Christmas 2012: Day 4 & 5

Ah...finally Christmas Eve had arrived. We started out our morning by searching the web for a present for Dave and Anne (better late than never). Shortly, thereafter, Dave took us to see the Shrine. The Shrine has fifteen stations of the Passion of Christ and it took us about an hour to walk it. The weather was a bit on the chilly side due to the wind.

After touring the Shrine, we went to the mall, where we sucked down a warm mocha and ate a soft, salty, warm pretzel. We did a little more Christmas shopping and then headed back to the house to chill before meeting the Bafias for dinner.

The Bafia's are friends of the Vaughns and they were gracious enough to invite us all over for Christmas Eve dinner. Joe is Polish, and it is their custom to serve a traditional Polish meal on Christmas Eve. We ate potato and sauerkraut perogies, fish, green beans, macaroni & cheese and a few other items I can't recall. They also had served some yummy cookies and peppermint bark, too! (Yes, I did indulged!)

After spending a couple hours with the Bafia's, we headed back to the house to open up Christmas gifts. Steve and I received this nice piece from the Vaughns:

The night was cut short as we had to get up early to leave for the airport. The time we spent with the family was wonderful. It had been four years since we had seen everyone, so it was definitely time to get together.

I really appreciated having Dad Vaughn there with us as I can't remember ever a time when we all were together for Christmas. On several occasions, when my eyes gazed upon him, I couldn't help but see a grandpa who was enjoying every minute with his sons and grandchildren. The big grin on his face really said it all! It truly blessed my soul!

Christmas Day was spent driving to O'Hare International Airport, sitting on the tarmac for 2 hours, and finally arriving home (after picking up Levi) a little after 6pm. We praise the Lord for giving us good travel and safety. He protected us from all the weather patterns that threatened to hit the area prior to our arrival and after our departure. I praise God that he takes care of even the smallest details in our lives. Another blessing was Dad Vaughn was able to fly in and out of Chicago, on standby - during the Christmas holiday without any serious delays. Truly we have been blessed this Christmas season.