Christmas Day in our new home

We all woke up at varying points on the World Clock - Erik at 2:30, Stone and I at 3:30, Lindsay and Lucy at 5:00.  We had designated 7:00 as the earliest acceptable time to wake Grammy and Grandpa up, so we read and played quietly until then, and then woke Sophie up (Yay, Sophie!!) and then knocked on Grammy and Grandpa's door.

We lined up in the upstairs family room, shortest to tallest, and descended in the traditional Christmas Conga line (everyone does that, right?). But wait... no gifts??

Treasure Hunt through the house... where would he have hidden everything? Not even the family presents were under the tree. 

It was the Treasure Hunt to end all Treasure Hunts, all through the house....

 ...And then outside to the front yard...

...And to the old Spanish mission San Juan Capistrano...???...

We caravaned with Grammy and Grandpa, finding clues hidden at the old mission, then off a freeway off-ramp... kids completely perplexed.

All the clues were hidden in tiny Santa hats

Lindsay recognized the name of this school as we passed it... that's her new middle school...

...and to the address of a house...

The first moment at our new house (yep, we're still in pajamas)

These are our first moments. Actually the first moments were wild shrieks - this was 5 seconds after the screams of joy had subsided.

Opening presents - what an amazing hat, Mimi!

Special presents from Daddy

A special present for Erik to share with Stone... the cape his mom made for him when he was 4 years old

Stone exploring the back yard on his new Razor scooter

Ed and Elayne had set up their own tables, chairs, and Christmas decorations galore around the house so that it would feel like a real home when we walked in on Christmas morning. They even put our family photos around. I was so touched I kept weeping all morning. 

I later learned that even the extended family had been involved in the surprise - Uncle Brigham and Aunt Nancy decorated the tree, and Opa set up this beautiful crèche  upstairs.

After the beautiful Christmas morning festivities, we took advantage of the kids playing happily with their new toys, and Erik and I started unloading. Unpacking 4 months' worth of clothes from our Spain suitcases was a teensy task compared to what lay ahead. But the joy was so abundant, it was all just exciting and fun. We set up mattresses first and borrowed blankets from Mom and Dad Allebest. Then in the evening we drove back over to their house for Christmas dinner. Elayne had made an extravagant Mexican feast (chile rellenos and enchiladas and tamales plus side dishes!!) And the highlight of it all: the whole family together!! Christiaan and Noelle and their beautiful children and Jared = a joyful reunion.

Cousin table!

Stone meeting his new baby boy cousin for the first time

And I guess this is where I end the blog for now. We literally have no couch to sit on; no pot to boil water in, so the days are full of errands and organizing and planning. We love living by family, we love the rolling hills and the view of the ocean, we love our disposal and dishwasher. We love our memories of Europe. The only thing that makes us sad is the wave of sorrow that still comes periodically when we think of family and friends that we left behind. But we love all we learned from them and feel their influence in our lives every day, and we know we will see them soon and regularly through the years. On we go, trying to live in the magic of each moment, learning all we can as we move on to the next adventure.