Merry Christmas - with Mixed Emotions

Merry Christmas, everyone! I hope that today has been everything you've wanted it to be. We've had a nice day, albeit a quiet one. Christmas morning is so very different when there are no little kids in the house. I was the first one up with Ann right behind me. Randy, Kevin and Sara soon followed, but Kev & Sara said they were going back to bed after taking their dogs out. But, that didn't last long and soon we were all gathered in the living room, opening presents.

Opening presents
This is where the mixed emotions come in for me. My mom called first thing to wish us a Merry Christmas and then I called Lindsay to talk with them. Hearing Reagan's voice and how excited she was about her presents made me a little sad that we are not together. We talked to Ginny & Tommy last night and that was tough, too. It's hard to have family all strewn about the country. I'm just not used to that. But, I guess I'll be getting used to it since we have kids in three different parts of the country as well as the rest of our family.

The good news is that technology truly helps. We called Jason, Lindsay & Reagan via Skype this morning, so they could see Kev & Sara opening the presents that were sent. We also got to see some of Reagan's gifts, too. Just being able to see them and talk to them was so great. If you're not familiar with this program, go to www.skype.com and check it out. It's free!

"Skyping" with Jason, Lins & Reagan

After eating the breakfast casserole I had made, we took a drive over to Kansas State University where Sara attended this past semester. Very nice campus. We also went to Milford Lake State Park so we could check out a campground there. Unfortunately, there was no one on duty so we're going back tomorrow.

On our way back to the house, we passed an historical marker noting the site of the first capitol city of Kansas, Pawnee. The city of Pawnee no longer exists, but there is a building and a self-guided tour available.

We also stopped at Ft. Riley's cemetery as many of the graves were decorated for Christmas and there was a central display in honor of all the branches of military.

Once we got home, we just relaxed for a while until dinner was ready. Sara made a wonderful dinner of ham, sweet potatoes, and green bean casserole. For dessert we had rice krispies treats, sweet potato pie made by one of their friends, and a Cracker Barrel chocolate pecan pie. Yummy!

Left to right: Xena, Kevin w/Konig, Sara w/Zoe

I hope that the joy you have felt today in the celebration of the birth of Jesus extends far beyond into the new year. I pray that you will know Him better this coming year and your blessings will be more than you ever dreamed.

Until the next time . . .