Back to our Normal Routine

We are back home for a few days after our "Christmas Tour" with our family. We went to my parents' house in Illinois on Monday the 22nd and stayed there for just over a week. We had a great time. On Christmas day my two brothers and my grandma came and we spent the day eating, opening presents, eating, playing games, eating...well, you get the picture. It was great to see everyone again. We missed my sister Kerri and her family who are in Haiti and weren't able to be with us. This was probably the last Christmas for us to be with my family for a while, so we tried to make the most of it. I also got to spend a little time with a couple of my good friends, and I realize more and more how special those friendships are.

On New Year's Eve we went to Jeremy's sister Joy's house in Cincinnati, Ohio. His parents and all his siblings and their families came also, and we had a few days together. It was fun to be all together. That doesn't happen very often. There were 21 of us together in one house, 11 of which are age 7 and under! The kids had a blast and I'm glad that we were able to be there. I am so thankful for all of our family!

There are great pictures to go along with this post...however they are on my camera...which is in Ohio! Ooops! We should be getting it back in a week or two, so I will post some pictures then.

Now we are settling back into our normal routine at home, or at least as close to normal as we ever get! School for Josiah resumed today, the Christmas tree and decorations are packed away snug in their box, and dishes, laundry, cleaning, and cooking are all pulling me in separate directions! Plus I am still working on unpacking and finding a place for all the new Christmas presents. We are blessed to have more "stuff" than space to fit it in! That means more organizing and eliminating are on my agenda for the next few days.