The holidays were a total blur this year, but a very good blur! I think we had one of the best holiday vacations we have ever had. Tim was able to get the longest stretch of vacation time off that he has had in a long while (he estimates 12-15 years!), and that made for a lot of wonderful together-time. I loved that he got to sleep in as long as he wanted and stay up late into the night for the first time in a long time. It's always great waking up on frosty mornings next to the one you love!
Our future daughter-in-law, Jennifer, arrived on December 14th. I have to admit, I was a little nervous at first that we would be able to find enough to do for 11 days to keep her from being bored stiff. I need not have worried. By December 25th, we just all kind of collapsed into an exhausted little heap!
We spent a good deal of time showing Jenn where she might be living soon--up in the 'Boro by the college. She is working and saving to try and get up here by the time that Daniel finishes his second semester of his second year of college. Their wedding plans will come together more when they can actually get to the same town and start to make plans.
Jenn and I got a little time in shopping. We went alone one day to Goodwill! That was a blast. I learned that she and I are going to be good shopping buddies! She hung in there with me the whole time and then some. It is an amazing thing when someone can match my stamina at Goodwill! She is tough as nails, and we had a ball!
We also took Jenn and the kids out to Opryland to see the beautiful lights and displays. I'll bet we walked 5 miles that night. We had also spent the day at the mall, so we probably got in a good 10 miles of walking that day. The kids did not gripe about going to sleep that night!
Jenn held up well to life in this chaotic, large household. The two little girls kept her busy playing dolls, painting nails, decorating for Christmas, baking, and every other "girly" activity they could think of. The poor girl did not have much time with Daniel, but the two of them took it well and included the siblings in most everything they did. Jenn also jumped right in there and helped with all that had to be done before Christmas. Since I had been in the hospital, my tree was not even up. The kids all had a good time putting it up for me and decorating, inside and out.
We attended a progressive dinner one night before Christmas, and Dan and Jenn were in another group going from house to house. The weather was awful, and at one point, Daniel called and said they were off in a ditch, head first. He was so worried that someone was going to come along and broadside them before they could get the car out of the ditch. I told him to get Jennifer out of the car and to a safe spot away from the car, and we would be there as soon as we could. We raced across town, and by the time we got there, a good Samaritan had stopped, attached a chain to the car and was pulling them out of the ditch. I was a bundle of nerves the rest of the night, because it was cold and wet and foggy, and I shuddered to think how I would have felt if something had happened to them--especially Jennifer, who had been entrusted to our care by her parents. God was watching over us all, and everything turned out o.k. Sam even managed to take Dan's car into his Auto Body class and have it checked for damage. None was found, so we were really grateful for that.
Christmas Day, Mom and Dad and my brother Doug came over for Christmas Dinner. I had cooked all day Monday, so I had a lot of it done, but I wanted for my first attempt at doing Christmas dinner for the family solo to be a decent replication of the wonderful holiday dinners my parents and grandparents before me had done. I took requests and made all the favorites of anyone who had a suggestion. We had enough food for an army, and we ate on it the rest of the week, which was nice! I missed my siblings who had other obligations that day, and the one who is hopelessly addicted to life in Germany. We will just have to see him later in the Spring, Lord willing.
All the kids had a wonderful Christmas. Daniel got a Mac computer (desktop.) Sam got tools and heavy-duty outdoor clothing and coats. Micah got his beloved Wii, Nerf toys, and some of the Blueman Keyboard Instruments. The girls got an assortment of dolls, games, puzzles, and electronic toys. I got a load of new jewelry, since Hannah and Sarah have depleted my jewelry collection by breaking so many necklaces as babies--pulling on everything, and by losing a lot playing with it. I also got some candles and my favorite Acqua di Gio cologne. Dan and Jenn got me a John Mayer c.d. and some earrings. I got a new robe and some Bath and Body Works products--always a hit. Tim got a new leather jacket, some new clothes for his ever-shrinking body, and some homemade gifts from the girls and me. He also got a Starbucks gift card and a Dilbert calendar for 2008!
We spent New Year's Eve with our brethren and enjoyed food, fireworks, and singing. We had a very lazy New Year's Day after sleeping in very, very late. We have gotten so spoiled! I have to say, though, that it has been wonderful not to go much of anywhere for the holidays and let everyone come to us. I feel so much more rested than I ever have.
Tomorrow, Sam is back in school, and Tim is back at work. We will start in with home schooling again. Daniel is the only one with another week off before he starts his college back again. I have a lot to do this winter and on into the Spring. I want to get the girls' room and the boys' rooms redone. I have many projects in my head that I would like to do, but we will see how many I actually have time for.
I will be teaching the 2nd-4th graders on Wed. night this trimester at church. I will also sit in that group on Sunday mornings to assist. I really enjoy this class. We are learning and re-learning a lot together. I feel so blessed to be able to worship with such a wonderful, talented group of people. The teachers really go above and beyond in preparing for these classes with the kids. The things they bring home at the end of the trimesters just floor me every time. Sarah brought home the sweetest box of books--the 66 books of the bible, hand-sewn into individual booklets with highlights from each book pasted in by the kids. Hannah had a beautiful booklet of work from Genesis and Exodus, with each page hand-colored by the teacher and put into a protective sleeve so we could review it again and again. These teachers put hours and hours of work into these classes. We even have a family that shows up every Sunday at 5:00 to set up probably 20 laptops so that kids can do an extensive Bible review on computer that was written by this family. They have put so much work into this program, and the kids are really learning so much from it.
Well, that is my very lengthy review of the holidays around here. They were so wonderful. It is going to be kind of hard to get back to the day-in, day-out routine after such a pleasant time.
