chez les bowns: Chez Nous

Let's begin this blog with another French lesson. In an earlier blog I explained the the word "chez" in French doesn't have an actual equivalent in English. The best translation is "at the house of", hence the title of my blog. If you want to say, "at our house" the French would say, "chez nous" (shay new).

Christmas "chez nous" for the past few years has been a very low key event, in fact, there have been some treeless Christmases around our house a couple of times. It is not that we are grinchlike around here, just very busy, and now that all of our children are no longer living locally, Rollie and I have been able to take advantage of a slower paced approach to Christmas.

I was expecting this Christmas to continue its normal routine, when my daughter Karla called. It seems she was having a bout of homesickness and really needed to spend Christmas "chez nous". With six children, lots of presents to load up in their van, and an eleven hour drive in holiday traffic, her family has not made the trip home at Christmas time for a few years. I had already mailed all of our gifts to them, when she asked if they could spend Christmas with us. We were happy they were coming, but was Christmas at our house going to be equal to our daughter's expectations? The house wasn't full of decorations. I hadn't done a lot of baking. I am not good at planning Christmas programs. I also was to report to jury duty the week of Christmas. Karla said not to worry, though, that being "chez nous" was all that she needed.

It turned out that it was a great Christmas and no amount of pre-planning could have made it any better. Ross and Shannon, Andera and Robert with Jack and Ella also spent the Christmas holidays with us. Sadly we were missing Dan, Candice, Sami, and Emily who were enjoying the season with their family Texas style. (Christmas with them is very fun!)

Rollie's camera captured the moments, and we extend an invitation to you to experience Christmas "chez nous". So,

Bienvenue a Noel chez nous! Welcome to Christmas at the Bowns' house.

We begin with Joseph organizing the gifts into piles (above), kids playing with legos, and a painting session.

Games are fun, either on the computer or a board game. Aunt Shannon has the best idea, read a book!

Courtney practiced her skills on Grandpa's lathe, and, along with the other kids, we got some great candle holders. The adults spent their time at our internet cafe.

The Seamons children accompanied themselves with bells as they presented a cool rendition of Jingle Bells.

Time to show off the piano skills. All four of the older Seamons children had a special Christmas musical number to play on the piano thanks to their Grandma Seamons.

Ben and Aubrey sang the Chipmunk song they learned at school, complete with actions. Very fun!

At last, Christmas morning!

Hmm.... It looks like everyone was ready for Christmas morning, except Uncle Ross and Aunt Shannon. When there are children in the house, Christmas comes early.

Time to try our a few outdoor Christmas presents. Courtney couldn't wait. Still in her nightgown, and Harry Potter robe, she headed for the back patio with her new scooter. Aubrey practiced with her new roller blades.