As I (and the family) get older and families continue to grow - you learn to enjoy the little moments a bit more and savor the memories of being together for another time - not quite knowing when another time will come.
I arrived a week prior to Christmas to help Mom and Dad prepare the house. Dad and I made a trip to Mrs. Baker's farm once again to find the perfect cedar for our living room - we managed to get it to stand straight after 2 failures and it's still standing to this day.
I had better luck with the fudge production - producing 3 near-perfect batches:
Christmas Eve and Day were chaotically wonderful as my whole family came to Lawrence for a traditional "Keel" Christmas...we even all made it to church on time and were able to snap a family photo - the first since the Buschelman wedding...
Christmas morning was filled with excitement as my niece, Mary Ann, exclaimed that Santa shops at Costco...she's quite smart and loves the spirit of Christmas and her god-mother:
A trip to Free State Brewery was a highlight for the entire family on the 26th...the Buschelmans posed for another family shot courtesy of 'Hund Photography':
Then it was off to the Hickory Grove to celebrate with Oma and the St. Louis Keels. Oma got to meet her 5th and 6th great-grandchildren. Here she is with William:
I was able to meet up with my high school friends, "The Clarinets", for our annual get-together. We've being reuniting every year for 8 years now. This year, Laura could not make it but we called her to catch up!
And finally as 2008 closed - I celebrated with some dear friends from St. Lawrence:
2009 will be busy as soon as I head back to Chicago...we have just 5 months to get an institute ready to open!
May the new year bring you many blessings!
Much love,
Mitzi
2 comments:
Whoo hoo--first post, less than an hour after you posted!!
It was great to see everyone for Christmas. Next time we get together we'll have to drug the kids so they stay still for the picture =)
Mitzi,
great new year's eve pic. How do you get your hair to look like that? And no vacation until April? What about Big XII tournament in Dayton? We are counting down the days!!!
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