After our less than stellar Christmas morning, we got the car packed up and headed out for the long trip to Grandma and Grandpa's house in Durand. I was feeling pretty proud of how efficiently we got on the road and how smoothly things were going, until Eric happened to glance at the dash and realize we were within twelve miles of running out of gas. Knowing there was no gas station for at least thirty miles, I made the executive decision to turn the car around and hit up the gas station a few miles back. Fortunately, we made it without incident, because it was would have NOT been fun to run out of gas on Christmas Day when it was far below zero!
We arrived to Grandma and Grandpa's right after lunch and our kids quickly found some cousins to play with - Ian, Maddex, Romen, and Kate. We love that they have cousins to play with at these family gatherings. It makes it fun for them and so much less stressful for us!
Grandma Edie was feeling great and it was such a treat to get to see her truly enjoying herself and her family. Being in the middle of chemo treatments, hosting Christmas was quite a big undertaking. But, she handled it with the same poise and grace as usual. It did my heart good to see her like this. She seemed so much stronger than last month when I saw her. She told me that she WILL be here next Christmas. I'm glad to see her spunk!
We ate good food and opened gifts. Nolan got an awesome remote control racecar. Olivia got the most beautiful Princess Anna dress I've ever seen. I can't wait for her to play in it! I was brought to tears when all the granddaughters got a beautiful "Because I love you" Grandmother bracelet. They also gifted us some cash which will be put toward our future downstairs remodel project. It was a good day spent with our wonderful family.
We spent the night and Grandpa Jim and Grandma Marcia's house and woke up the next morning to another mountain of presents under the tree. (Do you think my kids are spoiled?!) Uncle Luke and Auntie Annalyse joined us and we spent a relaxing morning opening presents and visiting. Nolan got an awesome car track, lego set, superhero action figures, and some science sets. Olivia got a horseback riding dolly named Elliot (perfect, right?), an Elsa princess dress, and some adorable clothes. The grand finale was their very own pint-sized saddle to use to ride the horses! We're really hoping Nolan will want to do leadline at a show this summer. We'll see...!
We spent the rest of the day eating delicious food, playing games (pegs and jokers), watching Christmas movies, and just relaxing. We are so thankful for our loving family and the time we get to spend with them. Our Christmas schedule is quite intense, and even stressful at times; but how blessed are we to have so many loved ones! So many that want to spend time with us. So many that we want to spend time with. We are so very lucky. Merry Christmas!
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