Merry Christmas from Illinois!

Well, we are in Illinois! We had a long but somewhat uneventful drive here. My brother, Kenny, flew out on Friday night and we got in the car around 6:30 a.m. Saturday. It started to snow about the time we hit Ohio. Kenny drove the entire way (unlike Don who usually takes a break and gives me the drivers seat for at least a couple hours). I could get used to sitting in that passenger seat!

We made it to my Mom and Harry's house around 7:30 p.m. (CST) that night. The boys, the dogs, Kenny and I were all glad to pile out of that truck. Although, all were well behaved the majority of the ride. Samuel got a lil fussy from time to time and Benjamin got a lil ancy too but nothing too horrible. We stopped about 3 or 4 times and took some nice breaks. Kenny helped with the dogs then would meet up with us in the rest stop and help with the boys.

Of course, with the snow, my mom was a nervous wreck and called us about every two hours. She was so glad when we all arrived (as were we!). Although, now, after spending a few days with us I'm sure she and Harry are both a lil wore out from all the energy that a 3 year old and a mobile 10 month old exert. But they have been a tremendous help. And it's been so nice not to have to worry about what's for dinner!

Some of the highlights of our trip so far have been:

Going to cousin Keegan's basketball game (Benjamin thought this was pretty awesome. His first basketball game. He loved all the cheering and hollering. And Uncle Kenny took him down to the basketball court after the game to bounce the basketball and after that Benjamin said "That was awesome.")

Benjamin and I made a snowman! And I showed him how to make snow angels too. We had a blast outside in the snow. We also found a huge mound of snow (the land is very flat here) and Benjamin had a blast rolling and sliding down it.

We spent some time at my friend, Michelle's house. She has 3 boys (and a baby due any day). It is the perfect place for the boys to burn off energy and have fun. We've been over there twice so far. And the second time was for a Christmas tradition we have with our families. We exchanged gifts and the kids had a ball opening and enjoying some of their first Christmas presents of the year. Michelle's husband Eric also spent some time wrestling around with Benjamin which was nice. He loves to tackle and wrestle and it is so nice to see him get that interaction with a man while Daddy is gone. He was smiling from ear to ear and going back for more.

Kenny, Gloria, Keegan and Keegan's friend, Danielle, took Benjamin to see "The Chipmunk Movie" and out for dinner. It sounded like they had a great time and Benjamin has been singing the song from the Chipmunks ever since "Alvin, Simon, Theodore... We're the Chipmunks!"

While Benjamin was at the movies Samuel, my mom and I went over to visit my brother Ron and family. Nancy's sister, Heidi was visiting with her husband and girls from Michigan and we enjoyed visiting with them as well. I got to get my baby fix and held their lil baby, Olivia for a good long while. (Thank you, Heidi! She's a doll). Yes, I did say I got my "baby fix" because even though Samuel is only 10 months old he just doesn't want to sit still long enough to snuggle any more. (Plus that chunky monkey is too heavy to hold onto for any length of time). I miss that snuggle stage already. He is really up and moving these days. He's a very busy boy and is walking pretty good distances now.

This morning our nephew Christopher had a late start for high school so he surprised us by swinging by with Dunkin Donuts. Sweet! We had a nice visit with him before he headed off to school. Christopher is our eldest nephew and has grown up so fast! It's hard to believe he's driving and it's so nice to see him enjoying his new found freedom of having his own wheels. It seems like just yesterday that he was the size of my lil guys and here he is entertaining his little cousins. (His brother, Matthew, likes to remind me that I'm getting older. ugh. Thank you, Matthew Tommy, you, my dear nephew, will always be 2 years old in my heart and love hammers! ha.).

This evening the boys and I went over to my brother Tim's and sister-in-law, Caris' for dinner. Benjamin and Samuel enjoyed playing with their cousins, Evan and Ian. Ian is his cousin closest in age to my boys and Benjamin enjoyed all the fun boy toys as well as some hide and seek with the boys. Then we headed home for bedtime.

Our routine is definitely off and sometimes becomes rather challenging but overall we're enjoying our visit. Of course, we all wish Don could be here with us. I miss him in so many ways. Sharing in all the traditional things we do this time of year but also the lil things: walking the dogs, scraping the car windows, warming up the car, entertaining the kids, visiting with everyone, etc.

Don did call here this past Sunday and the boys and I all had the chance to talk to him. It was the first time we spoke since he was in Kuwait on his way back there. He sounded pretty good. He was traveling this week but has already returned back to his base safely. I'm so thankful for the Internet and the ability to keep in touch with him on a daily basis online.