'Tis The Season

Thanksgiving is over...had a wonderful time with family. We were invited to Chad/Amber's house on Friday evening for some pizza, salad and desserts. Played some Family Feud on the Wii and just visited since they were unable to come to our house on Thanksgiving Day. It was a nice time...Thanks Chad and Amber!!! Ben had already promised Tyler if he wasn't playing at Lucas Oil Stadium on this weekend, he would take him and a couple buddies (DJ, Drew and Ben) there to watch the High School Football Championship games being played. They were up and ready to leave by 8am and had an awesome time. Tyler loves the Colts and it was a first for him and Ben to be able to see Lucas Oil Stadium inside. The best game had to be the Class 5A game...Carmel vs. Warren Central. I was able to watch at home on television as it went into 2OT and Warren Central won 42-36. What a heart breaker for Carmel, but wow, what a game. On Saturday, I actually was able to accomplish some shopping and found some great bargains. Gabi and I conquered the mall, Walmart, Old Navy and a couple of bookstores. Gabi was also excited because I told her while the boys were away (Trenton went hunting and then hung out with his girlfriend for most the day), we would decorate the house and tree for Christmas! Had a fun time singing along to some Christmas carols as we put up all the decorations. It is so much fun to go through the ornaments each year...we have a tradition when it comes to our ornaments for our tree...We have some colored (maroon this year) balls on the tree to match the ribbon, but most of the other ornaments are either made by the kids, stand for something the kids have done (sports) or are part of our tradition. Ben's mom started a tradition of getting us an ornament for each home we have lived in with our address. These are particularly special to us as we remember Christmases past. We also have a few ornaments respresenting those we loved and lost in our lives, like Mom R and my brother, Rodney. But a tradition we started quite some time ago was getting an ornament when we go on vacation. It's so much fun to get the ornaments out and reminisce about vacation that past summer. I also have an ornament that represents each of the kids' first Christmas with a photo of them at that stage in their life which they enjoy hanging each year. It just makes our tree special...yes, it tends to have the same ornaments and we change the colors (ball ornaments and ribbon) from time to time, but we just like that tradition. So here it is on Sunday...the wish bone finally dried out for Tyler and Gabi to take a stab at and make a wish...unfortunately, neither got the big side, it broke completely even with the top off. Gabi swears it means both of their wishes will come true. Trenton left around 2pm today to head back to college...missing him already-we had a good visit. Just thankful for so many things in my life, especially my family and children. My wish for them is to always be close to our family as they continue to grow and to keep our traditions alive for as long as they can. It's what makes our family special. I guess it has taken me a bit to get into the "Christmas spirit" - but I think I am headed in the right direction after this weekend :)