Holiday Traveler

I hope everyone enjoyed a very merry Christmas, filled with lots of fun and joy.

The first leg of my holiday traveling was cut short. I had planned to go to the Illinois vs Mizzou game in St. Louis on the 23rd, picking up my friend, Karen in Effingham, and then meeting Nikki and her Dad, who were coming down via Decatur. Tuesday afternoon we had another ice storm, and I-57 was 100% ice covered so it just didn't make sense to risk the drive... especially with Karen in the "family way".

Wednesday I headed up to Eric's at about 12:30 (after getting the furnace fixed... nothing major but still not particularly convenient). The drive was uneventful until I got to Galesburg when it the road were very slick and it was very windy with blowing snow. Several cars were in the ditch and it was rather scary, but after a little over an hour of alternately praying and swearing like a sailor I made it Eric's safe and sound. We decided it still was a little risky to drive over to Iowa for Christmas Eve service so we spent a nice quiet evening at home with a Frank's pizza, watching Muppet Christmas Carol and Polar Express before Eric read the Christmas story from the Bible just before we wen to bed. We skipped the gift giving this year... instead focusing our budget on others and the new house.

Thursday we headed to Eric's Mom & Dad's house, and were joined by Travis, Steff, Katie and Alec. After lunch it was time for presents. We received some wonderful gifts, and I really felt so welcomed into the family. Katie and Alec were tons of fun to watch opening their presents. Friday, Eric had to work so I returned a few things to to the mall, and then bunkered down to start addressing wedding invites. I made lots of progress... so hopefully when I get back to it after the move in a few weeks it won't be too overwhelming.

Here are some pictures of Alec & Katie enjoying their gifts, and Uncle Eric struggling to open one of Alec's toys for him :)

Saturday Eric and I both braved fog and horizontal rain and drove down to my parents house for Tjardes Christmas. It was a nasty drive, but our sour moods quickly faded with some great food and fellowship. My Mom likes to get a little ornery with her gift giving and has taken to hiding our Christmas money in unique ways. The best this year was wrapping up pair of my brother platform dress shoes circa 1979 for him... we busted out his letter jacket just to complete the look. She also hid money in socks that Lane and Jeremy had left at her house and then sewed the socks shut. We enjoyed a great time, and it was nice to get caught up with everyone... especially the Fab Five.

For New Years I am headed back up to the QC, as we close on our house on Friday. New Years Eve we are going to Dave & Janice Roome's house for some festivities. Dave is my best friend, Jenn's older brother and a long-time friend of the family. He and his family live in Geneseo, about a 15 minute drive from our house... so it makes the move even better knowing that I will already have some ready-made friends in the area.

Here is a picture of Phil showing off his fancy shoes, and Jeremy doing his best impression of his Dad :)

Christmas with the Fab Five... the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Well I hope everyone enjoyed a merry and blessed Christmas. Monday evening (Christmas Eve) I went to church at Quest UMC. Abe and Allison were in town for the holidays, and the children sang a couple of songs, which was a real treat. After church I head to Gibson City to my brother's house for dinner and what has become the traditional holiday ice cream drinks. Every one else prefers the grasshoppers, but I am definitely a Pink Squirrel kind of girl... I think it is because #1 it is pink, #2 it is called "Pink Squirrel"... how cool is that, and #3 Leave it to me to be unconventional. Besides, Jayne and Phil and the kids, we were joined by my parents, my Aunt Ann, and the Beck's (Al, Amelie & Taylor B) friends of Jayne and Phil's. Oh, and also Kyle Valentine... Ashley's former boyfriend and now buddy/friend. Evidently Jayne got Kyle a present for Christmas, even though he and Ashley decided not to exchange gifts, and Ashley has way too much fun referring to Kyle as "Mom's Boyfriend". It was just a very nice and relaxing time.

I spent the night at my parents' house, and my Uncle Bill, Phil and family and Jan and family joined us at about 11 a.m. We had every appetizer known to man for lunch, opened presents, and then dined on our traditional meal of steak, oyster dressing, sweet potatoes, corn and salads for an early dinner. We had pie for dessert, but I opted instead for date pudding (kind of like a chocolate spice cake) with caramel sauce... again another traditional favorite in our family. Jan and family had to leave right after dinner because Larry and Eric left early this morning with a group from their church for New Orleans. They will be doing some home building (framing and drywall) in the 9th ward for about a week.

It was great to spent time with my family, especially the Fab Five... my five nieces and nephews. The title of this post refers the t-shirt Lane got for Christmas and was excited to show me. Here is a picture of the front and back... I think it is great.

My mom totally fooled Jeremy by wrapping his ipod in a box about the size of a copy paper box. She also managed to get a laugh out of our generation by hiding our Christmas cash in the pages of magazines she has saved in the basement dating back approximately to the years of our birth, high school graduation and weddings. It was hysterical because my parents' basement is a pretty much a disaster of 25+ years of junk. It drives my siblings far more crazy than me. It used to drive me crazy too, but perhaps I have just mellowed, or maybe realized that when you are in your 70's the last thing you really want to do is clean your basement. One day it will by "our mess", and my parents seem to be totally fine with that! :)

I took the day off work today to recover from the Christmas craziness. Nathan stopped by for lunch on his way home to Chicago from Fairfield. I took down my Christmas tree while I had the free time, and haven't done much else. Back to work tomorrow... ugghh... but just two days before the weekend.

Editor's Note: The picture at the top of the blog is a very reluctant Fab 5 posing for a picture, they are lined up on the steps in age order... a la Brady Bunch.