Friday, at lunchtime, we departed to our now shortened trip to Indiana. Despite the weather we made excellent time. We arrived at my mother's in time for dinner. We let the kids get their wiggles out and then we were off to bed. Saturday morning my mom had an oriaentation class and we had planned to visit my good friend Liz and meet her baby Graham. Unfortunately, due to sickness, Liz & Adam did not arrive until later on Saturday. We enjoyed Saturday with Grandpa Terry and my mother. Joel & Jamie also joined us for dinner.
On Sunday my Aunt and Uncle and their grand daughters as well as Joel & Jamie came over for a Sunday luncheon. My mom made turkey and it was a WONDERFUL meal. (Yeah, I ate a lot!) Ky, however, did not eat much at all. He became sick and when we were getting ready to leave he actually puked. (Excellent timing as usual.) We were then faced with the decision of leaving with a puking child or staying until he got better. Rob and I looked at it this way--when one gets sick, often the others follow. We didn't have a whole lot of clothes and we weren't in the comfort of our own home. It seemed like a better idea to just hit the road and get home before anyone else got sick. On the way out we made a very quick stop at the Vander Heyden's and met baby Graham (so cute!). It was a good trip, but sad since our visiting time was cut short with everyone.
Poor Ky, continued puking in the car (in baggies), but once out of Indiana he stopped. By the time we hit Wisconsin he was actually asking for food. Luckily no one else got sick.
Monday, Nana & Grandma Jan came over. It was a nice relaxing day full of cookie eating (especially now that we realized we had forgot to give the Vander Heyden's the cookies we had baked for them. It was a yummy affair. The kids had some gifts. Ky received a fun game with rubberband and discs that he loved. Alaina got fingerpainting (need I say more?) And Talia got her first big girl game.
After playing with all the new toys, we were off to church for Christmas Eve service.
14" + of snow...Blizzard of 2012
Aunt Jamie & Uncle Joel
Aunt Char & Cousin Jade
The Irvin Clan
Liz & Baby Graham
The Vander Heyden Clan
Christmas Eve game of Sorry
A good book with G'ma Jan
Dressed for Christmas Eve Service
Giving Big Brother a Kiss
Time to check our stockings
Baseball ornament from U. Adam & A. Liz
A new puzzle
Are you ready for some FOOTBALL?!
A football and a tutu...a well rounded girl
Abby Cadabby
G'ma Bucky always makes an appearance somehow! :)
Princess?
My Boy!
Traveling with babies
Feeding G'ma
Christmas Day
That's my girl!
Learning from big sister
Checking out cousin Devin's new gift
Happy with her babies
One day Joseph was mysteriously replaced with Elmo...I am still unsure which kid did
this...
Meet Mr. & Mrs. tree
Gingerbread house making
Alaina's fell before we got a picture
One happy boy
Make that 2 happy boys
And my personal favorite!
Currently our family is in limbo with churches. We have been strugggling to find something that meets want Rob and I need as well as has a strong program for kids. The church we had been attending had split up and the new "branch" we were attending made it very difficult for us to hear any of the sermon (it overlooked a pool) when our kids were vey distracted. We have been attending a church nearby that a friend goes to. While we enjoy the messages and the children's program we know it is not quite the right fit since the worship is not the right style for us. We plan to continue looking with the new year and pray that God guides us to a new church home. Anyway....we attended the current church's service and it was really nice. Even the kids enjoyed the service, which says a lot!
After church we drove around our neighborhood and enjoyed the Christmas lights before heading home and getting ready for bed. Earlier that day, I had let the kids each open a present early. I had made each kid a photo book of their birth. It didn't quite receive the excitement I hoped for, but I know they will appreciate it later on in life.
Of course, the kids were up bright and early the next morning. (Santa did not give me the gift of sleeping in.) We put our usual YUMMY Christmas breakfast casserole in the oven and let the kids have fun with their gifts. The house was trashed as usual.
From there we were off for the Schnake Christmas which was nice. The kids opened gifts early, which really helped out with timing. They were then busy and less frantic/excited. The kids had a blast with cousins. And we had a nice time with adult conversation--hearing from Ryan about Spain, and of course Debi filling us in on various family. I always love hearing her stories.
It was a very nice Christmas (though busy with travels.) I am glad we did the Indiana visit though--and am happy to have seen family and friends.
So a few other fun details, from the pics...We REALLY needed to get a new tree. And we couldn't find any for a price we like so we (or I should say Rob) decided to get a real tree. Ky got to pick it out--and let me tell you the tree was MASSIVE. Anyway, a few days after Christmas we found a nice artificial tree--and of course we had to set it up when we got home...so that is why we had the dueling trees--and yes we left both of them up for a week. It was fun!
Over Christmas break we also had a Gingerbread house decorating party. The kids had fun--though Alaina's broke before we were able to get a picture. They loved piling on the frosting and the candy. Massive amounts of sugar were consumed...and we did this during Talia's nap to spare her the unhealthy binging. Yeah 2 blogs this month. I am proud of myself. Now if I can just backtrack...so many pictures and adventures, so little time to blog!
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