Christmas 2013

I haven't been writing much news lately, so here's a quick rundown of how we celebrated Christmas.

Sunday - Graham extended family party. Kids had a great time running around with cousins. This is a buffet/potluck style event and the group is so big we have to rent a place to hold all of us.

Monday - Drove to my parents' house in Oshkosh. Joan (Will's mom) came along! We took her vehicle, which is bigger than either of ours, but even so we had a hard time cramming five people, suitcases and presents in there.

Tuesday - Went to the YMCA for open gym at the gymnastics center. Will and I took turns exercising while the boys jumped off the trampoline into a pit full of foam. Will had some fun jumping in too. Then church (see previous post) and on to my sister Laura's house for a Lemke family Christmas Eve party. My nieces are SO grown up.

Wednesday (Christmas) - Laura and her family came over to Mom & Dad's for lunch, exchanging presents, and bombing around on the snowmobile. We devoured almost an entire box of See's chocolates while playing Boggle. Later the boys got to watch Star Wars - Episode 1 which they got on DVD as a Christmas gift. TJ couldn't follow much of it but loved the pod race. Liam, though he has never seen the movie before, knew all the characters and exactly what was going to happen.

Thursday - Drove back home, made an inedible pot of beer cheese soup, opened some gifts to each other. I made a quick visit to Melissa and her family to meet their new baby, just five days old. Then will headed out to broom ball...

And here I sit, in front of the fire, maybe still in the afterglow of that precious baby and a blessedly harmonious five days with family, and I can truly say I feel peaceful. Some years Christmas can feel hectic and stressful, but this year - well let's be honest, I had very little responsibility for any of the celebrations, I pretty much just showed up, and let my parents clean up after me. (Thanks, Mom and Dad.) I've got plenty of stress at work, and Timothy has been going through kind of a tough time with turning-five angst, so we're taking our time. Which explains why, on the night of December 26th, I am about to fill some stockings. Maybe one of these days, during the winter school break, we will finish decorating the tree. Or go see the baby again.