Christmas Break

Today officially ends our Christmas break - our first one away from family. (first pic is our Chrismas dinner - ham and all!) Sometimes it seemed like it would never end, yet now I think, "Wow, its already come and gone!" I guess that's how it goes these days. We went to the local golf course to sled, hit the bowling alley, went out for breakfast one day, and swam at one of the hotels in town. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera for any of that :( Oh well. The kids also loved the "staying in" bag - a brown lunch bag filled with things to do in the house, such as color, marbles, play-doh, puzzles, computer, etc... They loved picking something out of the bag! It made the otherwise 'normal' idea of playing games (or whatever was drawn) seem exciting. I highly recommend it! A big Christmas gift hit has been the bounce house. We've blown it up several times in the garage and the kids have at it. They get bundled up, and can only bounce for 1/2 hr at most, but they have fun! They have also loved playing their new computer game, "Charlie Church Mouse". They play it at least once a day! Thanks Grandpa and Grandma Van!

Jared and I have been able to go out twice, and tonight makes #3! We went to a movie the first time, and then on New Year's Eve our church had a married couples dinner/game show night. It was a lot of fun, and I even won one of the 'minute to win it' games. I had to be the first one to get a cookie from my forehead into my mouth w/0 using hands. It only took me 3 attempts. And our reward? A whole bunch of movie passes! How perfect for us :) Today is Jared's birthday, so we'll just be heading out for a nice quiet dinner just the two of us. I'm looking forward to it!!

We've had lots of fun, but not without a little sorrow too. My Grandma Lloyd was reunited with Grandpa in Heaven on December 28th. It was not a huge surprise, but still hard to take, especially so close on the heels of losing Grandma Schilling. I found it interesting that both of my Grandma's were born just a month apart, and they died just 2 1/2 months apart. So, now I am officially 'grandparentless'. So weird. Jared said I can share his Grandmas with him. :) This coming Friday I am off to MI again for a funeral. I hate to leave Jared alone with the kids, but he seems fine with it. Friday and Monday shouldn't be too bad since Eben will be in school all day, and Aliza will be gone for the morning. Its the weekend I feel bad about. That's a long time alone with the kids. I am planning on asking a friend to take Eben Saturday morning, so he has a little bit of a break. Please pray for him with the kids. They are a handful sometimes ;)

Hope all of you have a wonderful 2011 :)
Love from CT