We received a surprising and very welcome gift this year. (Which had nothing to do with Christmas, and everything to do with another family's need to clean out their freezer :-). The other night Patrick got home late, backed his truck up to the door and started unloading boxes and boxes of meat. I had never seen that much meat before in one place, and here it was on my doorstep, completely free. People have blessed us in many ways, such as completely free eye appointments, glasses, and contacts. This is right up there. I took a picture because the entire freezer is full! So blessed!
When I was young, Christmas Day itself seemed to be magical. Now, it is more about the whole season and the special times we have and memories we make throughout December, that make up my Christmas celebration. This year, we enjoyed a special fun time with some of our neighbour friends, who came over for an informal party and gingerbread house decorating.
My children are so blessed by their grandparents! (Or is it spoiled? Not sure ;-) Thank you so much, David and Des, Dad and Kim, and Mom and Bob. My kids are thrilled with the special gifts you gave them.
The special lady who runs the Proclaim office is so sweet to my kids. She sent along a huge basket of small gifts and toys for the car, which was such a nice surprise! Especially the noisemakers; those were so appreciated! ;-) We had fun dressing up in mustaches and fake lips. (The kids wanted to go into the rest stop this way. I think we look scary enough normally :-) Thank you Kim Soderholm!
It was a cozy trip. Our bathroom trips were short. And there was no playing at the playgrounds Minnesota has at their rest stops!
The last Christmas at my mom's, I, and others, were sick. And Charlie was a baby. The Christmas before that, Hannah was an infant, and I was still in the overwhelmed new mother stage. This year, I am so happy to announce that there was no throwing up! Which was especially important, because Bob is fighting colon cancer, and just finishing up his first round of chemo and radiation. We could not afford to be bringing extra germs with us.
Charlie is well equipped for whatever might come his way. The outfit on the right is the Armour of God. We have talked about the various pieces, and they are labeled. But he is a little confused; today he started crying and came to tell me Caroline was hitting him with the sword of peace. I laughed and told him it must not be all that peaceful if she was hitting you with it.
The girls got fairy wings and tiaras. But what do they want to play with? The swords!
Meghan makes amazing Pioneer Woman cinnamon rolls. She is always so gracious to make what seems likes hundreds of them, and I think they all got eaten. We worked it off. Lots of sledding and snowshoeing. And just walking to keep my toes from freezing.
Oh Canada; my (former) home and native land. You do have a few things going for you!
The trip back home was like nothing I've ever seen. Mom and Bob live off the beaten path a bit (alot), and their "driveway" is about 1.5 miles. The morning we were to leave we had about 6 inches of snow, and Bob drove his truck in front, with the plow on it. It helped, for sure. We made it nearly to the highway, but not quite up the big hill at the end. Patrick had brought along a tow rope, which we attached to Bob's truck and got the rest of the way up the hill. Meghan and Chad, directly behind us, make it farther than we did, but still needed some help at the top. We should have taken that as a warning, because the weather just got worse all day. It is open farmland for 80% of the way home, and the entire way was like this. You couldn't see anything. Nothing. When we crossed the border and turned my phone on, we noticed the blizzard warning in effect for North Dakota. Well sure, I could have told you that. It was quite blizzardy. Like being in a snowglobe. But not quite as romantic. We saw a sign that travel was prohibited on the highway, and managed to reserve a hotel room. Something for which we were very grateful, as it was the weekend after Christmas, and other travelers were making unexpected stops. It was only 45 miles away, and I think it took us 2.5 hours to get there!
This is the closest we came to a group picture. (We're missing one grandchild) These are the stockings my mom has made for the kids. Caroline was so excited to get hers this year. She actually slept with it. Lara was supposed to come at the end of our trip, but she had some passport problems, and then an ice storm that canceled her travel plans. We missed you Lar :-(.
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