Christmas 2022: Goodbye!

Horsey posts, model and real, resume tomorrow.

Our family always sets up a shared album when we gather together, and there have been just too many photos for me to use here on the blog as a result. Others don't quite fit what I am writing about and did not get used. Here are some that I like, roughly grouped together. (VERY roughly.)

Kids & Dogs

We are a, "Sure, you can bring your dogs!" kind of family, and so we had six dogs with us for the holidays. (On more than one of those difficult days, I was so grateful to have them there, both as a distraction and as something to hug when grief overwhelmed me.)

Each and every one of the dogs behaved beautifully with the grands.

Kate and Rhett.

Nashie and Susie.

He is a gentle giant and very, very patient.

He's helpful, too!

Although he does sneak in some kisses when he helps you work as Trinity found out.

Pepper may have been the smallest of the dogs, but she was one of the strongest. She won this game of tug and ended up dragging Ian across the dining room.

Blue and Rhett spent some time snuggling with Titan and Cambria early one morning.

Gus will chase balls ALL. DAY. LONG. Having all those grands meant no one got tired of throwing and he could chase to his heart's content!

He, too, was a good snuggler and even the grownups (that's Cole with him) took a nap or two with him.

Super shy Molly kept to herself most of the time, but she did come out for pets from Craig, Lisa, and me.

Family Activities (Such as They Were)

When you are a kid from Tennessee and only rarely see snow, you go outside and play even when the temps are frigid, at least for a little while.

Or until your eyelashes freeze.

Reminds me of her dad, Cole, who lived in Russia (including parts of Siberia) for two years as a missionary. That is frostbite on his cheek.

Remember that green ring around Susie's face indicating that she'd licked her knife while decorating cookies?

I'd say she has been eating snow now!

Kate working on an underground hideout - it was actually quite a creative endeavor.

Ever helpful, Mila and Kate clear off the back patio so they can have a castle.

It didn't matter whose house we were in, the grands staked out a territory and made it clear that adults were not to come there. This is the basement door at Curt and Vanessa's home.

The basement enabled the kids to run around, make noise (and messes), and play.

Lukie fell asleep on the couch while Kate created a kingdom of some sort. Having that big play space was helpful when it was too cold to be outdoors.

Susie and Mila (with help from Altair) guard the entrance to the  family room at the top of the stairs in my home. 

We are a family of readers and most of us had a book we'd brought along to read when we got a minute. This is Julie.

Curt reads aloud the tattered Rudolph from his own childhood while Julie, Titan, Susie, Lukie, and I listen.

After Christmas dinner and Dirty Santa, we set out pies, cakes, candies, and snacks in the kitchen.

Everyone pieced the rest of the day - it was an open kitchen and the stove, oven, and microwave were available to anyone who needed them. 

Charcuterie board lunch for Kate, Mila, and Cambria.

We didn't just eat sweets; the parents made sure the grands ate healthy foods as well.

Popcornpalooza is ALWAYS requested. (We make several bags of popcorn up then add in M&Ms, Skittles, pretzels, marshmallows, and other candies, then eat it while watching a movie together.)

Lunch at Steak n Shake!

Sarah and Curt really wanted to visit the local family gravesites. This is my parents' headstone.

And under a lovely pine just up the hill from them is my mother's parents, the Honeywells.

Played Games Together

Titan and Ian play an online game together.

Sarah is a wildlife photographer (a couple years ago, she won a contest at Yellowstone and was taken by rangers into the back country for a week of access to areas of Yellowstone that are normally inaccessible) so NATURALLY she brought a bingo game that was all about identifying different wildlife scat.

Needless to say, it was WILDly (get it?) popular. Trinity, Julie, Sarah, Kate, Lisa, Cambria, Titan, Craig, and Susie.

Andrew, JC, Sarah, Ian (top of his head, LOL), and Vanessa. Andrew is a board game influencer; if you like board games, follow him at doesitduel on Instagram and Facebook. He really knows his stuff!

There are three games going on at once in this photo - Craig and Vanessa are playing one game with Lukie, Susie, and Ian, Kate and Mila are playing another, while JC, Curt, and Julie play another.

Are my kids competitive? Is Sarah accusing her brother of something? 

Nope! Not at all! Never happens in our home... LOL (We also play games into the wee hours as evidenced by JC and Lisa's faces in these two photos.)

Me playing a shark fishing game with Kate. I'm actually playing for Susie who didn't like how the shark snapped so she asked to sit in my lap and have me do the fishing.

Random Pics

Pics sent while traveling letting me know that my kids were coming make my day! Jessica, Andrew, Todd, Sarah.

Cole having a conversation with his Aunt Jenny. (My youngest sister who lives in Indianapolis.)

Bleary eyed parents Andrew and Jessica who didn't get much sleep watch as their kids open gifts.

A candid snap of Vanessa.

Lukie has gone into overload and retreats for a few minutes. Too much excitement!

Trinity took him into the kitchen and spent some quiet moments with him. 

Ian down on the ground - not sure what he's got, but I like the picture!

JC with the Christmas stocking I made him over 20 years ago for his first Christmas.

Dreams do come true. Titan has been asking for a typewriter for almost two years and Santa brought him one! (Takes me back to when I used to type up the  All Breeds Model Horse Showers Association newsletter on carbon paper back in the early 1970s! I got a typewriter for Christmas, too!)

Cambria wanted (and received) some technology that was a little more modern.

I took a LOT of ribbing from my family for something I put in their stockings. The shower bombs I ordered

came with words on them that I would not normally use. 

Kate with a new kind of creative toy that the kids really seemed to like. I can't remember what they're called, but I sure like the sunny flowers she made as I type this cold and dark January morning!

Finally, the time passed and sadly we had to separate and our kids headed back to their own homes.

It was not the Christmas we expected, but we got each other through some very difficult times and managed to find joy in our togetherness.