Dropping the Ball on Winter Break

Ryan Seacrest may be the new host of the annual ball drop, but I like to think of myself as the better ball dropper. This blog, for instance - neglected for over a month. Fail. I'd like to take a moment to dedicate this dropped ball to Dick Clark. We miss you, Dick. Ryan Seacrest is the worst.

Anyway, after a long lapse, I am tempted to do a big recap, but those can be a punishment to read, and an even bigger punishment to write. And in spite of the fact Andrew bought me a really nice camera for my birthday last year, my photography continues to consist mainly of blurry cell phone pics. So I don't have professional grade photos to tell the wonderful tale of our Christmas. We're a sad lot. 

Here are some high points of our last few weeks:

- Wild Lights at the zoo during a fluke 50 degree day nestled between highs in the 20s.

- Starting the 25 Days of Christ tradition. Every night, we read a story from Jesus' life, watched a video and Asher picked a new ornament out of the bag to hang on the tree. It really helped keep our focus on the Savior, and drew us together as a family.

- Our "Christmas" here at home with the boys. It was pretty modest, but the kids had so much fun. We just played with toys in our jammies and ate Trader Joe's almond croissants. Recommend!

- Visit to Louisville - we were able to see my little sister Amy, and are THRILLED to hear of her upcoming move back to Kentucky! Sisters gotta be close!

- Will and Abby (Andrew's little sister) got engaged!! Excited for their Derby Day wedding.

- Visit to Central City. This was a big one...we stayed a whopping 9 days and had all the fun we dream of having year round. Andrew is quoted as saying if he didn't have children, he'd spend more time.....playing games (everyone has a different nirvana - my husband's just happens to look like Settlers of Catan. He was also in marching band, but I'm not saying there's any pattern). We definitely played games. We saw extended family. We watched the kiddos play. We ate like we had the metabolism of tweens and washed it down with hot chocolate. We had so much fun together, we started making plans to all move to a "family estate" together...compound style, like weird fringe folk. I guess when you really truly love people, you want to share a septic tank.

And we really truly love these people.

- Return visit to Louisville. This time around, we were able to see Hannah and Spencer, fresh from the Canadian wild. We played some really fun games together, and ate a LOT of take out.

 My favorite part of the trip was bundling up and laying out in the snow (with electric blankets) to watch a big meteor shower together. We just talked, laughed, and listened to Dad tell old stories between shooting stars.

- Unexpected snow days.  We arrived Sunday night, just ahead of the polar vortex...because of dangerously cold temperatures, Andrew's class and clinic were cancelled (the first time since we've been here) both Monday and Tuesday. This was especially nice for us, since Andrew was going to be in Dallas Wednesday through Sunday, and we were dreading the separation. 

We hardcore blitzed the house and I went a full day without brushing my hair. Everything felt so clean and organized...every piece of laundry washed, folded and put away. That never happens.  Taking inventory of all the new things we'd acquired over Christmas made us feel so deeply grateful for the great generosity of our families. It is funny, because we are so dirt stinkin' poor...we have less than nothing. And yet, somehow, we have absolutely everything. As we stood there together and thought about our warm home filled with two healthy boys, all the necessities of life, comfortable furniture, books, toys, games...a profound sense of abundance and gratitude washed over us. 

So thankful to be living our lives together and sharing this sweet little world we've helped create.