After the craziness of Christmas, the last few years we've taken the week of New Years as a relax, regroup, and recharge week. This year, however, was different. Now that our family dynamic has changed (because my parents live in the same town as we do), this was a year of trying out new routines for the holidays.
New Years Day was on a Wednesday this year. The Monday prior to New Years (the 30th), my brother, his wife, their two children, and my nephew's girlfriend all came for a visit. They got to town around lunchtime, and family members that were available met at Taco Tico for lunch. Brooke and Brecklyn were on the tail end of strep throat, so Chris stayed home with them while the big kids and I went to lunch.
After lunch, Kaylee came back to my house with me for the afternoon. We (along with Chris and the twins) joined my brother's family at my parents' house for dinner that evening. Once we finished dinner, we opened the few last Christmas gifts of the season. I didn't take any photos during all of this except my traditional "in the wrapping paper" photo of the kids (and big kid adults).
Kaylee, Brooke, Brianna, Mallory (JT's girlfriend), JT, Brecklyn, and Brenson
Mom and Dad only have one spare bedroom and bed at their house, so Jeremy and Shawna stayed there while Kaylee, JT, and Mallory all crashed at our place. It was fun to have them here for late night visits, and the kids always love having overnight company. Kaylee stayed in Bri's room, Mallory had Bren's room, and JT took the upstairs. Bri and Bren slept in our bedroom closet.
On New Years Eve, Jeremy and his family along with Mom and Dad all went to Wichita to visit Granny Tiger. While they were gone, Chris and I worked hard to get some Christmas stuff put away. Our guests made it back in town around 9:00pm, I had no intention of staying up until midnight to ring in the new year, so we snapped these group photos just before we put the kids to bed (around 10:00pm) and Chris and I followed shortly thereafter.
Yay for 2020!!!
Shawna's birthday is on December 31st, so on New Years Day we had everyone over for lunch to celebrate her birthday. "Everyone" included Mom, Dad, Russ, Lisa, and Chloe Jo in addition to our family and Jeremy's family. Jeremy (and I) cooked chicken parmesan, then we had cake and ice cream for dessert.
The birthday girl!
Blowing out those candles . . . make a wish!
That afternoon is when we took family photos (see them here). We had a quick sandwich before heading to church that night.
On Thursday, my kids got up around 8:00am (thankfully, they slept in quite a bit during the break), and when we went to get breakfast, I found this:
Chris had been off work since December 20th, but January 2nd meant it was time to get back to reality for him. It made me smile when I saw this message from him on my phone :-).
Shawna had to get back to reality as well, so she flew home on Thursday after lunch at Arby's. We spent the afternoon relaxing, playing games, and visiting. The weather was nice enough for the kids to play outside, so they took advantage of that.
Brooke with her chalk art
Brianna and Kaylee with their chalk art
On Thursday evening, we all met at Mom and Dad's house for a ham and beans supper and more visiting.
Like I said above, Brenson and Brianna were both displaced from their bedrooms so they slept in our closet all week. When Chris went in the closet to get ready for work Friday morning, this is what he found:
After another chill day on Friday (JT and Mallory went to lunch with Grampy and G-Jo, we played a few games, and had quiet time while I took a fat nap), we invited everyone over for pizza that evening. Ross, Tia, Sadie, and Caroline joined us.
The little girls had the best time playing with each other. I love their friendship!
As we typically do, we ended the evening with singing and a devo. This is always such a special time, and I'm so thankful we share this as a family.
Chris had to get up super early Saturday morning for a 6:00am church budget meeting. Jeremy, JT, Mallory, and Kaylee hit the road around 7:30am, and my crew and I spent the morning relaxing. I actually fell back asleep while the kids were watching TV. It was a good week, but hosting three overnight guests, plus a group for meals as many times as I did wore me smooth out! I always say, though . . . I'm so grateful for family who wants to be together and spend time with one another. I try to never take that for granted.
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