The Gang's All here!

We had a fun weekend with my brother Loren, sister in law Karen, their kids and their granddaughter. (gosh, just writing that makes me feel SO old!) They came Saturday around noon, after driving through yet another Madison snow. The wait for them to arrive was just anguish for Kade. It seemed that he either asked where they were or ran to the door to check if they were here about 2x per minute. (which started when he woke up at 7AM).

We mostly took it easy on Saturday (and Sunday for that matter). Goes to show that we really just enjoy being together. We are way beyond needing to be entertained or kept busy. Loren and Seth donned our cross country skis and took a quick ski through our green space while Hannah and Kade sledded down our back hill. I did make a point to send Karen and Loren off to have dinner by themselves. We gave them directions to the Japanese Steakhouse to feast on Hibachi chicken, steak and scallops. It has been a challenging year for them and they really deserve some time to just enjoy themselves. That evening, everyone was content to hang out in front of the fire, sipping the new minty hot chocolate Karen bought on our brief escape to the spice store.

Malia (1yr, 4mo) was funny, keeping herself busy and snacking on everyone's food. She loved Avram ("beebee, beebee") and also loved to kiss him and hug him and unfortunately at times, smoosh him. By the end of the visit, he seemed a bit afraid of her and tightened his grip on my arm when she came near. Yet he still smiled his big, goofy, 2-toothed grin when she kissed his cheek.

Now, we had told Kade last week that Santa was planning to make a special trip to our house this weekend since we would be in Florida on the actual Christmas day. He has been quite concerned that Santa wont come to Florida. 1, because it is not his home and Santa may not know where he has gone and 2, because there is no snow in Florida and how in the world could Santa possibly think it is Christmas there. (Obviously Kade does not remember the global warming Christmases of the last 2 years) Here in Madison, we do have a very white Christmas this year. Last night, I had sent Kade and Seth upstairs just to put on their PJs but they were so tired that they climbed right into his twin bed and fell fast asleep! Everyone was awaken by Kade this morning announcing that Santa had, indeed come. Of course, poor Seth had to get up with him (at 6 AM) until everyone else could be roused after 8.

Kade had a lot of fun opening his presents and the joy was doubled as he had his cousins here to ooo and ah over his toys. Avram just took it all in but did seem quite interested in the wrapping paper on his gifts. Kade went through toy cars, the Candyland game (which he recognized instantly - kind of scary what marketing can do), not so exciting socks and underwear, some beautiful clothes from his Tia and cousins and a new sled. He was also quite patient as other people opened their gifts.

Finally, he came to his last gift, the one we reserved until the end. As he started to tear the paper of the long rectangular box, he caught a glimpse of what was inside. He tore the paper off quickly and his eyes lit up as he beheld his new plastic Winchester hunting rifle. It was just like that scene from a"A Christmas Story" as Ralphy beheld his BB gun in Christmas splendor. His new gun makes noises when you shoot it and pretend to load it. Loren turned on a hunting show and we all yelled "get him Kade!" as he took practice shots on wide racked big bucks darting through the woods, turning every few seconds to be sure we were all watching. I dont know if I have ever seen a bigger smile!

To my many eco-conscious, anti-violence and animal friendly friends this gift and probably this whole scene may have just made you faint. (obviously you have come back to if you are still reading this) Anyway, please know that hunting is just part of our blood. We can't help it. I guess it's a Native thing or a Wisconsin thing or maybe a Native Wisconsin thing! And I really believe that even if we tried to keep our son gun free he would just turn every stick into a gun anyway, just like in ancient times when our children watched our men bring home the dinner and tried to model that behavior with play bows and arrows. So, the best we can do is be sure he is only pointing it at animals and teach him to use it safely. (of course he wont ever put his hands on a real gun for a long time)

This weekend made me again grateful for all the things God has given me - a wonderful family, 2 awesome boys, a fab husband, a meaningful job and a roomy house. I realized at the end that I never had to wait in line for the bathroom. Even with 7 extra people in our house!! What a change from always having only one bathroom! Now things calm down (for about 2 days) and the we are off to Florida!