2009 Has Arrived!

Happy New Year!

Today has found all of us in our pajamas, enjoying our new Christmas presents and not having to leave the house. It is a welcome reprieve from the hustle and bustle that the holidays bring.

We had a great Christmas and New Year's. We hosted my family here on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. It was so much fun to have Santa make the trip here to our house and the kids had so much fun opening up their gifts and having company in the house. The highlight of their Christmas was preparing Santa's special milk and cookies and putting out reindeer food for Rudolph and company in the yard. Brandon, being the good Daddy that he is, then went out late on Christmas Eve and devoted no small amount of time to creating sleigh and reindeer "tracks" in the snow in our front yard. It was great!

On the morning of December 26th, we headed on out to KCI and spent the day travelling to Hillsborough, NC, where we spent the weekend with Aaron and Rachel and Justin, Mary, and family (Brandon's brother and sister-in-law). Connor and his cousin, Drew, played nonstop and had a great time together. Amy and Beth, our twin nieces, were also on hand and it was amazing to see how much kids grow in a year! We enjoyed lots of food, family time, and of course, more presents during our time with the Carlson family. The kids were real troopers as we encountered several delays both on the way to North Carolina and on the way home. Fortunately, they still get so excited about getting to be on an airplane that sitting for hours in an aiport is still worth it. More pictures of all that excitement to come. :)

Caden was well-remembered this Christmas. Santa brought Connor and Kylee each a teddy bear in memory of Caden. I received a beautiful necklace charm with a picture of Caden on one side and a teddy bear on the other, which I wear proudly. We each received angel ornaments from Granny Loretta and Grandpa Bob in California. We did end up with a fifth stocking on our mantel. We received one with a gift in it, and Kylee hung it up (you can see it second from left in the picture above), figuring that's just what you should do with a stocking. Although it didn't fit quite right, I left it there, deciding that five stockings on the mantel was all right with me...and marvelling at how, once again, with their innocence and natural zest for life, my children can help me face my giants in a way that is much more bearable than if I had to do it on my own.

We rang in the New Year at our traditional Chase/Blakemore/Carlson gathering. Our two little ones were zonked out cold just before the clock struck midnight. We had a great time hanging out with our friends and watching the kids play together. We learned this year that Trena makes a mean Pina Colada. Yum!

Brandon has been off work this week, and it has been so nice to relax and enjoy some family time together since we got home. The Christmas decorations are put away, the laundry is somewhat caught up, and we greet 2009 with hope and optimism. We conquered so many things in 2008 and are so grateful for God's presence with us throughout (what we hope was) the most difficult year of our lives. We carry the legacy of our precious Caden with us into the New Year, believing that he will continue to make a difference in the lives of others for many, many years to come.

May God bless you and keep you this year.