Christmas Notes 2012

Saturday, Dec. 29, 2012 We have made it back to Eugene; no rain, snow, or sleet to speak of and definitely no chains!  And...we even slept in a motel last night!  Leaving was hard, as it always is.  Someday maybe I will learn how to leave my loved ones without tears...but so far I have not.  We left with a prayer that Emily and Adam will be able to finish their remodeling in time to be out of the house they are in on the 14th as requested by the owner!  Feeling so very blessed for the week of vacation and for our beautiful children and their families!

We found our apartment in good order, the accumulated mail was in the mailbox...lots of bills, but a few Christmas cards and, on our doorstep, a wonderful Shutterfly book from Sara of the past year with the Kirby family.  The pictures are wonderful and we appreciate the book so very much! 

Backing up... Monday (12/24) we went out with Emily to do some errands and stopped at the house she and Adam are remodeling to move into.  It has a long way to go and they need to be able to move in on the 14th of January.  There are a good number of workers working on it...we got to see it several times during our days there and it was fun to see the progress.  We picked up some groceries - to make hot chocolate, cinnamon rolls and cheesecake - Emily’s requests for while I was there.  We managed the cinnamon rolls and hot chocolate for Christmas morning, but did not get the cheesecake made.  Mostly because we went to Adam’s sister’s house for dinner and Christmas opening of gifts on Christmas Eve and then to his parents’ home for Christmas Day dinner.  So - no time to make or eat the cheesecake:).  On Christmas Eve the dinner was sandwiches - kind of a make your own buffet, with several accompaniments and cheesecakes from Costco for dessert.  Adam’s mother read a Christmas story - this year she chose The Gift of the Magi - after which a huge pile of gifts was handed out.  There were lots of kids (cousins) and it was a fun time.  His family’s tradition is to do the gifts on Christmas Eve and then do Santa on Christmas morning.

 We did that too. Here is a picture of Eli on Christmas morning with his new “bike with pedals!" And a picture riding this new wonder outside!  He has picked up the pedaling and was even braking by the time we left.  Somewhat amazing.

OK - trying to do this blog thing is a challenge!  I don't know why the next para-graph is underlined and can't seem to change it.  Don't know if adding the pics somehow has messed me up.  But... to continue...

We really enjoyed the lack of a schedule and being able to relax; Emily and Adam were very kind and welcoming to us and gave us so much of their time.  It was so much fun to see Eli - how he’s grown and all that he does.  As usual, it made it really hard to leave this morning...I just have to get used to the goodbyes!  

Wednesday they dropped us off for a movie at a nearby luxury theatre, the likes of which we have never been in before; then picked us up and took us out to dinner.  It was a very fun visiting time.

Thursday was just relaxed, doing odd things at the house and visiting their new house to see the progress.  We watched a TV show about buying foreclosed homes - which Adam and Emily found quite amusing and very unrealistic based on their experience so far:).  Then headed off to bed for a good night’s sleep before starting out this morning (Friday).

It was good to hear from everyone - right before Christmas, on Christmas day, and afterwards.  So happy to hear that Stephen and Sara are both on the road to health again after prolonged illnesses, and hopefully Christine too, and that most everyone is doing well.  We are doing great!  (Especially after all the extra rest!Charlotte and Seth leave for San Diego Saturday; we wish them good flights and a fun time with family.  I hope we all make it to the Celestial Kingdom and that traveling to see each other is a LOT easier there!!!