven’t gotten working yet because for some reason her laptop says she’s not running Windows. Wierd!

For Aquagirl’s Christmas Eve gift we gave her a Bun Bun purse. These are purses you design yourself at a party, kind of like a Pampered Chef party, but for purses. You pick out the fabric inside and outside the purse, what kind of purse style, which handle you like, what kind of clasp, pockets, and ornamentation. Truly unique. I made hers a vivid pink with lime green and lots of pockets for cell phone, mp3 player, keys, and camera. She loved it.

Jabem is always difficult because his interests are so hard for the rest of us to comprehend. One year his Christmas list literally was composed of product serial numbers and codes. It was easy for us to buy but we had no idea what these computer components were good for. But this year I really wanted to surprise him with a little creativity. We got him a really cool chair for his downtown apartment from Walmart.com, which still hasn’t come yet. I’m a bit peeved by that. It’s a good thing Jabem isn’t a little kid who’d be terribly disappointed. But still, since we only give them three things on Christmas day I was annoyed by the no-show.  We also got him a t-shirt from his favorite online video game, World of Warcraft, it has his character, who is a Shaman. And we got him a portable hard drive so that when he is fixing people’s computers he won’t have to bring his whole CPU with him. He seemed to really like his stuff.

But Jabem’s favorite gift came on Christmas Eve. I wanted something he could ‘play’ with. This is hard because the only games he plays now are World of Warcraft and Dungeons and Dragons. But I did some search online and found this cool little geeky site which put together a kit so you could build your own video game console and download and program games onto it. He spent all night…. literally…. he didn’t go to bed until 7:00 a.m. and then we woke him at 9:00, on it. But he was in such a groove with his little soldering iron. He even posted pics of the project on his facebook page. That’s when you know you got the right gift.

Murphy thinks this is too early for an old dog to have to get up out of his bed.

And look at my dh. Doesn’t he look deliciously scruffy?  He’s unwrapping his big present, speakers for the tv. Personally, I think the newish tvs are in a conspiracy to force you to buy speakers because you just can’t hear a darned thing. So we caved.

All in all, I think we made all the kiddos happy. My goal for each year. Sometimes we’re not too successful, but we shop with love. And that’s what counts. I really feel blessed with my family. God did such a great job with the people I’m surrounded by. And we are happy. And I love that!

I hope you all had a wonderful day, also. Now we are off to Chuck E. Cheese. This is absolutely the best day of the year to go. There are no crowds, all machines are filled with tickets, and the place is spotless. You gotta love that!

My nephew, Doc Bish, and his wife, Medwife are gonna have a wee Bish!!

I absolutely LOVE babies and I cannot wait till June for the wee Bish to arrive.

So far Medwife is 12 weeks, two days into the journey.Here is a sweet little preview:

Isn’t _he/she_ cute?!

Aww! I could just squeeze those little cheeks!

Ever since GB and I went to Agecroft, back in ‘06, my husband has been wanting to take his parents there to see it. His mother really enjoys the grand old houses. And since we’ve just come into possession of a wheelchair for her, it made the activity a whole lot easier.

Agecroft Hall was a house built in England in the 15th century and then 450 years later, in 1925, was brought to Richmond, Virginia by a wealthy investment banker, named T.C. Williams.

Shockingly, GB had retained a lot of his previous knowledge of the house and wowed us numerous times with things that he remembered. The other tourists told us that he’d be taking over as guide one day. Of course, that made me super-proud of my little guy.

The picture from above was taken on Saturday, it is early December and late afternoon, but I noticed that something was still different, besides the weather. Look at this picture I took back in the Fall of ‘06.

The gorgeous, sprawling tree is gone! How sad. It makes me wonder what happened to it. What a difference in pictures, huh?  You can see GB’s first trip to Agecroft by clicking here.

Since we went with homeschoolers the first time, the tour was a bit different this time. With the homeschoolers they focused only on the 1600’s aspect of the house. But with us, this time, they were able to show us one of the only modern rooms in the house. When Agecroft was brought over from England in the 1920’s, the owners decorated it to suit their needs. It was not decorated as a period place. It also has modern plumbing and heating. When they moved out, they left a foundation to take care of the place and decorate it as it would have looked back in the 1600’s. But Mrs. Williams, the last owner, wanted one room to be left exactly as she had used it, the library. And it was gorgeous! It was decorated for Christmas and they had SO many precious, rare books in there. I was really glad GB and I went through a second time so that we could see this extra room.

It was only 4:30 when we left Agecroft, but it was already getting dark. So we swung by Jabem’s apartment to pick him up for dinner. Then we drove around Richmond looking at all the pretty decorations. Richmond had had their Illumination the previous night, so it was all really beautiful.

Then we went to a favorite restaurant of mine and my husband’s when we are in Richmond. Siné (pronounced Shin-áy ) is an Irish pub. Modeled after authentic “city pubs” in Ireland, parts of Siné’s rustic interior were actually designed and built in the mother country then transported across the Atlantic. Our group was seated in a cozy little snug; which made us feel like we had our own room in the quaint little restaurant. I loved it!

I absolutely adore this picture that my dh snuck into while I was trying to get a shot of his parents. Isn’t it funny?

And here is Granddaddy sneaking away some of GB’s uneaten dessert. GB didn’t even notice for like five minutes!

And down below you’ll see my Jabem, whom we spirited away for the evening. I can’t wait till he gets home for Christmas. This semester has been an eternity. Good luck on your exams, Jabem!

So, as they say in Ireland, ‘Nollaig shona duit!’ which means, ‘Happy Christmas!’

In 1600’s England, they say, ‘Happy Christmas!’

And here, in good old America, we say, ‘Merry Christmas!’

One day - three countries.

Btw, the list page is now updated with the current Martin family Christmas wishes.

Feel free to peruse….. or surprise us. We love that!