Merry Christmas

We have had a very busy couple of weeks as Josh's grandma Shirley Becker passed away on the the 19th. We were saddened but know she is in a happier place. Josh went to the funeral in Seattle which was on Christmas Eve. He was expected to be home late Christmas Eve night but due to an Oklahoma blizzard he did not get home until late Christmas day. We decided to spend the night at my parents which forced Santa to make two stops: a small one at their home and the rest at our home. I am so thankful that I had my family to share the joys of Christmas with and to distract my children from opening all of Santa's gifts. I was so proud of Abigail and how she took disappointment. On Christmas day she had been told that daddy was coming home and that we would open Santa's gifts then. But when Josh's plane was delayed and the roads were too bad for me to pick him up from the airport I told her that we would have to wait until the next morning to open presents. She just said okay and went to bed. WOW! I was expecting tears and a fit but she was so agreeable. We were able to all make it home safe and open presents the next day with Grandma Denton.

We had lots of fun with Grandma Denton. We went bowling for the first time with Abigail; we frequented Starbucks (a favorite treat with Grandma); we went to the bouncy barn (worth every penny of 10.00 as both girls took 3 hour naps afterwards) and we enjoyed making a snowman in the snow.

We spent the new year enjoying playing some new games with Meghan's sister Ashley and several neighbor friends. In this New Year we are also waiting for the snow to leave and the air to get above freezing but unfortunately the forecast calls for more snow and temperatures in the teens. In fact, the weatherman claim they will be the coldest temperatures in ten years. I think the bouncy barn will be seeing more of us in the next couple of weeks.

We feel so blessed as we reflect on this past year...Josh is employed and going to school, we have happy and healthy children who are learning to play together and who bring us much joy, and our family and friends are there for laughter and support. We feel so much hope for the coming year and are excited for the blessings it will bring.