Christmas 2010

Ok, I think I can blog about this holiday without tears. I need to just accept that I cry for about a day and a half whenever I say goodbye to the kids and be done with it. Then I get back to life and its ok. It was so amazing having the kids here for two and a half weeks! Joel for three! Here are some things that stood out: 1. Picking up Hannah and Joel at the airport and eating Wendy's in the car in the middle of the night. We talked all the way home. When we got home about 2:00 am, Joel's friends came almost immediately. We could hear their feet running to get to the door. They all hugged Joel, so happy to see him.
2. The girls came up to Eisenhower to see me after I texted Leah that Nancy's kids were there. It was so honoring. They chatted with Nancy, Mary and LouAnn quite a while. 3. Joel's friends up in his room and in the livingroom playing video games, music and monopoly, trashing the place with gaterade bottle and pop cans and dishes. There was always someone awake when I stumbled out in the night. 4. We all did lots of sitting around visiting, playing on the computers, crafting and knitting. 5. Christmas at the Lake--lots of good food and conversation. We played minute to win it ring toss and sang Twelve Days of Christmas. Scott and Sam kicked each other every verse. On the way back home, we sang together as traditional and at one point was a song by Ben Kweller about being family and taking care of each other. 6. Leah went for coffee with Adelle and I and Hannah went with Adelle and I to the gym. 7. Hannah went to the gym with us quite a bit, once to class, to run on the treadmill and sit in the sauna. 8. Christmas Day was relaxing. Started with stockings while Scott woke up as traditional. The kids always like the useful stocking stuff. The girls loved their tights, Leah's art supplies, Hannah's film and card to process it. Leah was pleased with the debt forgiveness and offer to help with Professor expenses, guess she was worried about that. Joel liked his wordle. Hannah gave me a ring, earrings, and a comb. 9. Julie and Larry came up and we ate at Olive Garden then Jackie and TJ came over. 10. The girls and I went to Coco Bolos. 11. We cooked together a lot--homemade bread, homemade pizza, steak, a traditional turkey dinner on Christmas Day and lots of orange danish rolls. We ate all the cookies that Adelle and I made. I gained 6 pounds. 12. Shari, Emily, Max and Sam came to see us and spend a good chunk of the day. We all walked to Chipotle and R & R together. Shari gave me great books and magazines and a word outline of "lovely" to put on my computer. 13. We drove to KC to eat dinner with Dad and Jean and get glasses in Topeka for Joel and Hannah. 14. Mom came up and we played monopoly. We took a break and ran to Dillons for ice cream and were loud and silly. 15. We played Quelf several times. Joel was an angry elf, Scott a pirate. Leah had to sit in a fort, cover her hand with foil and sit with one hand on the floor--and had to quack when anyone got a card. Hannah had to say bleeping every sentence and Scott had to say, "Hear me for I have spoken." Lots of laughter. 16. As many trips to Chipoltle as we could squeeze in. If you double click on the photo above, it should take you to the whole album in Picasa. Let me know if you were successful or not with this. Love you!