Recoup the rest of the Year - Wednesday

[BookSaver]

Lilac ~ I hope it helped to write all of that out. A lot of it comes down to expectations, doesn't it? Everybody expects so much from the holidays, perfect days with The Waltons or Brady Bunch. Then the disappointment is sharper when it doesn't work out -- and I don't know any family where everything works out perfectly. So I guess all you can do is remember that your dgsons had high expectations, too, but unfortunately they do not have the maturity level to understand how blessed they really are. Hopefully the realization will come as they get older.

[Nancy]

Feeling better a thimble full of tequila the first time for me to taste that! LOL! Got the dish washer rebooted today.
The best thing about after the holidays is the interesting things to eat for breakfast!
Dgd will be here in a bit.

[Norma]

Thank you so much for my birthday greetings yesterday! I appreciate it. It is a hard birthday to remember because of all the other goings on. (Harriet, you outdid yourself!)

We had a great day at a family brunch, ate too much and came back home and veged the rest of the day.

This laptop and I dislike each other ! I will close now. Have a wonderful Boxing Day to our Canadian friends.

[helia]

HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY, NORMA!!

Yes, Harriet is especially talented with the graphics here.

[helia]

Definitely ate too much yesterday. . . . BUT, today is a new day!

((Lilac)) Yes, maybe that was helpful to get that all out. We're a safe audience. I'm realizing that every family has its. . . . quirks and hard points.

Our family ended up playing a game together so late last night that we didn't have time to open the gifts from dfriends after all!! --And dfriend in TX called us last night to thank us for our gifts to them and to wish us a Merry Cmas, but we couldn't thank her for their gifts to us b/c we hadn't opened them yet. Thankfully, they don't operate in such a way as to be offended by that.

Dh was up early this morning to pick up dfriend R from the airport; S and R spent Christmas with her parents in NC. R is home now as he must work some later this week, but S has gone on to the Urbana Missions Conference now in St. Louis as part of her work. She is one of the speakers there, at least a teacher in one of the tracks, I believe. That is quite an honor, especially for one so young - she is in her late 20s. Dh is also trying to ratchet back his internal clock b/c he leaves for NL tomorrow night to visit his ddad and some of his sisters. So, he was happy to get up early to fetch R.

Today's goals:
-groc. store; ironically, this is necessary, even with the leftovers in our fridge. We need milk + other meal options.
-use up the bread dough -- make another pan of cinnamon rolls
-open up 2 packages, gifts from dfriends in TX and dfriends in Calif.
-exercise
-don't succumb to the goodies sitting around the house.

We may get up to 4 inches snow tonight!! Kids are SO excited about that.

I hope you have a good trip Twins.

I hope you're enjoying time with dd, Kathryn.

So fun to hear of someone else with Dutch connections, Dove! --Dh's ddad also came over after WWII for his schooling since the Universities in NL were in shambles at that time. He survived the war in NL as an older teen male by being in hiding and helping with an underground newspaper; his skills with electronics, etc. were useful as he built batteries out of potatoes for his radio (no conventional batteries available - maybe radios were confiscated too) to receive the Queen's broadcasts from England. He does not talk about these years very much. Once in the US, he stayed here quite a while but eventually went back to NL after he married dh's dmom, who very much wanted to live in NL, not here.

Off to my a.m. routine -- now that it is almost 11 a.m.

[Lilac]

Dd2 had dgd20mos paint dh a tall mug with a lid on it. She put out orange and black paint for her to use. With that and the white areas that she missed, it became a "Harley Davidson Grandpa" in black letters mug. Dgd16 painted him a black and white Nascar themed soap dish. Dgd3 painted me a dainty teacup that has raised flowers on it. It has a tan background and the flowers are navy. Dd painted a plate for me. Around the edges it looks like a wreath with a bow at the botton. In the middle she outlined a Christmas tree and for part of its decorations in different colors is a fingerprint of all 7 grandchildren and their names. Truly special 1 of a kind gifts.

Dd2 called and needs me to ride along with her and the little girls so she can run and get dgd16 some meds for her problem. We will just sit in the car.

[blessedw2]

d lilac ((())) so sorry your dd1 boys were not thinking (knowing about gratefulness). She is in a rough position. she may have to see it as a gentle learning experience for them (even if they never get it).

[blessedw2]

love the gift d lilac

[blessedw2]

I agree w d helia, it's always a good idea to get it out, especially here. The other day I was feeling the frustration but getting opinions here helped me see things in a different way and also get the frustration out before getting together. The whole family had a wonderful time as I didn't have to hold on to those feelings and I could see things clearer than just emotion. It is a safe place here and everyone EVERYONE is so sweet and helpful here. I am glad you could talk. It's a good thing

[blessedw2]

Happy birthday Norma!!!!