Christmas 2010

-Headed home (Barrie, Ontario) on Friday night (Dec 16th) at 8:30pm. We arrived in Sarnia 12 hours later after Mark drove through the night in perfect conditions and James and David slept most of the way. Hannah was up for all but 5 hours including the last 4 hours to Barrie. We are looking forward to having a van soon, as the car was bursting at the seams and dealing with 3 children in the backseat while you are in the front is not fun at all-especially at 3am.
-Went to a family birthday party on Monday night and Mark and I picked up the flu-which we then spread to the rest of the household (Dan's family was visiting too). All 11 of us got sick, the only one escaping the germ was Dan. Our kids and Mark got the worst of it with Hannah landing in the ER at 1:30am when it turned into croup.
-Dragged the whole family and cousin Laury to the Elmvale cemetery on the 23rd to make our annual anniversary trip to my mother's grave and Susie's bench. The snow was very deep and the wind very cold and strong. We didn't stay long, but got some nice pictures. We decided to go to Tim Hortons afterward to warm up and reflect a little. The reflecting was pretty limited due to the kids sugar rush from hot chocolate and gingerbread cookies.
-Our dear friend from Victoria, Katherine Fleet, flew in later on the 23rd to spend Christmas with us. We had a wonderful time celebrating with her, even though we were all sick. She enjoyed meeting David, playing with the kids, analyzing with the family and enjoying the Barrie winter.
-Four out of five us (David wasn't sick yet) were still sick Christmas day, so it was a fairly quiet day. We woke up late, opened presents, visited with the family, ate very little and went back to bed.
-We missed all of the fun Christmas services that I really enjoy and look forward to all year. Mark was the only one feeling well enough in our family to make it to the greater family gathering on the 27th.
-My dad, step-mother Maxine and step-brother Dave arrived from Cornwall on the 27th and stayed in a hotel in Barrie. We enjoyed visiting with them there. The kids liked the hotel and James, Hannah and I even got to swim in the pool, while grandma snuggled with David.
-David got sick too, but luckily only with a night time congestion. Unfortunately it lingered and lingered.
-We taught James (and Hannah) how to play Rock, Paper, Scissors. He absolutely loved it. We played it for ten minutes straight the first time. It is a great way to pass the time in the car, and stop the squabbling.
-A conversation between James and Mark:
James told me I should hold grandpa's hand on our walk, since he's my daddy. I didn't do it, but I like that he thinks we should hold hands 30 years from now.
-Christmas was nice, but I am really looking forward to (or hoping for) next year being a lot more enjoyable and healthy. We'll have to wait and see...