52/52

I made it!  52 weekly posts for 2014! I wasn’t always very punctual in getting the post written, like this one for example, but I did write posts for 52 weeks of this past year.  I have enjoyed blogging each week, but it is so hard for me to remember details when I wait for than a couple days to write up the post.  I’m unsure if I’ll try another photo project this year or what, if any, goal I’ll set that will help me keep up with this blog and continue to document this stage of our lives.

This post covers more like 10 days.  So there are way too many photos.  Sorry.

Monday, the 22nd of December, I spent packing us up getting ready to go to Round Rock.  We headed to Austin on Tuesday, got Christopher’s birth certificate so that he would be able to fly with Ben and me to Memphis, had a mini date to get some coffee and went to dinner at The Rafferty’s that night.

We had Christmas with The Zinneckers on Wednesday morning.

Then we packed back up and went to my parents where everyone was already gathered.

It was crazy when we got there, and pretty much continued being crazy until we left.  But it was a lot of fun to be together.  The older kids stayed out in the RV with my dad and they loved it.  The Kims slept in the downstairs room, Lindsey slept with my mom, Sarah on the couch and Ben on the other couch.  I slept with Christopher who slept poorly the entire time we were there.  Sleep deprivation is one of the worst things about having a baby.  Little things that go wrong seem huge when you aren’t rested.  I cried and yelled and was impatient and unkind during this trip thanks to not getting enough sleep.  Although I might have done those things even if I was getting enough sleep…

Christmas Eve service proved to be too hard for all the kids to sit through.  Lisa and I ended up in the foyer talking about life with little ones during the end of the service while we watched ours run around like crazy people, no doubt irritating a few people.

After the service we let the kids run around outside before heading over to Jewel’s.  The dinner was fun and the kids did ok.  Santa came and Betsy loved it.  Carson was the last kid to get called to get his gift and he shot up quickly to grab it, say thanks, and head back to his seat.  Betsy loved dancing with the other girls while we sang carols.

 

Christmas morning we did gifts, ate aebelskivers, did stockings, then the Polsons came over later for dinner to celebrate Joan’s 70th!  We did some karaoke that night.

On the 26th my mom took the girls (and Christopher) out to Josephine House for lunch.  It was delicious, and Claire came by to visit for a while and held Christopher.

Ben, Randy and Scott took the big kids to Inner Space Caverns!  My dad kept Kasper and Betsy.

That afternoon I took Carson and went to visit Joy, Brandon, Paula and all the kids.  It was good to see her and get to chat for a while.  I wish we’d taken a picture together.

On the 27th we drove out to Hico to meet up with The Polsons and see the land they and my parents purchased.  It was cold but the place is great and we had a good time.  I put a pull up on Betsy instead of a diaper.  They don’t hold as much “liquid” so she leaked through it and of course I had no extra clothes.  And it was freezing.  So in a couple of these she isn’t wearing pants.  Thanks to Julie for lending us some of Lydia’s leggings!  Mother of the year award goes to…

 

On the 28th we packed up all of our things and went to Kate and Steve’s.  Ben, Christopher and I then hopped on a plane to Memphis!  We met the Hartmans in Houston.  Kate and Steve and my parents shared the big kids the next couple of days.  I’m putting all that in another post!

The 31st was tiring.  Christopher was overtired.  I was overtired.  But I got in a nap, thanks Ben!  And we had some friends over to ring in the new year.  Pajamas required (all the ladies abided by this rule).  We ordered pizza and ate candy and somehow managed to stay up until midnight!

And the extras.