Valentine's Day Cards

Last year Kyra wanted to make her own Valentine's cards for the kids in her class.  They were fairly simple, but we enjoyed the craft time together.  This year her class is a lot larger and she is older, so I thought she would just want to buy one of the varieties in the store.  We passed them by, and she hemmed and hawed, but in the end decided she wanted to make her own again.  Although I knew I would probably doing the majority of the work, I was pleased that she chose to create something with her momma.  While the store bought cards look a lot better than they did when I was a kid, I still enjoy the looks of a homemade one, not to mention it's kind of fun to see the fruits of your labor her labor. 

So after cutting out nearly 100 hearts and 60 leaves, and lots of glueing, we had our Valentine flowers.  It took a lot more work than I thought it would, but we did seem to get a knack down with our assembly line.  Kyra did a lot of the glueing and wrote out all the cards herself.  In fact she got ahead of me at one point and told me she was going to play, but that I better stay put, because I had a lot of work to do.  I love that kid.

Tomorrow is her party.  She is very excited, as I am coming to school with her for the first time.  It's the first event in her class that I am going to take part.  I'll meet all her little friends and hopefully some of the parents too.  Happy early Valentine's Day to everyone.  I hope you have a wonderful Friday!  

Letting Go

This past weekend we finally took down our Christmas tree. I know some of you who like to take down the tree as soon as Christmas is over, and others who hang on to it till the month is over. Personally, I try and hang on to the tree as long as possible because it looks so beautiful (it has nothing to do with the fact that I'm a procrastinator of course). I have a hard time letting go. Although putting the lights on the tree is enough to drive me crazy, I always love the end result. Christmas trees are very sentimental and even calming. I love gazing at the tree best at night, when it's dark. Sometimes we'll have a fire, some hot cocoa, and just look at the tree. We'll go down memory lane as we see some of the ornaments we've received from years past. Often just looking at it, helps me to slow down through my day and take a deep breath from the flurry of activity. Of course holding an infant in your arms who looks at the tree in wonderment also makes you pause and smile as you see sights through their new eyes.

So, I wasn't too surprised when my 5 year old held the same sentiments. Every once in a while I casually mentioned that the tree would eventually have to come down. And she would joke that she wanted it to stay up until all the snow melted. Finally, as I tucked her in bed one night, she asked what was on the agenda for the following day. I told her I thought it was time to take down the tree. To my surprise, her lower lip started to pucker. I asked what was wrong, and she blurted out that she didn't want to take down the tree. Clearly, the tree had become one of her favorite Christmas traditions too. Melt.My.Heart. I had a hard time not breaking down myself as I watched Kyra's little face swell up with crocodile tears. She wanted so badly to hold on to the holiday magic. Where would we put the tree, she wanted to know? Well, we'd have to throw it away I tried to explain gently. I tried to tell her that the tree wasn't drinking any more water, and that it had no roots, so it was dying. There was no consoling her, so I decided to hang on to it for a few more days.

I looked a couple days later, thinking maybe it could last one week longer, since we did have one more holiday party to go. But as I looked closer, I saw cobwebs on several of the branches, not to mention more needles on the floor. Yes, I would definitely have to take down the tree. My hubs told Kyra that unfortunately the tree definitely had to come down. After all, he said, it is a fire hazard being so dry. That was all it took. Kyra is very fearful of fires, so she suddenly changed her mind and was ready to get that tree out of here, NOW! Why hadn't I thought of that? Of course as I took down the tree I had to reassure her that we would be fine, and it was only a POSSIBLE danger and we were just taking precaution.

So, the tree is down and all of our Christmas decorations are finally put away. The house is back in shape and I smiled at the sight of a clean home....until my 3 year old tugged on my pants and said, "When can we put them up again?"

Holiday Season of Long Ago

Wow....I can't believe it is already January, and almost a week into it at that. I remember not too long ago I wrote about our very busy October. Then for a short period of time November slowed down, but it has been full speed ahead ever since Thanksgiving. If months go by this quickly, I'm going to be 40 in no time!

Although it was a very busy season, it was filled with joy. I began the month feeling fairly calm about things that had to get done. We chopped down our tree from the backyard once again (or shall I say my hubby did that while I sipped coffee in my bathrobe!), and after a small battle with the lights it was all decorated the weekend after Thanksgiving. I already had several gifts bought, time to make goodies, and cards were ordered and sent out by the 10th. I decided to have our annual women's get together at a restaurant this year too, so as not to stress my self out with cleaning the house and figuring out where to put the kiddos. Of course in doing that I felt disappointed no one would see our lovely tree or decorated home, so I invited people over for New Year's Eve instead. Then the week before Christmas my sister in-law ended up having kidney stones and was unable to host her hub's 40th birthday party at her house, so I said why not mine? All in all I had 3 gatherings at my house the week of Christmas ranging from 13-35 people. It definitely was a little crazy that week, but we had a great time playing games with friends, gorging ourselves with food, and chatching up with people we hadn't seen in awhile.

I'd have to say one of our favorite things we did over the Christmas season was taking a ride on the Santa Train. The nostalgic train was all decorated for the season, complete with a conductor who took our ticket stubs, the town's queen dressed in a beautiful white gown who read Polar Express, and of course Santa. Our girls had just borrowed the Polar Express from the library, and watched the movie twice, so they were on cloud nine having their own personal Polar Express moment.

Kyra was hilarious to watch on the train, because she wanted so badly to sit on Santa's lap and tell him what she wanted for Christmas, but she has always been a bit afraid of him too. She asked her daddy what she should say when she went up to him, and he said "just tell him what you've been telling us for months...that you want a guitar." We had gotten her a guitar weeks ago, since that is all she could talk about. Yet, when she timidly walked up to Santa, stage fright must have got the best of her because that big jolly voice asked her what she wanted for Christmas, and she looked at her father (too afraid to make eye contact) and hastily said..."I'd like a cupcake maker please." My hubby couldn't believe it. We had spent a lot of time researching guitars on the internet, picked a certain one, and then she wanted a cupcake maker!? Fortunately, she wasn't disappointed on Christmas Day. She just said, Santa still got her something on her list and she'd ask for the cupcake maker for her birthday (hopefully she'll forget about it by then).

Yes, it was a very nice Christmas. We still haven't figured out all the traditions I would like to start instilling in our family to make Christmas more meaningful. I want the kids to understand more deeply that Christmas is about Our Savior and not so much the gifts, but we're working on it. We did read the Christmas Story, Christmas morning and spoke briefly what it would be like if we were there that day Jesus was born. Katie even understands more than I give her credit. So, as a New Year begins, I hope to be more purposeful in my every day teachings. I hope to really dive in the bible and learn together with the girls more about Jesus. I think God has great things in store for us, and I hope He does for you too!

This past October had been a busy month. Yes, fall is in full swing and we definitely tried making most out of the month to do some of our favorites. I had planned on writing about each occasion, but between an infant, dial up Internet, and illness, time simply slipped through my fingers.

For starters, we began the month going to one of our favorite fall festivals: the Zeeland Pumpkinfest. It's a great way to kick off the fall season. Everything is free, with the exception of vendors selling the usual elephant ears or hot dogs. They have face painting, a pumpkin seed spitting contest, a chili cook off, an animal petting zoo, and even a pie eating contest. Unfortunately this October the weather simply hasn't cooperated. It has rained almost every weekend, but we were determined to go, so we took our umbrellas and hopped in the car. Fortunately they had most of the events inside. The girls did their first pie eating contest, which was hilarious. Poor Kyra, daintily ate her pie without her hands as fast as she could, but was no match for a boy who could scarf his down in seconds. Kyra wondered why she didn't get a prize, she thought she was pretty fast (apparently not fast enough).

The following weekend we had my old college roommate and family come to stay for the weekend. We had plans to go to one of our favorite apple orchards, but again the weather was not on it's best behavior. We did end up going to Post Farms, which is a pumpkin farm and has simply wonderful warm donuts. The kids had fun jumping on hay bails, riding on a hay ride, and running through a corn maze. We had a good time staying up late playing card games with our friends and catching up on old times.

Finally, it came time for Andrew's baptism. My family was all coming for the weekend, to help celebrate this joyous occasion while joining in on a few more fall activities. Of course, wouldn't you know the weather once more did not cooperate. My hopes of going to the apple orchard were pretty much squashed. I had hoped for a fun filled weekend for the kids and family, but between the weather and dreadful loom of H1N1, we pretty much stuck to the confines of our home. Of course, it didn't seem to matter much because the girls and their cousins had fun anyway. They just like to be with each other. We did end up carving the pumpkins that we grew (the heaviest being 78lbs!!) and ate a lot of good food (of course). The baptism went well too. All of the cousins went up in front of the congregation and sang "Jesus Loves Me." They sounded beautiful. I am so fortunate to have such a loving family.

So that was our month of October in a nutshell, busy but full of laughter, fun times and friends and family. The only thing missing was Halloween. I was so impressed that I made Kyra's costume this year, but much to my dismay only Katie went trick or treating. Sadly, Kyra developed H1N1 shortly before the day of gluttony. She seems to always get sick on holidays. I'm just glad she made it till after our family gathering to get sick. So as November kicks in, we are going into the new month quietly. We are taking it easy and hoping the remainder of the family stays healthy. Because it won't be long, and a few more major holidays will be coming before we know it!!

Fourth of July

This year we missed our yearly trip to Hessel (up north), and therefore missed their little town's parade. My hubby has never been in town over the fourth of July because for the first 30 years of his life, he has always been in the U.P. Although, he was a little sad to be missing his annual vacation, and I a little sad to miss a cousin's wedding in Washington D.C., we made due.

Andrew was 1 1/2 weeks old and made his first parade. The local parade was actually very nice. It was a bit more crowded then our little hobunk town up north, but we managed to find a spot without too much trouble. Andrew winced with the fighter jets flew by, but the rest of the time he slept. The rest of the day we just relaxed at home and took it easy. We contemplated fireworks, but decided the parade was enough excitement for one day. So, we headed into town for ice cream, and then called it a day. It was a quiet day, but a nice one. We missed family and friends this past week, but know we got a very good blessing out of the deal! Hope you all had a wonderful 4th!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from Our Family to Yours! I hope everyone had a wonderful day.

Christmas Meme

My sister-in-law just did this meme, and I thought it was kind of a cute get-to-know-you-at-Christmas-time post. The fact that I haven't written anything in awhile might have something to do with it too! Hopefully you are all enjoying getting in the Christmas spirit!

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper. I do put some odd sized or large things in bags, simply because it can be too frustrating to tape things at odd angles. But I love the look of a wrapped present. It is also much more exciting to see a child tear open a gift instead of pulling it out.

2. Real tree or Artificial? Real. Although every year I seem to dread the task of putting the lights on the tree. It's all worth it in the end when you see the masterpiece. I also like having a tree that looks unique every year. This year 900 lights went on our tree and we chopped it from our back yard!

3. When do you put up the tree? Usually about a week after Thanksgiving (it used to be later since I am a procrastinator, but persistant kids keep you on task).

4. When do you take the tree down? Sometime mid-January. My favorite sight at Christmas is a glowing decorated tree. I have a hard time taking it down, especially since it seems to be up for such a short period of time.

5. Do you like eggnog? Normally yes, but I don't seem to have a taste for it this year.

6. Favorite gift received as a child or adult? As a child it would have to be my 10 speed bike. We had just finished opening all our gifts, and I was feeling a little slighted because my siblings seemed to get more than I (I think I was about 10). Then Dad told me to get some food item in the kitchen, and there in the center of the kitchen was a shiny new blue bike! I was elated. As an adult it was probably a toss between the TV/Entertainment Center from my hubby when we first newlyweds or the plane tickets to Florida a couple years later.

7. Hardest person to buy for? The hubs and my brother. I think guys in general are harder to buy for. My hubby ususally wants hunting or carpentry items that I have no clue about (or they cost an arm and a leg).

8. Easiest person to buy for? My mom or sister. You'd think it would be my kids, but I'm even having trouble with that this year (What are good toys at this age? Do they even need that many toys? We need to simplify.)

9. Do you have a nativity scene? My sister gave me one years ago from Guatemala (right?), and it's beautiful, put I'm afraid to display it for fear the kids might break it. I also have my eyes on the Willow Tree set or another one I saw at the Christain Book store (but they're a bit pricey).

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail.

11.Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Maybe a used air mattress, or was it the blue tinted light bulb with a puffy painted snow man on it. That would be thanks to my brother-in-law. Thank goodness he is married now and has a little help from his wife!

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? AChristmas Story. I have many fond memories of watching and laughing with my family at this one.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? I normally like to start in November, but between our family being so sick and again my procrastination, I have hardly gotten started. Last year I think I was done at this point, but this year I have only bought for two people! That's alright, I still have a week and 1/2 right?

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Yes, but I think it was only one of my brother in-law's gifts for a white elephant exchange!

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? It's a toss between...Mint M&M's (only out at this time of year), peanut butter chocolate kiss cookies, or my mom's frosted sugar cookies.

16. Lights on the tree? Yes, white only.

17. Favorite Christmas song? I don't have a particular favorite song, but we do love Selah's Christmas album, Michael W. Smith, and Amy Grant's Christmas CD's.

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? We usually travel at some point around Christmas, simply because my family lives in the Chicago area, but I do love to have our own cozy family Christmas at home.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? Uhhh, no.

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? In the past it was an angel, but it was too heavy for the tree this year so we are using a giant metallic bow (my aunt Tam taught me that trick!). I am still looking for the perfect topper.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? It really depends when we can get everyone together, but usually Christmas morning (or New Year's Eve sometimes with my family).

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? Trying to rush and get my rear in gear to get everything done before the big day (I seriously need to plan better. I haven't even made one single cookie yet this year!)

23. Favorite ornament theme or color? Don't really have one. I love mauve and silver, but I would have to ditch all my ornaments from my childhood (which I'm not willing to do), in order to decorate the tree differently. Maybe I'll have 2 trees someday.

24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? Ham.

25. What do you want for Christmas this year? I'd really like a new computer (since I can't seem to download, see photos or videos on this one), a LCD TV, cable, high speed internet, and an IPOD (are you seeing a technical trend in my wants?). But I think I'll settle for time with family...eating, catching up, and spending time with one another since I seemed to miss out on Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was a little different this year to say the least. I'd love to say it was a great one, but I'd be lying. There was, however no shortage of things to be thankful for. I know that I am deeply blessed and am thankful for God's out pour of blessings. I digress though, because this story (probably condensed as I can put it) has to make it to the memory bank. It all began like this...

In our family we rotate holidays. One year is Thanksgiving with my family, Christmas with the hubs fam, and the next year is the opposite. This year happened to be Thanksgiving with my family. And it was going to be no small production by any means. My aunt and uncle have a beautiful home in Ohio and are generous enough to open it up to my Mom's side of the family. Of course every year the family keeps growing, so it was no small task this year to host 35 people at their home (for 4 days)! Some of my cousins I haven't seen in years, so we were excited to say the least. Kyra could hardly wait as we counted down the week before Thanksgiving (she was excited to stay in Molly's room fully equipped with a lovely dollhouse!)

So on Monday I began making my contributions to the holiday festivities. I made soup for our arrival day, a couple types of desserts, and prepared my ingredients for the Thanksgiving day jello. I even managed to get an appointment to get my hair highlighted and cut, and got new glasses just in time before we left (all of which needed to get done anyway, but just a bonus for getting done before we went).

Finally, Wednesday morning I began packing the car, as I waited for my hubs to come home from work early so we could hit the road. Unfortunately, just as I was putting the last things in the car, my hubby called. My mother in-law was sick and in the hospital. He told me to go ahead and continue to pack. We just might be delayed a bit, so he could visit her in the hospital and make sure she was stable. We went ahead and visited her and she seemed to be okay. She had low 02 stats, but they seemed to be getting it under control. So on the road we went. However, after an hour on the road, we received a call from his brother saying that her condition hadn't improved, and had a surmountable amount of carbon dioxide in her system and they were going to have to put her on a ventilator. After a few moments of indecision, we turned around.

It was a scary evening, spent with my hubs family, wondering if his mom was going to pull through or not. There were tears and fears, questions and confusion. We stayed close by the next day. And fortunately, Thanksgiving Day showed some progress. She seemed to be pulling through this scary time. So we talked again of going to Ohio. We could still make our actual Thanksgiving dinner (which we celebrate on Friday). Of course, while my hubs stayed by his mother's bedside, Katie developed the stomach flu. I spent all day with one vomiting daughter, and another who was bouncing off the walls wondering if we were still going on "vacation." All I could say, is "we'll just have to see Kyra, right now we just need to make sure Grandma and Katie are okay."

Friday morning arrived, and Katie seemed to be on the mend. Both girls looked good (I thanked God that Kyra didn't seem to get Katie's bug). My hubby went to visit his mom one more time, and praise the Lord, they took her off the ventilator. Her first words were even "What are you doing here, you are supposed to be with your family in Ohio? Scoot, I'll be just fine." So he got his approval. His mom was going to be okay, and we were now on the road! Five short hours later, we arrived at my aunt's home. We were greeted by a warm house full of people and glad to be with such a loving bunch. We headed to our places for dinner, prayed, and began to get the girls plates ready. Of course right in between two of the tables stood Kyra, vomiting on the floor! We had been there not even 1/2 hour and she had thrown up! We couldn't believe it, and we certainly didn't know what to do. We had made it so far, and yet knowing how contagious this bug must be, we didn't want to contaminate everyone. So after quarantining her for a couple hours longer, eating a quick dinner (for us), and 2 more times throwing up, we decided to turn around and go back home.

That was our Thanksgiving! It was crazy to say the least. But as I reflect back on it now, I am still thankful. I am thankful that the my mother in-law is still with us. I am thankful that even if it was just a few hours, I was able to visit with some family I haven't seen in a long time. I am thankful for such supportive family, who was praying for us. I am thankful for my girls, who are on the mend and graciously didn't have a fit for having to leave. I am thankful for a husband who did a lot of driving in a very short period of time. And I am thankful for a God who is faithful. Now, hopefully Christmas goes a little smoother!

Halloween

This year we certainly got our use out of the Halloween costumes. Not wanting to buy new costumes (although I suppose I could have put something together from things around the house, which so many resourceful people seem to be doing these days), I borrowed the girls costumes this year. I asked Kyra what she wanted to be, and she answered "a princess." Of course, I should have known. Fortunately a friend of hers let her borrow one of her dress ups. Then another friend said she had a ladybug costume she thought would fit Katie (and another for Kyra just in case she changed her mind). Perfect! Everything was set. We picked up the two costumes and prepared for the special day.

Well, wouldn't you know, when we went to visit my parents in Chicago, Kyra changed her mind. She now wanted to be the Lion. That was fine, because at least I had the costume in tow. They looked cute together, and that was that. Then, came Kyra's Halloween party at school. I thought she wanted to be the Lion again, but she said this time she wanted to be something different. I got out the princess costume, but in the end she decided to be an M&M (which is what she was last year). She said it's perfect, "I was the lion last week, I'll be an M&M today, and for Halloween I'll be a princess!" This is what happens when you give a girl too many choices....they want to be it all. Oh well. I was just glad we had everything. She came back from her party that afternoon and couldn't chat enough over the party. She said all the kids were chasing her, yelling they were going to eat her because she looked so yummy! I thought that maybe it scared her, but in turn she liked it (and I think liked the attention too).

Finally, it came time to head to some good friend's house to go trick or treating. I told her to grab the Princess costume and let's go. "But I am an M&M today mom!" I know, but you said you wanted to wear the Princess costume for Halloween. "For another Halloween Mom, I can only be one thing a day" she said. What logic! Whatever girl, let's go.

So, we went trick or treating on one of the nicest evenings I've ever trick or treated on. The kids didn't have to wear jackets, and because of daylight saving time being so late this year, we were able to go while it was still light out. And the funny thing was that at every door Katie said "twick or tweating!" every time. We couldn't get her to just say trick or treat. Too cute. After finally seeming to get enough candy went home, sat down and traded their loot, while making fun little spider cracker treats after all the excitement. Yes, this Halloween was a lot better than last year!

"Sending Out An S.O.S."

It was kind of an odd Mother's Day. I spent the last few days in Chicago. You could say the trip away was a little gift from my hubby. I was able to spend the day before Mother's Day with my Mom, and then planned to come home on Sunday so I could spend the special day with my hubby. You see, one of his gifts to me, were tickets to "The Police" concert. I was just a little excited, seeing as how "Sting" is one of my favorite singers. I know, I'm a lucky girl.

Anyway, the night before I left, Katie began to fuss and cough in her sleep. I woke up on Mother's Day only to find out she had a fever and seemed only to get worse. I quickly got in the van, and hoped for the best as I took the 3 1/2 hour trek home to Michigan. Fortunately she slept most of the way (something I was very thankful for, seeing as how she's not the best traveler and I was the lone caregiver in the car). I played out the rest of the day in my head. I would get home, eat lunch, unpack, shower, and prepare for the concert. Wouldn't it be nice if the scenes in our head matched reality? Riiigght. It went a little more like this:

1:00 PM Got home, hubby had made lunch, grocery shopped, and planted all my flower beds while I was gone as another Mother's Day gift (yeahh....he is good!).
1:20 PM Put a very cranky Katie on the couch to watch Baby Ein*stein, took her temperature, while she screamed her way through that- 103.3
1:30 PM Scarfed down lunch, while intermittenly going back and forth to bring drinks, binkies, blankies, etc. to a wimpery little girl.
2:00 PM Consulted the pediatrician as to what I should do, since she seemed short of breath. He said we should take her to a pediatric clinic that didn't open till 5pm (2 hours before our concert).
2:10 PM Contemplated what I should do, since our babysitter was both pregnant, and has a 17 month old. Figured we should give the kids to Grandma and Grandpa instead.
3:00 PM Took a shower, got ready, unpacked a little, sat a little in our new chairs that arrived while I was gone, packed kids pjs and snacks to go to G&G's.
4:30 PM Went to clinic, registered, and Katie vomits all over Dad (who by the way was dressed for the concert).
5:40 PM Doctor diagnosed her with Bronchitis and said she would be no longer contagious after Tuesday!
6:00 PM Made some phone calls to quick decide what to do (G&G don't need bronchitis). My hubs decides he'll stay home. I have to decide who to bring with me to the concert in the next 15 minutes. Two friends are 9 months pregnant, one works on the weekends, one lives 40 minutes away....there was only one friend left to ask (sorry Christy, almost called you). Fortunately, my brother in-law pulled through and said he'd be willing to deal with possible tossing of cookies, wheezing, and crankiness.
6:40 PM Went to 3 pharmacies to get antibiotics, they were all closed. We'll have to get it in the morning. Shot to fast food restaurant for Kyra, and headed out the door.
7:29 PM Arrived at the concert, with one minute to spare!!!!

How appropriate that the first song Sting sang was "Message in a Bottle" a.k.a - "SOS". I felt like I was the one in need of the S.O.S. But we made it. The concert was fabulous. I felt a little young in the crowd, after all I was really going to see Sting, not the whole band, but it was still fabulous. I felt quite guilty leaving our sick little one at home too, but what are you going to do? Sting/Katie/Sting/Katie. I think she forgave me today. And I had my day with her today filled with snuggles and hugs...a true mother's delight. Yes it was a memorable day.

Christmas Aftermath

Well, it was a great day. I hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas. I think the hubby and I were a little more excited than the kids. We were waiting at least 1/2 hour in bed, listening for signs of Kyra scampering about the house and see all the gifts under the tree, or notice her stocking filled with goodies. Of course, we proved to be the children with ants in our pants in this scenario because Kyra didn't wake up until 8:20am (she almost never sleeps in). Then when she did wake up, she simply sat on the couch and gazed at the tree (she didn't even notice all the presents, I guess she was admiring the finer things). Oh well, that didn't last long. After pointing out the filled stockings, she was pretty much on a high for the rest of the day. It was a joy to see her excited for the holiday, and watch the never ending energy till late at night.

Katie on the otherhand was a different story. On Christmas Eve we found out she had Croup and hence slept very little the night before Christmas (as did her parents). However, I was hopeful that she would take a good long nap before the rest of family arrived. That would be a negative. Whatever the reason, she refused to take a nap, and was a sluggish creature the rest of the evening. She just sat listless in her father's lap, while everyone opened their gifts, without the energy to open her own. I felt so bad for her. I just hope she perks up a bit before we celebrate the next family Christmas.

Despite the one sick child, we had a great time with family. There was lots of laughing, eating, and joy spent in one another's company. I hope everyone else enjoyed the holiday and spent time remembering the little baby king who came to save us from our sins. Merry Christmas.