Bless his heart, my sweet hubby got me the bestest Christmas present. Of course, he couldn't possibly have known how much I'd be needing it when we returned from our holiday travels.
With the heater broken, it is so cold in this house. Our bedroom last night was barely 50 degrees, so it's at least that cold in my computer room. I am currently bundled in 2 pair of pants, two pair of socks, shoes, 1 shirt, 1 sweatshirt, 1 fleece pullover, 1 fleece blanket, gloves with the fingertips cut out, and - dum de da dum - a lovely electric throw. It feels so nice!
Moving on...
We certainly had a wild trip. Christmas with Jeff's family was crowded, as usual. Everyone oohed and aahed over the new baby, and marveled at how fast the kids were growing, and made the usual promises of seeing each other more often during the year. We all ate too much and stayed up too late. It was a typical McCain family Christmas.
The Gates side was another story. We arrived in Morristown just in time for the Christmas Eve service. (It's lovely - Mom's church sings Christmas carols in a candlelit room and takes communion, reflecting on Christ's birth into this world and what it meant for us. It's one of the most meaningful worship times for me all year.) On Christmas Day, Branden came over to open a handful of presents with his cousins, then returned to his dad's. We ate our usual steak dinner - Dad can grill a wicked good steak - and then opened the rest of the gifts.
In the midst of all that, we received a call that Grandma had fallen and her heart rate was way up and oxygen was way down. All that day my parents were trying to decide what to do, as the nursing home had moved Grandma into a "bereavement room." Since it was Christmas, the doctor wouldn't see her until the day after. The next day they heard the doctor's report and decided to go on to Oklahoma, leaving me with all three kids.
Now, I have watched them before, but not under circumstances quite like this.The kids weren't expecting the sudden departure, which made them all a little insecure, plus they were already sick of each other's company by then. It made for a wild weekend.
I came home yesterday to a very cold house, so we hauled Bebo up the mountain to spend the evening with Grannie & Peepop. He loaded up on goodies there, and Grannie fixed a fabulous pork roast. Jeff & I came home and bundled up under what felt like a ton of cover (plus the lovely electric blanket).
And today it's back to normal. 2008 has officially begun, with no great fanfare on my part.
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