My favourite of 2, but only 1 of 4

Christmas dinner number 1 was today. In a frantic rush, I finished up the tree and house decor and, along with Brodder, cleaned the house as best and quickly as we could--totally our own faults for having slacked off the whole week after the first attempt. There are pictures to go along with stories, but my camera is hiding somewhere in the house, and my bed is a little too cozy to start the search for it now. For now, the one that I have no pictures for:

My whole mother's side of the family was finally seated around the two huge tables dad had set out in the dining room; there were easily 20+ of us in total. Just as everyone finished doling out heaping portions of everything onto their plates, my slightly inebriated, eldest uncle stood up to get everyone's attention for a toast. After getting everyone's anxious attention, he nodded at my dad.
    "Did you want to do the toast, or should I?"
    "You go ahead," came my father's reply. You could practically feel the tension build; my dad SHOULD have done it, to save the rest of us from having to sit and wait for my uncle to muddle through his broken english in his typically epic-long speeches. And so, my uncle began.
    "It is great that all of us have managed to come together tonight here, at this one house, to have dinner together. It is so hard to get everyone together, and it is nice that we are here together. This dinner together is..."
    "CHEERS-IE!!!" Pol-Pol (grandma) cried at that moment, raising her third glass of rice wine.
    "CHEERS!!!" The rest of us replied, whole-heartedly.
Way to go, G-ma!

My Pol-Pol's favourite part of family birthdays is not the cake or the candles, not the presents or the singing. It's the part that she gets to count everyone into the the happy birthday song:
    "ONE, TWO, FEE!"
I love her.

Merry Christmas.
...

    *picks up water bottle* "This is different."
    "Yeah, I know. Someone gave it to me and now I can't drink it because it's too special."
    "Oh. Ohhhhhhhh...sorry I asked."
    *shrugs* "It's okay."

    "Sorry, I was busy watching my inbox."
    "For what? At this hour?"
    "For an email, duh."
    "From who? Table?"
    "Bah! Mom! Yes, Table. hahaha. And for your information, I GOT one. I read the 13 words about 60 times before I came down. And now I'm here to help."
    "Oh, why thanks."
    "No problem. I care."

I love my family. Just don't tell them. :)