Holy cow, it seems as if the past week has just flown by. I think we were so busy and on the go so much that time just got away from us. What a week though.
Let's see....where to start.....
Steve got to take the week off at the last minute. Not sure what changed his mind about asking for time off, but whatever it was-I wasn't going to argue, we were going to get the heck out of here before plans changed again! :)
Kansas City was forecasted to have a big snow storm sometime between Wednesday and Friday. We wanted to get up there in plenty of time, so we left Tuesday morning. Plus, my brother and Steve had some serious "power shopping" to do.
Tuesday evening Mom took Steve and I out to my new favorite place to eat....Five Guys Burgers and Fries. Lord have mercy, they have some good burgers and fries! Steve had never been there, so he had to try it and loved it as well. Makes my mouth water just thinking about it! After dinner, Mike (my oldest brother) and Steve took off for power shopping trip #1.
Wednesday morning Dad and I went on our annual shopping trip. Ever since I was a little girl, Dad and I would go Christmas shopping for Mom. We'd shop and then get to get a cheesecake brownie from the cookie place in the mall. As the years have gone on, we still shop, but we've pretty much given up on the cheesecake brownie. It's been replaced with a sausage biscuit and a coke from McDonalds! Nonetheless though, I love going shopping with Dad. (Even if he was grumpy this year!)
Wednesday night Mike and his family, along with Matt (little brother) and Tammy came down to the house. We ate pizza and just hung out. It was a good time, though it was kind of a bummer as well, since my Dad had to work. Poor guy-missed out on some good family time.
Thursday morning was the annual "Golden Guy's Breakfast" at the Corner Cafe in Kansas City, Missouri. The boys get up and go to breakfast together-and have for years. They usually get biscuits and gravy and bring us girls home some huge cinnamon rolls. It's something the boys look forward every year.
Thursday afternoon the ice started. And oh my did it come down!! Lots of sleet and ice. They even cancelled the Christmas Eve service at church! Kind of sad, but at the same time, kind of nice because I had been in my pj's all day and the cancelling of church meant I could STAY in my pj's! We ended up going up to Mike and Jenny's (they only live about 6 or 7 houses up from Mom and Dad) for the evening and just snacking and hanging out.
Thursday night, the National Weather Service actually put Kansas City under a Blizzard Warning! How funny is that! But man alive, the wind was fierce and holy cow, did it ever blow and blow and blow.
Friday was ok. I say ok, because to be honest, I was kind of grumpy. It just didn't feel right. I was happy that it was Christmas and all that Christmas stood for, but at the same time, I was very sad. Sad that Tanner was with Mike and not us; I missed my Grandparents terribly; I missed Daddy Jack (my Father in law who passed away in September) and it felt weird to know that he wasn't going to call and tell us Merry Christmas; Christmas day was the one year anniversary of the passing of one of our Officers and friend, Craig Chastain; I was sad that my best friend was spending Christmas without her husband, who is currently serving in Afghanistan....all of these things together just really made me sad. I wanted to cry all day, but held it together enough that I didn't. The day itself was fine-my aunt and uncle braved the ice and snow and came up from Joplin for dinner and it was nice being with my family, especially my husband.
Saturday I needed to get out of the house. I was having me some cabin fever! So my sister in law, Jenny and I loaded up and went to the Legends (an outdoor shopping mall) to return a few things. The streets were pretty slick, but I've got 4 wheel drive on the Durango and we didn't have any problems at all. Spun through some parking lots and side streets, but that was more fun than anything else. It was nice to get out and there was hardly anyone else out, so we got all of our stuff done with no problems and no waiting!
We debated on Sunday whether to try and make it back to Arkansas, and in the end, decided we were going to try. We both were dying to see Tanner and wanted to get home so we could get her home. Mom and Dad fixed us a big breakfast of homemade pancakes (oh my word, they were good!) and bacon and after we finished eating-we headed south. We had NO problems whatsoever. The roads were mainly wet and it was a smooth drive. We pulled into the driveway around 4:00.
We picked Tanner up on our way into town. We got home, unpacked and put stuff away, then had Christmas with Tanner. It was the absolute BEST part of Christmas for me. I'm telling you, the joy on that child's face and the squeals of excitement were just music to my ears and to my heart. Man, that was fun!
I think for me, the best moment of the night was when I gave Steve a gift to open. It was a picture frame that said "Dad and Me" at the top and it had a picture of him and his Dad in it. Bless his heart, he of course cried-as did I. Immediately after that gift, I told him he and Tanner had to open the next gift together. So through the tears, they did. And what did they find-MARSHMALLOW GUNS!! Who knew marshmallow guns would bring such joy and excitement!? The tears were dried up and the trash talking started immediately. It was great! I couldn't have timed it any more perfect.
The rest of the night was spent just hanging out and dodging flying marshmallows. I found all kinds of those suckers around the house this morning that were remnants of the battle from last night. I couldn't help but smile every time I found one. :)
This afternoon, Chelsey came over and we had Christmas with her. It was fun and it was great seeing her and visiting with her. I can't believe she's a Senior and going to graduate in May. My how time flies!
Steve is back at work tonight and Tanner and I are neither one feeling good. I think she's fighting a sinus infection and I'm fighting some sort of bug. We decided around 7:00 to just shut everything down and go snuggle in bed. So that's what we've been doing. Snuggling and watching "Gilmore Girls."
I'll try to post pictures from Christmas in the next few days. For now, I'm going to bed. I'm worn out. Hope everyone had a great Christmas!
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