In some ways, my life is much more simple since selling the house and living in the RV full time. We have fewer "things" to mess with; and, preparing for holidays is quick and easy. Decorating is minimal; only a few precious handmade ornaments and crocheted snowflakes. But, managing to see everyone is complicated!
Getting together with family this year has been a struggle. Geographic distance and growing children with busy schedules seem to be the most difficult challenges to overcome. We also had a few medical procedures to work around, which complicated our lives even more. Ron and I ended up squeezing in what family time we could through the month.
We managed to enjoy laughing at Scott and his new girlfriend as they dressed in 80s attire for Scott's shift party. Run DMC never looked so pale!
I also got to see Maggie's middle school Christmas concert because I went up to help with car pool duty when her dad was out of town on business. Ron was recuperating from a cardiac procedure so he missed out on a great concert. It is hard to believe how grown up Maggie is getting.
Ron and I went back up to Ft. Worth to attend a Pentatonic concert with Maggie and her family for her birthday. We stayed long enough to watch them open presents on Christmas morning. Scott was working that day, so we drove back into town to spend time with Ryan's family and share Christmas excitement with the twins. Of course, I totally forgot to take my iPad to their house for pictures. I really, really need to get a new camera.
After tossing around a few dates and working around scheduling conflicts, we managed to have family Christmas at the yellow house on December 29th. It ended up being a combination Christmas/Birthday celebration. The way things are going, it might be the last time we get together between now and spring!
Scott doesn't own a Christmas tree, so as a gag, I cut a limb off one of the cedar trees and had Maggie and Sophie put his childhood ornaments on it. It was so funny hearing them complain about the smell and how prickly the cedar was. I guess it's a good thing they've never had a real tree before.
Gift giving for the past few years has been limited to the grandkids in the family. But, I decided to surprise my children with some special gifts this year. For the past 2 years, I have been completing some unfinished quilting projects that were left in my mother's fabric stash when she passed away. A few of them were things she must have started working on when she was beginning to learn how to quilt. Others were projects she had simply not finished before cancer took her from us. It was such a joy to finish her work and give them to my kids. Mom and Dad were such a huge part of their lives and I know they all appreciated getting something with a connection to her.
I wrapped each quilt, even though I knew the kids had seen pictures of them as I posted the complete items on Facebook. I wrote a clue on each box, hoping they could figure out which quilt they were getting. I also managed to give each of them a quilt that had a special meaning to them.
 |
| Molly got a quilt made from pink and black orphan blocks because Scott didn't know what her apartment looks like, and she wears a lot of black. |
 |
| Gerson got a throw quilt made from various star orphan blocks because even Pre-serum Steve deserves a star. |
 |
| Scott got my Liberty quilt for serving our country and community. |
 |
| Sophie got Mom's applique quilt because she seems to have inherited Mom's craftiness. Sweet, sensitive Sophie just sobbed when she opened it. |
 |
| Samantha got a quilt made with mostly pink scraps because that was the color her mommy assigned her before she was born. |
 |
| Leslie got the Texas wildflower quilt because she is my only true Texas born child. |
 |
| Rebecca got a scrappy quilt that she had claimed years ago. It also contains scraps from dresses I made for her when she was a little girl. |
 |
| Maggie got a full sized quilt because she is now a big girl. |
 |
| Seth got a rag quilt made of flannel that Mom and I bought when her friend first opened her quilt shop. |
 |
| Sophia got a purple quilt because that was her pre-birth assigned color. |
 |
| Ryan got my Underground Railroad quilt because it was part of my teaching experience and he is now a teacher. |
 |
| Jamie actually got a Christmas quilt that Mom had made. Unfortunately, there isn't a picture because she was our photographer for the day. Maybe I'll be able to edit this post later and add a picture of her with it. |
During our celebration, we were able to meet and get to know Scott's girlfriend, Molly. They have been dating for a few months now; and, everyone was anxious to meet her. Jamie went to the trouble of making her a "Getting to Know the Searls Family Handbook." It was such a thoughtful and touching gesture. While it was humorous, it was also so sweet that it had most of us in tears by the time Molly finished reading it aloud to us. Molly is an only child and certainly not used to such a large, loud family gathering. I really hope we didn't overwhelm her. I think she enjoyed her first experience with a Searls family celebration and we all hope to see her more often.
This year, we decided to give the granddaughters another outdoor play area. Scott's house isn't very large and providing the girls with an area of their own outside eliminates being cramped up inside and lets the adults have a little more uninterrupted time to visit. The gift this year was the beginnings of a tree fort.
I'm lucky enough to have a son that is able to turn my ideas into reality. I had asked Scott if it would be possible to build a fort somewhere on the land. We had originally thought about using a large hackberry tree near their trampoline. Unfortunately, hackberry trees are notorious for breaking off in chunks. Recently, a huge limb was blown off in a wind storm, revealing a rotten core. Scott works with a fellow firefighter who was an arbologist, so he talked to him about salvaging the tree and using it for the base of the fort. He highly recommended just cutting it down and not using it for safety reasons.
Luckily, there is a large cedar tree next to the old hackberry. Scott was able to change his plans and we used it for the main support in the fort. Scott did leave a portion of the hackberry trunk to add another section to the fort at some time in the future.
Sometimes working through our plans comes with a few stumbling blocks. Scott had built the frame of the fort while Ron and I were in Ft. Worth for Christmas with Leslie's family. We had planned to work on the fort the day after we returned; but, Scott came home from his shift at the fire department with a terrible case of positional vertigo. Ron had already called our grandson, Seth, and arranged for him to come into town and help build the fort. We had him come anyway, and Scott gave them instructions to work on while I took him to the doctor. After he got home, he was able to work with the guys and get most of the fort finished.
The granddaughters vary in age and athletic ability, so some of them had a bit of trouble climbing in and out of the fort. As a matter of fact, Sophia told her cousins she would, "Just wait on the trampoline" until they were finished playing in the tree fort. She eventually overcame her initial fears. By the time our family gathering came to an end, I think they were all at ease with it and enjoyed their day playing together in the fort.
Birthday cakes and gifts were shared with Becca, Leslie, Maggie, and Seth. Jamie did an amazing job, as usual. She kept them small, considering how many cakes she had to make and the fact that we had so much holiday snack food anyway. Somehow or another most of it got left behind when everyone went home. I really don't think I can look at another sweet treat for a while!
It may be a while before we are all together again. I hope not; but, it is slowly becoming our new normal. I am thankful for the many years I had when my kids all lived within a 30 minute drive of us. And, I am still thankful we are at least all in the same state. Family time is precious to me. Hopefully, the time between now and our next gathering will pass quickly.
