Celebrating Christmas

Tony and I are home. Safe and sound. We had such a good weekend, filled with time spent with family, and good friends.

Friday evening our weekend began. It is rare for me to have Saturday and Sunday off, and we certainly made the most of it. Friday night we went to Target to finish buying gifts (because spending 8.5 hours there in one day simply is not enough for me). Once we were home, we wrapped gifts and prepared for Saturday.

Saturday morning, we spent the morning celebrating Christmas with Pam and her children. Pam is someone we have recently met, and have been helping her when we can. She has a story inundated with pain, and yet she is full of hope. It was great to meet her children, and I am excited to be a part of this story.

We went home and packed our stuff and headed to Muskegon. We went to my dad and Ellen's house where we stayed the night. After dinner, we played a few rounds of Rummikub, followed by hours of Mastermind. If you have never heard of Mastermind, you should check it out. It is a great game.

Sunday morning was spent with Daniel, Katie, Willow, Ginger, Isaac and Will. I enjoy every moment we are able to spend with them. I had my first cup of Chai tea, which was delicious, and we had a good time sharing gifts.

Once we were back to my dad's, we left for Kaleva (near Manistee). This is where my grandparent's live, and I spent a large amount of my childhood. The traditional Christmas dinner, followed by the gift exchange, was had. The house was full. It was good to see people that I have not seen in quite a while.

My cousin Rhonda had her one year old Preston, and my cousin Billy had his one year old Lilly. While it was fun to see them, watching Rhonda and Billy interact with their children in contrast to the way we hope to, raised an interesting conversation on our drive home about parenting styles. Hopefully the people in our life right now raising their children in ways that we admire will continue to be in our lives once we have children. (we will need all the help we can get)

On our way home, Dad and Ellen surprised us by stopping by the Little River Casino. They gave each of us a twenty and told us to have fun, but once it was gone it was gone. This was my first time in a casino. Ever. Dad quickly lost all of his money, and Ellen was up about sixty bucks for a while until she lost hers. Tony lost his quickly after that. I was the last one with money, but walked away with nothing. We mostly just played the slots. I was really hoping for some Texas Hold 'Em, but there weren't any tables. We were there for about an hour, and it was fun, but I don't expect to go back anytime soon.

Tomorrow, it is back to work. Tonight though, we are enjoying our beautiful candles, and relaxing in our living room. Tony is relieved to work tomorrow, and recover from the hectic weekend. I am sad that tomorrow is yet another work day, and can not wait for another exciting time full of friends and family.