A Holiday Run Down

Thank God for family. I had mine at my house this year. It was odd to not be in Washington for the first time in 17 years, but it was so nice not to travel. Here is a picture of my dad holding Joslyn for the first time. My parents flew in at 1am on Christmas day (thanks Mom and Dad) and my dad wanted to wake her up, but of course Gardner wouldn't let him. So after a nice lazy sleep in morning he got to hold her for the first time on Christmas Day. Christmas is so strange as an adult. Sure its fun, but I can see now why parents (or Aunts) put so much time, effort, and money to have Christmas for kids. Kids make it fun. Maybe that's not a good thing because we are supposed to be remembering Christ's birth, but remembering all your own wonderful Christmases from your past, only makes you want to give future generations more reasons to celebrate.

Things I miss from Christmas past (in no particular order):
1. Christmas pageants

2. Christmas Day church service

3. Singing only Christmas Carols at church from Thanksgiving until New Years (Thanks Franklin)

4. My older brother and sister's family

5. Decorating the tree at Church at a special service

6. Kelsie

7. The Millers and extended family

Another first was Gardner's first Starbucks!!!! I don't know what made him try it, because he has been so proud in the past that he's not a coffee drinker (I know, I know, weird for our family). Maybe he just wanted to support the company I work for, or maybe he's thinking of joining the team, or maybe he was just curious what a Caramel Macchiato is, but here is the picture to prove it! He did prove though that he is a McKeon by the caffeine having no effect on him. Needless to say I was so proud of him. :)

Oh, I skipped a day. Christmas Eve Noelle and Tim came over after church and we had our family's traditional Won Ton Soup for a late lunch. What a nice day, sitting around my new chocolate fondue fountain while football was on in the background. Sometimes I feel really old when the girls sit in the kitchen and talk about fashion and cooking and the boys sit on the couch, yet how else would I want to spend a holiday?

My parents were here for three full days and we juggled work schedules with my parents, cars, and the baby. It felt so natural to spend normal days with my family. I can't remember the last time I spent so much time with my baby brother. I miss him so much a lot of time. I know he's only an hour away, but that's enough to stop us from seeing each other much. We're both so busy with school and retail jobs that usually the most I see him is a Sunday afternoon. We are so much alike it's scary sometimes. The books we like, the movies we like, the way we get frustrated. As an adult I wonder if the reason he annoyed me so much when we were kids was because we are so similar. Of course I didn't make strange noises, or was obsessed with pushing buttons, or almost magically drawn to molding Play dough together to make a gross gray brown color. Although I did once ruining one of his cassette tapes so I could make spaghetti. Anyway it was just nice to inhabit the same living space for 4 days.

New Year's was also strange because I didn't spend it with Kelsie. I miss her terribly this time a year. The only Washingtonian I spent that day with was Celeste. Thank God I could spend it with at least one old friend. We had are first real snow that day. I was giddy like a school girl or like Mittens with the Christmas Tree.

Speaking of the tree. Katie and I took it down and it took at least 3 hours just to get it out of the house and Katie spent at least another 2-3 trying to get all the needles up. Ugh, as Charlie Brown would say. Next year its a fake one or a little one like Charlie's.

Here's one last picture of my little dolly of a niece.