Christmas Again

I can't believe Christmas has come and gone again. It may make me sound old, but it seems like it comes faster each year.

Christmas was a little bittersweet this year. Not only did it occur mere days after my Grandfather's funeral, but everything was so hectic and frazzled that I didn't feel like I could really enjoy the holiday. But time with friends and family should always be cherished.

My family did our traditional Christmas Eve gift exchange at our house this year. I made oyster stew in honor of Grandpa (though I didn't eat any of it - YUCK) and potato soup (which I ate lots of). We had lots of delicious other snacks, too. And of course, there were lots of presents.

Pretty tree and pretty presents.

Eating.

Daddy told the Nativity story before we opened presents.

Present time! Salem slapped some duct tape on her present, just like Grandpa used to.

Go Broncos!

On Christmas Day we had a big dinner at my parents' house, with meat, potatoes, and all the trimmings. Plus some delicious desserts. Then some of us went to see Les Miserables, which was pretty awesome. Anne Hathaway = awesome. Really.

A few very short days after Christmas we were on our way back to Kansas to have Christmas with Matt's family. First, we stopped in El Dorado to see Grandma. Like so many times before, we watched football together, visited about life and family, and ate a delicious meal cooked by my grandmother. But this was the first such occasion without Grandpa, which made the experience bittersweet. It was tough to leave and make our way down to Matt's folks' house, but we were also excited to enjoy time with his family. 

After our family's little gift exchange, we made our plans to wake early in the morning to head down to Oklahoma City for our Christmas celebration with extended family. Sadly, Matt's uncle got ridiculously sick, resulting in the entire event being cancelled. We tried to salvage the day by meeting a cousin at Olive Garden, but the rest of the time was spent watching football and relaxing.

Our last day of our little Christmas trip, was supposed to include a fun gathering of our friends and their beautiful children, but we had some cancellations on that day, too. At least we were still able to see our buddies Dac and Alisha and their new baby, Reid. Baby and friend time was fun! And I was able to give little Reid his Christmas present.

It was a little monster I made! I made one for Ruby (John and Anna's kiddo), too, and I was told she liked it when she opened it at home.

And then, on the first day of the new year, we finally headed home and tried to settle down into normalcy. But, while I can't deny that this holiday season was funky, sad, and stressful, it was also great to see family and friends. 

Goodbyes are Hard

We had to say goodbye to my Grandpa a couple of weeks ago. He had been struggling to recover from complications with a surgery in July, and he finally left us on December 17. While his failing health over the last few months has allowed us to be somewhat prepared for his passing, it's still been difficult for my family, especially since he was healthy prior to the surgery. But I'm so thankful that we were all able to spend some time with him in his last months, and that we all have so many wonderful memories.

When I was growing up, my sister and I would spend months every summer at my grandparents' house or in their RV on some trip. When I went to college right down the road from them, I spent even more time at their house. I grew very close to both of my grandparents during these times, and I have so many fond memories of time spent with Grandpa. While I could never share or even remember all of our times together, I put some of my thoughts into the following paragraph, which was read at Grandpa's service. I'm not sure that all my funny memories were understood by the large crowd, but Grandpa would have gotten it, so that's all that mattered.

Going away to college was a little difficult for me. The thought of being eight hours away from my parents was slightly terrifying, but I was comforted by the fact that Grandma and Grandpa would only be a short drive down the road. I don’t think I realized how often I would take advantage of their proximity, but it didn’t take long for me to start relying on them for many things. Grandpa was always there when I called. Whether he was offering a little gas money, being my fan at a concert or play, bringing me a bed and carrying it up three flights of stairs, and afterwards suffering through the mediocre Mexican food that I swore was “amazing.” Of course, this didn’t all start in college; Grandpa had always been there from me. He was at the helm of the RV, keeping us safe and happy on many summer adventures. He was able to fix things I broke, even that one time when the toilet started acting weird and I didn’t know what to do. And he was with me at my wedding, offering his blessing and hope for my marriage. And you know, it’s not over for me and Grandpa. He’ll still be with me. In his stories and advice that I’ll carry with me always.

My grandfather was a kind, caring, and compassionate. He was always willing to help anyone he could, and he loved his family very much. I'll miss him.

Ok, New Plan!

Because the act of getting caught up on my blog will take a very, very long time, I really have had no desire to try. I'm just too behind, and I fall further behind each day. So, new plan:

I'm just going to start this year fresh, with new blog posts about what's happening right now. It'll be more interesting for anyone who may still be reading, and I won't be as frustrated every time I get on and realize how behind I am. I hope to fill in the gaps as time goes on, while simultaneously keeping up on our current adventures.

We'll see how this goes...