After a fun Christmas morning at home, we packed up and headed down to Marysville to celebrate with our Kelley family. The first stop was to visit great Grandma and Grandpa Staley (and many aunts, uncles, and cousins) at the farm. After a wonderful visit with them we headed back to my parents house for dinner and gifts with Uncle Paul and Aunt Kristen, Aunt Shannon and Uncle Travis, and all of Avery and Norah's cousins. It was a blast! What a fun, crazy, chaotic time with all those kids (and adults) ripping into mounds of presents. Grandma and Grandpa were very generous in their gift giving (as always) and the presents were all wonderful, but the real treasure of the evening was fun spent together as a family. In a rare event, we actually got to spend time with everyone two nights in a row! Considering it's only a few times a year that we all get to be under the same roof together, it was a treat to get so much time together with my parents and siblings in one weekend. Shannon and Travis hosted us all for a special dinner at their house. There are 8 grandchildren in the family and Spencer, the oldest, is 10. That means it's been roughly 10 years since the adults have spent time together having normal adult conversation without the background noise and countless interruptions of kids in the house. Now don't get me wrong, we all love our kids to pieces and every family gathering is only made more joyous as more and more little ones enter the picture. But when Shannon had the idea to hire a couple of babysitters to entertain the kids in their finished basement while the grown ups enjoyed a peaceful sit-down dinner upstairs in the dining room we were all for it! What a special time it was for all of us to have a couple of hours to sit, connect, and relax together. The highlight of the evening was listening to mom and dad recount stories and memories from their childhood Christmases. (And the kids all had a grand time together, of course!) Before we knew it, it was time to pack up the car one last time and head back to Perrysburg. We had a great time!
Grandma Staley made this beautiful cross stitch for me to hang in our house every winter. The horse drawn carriage has much significance for me since Erich proposed to me in one.
Grandma with Avery and Norah (and Jessie, who never left Avery's side)
Karly admiring sweet baby Norah
Avery was thrilled to receive a Woody doll from Grandma and Grandpa to go with her Jessie doll. She was a happy happy girl!
The best shot we could get of all the grandkids together at Shannon and Travis' house. This was at the end of the evening right before everyone headed home and all the kids were exhausted from playing. Next time we need to remember to snap a photo at the start of the night when they are all still fresh and energized!
Avery learned how to ride a big kid bike (with training wheels) in Grandma and Grandpa's basement, in her Rapunzel dress of course. She was quite proud!
Truth be told, this Christmas season evoked a wide range of emotions for Erich and I. In the midst of cherishing little moments and making memories with our two(!) girls, celebrating the birth of Jesus, opening gifts, and having fun, we also endured the scary and stressful moments of Evan's illness and hospitalization. On top of that, Erich dealt with an extremely tense and terrifying situation at work earlier that same week that left him (and me) shaken for quite some time. Although we aren't afraid to admit that Christmas 2011 will go down in history as one with a mix of "the good, the bad, and the ugly", the common thread that kept us focused and centered on the positive was FAMILY. We are thankful for each and every moment we spent with our loved ones this season, even when we were more in "survival mode" than a spirit of celebration. It was still time spent together with the ones our hearts cherish and THAT was a gift.
Okay, first off, I LOVE that picture of you guys at the bottom. Second, your mom looks AMAZING. Third, all those kids...and they're all old. How did that happen?? Like, why is Spencer 10? I just don't understand. :-P Love you and love your family! And really love Poptart and Little One!
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