Three days of Christmas

Stockings all ready for Santa Nana

Ski jump master

Truman is home

Sledding is still king on Jill Ann Dr.

All the presents are open and let the fun begin anew.

Stockings are ready to "open"

Lana's first White Christmas

Mistake of a picture and I do not know how to delete. Truman

is in Kiersten's hands and Kellen trying to tempt him with his toy.

Christmas begins-----

Maybe our Christmas adventure began this year on Tuesday, December 15th. Lauren and Jamie took a trip two hours north of here to see a woman about a dog. Not just any dog, but a non-allergenic, non-shedding, little bitty dog. Lauren wanted to pick out the perfect one, not just look at a picture on the Internet. It is a hava-poo, or some such spelling. They chose the dog, came home without it so the kids would not suspect. The second part of the venture was carried out December 19th when the dog was obtained. Lana and Abby drove back to the lady's house and actually got the puppy. Lana, Abby, and puppy then spent the night at Patty's. The puppy Foster slept on the couch cuddled up with Jacob's girlfriend, Kaitlyn. Lana and Nathan then brought the puppy to my house while they went to church on Sunday, as we were all going to Patty's----this puppy took a lot of work to hide. The puppy spent the week before Christmas with Lana and Nathan. (If anyone is getting the idea that Jamie was or is sold on this dog, you are very wrong. He is warming up to him, but although he was part of the process, he was not a willing part. And according to Lana's accounts the dog probably thinks it's name is "D--- it", as Nathan loudly proclaimed that phrase when the puppy misused the bathroom.) And now our story comes to Christmas Eve.

Lana and Nate came to my house to help prepare our Christmas Eve feast. Lana had a scrumptous recipe for pork roast and cranberries. While Lana and I cooked, Nathan did some of the various tasks I had for him. The dog, which Lana and I decided to call Dasher, was everywhere-----he loves people. As a result he had several near death experiences, he is very small. The four of us had a great time, and then it was time for Lauren's family to come here---thus Dasher had to be taken away to Lauren's house to stay until the Fosters left my house. Everyone got here. All this time it was raining---the rain of torrents and gobs, but in Knob it was still 45degrees. We ate and ate and played games and enjoyed each other very much. At 5:30 we stopped to get dressed for pictures and Christmas Eve service. The children are old enough that the pictures went very well, only two of the adult males made faces. Then we all left for church, where Kiersten had a solo to sing and Jamie and I had a reading. Not as many people as usual came, but there was still a good crowd. Kiersten did a great job, Jamie and I were adequate. The temperature at the time we left church was 32, but still raining. We had the usual party here after services, minus a few people who were out of town----all of which called while everyone was here. We again ate and enjoyed until 9:05 when we heard the ice hit the kitchen windows. People left in rather a hurry. With just the family left the grandchildren read the Christmas story then------Lana and Nathan sneaked away to retrieve Dasher, and Leslie's family left to go to Clinton. I was not so happy about that, but Scott assured me he would be fine driving. Lauren and Jamie helped clean some, so we could stall for Dasher's departure and arrival. One group left and the dog and two came home. After filling socks, listening to the sleet hit the window, we all settled down for a worrisome winter's nap.

I woke up about 3:30, looked out the window to see beautiful snow falling---not any longer sleet. As I was looking at the snow, I saw two deer going between my house and the neighbor's. They were amazing. The snow gives that kind of soft light and glow to everything so that the deer really looked magical. I went to my other window to look in the backyard and there were five deer just standing around my huge cedar tree---a wonderful sight. I almost woke up Nathan and Lana it was so wonderful. Morning came with a text message, "We are up and starting." Meaning we needed to box up the dog and get on our way to Lauren's with the "best" present of Kiersten's and Kellen's Christmas. We bundled up----Dasher had his sweater on, and we were off in the snow and ice. The two children obviously were thrilled beyond my telling. However, although several people had what we thought were great names for the dog, Dasher, Bailey, Rudolph etc., Kiersten and Kellen had their own idea and took 20 seconds to decide on Truman. Truman romped, and he was in his home. What a day and it was only 8:30am.

The three of us came back here to warm the Wassail, make coffee and start a fire. Starting a fire was by far the hardest, as all the wood was beyond wet. Leslie's family made it back, although Leslie said she could not have driven, Lauren's family with Truman got here and we started the stocking opening. From there we moved to the upstairs gifts, then downstairs. It took us two hours and I loved every minute of it. We did not have that many gifts, but we go really slow and take lots of cinnamon roll breaks. We played, ate and went sledding. No one was out, but us. It snowed the whole time, and the street was once again a sledder's paradise. It was so cold, but just the perfect day. This was Lana's first White Christmas! Once we came in, we ate some more, then played the dice game. By then the kids were anxious to go to their house to play the new Wii Fit. So we all moved to Lauren's. I actually got better at the ski jump thing, but I did not try the Wii sing. ( Patty and Kathy had decided early Christmas morning to postpone our Chirstmas here until the 26th, they thought the roads would be better. The only thing wrong with this was Staci's family did not get to come. She was going to be with us for the first time in nine years. She did go to Kathy's on Christmas day so that was good for everyone, the cousins were just not together. ) Leslie and I came back here to tidy my house and get things ready for more Christmas the next day. Lana, Nate and all the grandchildren stayed at Lauren's. Lauren and Jamie got even more company about 10 Christmas night when one of her friends came with husband and two children to spend the night. They were at a Grandmother's house when the electricity went off and they needed a warm place to stay.

December 26th was our third day of Christmas, and produced a beautiful all day snow. Patty's family and Kathy and Kevin came anyway. All of my family was back, plus Truman. Again we ate, opened presents, played "silly Santa", exchanged our girl gifts and some of the older kids and all of the younger kids went sledding twice. Which meant we needed more warm things to drink and eat. Kathy and Kevin had to leave, but Patty's family and mine played "Scum"---a card game that has some interesting social meanings? Lana thought the rules vastly unfair. Finally it was time for everyone to leave. Sad for me, but all good things------and this Christmas was the very best of things!

But the story was not over. I was about to finish picking up and cleaning the salt and dirt off of the various parts of the house (sledding is also messy), when Lana called to say they were locked out of their house, and coming back to get their keys. Lana and Nathan had planned to leave Sunday for Oklahoma for her family's Christmas---so they took my car and went home to unpack and repack. Only they left all their keys here with their car. (I am afraid this follows a long line of family key-misplacers. Wayne and I were locked out of more than one house, always with strange consequences. Jamie has crawled in head first through a garage window many a time in their old house. It is a family curse, I am sure.) Shortly there after Lana called to say they were now stuck in their driveway in four foot drifts. Their landlord had tried to come help them, but he went in the ditch at his house. Jamie to the rescue. Jamie came here to get the keys, two Mountain Dews and a shovel. The original plan was to free them, get them in to repack then they would come here to spend a night and go to Oklahoma Sunday. The actual plan evolved into freeing them, they repacked and drove to Oklahoma---leaving right away Saturday night. Children never stop worrying me.