We all know it’s sometimes all about me and I guess when my birthday is two days before Christmas I do get a few hours recognition?
Jonathan and family drove up from Nashville on the 22nd so we were all able to go out to dinner on the 23rd…
Who doesn’t like a tasty Chinese spread? (I haven’t quite mastered the selfie but you get the idea?)
Christmas Eve we all drove across to Rockford and went to church with Julia’s family to remember the real reason for the season. Ruby and Benjamin are both right around 5′ 6″, with plenty of time to grow… I think Lilly is going to catch up to them one day?
James and co. arrived at the hotel before bedtime and we were joined at Julia’s on Christmas morning with Joanne’s family. That makes nineteen!
No presents without taking a children picture first… that’s it as today’s featured image up at the top.
And then the presents. The aunts and uncles bought for all the children. We had sent our gifts in advance to the grown-up children.
I got presents too. Lucy is helping me open a beautiful hand -dyed skein of yarn with matching unicorn tails and needle stoppers in this picture. Bonnie’s box is nearly as big as her?
I received a very special present from Ruby this year.
And she sat for a picture with me…
It’s so special it deserves its own blog post… coming soon.
Julia, with help from her family, had prepared a wonderful Christmas feast for us all. A fabulous time was had by all.
Steve and I enjoyed a quiet Boxing Day morning while the family went to the Children’s museum. We all met together for dinner in the hotel restaurant. Joanne managed to chop her family off in this photo…
Julia and I got some work done on Saturday morning. You might have heard rumors of a new book? Stickers and postcards are on their way
And then a new experience for me… an ice hockey game. The Rockford Ice Hogs are the top minor league affiliate for the Chicago Blackhawks so I had been told to expect a fun evening.
The 8x optical zoom on my phone takes good pics…
The Ice Hogs won 8 – 4 against the Texas Stars! The biggest surprise was I saw every goal… I had thought I might need my knitting to keep me occupied?
The highlight of the match for the younger members of the party was this one…
I guess we can safely say a good time was had by all.
Time to go home. Jonathan’s family got on the road back to Nashville and James’s crew made their way to Naperville to catch up with Sarah’s family. We were happy to have them move in with us for a couple of nights.
It snowed. James wore his new Christmas coat and kindly cleared the path and driveway. Christopher found an empty plant pot and made a snow man.
And one last photo of the man and his boy…
It’s been quiet the last couple of days. I think it’s almost time to check the calendar and make a to-do list for 2026?
Happy New Year!
