Christmas with the Pearsons 2013

Christmas with the Pearson family is really more like Christmas with the Hill family, since my immediate family are the only Pearson people present, but when I say Christmas with the Pearsons, what I mean is simply "Christmas". Christmas with the Pearson family is my childhood; It's my "normal" Christmas. There's hors d' oeuvres, a hidden pickle, sparkling cider, and no present can be opened without reading the clue on the tag and making what we call 'an educated guess'. It's funny how even if no other family in the whole world has these traditions, if you had them they're normal. I'm especially thankful that all six in my immediate family were able to be together. It just recently hit me that even though it doesn't happen much these days, it could happen less and less as we all get married and move apart. I love these kids.