Christmas has come and gone and this time last week our family was in the thick of our celebration. It's hard to believe it was a week ago and yet, it seems it was even longer ago. The pace was so fast and furious around here. A lot of the time we had 8 adults and 5 children and about 4-5 different things going on. I was so glad that I had done a LOT of advance food prepping as I still spent a whole lot of time in the kitchen. But, I am pleased to report that everyone seemed pleased with our snacks, meals and desserts.
On Thursday, the 19th, I woke up with a scratchy throat and I knew that meant that a cold was likely on the horizon. And, I was right, by Monday I was pretty miserable with a terrible head cold. I can't remember the last time I had this kind of head congestion. I managed to keep going but I can assure you that if we had not had house guests, I would have curled up in my recliner and stayed there the live long day. I am still struggling with it and I'm on day 12. I've been taking OTC meds and surely in the next couple of days I'm going to be OVER it.
On Thursday, the 19th, I woke up with a scratchy throat and I knew that meant that a cold was likely on the horizon. And, I was right, by Monday I was pretty miserable with a terrible head cold. I can't remember the last time I had this kind of head congestion. I managed to keep going but I can assure you that if we had not had house guests, I would have curled up in my recliner and stayed there the live long day. I am still struggling with it and I'm on day 12. I've been taking OTC meds and surely in the next couple of days I'm going to be OVER it.
One of Tommy's sisters and her husband came for a part of the holidays. They sort of take partial claim to our Grans and had never been with us at Christmas so it was a special time. They came a couple of days before Bridget and her family and we enjoyed that time with them before our "joyful chaos" began.
Bridget and her family arrived on Saturday and what you see in the picture above is pretty much what our house looked like during their visit. We had a baby, 2 four year olds, a 10 and 11 year old a lot of the time. Our son and his family live nearby so they were not here all of the time.
We were all waiting in line to get our hands on this sweet boy. None of the family had ever even met him except for Poppa and me. He handled all the passing around pretty well.
The cousins always enjoy being together. Andi Kate was mostly interested in Baby Case this visit but she did give Coleman a little of her attention. ~chuckle~ And, Clancy and Hanna Beth are growing up and not really into the "little kid" stuff anymore. They are both so precious and I have to say that the older the Grans get the more I enjoy them. It's just such fun to talk with them, hear their thoughts and see them emerge into "big people."
When our kids were growing up and we had our family Christmas over at Tommy's parents house, Bridget and I would always do some kind of entertaining. We had one of the first karaoke machines and would use that. Well, I decided that we needed to do a bit of entertaining this year. We have a nice karaoke machine out in Hubby's shop/man cave and that is where it all took place. It was Sunday evening and my cold was very evident but I still had a voice, not a very good sounding voice, but the show had to go on. We sang 3 songs and all of the Grans sang as well. Even if I do so, it was an enjoyable time. I thought I could figure out how to post a video of one of mine and Bridget's songs but I did not succeed, so....... I guess it could have something to do with sending it from an Apple device to a non Apple laptop. I'm sure sorry because I do think you would have enjoyed it. BTW, I found our cute dresses at our local Wal-Mart.
After a bit of entertainment it was time to do some gift exchanges. Susan and Steve had brought the kids some gifts and then the cousins did their gift exchange. That way the kids were not bombarded with all their gifts at one time. We did our family gift exchange on Monday evening and everyone was more than pleased.
Susan and Steve left the "joyful choas" on Monday morning and headed home to Atlanta. They carried with them a boatload of memories for sure.
Clancy and his Daddy enjoyed several fun hours of fishing in our backyard pond. They took the pontoon boat out and caught some really BIG fish. The weather was unseasonably warm and just perfect for them to enjoy fishing.
After our Christmas Eve dinner our son and his wife loaded up the kids and took them to a local church's candlelight service. That gave me time to clean up the kitchen (once again) and get everything ready for our birthday party for Jesus when they returned.
We have been doing this since Clancy and Hanna Beth were about 2 and 3 years old. Now, Clancy and Hanna Beth read the Christmas story. It is such a sweet time and one that I hope the Grans will recall throughout their lives and will always remember "the real reason for the season."
Then, just like that, it was all over and all we had left were the memories. Bridget and family left around 3:00AM Christmas morning bound for OKC. I told them good bye before I went to bed Tuesday evening because I knew once my tired and sick body hit the bed that I was NOT getting up to tell them good bye. They were home by noon and then began preparing for Santa to visit them Christmas evening. They told Coleman that Santa had made arrangements to leave their gifts at the neighbors house since they were here and he fell for it, hook, line and sinker. ~smile~
I wasn't good for much Christmas day and never got dressed or put on makeup and let me assure you that NEVER happens. I did manage to trudge through 8 loads of laundry after stripping the beds and gathering up the towels. The house was very quiet and Hubby and I looked at each other and said, "is it wrong for us to enjoy our quiet lives?" We both said, NO! It's a part of growing older and it isn't all bad. I have managed, with some help, to get our house back in order, all the Christmas down and now eagerly awaiting the new year.
And, that's the wrap of our "joyful chaos."
Then, just like that, it was all over and all we had left were the memories. Bridget and family left around 3:00AM Christmas morning bound for OKC. I told them good bye before I went to bed Tuesday evening because I knew once my tired and sick body hit the bed that I was NOT getting up to tell them good bye. They were home by noon and then began preparing for Santa to visit them Christmas evening. They told Coleman that Santa had made arrangements to leave their gifts at the neighbors house since they were here and he fell for it, hook, line and sinker. ~smile~
I wasn't good for much Christmas day and never got dressed or put on makeup and let me assure you that NEVER happens. I did manage to trudge through 8 loads of laundry after stripping the beds and gathering up the towels. The house was very quiet and Hubby and I looked at each other and said, "is it wrong for us to enjoy our quiet lives?" We both said, NO! It's a part of growing older and it isn't all bad. I have managed, with some help, to get our house back in order, all the Christmas down and now eagerly awaiting the new year.
And, that's the wrap of our "joyful chaos."
