Thursday, January 5, 2012

Christmas at Home Recap

Definition:  Jet-lag-hang-over, post Christmas-blues, hole-in-your-heart-feeling because we are so far away from our amazing, loving families

1.  Not leaving your house and/or wearing your pj's all day for two days in a row while attempting to clean out closets and get organized.  But at the end of a two day effort the house looks more UN-organized than ever and you feel slightly overwhelmed by it all.

2.  Dragging yourself out of your pj's on the third day to take your kids to school an hour and half late because you and your kids slept in.  And also writing the mandatory "please excuse" note to your daughter's teacher in English, because you just don't feel like making the effort to write it in French.  Whatever, your daughter is six and this is not Harvard.  

3.  Unable to stop thinking of the ten months that remain of our little life here in France.  With totally mixed emotions...pure joy when I think about returning "home" (mostly when I'm dealing with typically French frustrations--parking, grocery shopping, customer service, lack of good Mexican food) combined with pure sadness that this chapter in our life will be over, with the addition of pure stress/wonder/excitement over where in the world our next move will be.

All that to say, I've been having a difficult time jumping into January.  And here's why:  my parents made my dream of a "home for Christmas" holiday come true for the four of us and it was EVERYTHING I knew it would be.  And so as you look at these pictures of cousins and sisters and grandparents and SMILES, I hope you can understand why I'm still longing to live the last weeks of December!

My Dad who loves to play with his grandkids!  Bouncing at the bounce-house-place.

 Meeting baby Harry for the first time.  I could not get enough of this little, sweet man.

 All dressed up for Christmas Eve services--the three GIRL cousins.  Not pictures because we didn't even attempt it...the four three-year-old BOY cousins or the 3 month old baby Harry.  

 Christmas morning breakfast with everyone

 Tradition!!!!  PJ picture on the living room couch.  Eight cousins.

 Grandma H who drove 12 hours to see us for two days!!!  Soooo loved.

Grandpa H who gives the kids university tours and buys pizza for lunch (and also drove 12 hours to see us)!

My Grandma Dee who flew in from Arizona for Christmas--we made a scene and surprised her and Gramps at the airport in Columbus.

 More of my Dad playing with the kids.  Hot tub time!

My loving, generous Mom who made (financed) all this family-together-wonderfulness possible.  Lily's smile couldn't be bigger.


What a wonderful Christmas!  What a wonderful family!  What a wonderful Savior to celebrate!

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