So, no pictures today, but an update none the less. Christmas was great. I didn't seem to feel the usual stress of Christmas that I normally feel. Well, to be honest Christmas 2008 I didn't either, but I did feel morning sick! This Christmas there was a rush, but not the "get to the store, did I get everything I think I'll need/want, will my kids be happy with what they got" kind of rush. Nope. I didn't feel that. I was so focused on making it meaningful. I had the 4 oldest kids make something for one of their siblings and they could buy the others. They each got some homemade gift, and I think they were all quite happy with them. Yes, this equated to me do most of the work as my children are all still young, but this was happy stress to me. I also used things we already had. Very little was bought in the making of the gifts! Love that! The last couple of years Walt has urged me to make Christmas more simple and smaller. Well, he was right! It's great and wonderful. My kids may not get tons, but somehow it seems better than the gotta' get 'em everything they want kind of Christmas. I hope that this way they will realize that our most precious gifts at Christmas are the Gift of the Savior and our family.
After Christmas we were fortunate enough to go down to Vancouver, WA to visit with Walt's brother's family. I was refreshing for me to get out of my normal routine for a bit. The kids cousins are all older than my kids, their youngest is a year older than Ethan; however, they were great with them! The teenaged girls spoiled Laurel and listened to her non-stop chattering about anything and everything with sweet smiles of adoration. They thought she was "So cute!" Yes, she is, but she sure can talk. As for Ethan and Cameron they followed Jonny all around and I think Jonny enjoyed playing with boys close to his age. There are 6 kids in his family and the only other boy is the oldest.
While in Vacouver we had planned to visit Walt's best friend, who lives outside of Portland, on a specified day and time. Well, shortly before we left it began to snow. As we traveled the snow kept falling, falling, and falling. We had just exited onto the 450 bridge, when our friends called to tell us to abort because they had already gotten 4-5 inches of snow. However, it was already too late. We had to go over that bridge. It took us a riviting 2 hours to cross that sheet of ice! It was scary, and I am so happy that we made it safely across. Walt showed some mighty fine driving skills!! We saw plenty of people who had to park their cars and hike off that bridge. We got turned around and crossed the opposite direction which goes under the top bridge we previously crossed in about 5 minutes. Big difference! So we didn't get to see the friends, but we were safe and that's what counted that night.
When we got back to Vancouver, it was about 8ish, but my kids still went sledding on the hill my brother-in-law lives on. They were out there until around 10 p.m. At least they have a good memory to go along with the tense one from earlier in the evening.
The excitement didn't stop there. We returned home and I had hoped to get things back on track. I had the kids help me unpack and clean. This led to much screaming, moaning, and fighting. Yah, I'm sure you know the kind if you have kids. Well, long story short, Cameron ended up sitting on the drain in the shower, and it overflowed and went through the floor/ceiling in to my kitchen. So we started the new year with 30 half inch holes drilled into my new kitchen ceiling and a very loud fan blowing. The dry wall took a week to dry out, but at least there was no major damage.
This week we are heading into some events. I am having carpal tunnel surgery on my wrist and the following day is Walt's 29th birthday yet again. He hasn't been excited for his birthday for a few years now, and this birthday is no exception. I wish I could say it looks promising that we can make it extra special, but I am worried it might be a rotten day. I think I will have to prepare early this week to do something thoughtful and loving for him that day.
