White Christmas

WooHoo we got our white Christmas!!! Not only that but Rambo Man is snowed in so he gets to stay home an extra day, we are busy doing absolutely nothing and lovin it. Fire going in the wood stove, hot chocolate staying warm in the new coca/latte maker (thanks Sherry), 2 pans of lasagna in the oven and way to many leftover cookies, cakes and candies.

We had a few firsts this Christmas that were a bit scary but turned out to be OK, different but still OK. Of course we have know for many years Christmas with our girls would have to change at some point but we always hoped it could stay the same. We have been so lucky to have all of our girls and their families at home under our roof for 24 hours at Christmas. This year our oldest Daughter and her family decided to stay at their own home, her husbands parents come in from PA each year to visit them and it is time Tyler has Christmas morning at his own tree. Rambo man and I fought tears many times with the prospect of missing one of our little ducks and her beautiful family but it was OK. We decided to wait to open gifts until they came over later in the morning, it worked out great they showed up just in time for a big breakfast Christmas morning we then had a relaxing time opening gifts, enjoying a second cup of coffee or hot chocolate and lots of laughs.

The other new for us was Christmas dinner, in the past our girls would get up at the crack of dawn, rip through the gifts, have a big breakfast and head back to bed for a long nap while I cleaned up the mess and started Christmas dinner. Many, many years I barley had time to take a shower before our meal. This year we took the show on the road, we all meet at our oldest Daughters home at 3:00 for dinner, everyone pitched in and made a few dishes (well most of us pitched in HA) All I had to make was the turkey, dressing, gravy, sweet potato casserole, appetizer and a few deserts. Now that was a nice change of pace!!! Their home is big enough that they can set up tables and chairs for all of us to fit in the same room, love it. My sister and her family even braved the snow and took the hour drive to join us for a snack and drink later in the evening. We returned home to a QUIET CLEAN house, not a bad deal at all!!!

Change can be scary for a family, taking two scary steps in one year was super scary but it all worked out wonderfully, we count our blessings everyday that we are lucky enough to have all of our girls living locally so we can see them often and share the beautiful families they are creating. Hope all of you had a great Christmas with lots of love and laughter surrounding you. I will share a few of my favorite things tomorrow, got a couple of over the top cool new tools, can't wait to try them out!!