Christmas 2016

This year Christmas was a lot of fun. With Christmas break, several of the girls we care for have moved on to live with families. This brings mixed feeling because we become so attached that it leaves a hole when they leave. Still we know it is better for them to be in a family setting. Other girls have gone on visits which has left us with just a couple girls to have fun with during Christmas break, but I think its been fun. 

Even stuff like gather pecans and spending time cracking them while telling outrageous stores is a really great time. I don’t think I have ever seen so many people be so incredibly generous as what I have seen this year. It’s an incredible time of the year. Some churches will bring gifts for the kids. Some will through parties and play games, etc. Some gave us money just to take the kids out to eat and have fun for Christmas. Some churches have bought things for the cottage. I MEAN GENEROUS. They asked us earlier in the year what are some things we would like for the cottage. I don’t think anybody would have imagined that they would buy everything on the list. 

So, we got a food dehydrater and started experimenting. We got a spiral slicer, that was really cool. We also hiked some trails, road some horses, watched some movies, cooked, and of course ate lots of food. We opened gifts too. It just thought I would share some pictures even though I can’t include the pictures of the girls because of the DHS rules.

I’m not very good at the gift giving, but this year I really thought the gift I got for my wife was great. It was a picture blanket. I loaded it with pictures I thought she would really like. It never crossed my mind until my son brought it up: I didn’t include pictures of our children. Well, at least I included the grandchild. Love that girl. 

I didn’t get her the Eeyore blanket, but it was adorable, so I want to include a picture. 

My son was overly generous to me this year. There was a guitar that I wanted that he put on his credit card a while back because he could get the 3 years free financing. I was playing it off, but he brought me the guitar wrapped in a bow. His way of saying he was buying the guitar. He also got me a flannel shirt/jacket.  I was happy just having him  here for Christmas. 

Our daughter came by a couple times with Grace, but she went to Oklahoma to be with the grandparents for Christmas. Anyway, during I was able to introduce grace to the art of Bull riding at one point. 

She came out for one of the Christmas parties too. They had a live band and Grace sat with me. I even got the band to play the Duck song for a bit. I think that is Grace’s favorite song. 

We’ve hit the trailers several times over the break. We also road horses. It was an awsome Christmas. 

With everybody living so far apart these days, it is not possible to spend Christmas with everyone we would like to. But this year was very nice for us and I am so grateful not to be stuck in a truck somewhere trying to make a living. 

Thank you to all the people out there that make what I do possible. Quite often I don’t know who you are or ever get to meet you, but I know your sacrifices bless us here. THANK YOU SO MUCH.