I've been away

And now I have returned. And have no idea where to start. Wow. So much to catch you up on.

Christmas. We had a lovely time at Christmas. We were at my parents' for several days wherein Reagan ransacked their house and carried around wrapped gifts that were not hers but appeared edible and destructible thereby making them easy targets. In all honesty, she did very well. What I mean by that is she slept when she was supposed to and didn't seem to mind sharing a room with us too much. In fact, she seemed utterly amused to wake up and see us slumbering away. So amused she would call out to us lest we go on resting. Fortunately, this happened at precisely 7:00 AM every day. Christmas Day we traveled home and had a nifty party at our house with Hubby's family. Lots of gifts and lots of fun. Reagan was thrilled to discover that her cuz Andrew came over to play. Apparently she finds him a great deal more entertaining than me. It took a while for me to overcome my feelings of jealousy (1, 2, 3 all gone) and instead laughed at them attempting to communicate and interact. Reagan was especially excited to show him her most favorite Christmas gift - a musical card (really Mom and Dad, thanks so much) which she played at least 100 times over and over and over - giggling with glee each time.

New Years. We made a trip up North to see Hubby's family. Hubby has decided that any time a trip is to be made to his parents he needs to be sick as a dog which really, ruins the fun for most of us and grosses out everyone else. This happened the last two times we traveled there. Even though he spent most of the trip curled up in a recliner no one else contracted the plague and we managed to have a pleasant trip. Reagan once again slept BEAUTIFULLY while we were there. I was so greatly relieved that she traveled so well. It was a tremendous blessing. Again, she was delighted to have time with Andrew - not so sure he returns the sentiments but they did seem to have a good time together - you know, when Reagan wasn't stealing his toys or screaming at the top of her lungs. Aside from that, they had a blast.

And now here we are. Laundry done. Luggage unpacked. Groceries purchased. Life returning to some semblance of normal. We loved traveling to visit our families - aside from illness. We love to visit our families. We love to spend time with the people we love. But we were craving home. It was a relief to crawl in our own bed and not pick our clothes out of a suitcase. It was nice to watch Reagan run from room to room squealing and not worry about what she was getting into. It was refreshing to remind ourselves that our home is really a warm and pleasant place - one we appreciate and enjoy.

There are many stories I could share with you about all the many funny memories we made. There are many reflections that floated through my mind this Christmas season. There are many resolutions I could share with you as we enter this new year. And I may do that in the coming days, weeks, months. But for now, we are focused on getting back into the swing of things around here. We hope your holiday recovery is going well, too.

Have a blessed new year!!!