The Williamsons:
Gracie puts Jesus in Manger 
Dominick in the laundry basket
We had a very special Christmas @ the Williamson’s this year. The Family tradition has always been that we all go over to my Grandmother’s house for dinner and at the end of the evening the youngest grandchild (now the youngest great-grandchild) who understands that Christmas is Jesus’ birthday gets to place baby Jesus in the manger scene. As we all get older – the tradition has evolved somewhat and now we all go over to my Grandmother’s AFTER dinner for the traditional punch, endive soup and desserts. But the tradition of placing baby Jesus remains and this year Grace got the privilege of doing so!
The manger scene is set on a table in the dining room and when the time came I pushed a chair up to it for Gracie to stand on. She stood there quietly for a moment as everyone looked on and then quickly (but gracefully) reached out and lifted the baby Jesus figurine off the table and placed him gently in the manger. It was really amazing that she knew exactly what to do from us just talking about it in the weeks leading up to Christmas. Everyone clapped and she acted very nonplused – like it was simply what was expected of her (remember people – the kid is only 22 months old!). As a new father I am just starting to have these moments when my heart is bursting with pride in a child, and this was clearly one of those wonderful and memorable moments. In the minutes following that idyllic father – daughter moment she pushed her cousin, spilled endive soup on my pants and pulled the cat’s tail…. Oh well! Next year she will probably tutor Dominick in the ceremonial manger duties. That is, provided Dominick understands the meaning of Christmas. He is definitely all boy, and seems much more physically oriented than Gracie was at the same age. The kid is climbing into and over ANYTHING & EVERYTHING – clothes baskets, boxes, etc… (see picture).
Thank you Uncle David and Uncle Rick for making the long journey to celebrate Christmas with us this year. My Uncle David had not yet met either Gracie or Dominick – and it was funny to see Gracie introduce herself to him. (We had practiced “Hi Uncle David – nice to meet you”) Check out our YouTube channel if you are interested in seeing some videos. Just search for chipomite and the channel should come right up! Or type in http://www.youtube.com/user/chipomite.
Sincerely,
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