We had Johannsen Christmas up in Rockford this weekend, and it was really wonderful. Jenny's and my families were there for Saturday, and Kerri and Dan came that evening after her family's Christmas in Protivin that day. Then on Sunday, my aunt and uncle, cousin w/hubby, and my grandparents all came up from Ames for the afternoon. It was a houseful! We had a great time. I'm not sure I can even describe what a great time it was, but I'll try.
My dad has spent this past year finishing the basement. The carpet was laid on Tuesday of last week, which was just in time because we needed the space! Jenny's family slept downstairs where the ping-pong table used to be (for those of you readers who were at my house when we were young). The area by the chalkboard with the sloping floor drain where we washed fossils out of our hair in high school (don't ask) has been filled in with concrete and leveled so it could be carpeted. The girls had a fantastic time playing down there, with room to romp and squeal and do somersaults and dance. My dad installed a TON of lights in the ceiling, and the walls are drywalled and painted a nice light color, so it's very, very pleasant down there. Hard to believe I used to roller skate down there!! He's very proud of the work, too, as he should be. He'll probably spend a good portion of the next year working on it still, though, because the playroom is still unfinished and they're adding another room to the west of that. The added space is much appreciated, though, when we have that many people there.
We also played outside. there's probably at least 15" of snow there, which means ginormous snow piles to play on. It was so cold that the snow was too powdery for construction, but the girls in their sleds were easy to pull around on the driveway, so they very much enjoyed that. We climbed on big round straw bales, played with superfriendly kittens, and talked to the cows. It was so very still there, and the sky was an arctic blue. Beautiful, peaceful, just awesome. And the only thing breaking the silence was little girl laughter! It doesn't get any better.
Of course, I left my camera card in my computer at home, so I have no pictures. Classic move! But other people were taking pictures, and I'll get them someday. It was a really wonderful, special weekend. It was honestly hard to leave. We opened Christmas presents and ate a ton of great food, and laughed the whole weekend long. We even sang for my grandmother, who was possibly the most enraptured and appreciative audience I have ever performed for. She was so thrilled to have all of us singing together at my mom's piano, she was actually in tears. It's so nice to be someplace where all the things about myself that I normally try to downplay, that others may think stand out as abnormal or unusual about me, just blend in and are appreciated and are normal!
I love home.
Tonight, we took some treats over to Emily's old sitter, and it was such a nice homecoming for her. She was so excited to be there, I thought she'd wiggle herself out of her carseat as we were entering her neighborhood! Audrey didn't remember the place, of course, but Emily made herself right at home. Emma and Brady were happy to see her, too, and it was nice to catch up with Amanda and hear how things have been for her. To go back to the "feeling dumped" analogy, I kind of wondered if this might be the kind of thing where you can't be friends afterwards without one party not respecting the boundaries (that would be Emily, in this case, who decided she'd go upstairs and stay for the evening) but I think you can't go wrong maintaining relationships with interesting people. Life is too short, and most people are too dull! I didn't say that, shhhhh... Anyway, it was a nice evening and fun to give Emily such a thrill. Now, just wait until she sees what Santa has planned! We've asked him to come on Christmas Eve Eve, and then we head up to Barnum for the actual holiday. It'll be less crowded and less active there, which is probably just what we need after last weekend. But I wouldn't've traded it for anything in the world.
And, I did get Emily's singing posted, this time at YouTube. Enjoy!
Golden Slumbers, pt 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t53vlHuEZbw
Golden Slumbers, pt 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLODc-GrZA0
Twinkle, Twinkle http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOJce8Hgja4
1 comment:
I would love to see pics of the finished basement. I think that was the only place I tried out in-line skates. As I recall, it involved much holding on to furniture. :)
Post a Comment