Christmas Memories

Our Christmas was filled with magical moments, laughter, family & love, just as we had hoped.  We were able to spend the afternoon on Friday, December 23 with our dear friends, the Matherns, and got some snuggle time with our godson, Brac.  We continued our travels from Fargo on to Thompson, which ended up being pretty chilly as we discovered the heat had gone out in the van.  Actually, it was only the heat to the front, so while the girls were sweaty hot in the back, Steve & I were literally chillin' in the front.

We got all warmed up chowin' on pizza for supper with Russ, Kristy, Noah & Nixin.  Right after we ate, the eight of us bundled up and took the Russ Bus to the Holmes Live Nativity Pageant about 20 minutes from Thompson.

Although there was no snow on the ground, you can tell by our red noses that is was plenty cold.  Luckily, we scored some hot apple cider and enjoyed a beautiful recreation of the Nativity.

The Nativity scene was complete with everyone singing Christmas hymns, combined with the bawling of a calf, an adorable frolicking lamb, numerous horses, a very stubborn mule, and most of all the absolute spirit of CHRIST-mas.

The next morning, my ambitious brother, Russ, was busy trying to solve the heat problem in our 10 year old van. He narrowed down the problem to a defective heat actuator. Using his wizard research skills and some YouTube videos, he felt that he and Steve could tackle fixing the problem themselves.  A few phone calls were made to locate an auto supplier with the right part on hand so Russ & Steve began the mission to procure & rectify the heat problem.

Not only did they fix the van's heat problem, but replaced the windshield wipers and de-glazed the headlights.  Talk about ambitious elves on Christmas Eve!

Soon after lunch, my folks joined us in Thompson as well as Uncle Bob & Aunt Judy.  We got in lots of visiting before dressing up to attend a candlelight service together.  It was a so heartwarming to have 12 of us together, even though we were missing Randy, Anna, Makenzie, Kaleb and Logan who were in Casper, WY with the Kaups.

We had a traditional supper of several different soup (oyster, spicy potato & cheese burger) choices; followed by taking pictures, and opening gifts.

Much excitement and laughter followed including a huge surprise for Noah & Nixin of a family trip to Disney World in February!  Preparations were made for a visit from Santa and Nixin was definitely the most excited of all the kids.  He was up at 3:00 AM Christmas morning checking out what Santa had left!  The cousins played games, built a fort & watched Christmas movies throughout the day.  The adults also were busy playing games including a new card game called Squeak (or sparkle if you ask my dad); several rounds of golf; wii games and more.

We even made it in to Grandforks for a little bit of post-holiday shopping on the 26th before we headed back to Fergus Falls.  Very grateful for the time spent with our loved ones and the wonderful Christmas Memories.