Better.

We stayed quarantined for almost a week even though we were largely better after three days.  I did not appreciate this virus and I erred on the side of caution as I didn't think anyone else would appreciate stray germs of that variety.

We are now just living the everyday living of winter.  I don't mind the cold, really.  It kills bugs so that they aren't the size of birds.  :+)  And, may I add that I love having children who are three and five?  This is a delightful season of life with the children and I am most grateful.

We got our family photos that were taken late October and we got the CD before Christmas... here are a few:

Not Such a Great Day

Last night as the three of us took turns being sick, Jonathan said, "Mommy, this is just a bad day.  I wish Daddy was home."  To which I emphatically replied, "Me too, buddy, me too."

James left yesterday for his grandmother's funeral in Michigan right as Jonathan was kind of recovering from a stomach bug, Caleb was sick, sick, sick and the momma was just getting sick, sick, sick.  I did have a glimpse of us being on the mend when the boys started fighting over which puke bowl they each were going to have. 

The view from the chair at the boys' resting area.  Hope this sort of weekend doesn't come around, again, for a good long while.

The Iverson Clan

My dad is one of six children in the Iverson family.  My sister and I are the youngest grandchildren by a fair amount... most of my cousins' children are much older than ours, and one of my cousin's children got married on New Year's Eve.  What a delightful affair!  We loved seeing family we haven't seen in years, and the Wilke clan is a most welcoming and sociable group.

My cousin, Marc, and his two boys with James and our two.

I think it would be very lovely if Marc and his wife, Emily, lived closer as I think we could have some wild boy times.  As it is, we had a great time introducing our boys to those two.

The handsome groom with a less than smiley Jonathan

This was the best option of the family photos we took.  The children were actually enjoyable to have at the wedding, the photos just showed their fiesty side a bit.

Grammie and the boys

Marc and his youngest, Cale

The Wilke clan

Some aunts and uncles + my cousin, Patrice

Daddy found a monkey game on his phone that helped to pass the time while waiting to eat.

Patrice's fashionable daughters and Caleb... Caleb kept saying, "Mommy, I wike dese friends you have.  But one of dem has some holes in her pants." She had on tights will some slits in them or pants with holes if you're Caleb.

Patrice, Madeline, Isabelle, me and Caleb

Me+SmartWool = HAPPY GAL

If you live anywhere that has weather you consider to be chilly, may I recommend SmartWool socks?  They are a luxury that I find to be worth every penny that they cost.  Try them and see if you agree.  The rest of holiday photos coming soon...

On to the Next House

In our Christmas travels, the Guild family was next on the itinerary.  We enjoyed a couple of days there, as well.  Never a dull moment with ten grandchildren!

Over the River...

We headed to Grammie and Grampie's house on the night of the 26th to celebrate with my family.  It was grand fun, and the boys amped up the energy level in that house a fair amount in the two days that we were there.

Celebrate

I really love to celebrate.  Probably not as much with huge crowds or really big parties but with fun traditions that we look forward to each year.  We've tweaked our celebration of Jesus' birth each year and will continue to do so, but we have some traditions that are great fun: Read the "Story of Christmas" and do that last Jesse Tree ornament, gifts for each of us (lovingly wrapped, see the photos), breakfast of Daddy's specialty pancakes, playtime together, and dinner with "spicy juice" followed by some birthday cake.

 Wrapped for me by my oldest.

 Wrapped for me by the littlest Guild

 Scavenger Hunt for their gift

 Scavenger Hunt: getting closer

 These boys love their daddy's pancakes!

 The master pancake maker at work

 A little goofy

 As normal as we get...

A few of my favorite memories from this year: Jonathan's absolute delight at preparing gifts for others and carefully wrapping them (three hours of wrapping is some focused wrapping!).  Caleb and Jonathan's excitement about the Jesse Tree and reading each night.  Caleb: "I wike the wights a wot."