Boy was December a busy month....it went so fast and was filled with a
ton of fun and excitement! We started off with my continued healing from
my surgery. Each day has gotten me closer to normal which feels good
and refreshing with a continued positive outlook
on what this world has to offer. Our family has enjoyed the holiday
season and all of the activities that go along with it.
Payton putting on the Star! |
We started off with putting up the Christmas tree, decorating our
house inside and out, and patiently awaiting the arrival of our annual
visitor, Zeus. Zeus is our family elf on the shelf that comes to visit
each year from the North Pole for the month of
December to report to Santa nightly until Christmas Eve when he goes
back to the North Pole. Zeus was into some mischief and the kids loved
finding him each morning.
We also got some pictures ready for our annual Christmas card which
turned out to be the laugh of the season....let's just say that the
forgetful side effect from my Tamoxifin is in full effect. I ordered 100
cards from Walmart and sent my hubby off to pick
them up for me. When he got home, he was looking over the cards and
asked me, "who is John, Jane, Aiden, and Parker?" Immediately, I knew
what I had done. When I ordered the cards, I sort of forgot to type our
names in so the default names came printed on
our card. Now that's funny...and I definitely earned the daily title
for "Dork of the day". Luckily, Walmart has a great satisfaction
guarantee policy...even when it is the customer that messes up. They
gave us a full refund and printed another 100 cards with
our appropriate monikers. Unfortunately, our card wasn't debuting a
bald picture or my husbands beautiful face...that might be why the card
turned out so great....the second time around.
The weekend prior to Winter Break, my little sister graduated from
Black Hills State University, my alma mader. She got her bachelor's
degree in Physical Education. It was crazy to think that it was 12 years
ago that I was graduating from BH. I love that
school and we are so proud of Rae Rae for finishing up and doing so
well. It was great to get back to Spearfish and then to Gillette to
catch up with some friends and family that I haven't seen for such a
long time.
The long awaited winter break finally got started when I got the
opportunity to accompany my kids at their class holiday parties. There
is nothing better than getting to be a mom and see my children enjoying
themselves at school....might I add that their
behavior is quite impressive compared to their acrobatic ways of
getting down a flight of stairs at home. The parents that organized the
parties did a great job in creating a ton of fun for the kids.
Our Christmas plans were very relaxed and stress free for the most
part. For the first time, we were blessed to stay home for Christmas Eve
and Christmas Day....just our little family of four. It actually made
me a little nervous because we have always been
with family on these days, but it was so pleasant and easy going. Not
that I don't thoroughly enjoy a house full, but every once in awhile
it's kind of nice to enjoy ourselves. I still made my traditional family
recipes for dinner and even experimented with
cooking my first prime rib....it turned out pretty good. At least I
didn't get any complaints.
This holiday season was also bittersweet because we were thoroughly
spoiled by a Denver foundation that has adopted our family. The Doreen
Katz Memorial Foundation adopted our family in October. This foundation
does a tremendous job of supporting children
who has a parent that has undergone treatment for cancer. We are so
incredibly thankful for the number of ways that they have helped our
family. To start, they are covering the cost of full day Kindergarten
for Rylan. They will provide our family with counseling
if necessary for our kids and as a family.
This Christmas, Adam, the founder and president of the Katz
Foundation, along with two of his board members, came to our house and
unloaded a large SUV with mounds of gifts that were donated by a group
of people. If only I could have the opportunity to give
each and everyone of them a hug, I would jump at the opportunity. The
amount of joy and care put into each gift was unbelievable. I was left
completely speechless and tearful as they unloaded the gifts into my
living room. Here I thought getting on stage with
Keith Urban was so incredible, but I have to say that the amount of
love my husband and I felt that day and still today will reside in our
hearts forever. The smiles and joy that came from my children on
Christmas morning was one that I will always remember.
The day after Christmas, we drove up to
the "blue roof" in South Dakota to spend Christmas with my
family. Cabin Christmas is one of my favorite things to do. I got
to spend time with my Anner's and her family. Grandpa and Daddy took the kids sledding, we swam at the
pirate pool, watched movies and stayed nice and warm in the cabin. Grandpa even finished
the bathroom upstairs so now we have two bathrooms and two showers.....it was
so nice!! Well, that's all for now and here's to a happy and healthy
2014!!!!
New Shower at the Cabin! |
Amy, tried to send you a personal message on Facebook--it is in the "other" category so you may have not seen it. I am going through similar process as you and have a couple questions. Could you please get back to me?
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