Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!!!!!

Hope your Christmas was everything you wanted!!! 

Mine was very nice, however very strange.  This is the first Christmas without my father.  We spent extra effort to spend quality time with my mother.  It was fun, but yet something nagged us all... the empty chair my father left behind.  The weather was not helping us out.  The forecast said big snowstorm coming, my brother who lives 2 hours away made it impossible for him to stay.  Wednesday night it started sleeting.  So we woke up Christamas eve with ice.  My brother (his wife was working) came early and spent time with our mother.  While I readied the food and house for our celebration.  Well I thought when my brother dropped off mom and since he couldn't stay I would make him a plate of cookies and candy to take back with him.  My lovely 13 year old daughter helped with everything..  This year she made the caramels, her first attempt.  She did good.  Anyway my husband said put the caramels in the garage to get them cold, because they are easier to cut.  Which most of the time that is true, however this pan of caramels was very firm and didn't need it.  Which I found out.  After spending a few hours in the cold garage I tried cutting them for my take along plate for my brother.  So I had my daughter hold the pan while I cut.   Well the knife slipped and yes I cut my daughters finger.  It was a bad cut.  I knew it she knew it.  I'm not good with injuries when they first happen.  I'm not a person that should ever be the first at an accident scene.  I would end up being someone the EMT's would have to treat. LOL!!  I called my mom to have them come early and decide what to do.  It's Christmas Eve..  How to deal with it??  She needed stitches.  So I called our family clinic and yes it's early, they were still open.  But come now because they are closing soon.  So my brother drove my daughter and I to the clinic.  I thought this place is going to be packed because they will be closed for 4 days..  people are going to try to get all their medical needs done before the long weekend.   But we pulled up to the clinic and there was only 1 vehicle in the lot.  So that was good.  My daughter was in and out of there with her 4 stitches in an hour.  The clinic locked the doors behind us!!!!  Boy did I feel bad and very guilty.  My daughter could have asked for a car and got it on the spot.  But she was great.  No tears.  She wasn't freaked out at all.  I'm the one, shaking and near tears.  The horror and guilt...  Up until now neither of my kids ever had stitches or broken bones.  My son is 19.  I've always managed to keep them safe.  Anyway back home...  my brother stayed for a few minutes and left to go back home.  The weather was ok then.  No sleet or snow at that point, so he thought he better get going.  My daughter and son went shopping...  yes she just had 4 stitches and she went shopping.  In the afternoon we played domino's.  It was a wonderful night.  We had Tenderloin on the grill, it was great!!  My mom bought the kids a Wii, we hooked it up and played that the rest of the night.  Great time!!  When everyone left I tried to watch It's a Wonderful Life.  But couldn't finish it I was tired and needed to sleep.  Christmas Day we spent with my mom.  My husband made this plant holder for my dad's stone..

 

I put the flowers together.  So we took this out to the cemetery.   My dad would have loved this. Can you believe it rained all morning on Christmas Day.  It didn't start snowing until dark.  The forecast was so wrong.  But all worked out alright anyway.  After the cemetery we ate again!!! This time we had a very tender Pork Roast..  Then we played Wii again most of the afternoon.  By this time my mom was tired and wanted to go home for a nap.  So we took her home and then went to my husbands parents, who live next door to us.  We were there for a short time.  We celebrate the holiday with them earlier in the month.  So everyone drops by whenever on Christmas Day.  When the house starts to get full we leave.  My husbands family is huge (55 or so people) verses my side has 8 people!!!!  So then my husband and son went to clean out my mom's driveway of all the frozen sleet.  My daughter and I played Wii for a while until they came home and I went to bedroom to finish It's a Wonderful Life and guess what...  yup fell asleep!!  I'm now caught up on my sleep. 

Hope everyone had a safe and Merry Christmas!!