Well, it has been almost a month since my last confession...I mean post! I surely didn't mean for it to be so long since I was rockin' in December but my grand ideas of blogging while traveling (with children) didn't work out. There are so many more pictures and stories to share but this is the overview..sorry some of you had to wait so long...here it is!
We really are blessed!
Our 17 day journey began with an ice storm. Thankfully we pulled over at a hotel before the roads got bad and by morning all of the roads were clear. We safely arrived at Josh's parents where a nice dinner was waiting for us along with hugs and kisses from family....and not much beats the love of family. We spent a wonderful week playing hide and seek, making cookies, playing in the snow, getting hair cuts (and a pedicure for me...thanks Josh!) and singing along with Bekah and her guitar. Josh and I were able to get a few dates together and even one with Bekah. We all spent time trying to fight a cold or flu, I had it the worst..it's was my year and Jess, Sam and Daniel visited when we weren't too sick. Some of the Riggenbach's from Michigan came in for a visit, Josh took the girls sledding in the back yard, the kids to an indoor splash pool and was even able to swim some laps with his dad. We had a lovely Christmas and many memories to keep in our hearts. Thank you to all who made it special!
The day after Christmas we drove to downtown Chicago for our annual Christmas with my aunties! It is always so much fun, food, drink and lots of laughs. We were able to see Aunt Sally and Uncle Andre's new condo on Lake Michigan and all of the pretty ancient artifacts in their house - which I am thankful are still ALL there in the same condition! We were so grateful to see Aunt Jeanene and spend time with her too. Everything was an adventure for the girls from making artichoke dip and whipped cream to taking the trash down the hall to the trash chute. It was wonderful to see Aunt Sally and Aunt Jeanene interact with the children and it brought back wonderful memories of how they made everything special when I was little too. I love and adore my dad's sisters! Josh and Uncle Andre' were engaged in conversations, while Aunt Sally took the girls to the playroom in the building and Aunt Jeanene worked her magic on Eric...which is easier when food is involved! It really was another wonderful day..thank you!
Our journey continued the next day with a lovely visit with the Knox family (friends of Josh's from Advanced Course whose parents live 45 minutes from mine) and then finally for a week with my family. My family is wonderful, numerous and always has lots of get togethers at the holidays and when we come in town...so we were in for a treat. Shaun, Shannon and Gwen stayed at my parents the first night so we could have a Christmas morning together. My dad read Twas the Night Before Christmas to the girls and the next morning before heading downstairs to see the presents Santa brought, I took the traditional picture at the top of the stairs only this year the children were styling in coordinating pajamas thanks to grandma! Even Dawn was over early (before the kids woke) to share the morning with us. We had so much fun during our visit and if I ever want to go to sleep tonight I will have to leave the pictures to tell our story of Christmas parties, New Years Eve Party, Gwen's birthday party, the missing picture of the hot tub, Josh felling a tree in the back yard, and lots of love and good times.
The last leg of our journey, the one that eventually led us home took us to Niles, MI for a quick visit with ALL of the Riggenbachs and a bonus night at Oma and Apa's to see Justin and Katelyn. As you can see Eric was thrilled to see Uncle Justin and Katelyn fit right in reading to the girls. We finally arrived home late Saturday, January 3rd. Josh was back to work Monday and off to California for a month of training early on Wednesday. Now that my uber-get-everyone-caught-up blog is done (for the second time!) I can go back to my quick little blogs like the one where Eric said.......
3 comments:
wow, Heather! That was quite the post!! I can't believe you had to re-do it! Gwen sure misses her cousins.. she always wants to come to Kansas, we're gonna have to figure out how to do that. hmmm
How wonderful to hear and see through your blog, the wonderful Christmas vacation that you have to go home to rest to get over! But we love it! Thank you for sharing. It was really a "smile" giver. Hugs
We really enjoyed reading about your travels even though we were part of them. The house is just too quiet without the sounds of the children. Thanks for sharing.
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