All right - we got to Idaho and got settled in and the posts trickled down to nothing fairly quickly. Those of you that know me well are not surprised by this - at all!
So - Let's talk about Christmas and then maybe have a short recap of 2007. We put intentional focus this year on a few major gifts for the whole family. Specifically :
We were able to get a Foosball table, an Air Hockey table and we replaced the boys TV in the front room with a 53" Sony (they had ripped the jacks off the old Toshiba while changing between dvd, vcr, playstation and gamecube - this TV has PLENTY of inputs). All 3 were used but in very good condition. All 3 were given to them a bit early (hard to hide) as we acquired them.
I took the Friday before Christmas off from work and took Zach and Alex up the mountain to play (David decided last year that he was doing it for me and really didn't want to anymore - so he stayed home with his mother). The snow was awesome - it was only their second day open and I was able to find several stashes of powder to play in! Alex was having a confidence crisis so I stayed with him on the easy trails, while Zach hung out with Steve, Caleb, and Jordan. Friday night Steph and I went out to pick up a few last minute stocking stuffers, then we all played XBOX til 2am. Saturday we slept in! I got a check from a client in Fredericksburg around lunchtime (thanks Don!) and found the TV at the same time. Steve went with me to check it out and make the buy (thanks Steve!). Sunday I went back up the mountain with Zach to play some more. Zach was having a fantastic day and voluntarily took on his nemesis - War Eagle. He did awesome! We had a great time and then came home - changed and showered - and then went over to Steve's to install his home theater that he was surprising his family with.
On Christmas Eve we again slept in. I tried fixing my laptop (the screen backlight died) by swapping out the whole display assembly (I had a spare - don't ask) but after 2.5 hours the labor was in vain. We spent family time together throughout the day and capped it off with dinner out and then a viewing of A Christmas Story - a family tradition. We sent the kids to bed and Steph and I began wrapping gifts and filling stockings while A Christmas Vacation played on the big screen.
We finally finished and headed to bed shortly after 2:30am only to have an excited little boy wake us at quarter til 9. I wanted to sleep - I really did, but my children have my heart. So we headed downstairs for the boys to unwrap their gifts.
Alex REALLY wanted a beanbag to sit and read in
Zach has been begging for a R/C Jeep
David chose a dramatic audio New Testament as what he wanted
We received cash from Steph's family and my grandparents - which went towards the big three gifts (Thanks Bob & Marilyn,Dan and Joyce & Jack!) My parents sent some gifts as well.
Nerf wars!
an alarm clock that projects the time on the ceiling
Scoobi had chewed up Zach's camo hat
Still collecting Star Wars figures
The R/C Jeep climbs pretty well
For reading in his beanbag
In case you are wondering, Steph and I weren't left out. I took Steph shopping to pick out what she wanted - she chose some nice clothes and a leather jacket. I ordered a Mountain Hardwear Down Parka to keep me warm on the slopes (thanks Martin!). Here's a pic of Steph and I in the back yard wearing our new coats. Notice the bit of snow!
We tried to go to see a movie on Christmas afternoon, but it was sold out. Damian and his family came over for a lovely Christmas dinner - we had tons of food and will be eating leftovers for a week!
Steph made cookies and buckeyes to give to friends
All in all we had a fantastic Christmas. Thanks again to family who sent money and gifts - it is very appreciated!
As far as a recap of 2007 ....
It has been a wonderful year for us. We all have our health (Steph has been symptom free for a few years now!). My job is going quite well. We've really worked on our friendships with a few families. The boys are still being homeschooled (Steph is AWESOME!) and it's going well (when the boys don't have attitudes about it). We did a few camping trips, we vacationed in the NW and on the coast. We were given a truck (Thanks Steve!) and sold our van. Truly God has been good to us!
