New Years' Eve 2012

We had a great evening at home with Amy and Ryan. They are transplants from Chicago/Michigan and the most down to earth, regular people we know in Indiana! :) I made lasagna earlier in the day and was able to just pop it in the oven for dinner. It was wonderful...I used the venison Tom sent home with me from our Christmas visit - super good! Amy brought over a crazy, yummy, warm, chocolate cake desert from heaven - we all enjoyed that! Mya went out to a party for the evening with a girlfriend and Jackson hung out with us for a bit and then spent the rest of the evening on X-box. Great night with great friends!

Amy and Ryan

Happy 2012!!

Ready for the night!!

Christmas 2011

We really enjoyed our Christmas celebration this year! With last years surprise (to the kids) trek to Florida and subsequent realization that our vision of the trip was not anything that it turned out to be...we decided to stay in familiar surroundings. Actually, with it being Jackson's last Christmas at home, we decided to let him help us plan our Christmas time. He wanted to stay home and have an old fashioned Christmas day - which simply means staying home on Christmas day and playing with new toys. 

Sounded perfect to us! :)

We enjoyed some great meals together, great conversation, and just some great quiet time around the house with all of us here. I can't necessarily say it was a perfect, Norman Rockwell-ish couple of days but for our little family and the expectations that we have for one another...it was perfect for us - feeling very blessed!

Christmas 2011

Puck - enjoying a new chew toy...he was so happy!

Jackson enjoying his  Christmas morning

Opening gifts

Enjoying his day - putting his new bowflex cart together...

Turkey and ham dinner

Our pretty tree!

Christmas prep

So...we are feeling kind of sappy this season with the idea that this may be the last Christmas at home for Jackson. We are feeling the pressure and desire to keep things as familiar as possible (he has always done much better knowing what to expect!) yet exciting enough to be memorable. In the end, we will spend time together and create that Christmasy feeling together.

For the last several years, we have cut down a tree together at a tree farm near Daleville.  We were able to finally get three of us together (kind of late in the month) to find a tree and let Jackson chop it down. Well...it ended up being a very cold day and we could not come to a compromise. We decided on one in the barn already cut down - oh, well. Jackson helped tie it on to his car and drove it home. He has always been so helpful with the Christmas preparations - helping me get boxes down from the attic, getting a tree, setting it up - makes me very teary eyed to imagine what next season will feel like.

Mya and I made some Christmas goodies together again this year. We have tried to perfect G'ma Ann's spritz cookies; we're getting pretty good according to John! I also made several batches of granola for John's office staff. It is super yummy and pretty healthy...seems like I always run out of steam before I can make a batch for us to enjoy!