Happy New Year!! First blog of 2010

We are in Lincoln today. We arrived last evening for a New Year's Eve Party! Ok, so we aren't big partiers even for New Year's eve. And we actually managed to stay up past 10 p.m. I'm sure that means it was 2010 somewhere! And we did have a party of sorts. We celebrated our cool grandson, and read stories and sang songs for him before his bedtime! We ate shrimp and cheese and salami and had a fizzy drink! I was done then. I even slept through the midnight fireworks that went on in the neighborhood. I congratulate myself for getting as close to 2010 without going over as I did. (does that make sense? Cause, after all, here I am in 2010.)
Next: we brave the TSA and security lines in Omaha. We're off to Arizona. More from there I hope.

Airports

Airports. I'm thinking of this because tomorrow Amy is heading off again. She's flying out of Omaha, though Ron is taking her down in the morning. I have spent a lot of time at airports either sending her off or picking her up. And she claims that she hates to fly! She really is the one with all the stories when it comes to travel. Me. I just watch the monitors, check the time and wait. Some times she's on time. Sometimes late. There was the time she flew into Madison via Chicago. Her flight was cancelled after it was much too late for us to do anything but get a hotel room and wait til she came in the next morning...with a nose ring! Ok. not really. I've said goodbye to her from Minneapolis, Zurich, Omaha, Seoul and Phoenix. I've said hello to her in all those places too. She's mostly adventured on her own. It's the goodbye factor I really don't like much at all.

Holiday Blizzard

We are at day # 2 of our holiday blizzard in Sioux Falls. Not many dull moments that's for sure. We have had plenty to eat. And books to read. And DVDs to watch and games to play. It has been undivided attention on our family. This afternoon, during a lull in the snow, or, well, there really wasn't a lull we were just getting antsy, we went outside to play some snow croquet and take pictures and watch the boys slide down the hill. I also watched Nate as he did some shoveling. The house smells wonderful right now. A Christmas dinner is in the oven. Ham and scalloped potatoes and crescent rolls and a cranberry/apple tart for dessert. Other than not having Ron here we have been very contented with this blizzard.

Home

We picked up Amy last night at the airport. Her flight was quite late so we weren't home until, well, today. So I am sitting here at home feeling exhausted. But no worse than the other two. They are both sound asleep. And the dog is snoring. On top of that we have to decide if we'll go to Sioux Falls tomorrow instead of Christmas day since it sems there is a 100% chance of a blizzard. Eeeek. I want to get snowed in with my grandkids. On the other hand I promised myself during a nasty blizzard years ago, that I would never ever never drive in a blizzard again. That was a christmas eve blizzard and we just needed to drive 6 miles from my in laws to my mother's. We drove the distance south in the north bound lane praying that no one else was out there driving in the other direction. Who should be so foolish?
So...a deep desire to enjoy movies, cookies, opening gifts, the enthusiasm of little boys on the one hand. And an even deeper desire to wrap up in a blanket and hunker down...

Sunday Morning

It was a beautiful Sunday before Christmas service this morning. There was an amazing hoar frost that lasted well into the morning, and the worship at church was wonderful. We sang Chris Tomlin's "Glory in the Highest". It fits so well with the Luke 2 passage, "And suddenly, there were with the angel a multitude of heavenly hosts, glorifying God and saying "Glory to God in the Highest, and on earth, Peace. Goodwill among men." And a reminder from John 3:16 about the height, and width and depth and length of God's love for us. How high? "FOR GOD..." How deep? "SO LOVED THE WORLD" How wide? "THAT ALL WHO BELIEVE" How long? "Might have EVERLASTING life..." Which of course brings to mind another favorite song by Phillips Craig and Dean that especially seems to fit on a beautiful morning like this. I can hardly say the words without singing the melody in my head:
"You paint the morning sky
With miracles in mind
my hope will always stand
For you hold me in your hand.
Lord I'm amazed by you.... how you love me...
How wide, how deep, how great is your love for me..."

Reconnecting

I've had several very long days this week. Frustrating. Discouraging. Disappointing. Not because of the amount of time I've been spending at the job, but because of my relationships with colleagues.
So today, I get to join some friends for coffee at my (our) favorite local coffee place. De Koffie Hoek. Hurrah! Did I mention that I have friends? I don't really need coffee, but I do need some small relationship time. Phew. So just in the nick of time. I doubt I'll be able to fix the other things that are going on, but at least I'll know that I'm NOT a bad person. Well, at least I hope that's part of what I'll figure out. Here's hoping.

No pictures

I just spent the whole weekend with two of my grandsons, doing all sorts of stuff from making cookies, to doing a craft, to going to Disney on Ice, to rolling in the snow, to walking in the mall during the Christmas rush (never again), and I didn't take a single picture. Good grief. I was so busy I didn't even think of the camera. Well, not until we were half way to the Disney on Ice show when I remembered. Bother. So, no pictures. But I can tell you this: I am exhausted. I don't think we could cram in one more thing. I did learn that the boys liked the Meteor Trucks video that I brought home from the library. I can yell at them for not listening, and they will still want to hang out with us. And, I'm sure I've said this before, but I can't believe how their parents can parent no less than 3 boys at one time. Phew, it makes me tired to think about. I know I did this, but I'd forgotten...well, lots.
Back to "normal" here in a few hours.