Quiet holidays

Christmas and New Year's were rather quiet...our immediate family Christmas party was on Dec. 11th. We did have 12 family members over for a turkey dinner on Christmas Eve. The Johnsons had Santa Claus come a day early because Bryan had to work on Christmas Day. They enjoyed Christmas on the 24th for several reasons, one of which was that stores were open. They were able to buy the batteries that Santa forgot. After we ate, Riley and Bryan read from Luke, chapter 2. Hailey and Ashley interviewed Reed and me for a school assignment.

We were invited to breakfast at the Schvaneveldts on Christmas morning. We watched them open some of their gifts. We went to the Johnson household and Kim was sick with the stomach flu. She was so glad they already had Christmas. Reed made turkey soup and I made bread sticks for the the kids that evening. During the day we went on a long ride. We saw pheasants, deer and hundreds of wild turkeys. Because the weather was so pleasant, we went on a walk. We called and talked to our other kids and grandkids. We had leftovers for supper.

The day after Christmas we attended church in our home ward because the members of our YSA ward have gone home for the holidays. It was nice to walk to church instead of making multiple trips by car, 7.5 miles each way. It was great to kick back and relax instead of having Reed gone for 12 hours. It was NOT nice to come out of church and walk home in a snowstorm! Tuesday and Wednesday were very busy at the temple. After work on Wednesday, we had our YSA Bishop and wife over to preview a video for an upcoming ward 'Home Evening.' After they left we had our home teacher over.

We never went to the mall or made purchases at stores (except grocery) during the entire holiday season. Some of our gifts were taken care of by phone or with the click of a mouse. We gave ski lift tickets, cash or checks, and vacations. Candace and family are going to St. George during spring break again. Jodi and family are going to New Braunfels, Texas. They plan on visiting Sea World and the Alamo. Our gift-giving is sort of a cop-out. I didn't use any wrapping paper or tape this year. I don't miss the stress of deciding what to get, shopping for and purchasing so many individual gifts. I DO miss all the beautifully wrapped presents under the tree and the fun of everyone opening gifts.

On New Year's Eve we ate lunch out, purchased some puzzles, read books, spent time on the computer, went to a movie, ate out again and started working on a 1000 piece puzzle. We actually stayed up to usher the new year in! January 1st was more of the same. We are kind of boring people. We disconnected DISH a few weeks ago and haven't had Comcast cable installed yet, so it has been extremely quiet. I really don't miss TV much.

A week before Christmas we received an offer on our home. It was within an acceptable, negotiable range but the buyer wasn't able to qualify for the loan. It's good we didn't hold our breath or pack things up. We had mixed feelings. We really didn't want to move in the wintertime and we don't have any plans. We don't know what we want to do when we grow up, or where we want to live. We keep thinking that one day we will find the just the right place.

Reed is subbing for a couple of weeks. He makes morning, mid-day and afternoon school bus runs. I am on vacation; the temple is closed until the 25th. But that is our 40th anniversary and we plan to be somewhere warm. Right now everything is white with snow and the overnight temperatures are dipping below zero. At least the sun is headed the right direction and we're gaining more minutes of daylight. Well, I'd better go warm up a rice bag in the microwave.

HAVE A HAPPY NEW YEAR!