Christmas in March

Ok, so we are not having Christmas in March, but I thought I would share some more photos and videos from our Christmas. Specifically, honky-tonks in dad's garage and Michael with my family.

My pop and hussybun playing Cribbage


Catherine Austin and Kari enjoying "McGoofy's Garage" music

Catherine Katie and Austin enjoying "McGoofy's Garage" music

Pop and Michael pickin' and grinnin' in "McGoofy's Garage"

Pop In-law and Son in-law

Got Michael to pick with dad, now just gotta get him to go fishin'.

Christmas with a new family

Because of the ice, we did not go down to Osceola on Saturday afternoon, as we had planned. Austin was not a fan of this. He was so excited for us to get there...Really he was excited and could hardly wait to meet Michael. He called me a few times and left messages asking us if we were coming down...One message he said that it wasn't bad outside...Which was quite untrue, he just wanted us to come down. What a funny boy. We went down to Osceola on Sunday. Austin met his new uncle and cousins and dad met his new son in-law.

Moments with my sister and nieces before the celebrations...
Kelli and me

Kelli, Kari and Karina

Kelli and her gymnastics moves

We opened ate, opened gifts, played BINGO for gifts (lots of lotions, candles and fishin' stuff). Mikey was hilarous during the BINGO game. His commentary kept us all entertained. Cannot tell you his funny lines, but I assure you that we were amused and had some good laughs.

BINGO TIME!!!

Catherine and Granny

Daddy and Daughter

Diverse son in-laws

Gedardo and Kim

Kari and Mom

GIFT TIME!!!

Catherine loves Japan

Bubble Bean opening her gift

Gedardo Kelli Karina and Kim

Dad and his westerns

Austin and Mikey and Star Wars

Dad and Kari

Nick and his dollar bill tricks

Bubble Bean and her puppy

The drive to Iowa

We left for Iowa on December 26th after Michael got off work. First things first...I will take a Colorado Springs winter over and Iowa winter any day!!!

In all the years I drove to Iowa solo, God showed mercy on me by giving me superb driving conditions through Colorado, Nebraska and Iowa! I think I hit a spitting of snow once, other than that, dry and clear from one state to the other.

This year, however, proved to be a little different. We experienced God's loving protection up close and personal....

We were just outside Adair, Iowa. Mom and dad called in a frightened panic and told me to listen to 1040 WHO...They had call0ins and were reporting adverse driving condtions that spanned pretty much the entire state of Iowa and down into Missouri and over into Illinois. They were reporting freezing rain, sleet, and ice qickly covering pretty much everything. Fortunately we had not seen anything of the sort. NOTHING but FRIGID COLD temps.
I pay very close attentions to mile markers and town/mile signs so that if anything ever happens, I know exactly where I am (a lesson I leared on a drive to Iowa about 6 years ago).

I made a mental note as we passed the "Des Moines 44 miles" sign. Within a couple wheel turns and clicks of the tires on the road...

"OH SH*T!!!! (I hit Michael to wake him up) What do I do? What do I do?"
No defensive driving skills and knowledge of getting out of a skid worked. I just saw the frigid world outside the truck spinning around us. We slid from one side of the road to the other. As we slid back to the other side of the road, we spun in circles a few times.

As I realized we were just going to have to ride it out, I gripped the steering wheel, closed my eyes and prayed, "OH DEAR GOD..." At that point, I heard some banging like rocks hitting the truck, some crunching and we came to a GRINDING HALT. I opened my eyes and where were in the median between the two interstate lanes.

Like I said, we experienced the almighty, loving protection of the Lord. No other cars were on the interstate...we didn't see an oncoming car in either lane for miles. We stayed on the interstate and did not descend the embankment when we slid to the right side of the road (there are a lot of places along the interstate that are in need of gaurd rails to protect cars from going off and into the rivers, trees, fields, streams and creeks found below). Michael and I got out of the truck and did not find any obvious damages, although we did find a lot of snow and chunks of ice torn up and strewn all over the road and median (the banging I heard).

We pulled back onto the interstate (heading West istead of East). The truck was working fine, we were fine and the kids uninjured but adrenline flowing! We turned around and headed East again and made it safely to Kari's place in Norwalk. There we relaxed and slept the day away....There was no going anywhere due to the ice strom that had set in.

No denying God's love and protection. He fulfilled His promise that He would send His angels over us to protect us.

Christmas

We got Mikey and Catherine Christmas day afternoon. We opened gifts and snacked on gifts...They posed endless questions about our tirp to Iowa and their new family. Mikey and Catherine were quite anxious to see their new grandma and aunts again and couldn't wait to meet their new grandpa and were curious about Austin.

Michael testing out the camera he got for me

Mieky and Cahterine waiting to open their gifts


Mikey and his buildy thingys

Michael passing out gifts

Michael and Catherine opening gifts

Decorating the Christmas Tree

i cannot nbelieve that it is already Christmas Eve Eve...we will get mikey and catherine Christmas afternoon and will head to Iowa after Michael gets off work the day after. I have waited so long to finally have a man to bring home for the holidays. Now I not only have a man, but two teenagers as well!!!! I love all three of them so much and am so very blessed to have a family of my own to share Christmas with.
Kim can finally know how it feels to be an aunt. Kari can add another niece and nephew to her niece and nephew list and mom and dad can say they have six grandchildren. Austin, Nick, Kelli and Karina have two more cousins. Michael and I are quite interested to see how Austin and Mikey get along while we are there...If they have Star Wars they should get along just fine....

camera girl caught on film

catherine and mikey putting the treasured ornaments on the tree

michael getting the tree up and lights on

Michael throughly enjoyed having a little sister to pick on.

Michael, Mikey, Catherine and Karina

Mikey and Karina at the money wasting toy machine.
Mikey requested to hold Karina because he is "customed to holding chunky babies."
Mikey reminds us quite a bit of Bubba Mater. Karina and Bubba Mater have a special brother-sister connection. Karina just seemed quite interested and at one point, enanmoured with Mikey.

Karina trying to climb the steps

Catherine and "Gram-Gram"

New grandson. New cousin. New nephew. New son. New family.

Catherine and Mikey have been pretty excited about getting new grandparents. They have asked on multiple occasions when then
would get to meet my family. Well, last weekend, they got to meet their new granny, two aunts and baby cousin. They both took a quick liking to "gram-gram" and baby cousin and aunts.
We took everyone to Texas T-Bone (which I amm sorry to say was HORRIBLE) for supper. Mikey went out of his way to hang on his new grandma. He had no personal space issues, and as usual, had no issues invading someone else's space...Namely, Mom.


My mommy is such a great granny!