Another One for the Books

Happy Boxing Day...or day after Christmas! Whew, what a busy time the last week or so has been. With my laptop on its last legs I've just never had the time to mess with it and post until now. I think I'm going to have to figure out how to log in to Blogger from my phone or there probably won't be any more posts until I get a new laptop or a tablet.

So, long story short, we had a great Christmas and I hope you did, too. It always goes by so quickly that it seems like a blur looking back.

Going back to last Monday, they announced the winning team in the pillar decorating contest at work. MY TEAM WON!!! The votes were overwhelmingly in favor of our Charlie Brown Christmas tree design. So, sometime after the holidays we will get to go for lunch with the big boss. My team is excited. I'm so glad it worked out for them.

Wednesday and Thursday were really not productive days at work. The consumers were too excited to focus and the staff was not much better. (wink) Thursday ended up being nothing but a party for us in the ATF facility. Cookies, cookies, and more cookies. I was a tiny bit miffed that all my coworkers brought gifts in and included me, because I'd asked a couple of them about gifts and they made it sound like it wasn't a thing and they weren't doing it...so I didn't take gifts in. I've since bought gifts and will take them in this week, but that will be awkward, too. Sigh.

Tim and I were both off Friday and though the weather was frightful with snow, high winds, and temperatures hovering at zero (no idea what it was with the windchill) we had to go out and finish up our shopping by getting a few gift certificates and the scope our son-in-law wanted for the gun he'd bought this past summer.

Friday evening Megan and Leah took us to a neighborhood restaurant to celebrate Tim's birthday earlier that week. It was the first time we could all go. Colton was in a mood and would have made it unpleasant so Cody stayed home with him. The restaurant just reopened under a new name and it was our first time there. The food was excellent, but we nearly froze sitting there. We were the only people there and we think, though they assured us they were open until 9:00, that they were trying to hurry us out so they could close early. They sat us by a drafty old window that the cold just poured in through and they shut off the gas fireplace!

Saturday we did just a bit more running in the morning then relaxed all afternoon at home before getting takeout Chinese and going to my mom and stepdad's for dinner. When we got home we did the final set up for Christmas and called it a day. Megan, Cody, and the kids had Christmas with Cody's family.

Sunday morning found me in the kitchen bright and early getting started on the side dishes. Mom made the ham this year. Everyone was here by noon to help get dinner on the table (we've always been early eaters then pick the rest of the day). We enjoyed ham, funeral potatoes, pierogies, corn spoonbread, baked beans, pickled eggs and beets, and deviled eggs. For snacking we had shrimp, cookies, veggies and dip, chips and pretzels with dip, and all kinds of candy.

Megan decided we would eat before we opened gifts...just to torture the kids, I think. Ha! Everyone was pleased with their gifts and we were all so richly blessed. I gave Tim a big electric griddle for those Sunday morning pancake breakfasts with the grandkids and the Samsung tablet he's been wanting. He gave me the KitchenAid mixer I've been wanting and a 12-guage shotgun, which I've also been wanting for home protection (I don't figure it will matter if my aim is off with a shotgun).

Daisy in her Christmas sweater watching gifts get opened and
wondering where hers are.

Me and Colton. Sure do love this silly boy.

A view of the carnage. We'd actually cleaned up a lot of it.

This girl is my mini-me and partner in crime.

Colton bringing a smile to Pappy John's face.

You'll shoot your eye out! Colton got an official Red Ryder BB gun.

This girl had us laughing till we cried. She wore
that hat (tag and all) all afternoon. Her footwear
alternated between the unicorn slippers and
her new snow boots.

Just a boy and his great-grandma's dog.

Today we concentrated on cleaning up and putting away from yesterday's fun and Colton and Leah spent the morning with us. We braved Walmart to get a few things and check out the after Christmas markdowns...not much left to choose from, but I got those work gifts and a few little things. Then we had lunch at Eat 'n' Park before taking them back home.

That was our Christmas. It was good and it was blessed and happy in spite of the shadow of loved ones long gone, the problems in our daughter's family, and the absence of our son and his family. I thank God for all of it!

Tell me, how was your Christmas?