Christmas 2008

Christmas has come and gone :( Decorations have been put away and now we are left with fond memories of a great break.
The holiday was filled with lots of crafts and baking and kid sleepovers and Christmas movies and music. But mostly it was just spent being together as a family enjoying each others company.

This was the first year on Christmas morning with just our little family and we really enjoyed it. Don't get me wrong...when I spoke to my family that day knowing they were all together and I was not, that was hard but given the situation we had a great time together.

We spent Christmas at home and then spent a few days in Chicago with all of Charlie's family (minus one brother and his family). It was a great combo of relaxation and fun and Charlie got to watch a Bears game at home with all of his brothers which made his day. We got to partake of Diane's wonderful cooking and hospitality. At many times throughout the days there were 27 people to feed and one dog. That could drive a person crazy...but my in-laws are great at welcoming the madness and just letting everyone have fun!

Grandpa Ross made each of the kids a new special toy. He is an amazing woodworker and I love the little projects that he does with them. Here is Ethan playing with the blocks that Grandpa made. I will have to post the elephant and princess that he made for the girls later.

It was hard to send Charlie off to work today and get the kids back in a routine but I guess all good things must come to an end. I feel very blessed to have had such a great Christmas with my cute kids and husband and that we were all healthy and safe. What a great memory the last 2 weeks will be for us!