Friday, January 7, 2011

Christmas In KS



This past Christmas, Brad, Colton and I flew to KS to spend 10 days there: 5 with my family, and 5 with his. It was a WONDERFUL time... In fact it was so much fun that we both completely forgot to take pictures! Luckily, many relatives were not so forgetful and so we will be able to steal the photos that they got :)

The first 5 days were spent with my family. Both of my parents were able to take off work. My family is so fun-- my mom and dad decided that while Brad, Colton, me, and Megan were all staying at their house, we needed to have some fun things to do. So they got this puzzle:
not too hard, right? We finished it in a couple of hours, it went pretty well with 4 of us working on it. Megan isn't into puzzles so she didn't really do it. Well, since it went well and we didn't ever get "stuck" we all felt pretty proud of ourselves- we were feeling confident with our intelligence and our puzzle-solving abilities, so we went to The Toy Store in Topeka (PS-best toy store ever) and found ourselves another puzzles. A 1500 piece puzzle. This one had a staircase, two sides of a building, lots flowers, and lots of sky. Stupidest. Idea. Ever. This puzzle took us over a week with 5 people working on it. I swear I went 2 days, staring at the puzzle several hours both days, without finding where a single piece went. Yes, my confidence in my puzzle ability was completely shattered. Maybe someday it will return, and I will try again. Maybe someday.

Guess what my parents got me for Christmas? A Flip. So fun, right? Secretly I think this is a present for them - they want me to video MANY MANY things in Coltons life (and mine, I think) so that they don't miss out on a single milestone while living so far away. I'm pretty excited. Hopefully I can soon figure out how to upload vids to this blog, I just got a really cute clip of Colton rolling over. I have been trying for weeks to get it video'd (on my phone, not my Flip.. this is much better quality!) but I was always too late. But alas-I have one. And I am stoked.

Well Christmas came.. and went.. and on Christmas Day we switched to spend time with Brads family. Now let me tell you a story. This was the very first time I have said goodbye to my family while having no idea when I will see them again. I didn't realize it would be so hard, but it really was. And so, of course, my blubbering self had a bad attitude about this whole switch thing. Don't get me wrong- i abso-freaking-lutely love my in-laws. I think I probably have the best in-laws I could have asked for. That being said, I was a grump the first day I was there. As I started realizing that I was inhibiting myself from having fun, and enjoying myself.. I started trying to change my attitude but it was so difficult! Eventually, I went up to our room (Well, Brads parents room, but they graciously had us sleep there so we would have more room for the pack-n-play, and we'd have our own bathroom) and prayed. It was that "I know I need my attitude to change but it's so bad that I'm not sure I really want it to change" kind of attitude during the prayer, but nonetheless God was faithful and within 5 minutes I was a new person. And thank the Lord because I had a BLAST there that I would have missed out on otherwise! The small town they live in is the cutest town- they have the best antique store I have ever been in, and it's not because of the antiques. The whole store is covered in fun decorations and glittery things and purses and paintings and statues and candle holders and pretty much anything you could want.
PS-have you ever seen those commercials for the GelPro mat? You can get them at Bed Bath & Beyond and if you ever have the chance to purchase one, I say go for it. They make doing dishes so much easier because standing there is way more comfortable. Thank you, Jo (Brads mom) for being so thoughtful and increasing my desire to do dishes! I know Brad really appreciates it! :)

Well now we are back. Colton was so spoiled during this trip home. He was constantly held - played with - talked to - etc. and so on Monday, Brads first day back working, we had a very rough day. Colton protested it being just the 2 of us by screaming for about 5 hours and refusing to eat. But ever since then things have been better. Also- we were so worried that the weird schedules that travelling always incurs would challenge Coltons amazing sleeping habits, but they sure didnt and he continued to sleep 9 or 10 hours every night. And now that we are home that amount has increased to 11 or 12. Seriously by the time he wakes up in the morning I really do miss him. I have considered waking him up once because I just wanted to play with him. But I didn't, I decided to try and enjoy that time I had to get a few things done.


Lots of love to you!

4 comments:

  1. ahem. Megan didn't do the first puzzle because you pickles had pretty much finished it by the time I got into town. But I rocked out on the super hard puzzle while you were gone. You're welcome for that, by the way :)

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  2. I'm a follower now! Megan showed me how to do this! I wanted to let you know that good byes are really hard for me too. As you may have noticed I do not like people to see me cry, so I say fast good byes and cry later (in private). I also cry at really odd times like when I am reminded of you and your family and not being together. An example would be watching a baby dedication at church and realizing that I won't be there to see Colton's. Anyway with all this being said, I am very proud of you and just love how Brad is such a wonderful husband and father that I don't worry about you being taken care of and loved. I'm always so excited to see you and spend time with you. I also love watching what God is doing in your lives!
    (Sorry if I got a little lengthy on this comment!)
    Love you lots!

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  3. Awwww, loves to you, Jess! Looking forward to our possible beach vacay this summer!

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