Christmas Day Revisited

It has been a whirlwind of activities since I left school on Friday, December 21st.  Friday night we had dinner and Christmas celebration with Amanda, Linda, David and family, and us at Amandas.  We had a ham and the fellowship was wonderful.  It was great getting to spend time with Linda and her husband, Victor, Amanda, and David, Susanna and the boys.  There is nothing like little ones and the holidays.  Saturday morning we ate breakfast with Beth, Ron and Colin at the Farm House and headed for Auburn to have lunch with the Blairs at Cracker Barrel.  Their daughter Jill and her son, Brady came too and we did our present swap in the back corner of the restaurant.  Saturday evening we celebrated with the Burgess family and played Dirty Santa.  The meal was wonderful...soups and stews and the fellowship was such fun.  There are three little ones this year and they were passed around to anyone who was willing to hold a baby for a bit.  Sunday was church and our adult choir program, "A Lesson in Carols."  After lunch we ran to LaGrange and then to Beth and Rons for potato soup.  Such a fun day.  Monday we had Come and Go communion and thn went to the Towlers for a traditional Christmas celebration.  There was an element of sadness at this party since they have lost two family members this year.  Fun, food and fellowship along with gift exchanges took place and we all left with full belly's and wonderful memories.  Being part of the Rock Mills United Methodist family is such a blessing.  Frank and I have such wonderful friends from our church.  They make us feel so loved and wanted.  Tuesday morning we had breakfast with the Towlers/Burgesses at Aunt Doris's house.  It was yummy and then we came home to get ready for our family dinner. Kat and Brian were the first to arrive with Sergio and Mia in tow.  Their friends were visiting from Moldova (via Syracuse, NY and Tuscaloosa).  Jeni and Sam came next with Joey Long (my adopted son), and Eric, Roulain, Hannah and Hayden arrived shortly there after.  It was amazing having all three of my kids together.  It has been a long long time.  I have to be honest and say that this was better than any gift I could ever have unwrapped.  Pinterest Christmas with Kat and Brian was so much fun.  Frank and I got some really cool gifts.  The weather was supposed to get bad and the kids all headed home around 4:30.  I was sad to see them go.  I hope it is not a year before we all get together again.  Their was one dark spot in the day....Frank's daughter, Amy and her husband, Stephen and their daughter, Amelia were not here with us.  THAT would have been a perfect day.  Sigh...maybe next year. I hope you all had as wonderful a time as I did.  Now to rest.  Holidaying takes a lot out of a body.  Today we took one of our youth, Tyler to Bass Pro Shop in Prattville and had lunch at the Islamorada Fish Company.  It was a great day!