December 20-27

Merry Christmas!

I realized a few hours after last week's post went live that I forgot to mention that we got a new refrigerator.  The pictures made it, but the story did not.  :)  Our kitchen has a cutout space for a fridge and our old fridge fit in a comically small way.  We've been thinking about getting a more appropriately sized fridge for a while and started doing research when the black Friday ads came out.  Unfortunately, our cutout is an inconvenient size: 35.5 x 69.5 and in need of a counter depth fridge to avoid excessive diminishing of the space between the fridge and the island.  During our research, we found exactly one fridge that fit in our space and it was not one that was sold at any major home improvement store.  It DID, however, have the French doors I wanted and the water dispenser that Bryan wanted.  We decided to wait on the fridge for another year or so, but then Bryan's parents offered to chip in as a Christmas present.  The fridge was ordered, shipped, delivered, and arrived two days before we left for our holiday travels.

Kaitlyn is bad at naps.  This is something I've discovered rather recently, but I now realize that it's been true her whole life.  Her average nap length is 45 minutes and now that she's nearly nine months old, I'm lucky if she takes two.  :/  I think her napping trouble results from a combination of noisy surroundings endless curiosity.

We went to Sidney last Sunday to spend the week leading up to Christmas with Bryan's family.  Our first stop was the Barhorst Christmas party where the Olivia and Gretchen got books and Kaitlyn got a toy piano from the Santa that always makes an appearance.  Bryan was proud of his choice of gift for Kaitlyn (we provide the gifts that Santa passes out) because she and Rudy both liked it.  I was proud of Olivia's enthusiasm over the book that I got her.

On Monday Josef and Jacob joined us in Sidney.  I actually met them in Celina so that they could help me pick up the car that Jacque had purchased through us.  Josef drove it back and said it handled well.  Worth noting: before I went to get the car I finished writing my Christmas letter.  :)

Tuesday was the day that the girls and I had set aside to go visit the Kleins, so we met them at the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery in Dayton.  We tried the large twisty tube slide again and I did not have to fish any kids out of the middle.  :)  While we visited different stations and looked at animals and exhibits, I was reminded of Gretchen's ability to stay at one task for amazingly long periods of time.  Unfortunately, the attention spans of the other children are not so prodigious, so I was constantly hurrying her along to the next thing.

On Wednesday morning (around 8:20) I left the girls in the care of Josef, Jacob, and Bryan while I drove to Chicago in a van with no seats to pick up Jacque.  (Side note: I am now humming A Horse With No Name while I type.)  I navigated Chicago, parked in an alley, oohed and aahed over her apartment, and then we loaded up my van while the Chicago sky spit at us.  The trip home was a bit slower due to traffic, weather, and darkness.  We stopped to unload most of Jacque's belongings at my house (while the Lima sky sobbed on us).  While there, we brought in several packages that were falling apart on the front porch and laid their contents out to dry.  Then we continued on to Sidney, arriving just before ten.

Thursday was Christmas Eve and everyone was home.  I played viola to combat stress and then made two lasagnas while Jacob mixed up three batches of stollen to pass out at church.  I also mailed my Christmas letters.  Bryan and I took the girls to 5:30 Mass and then returned to his parents' house for their Christmas party.  At 10 we left the babies sleeping, crowded into Jacob's Civic with Jacque and the boys, and headed to St. Stephen's for Liturgy.  Then it was back to Sidney once again to sleep until everyone got up the next morning.

Christmas day was just as magical as always.  I got to be in charge of handing out presents this year, which means that I also accidentally got a workout while I stood in one place and bent down again and again to arrange presents in piles and pass them to the appropriate people.  I did not make this connection until the next day when the backs of my legs felt very stretched.  :)  Olivia and Gretchen got lots of dresses and Barbies, Kaitlyn got fun baby toys, Bryan got liquor and board games, and I got a 30 quart pressure canner with which Murry is convinced I will accidentally blow up half of Lima.  :)  Zach arrived to join the party about halfway through and after present opening all the boys retired to the playground in the basement to challenge each other in ping-pong and video games.

Saturday was our last day in Sidney and we spent the time relaxing and packing up the cars.  We drove back in time for Saturday evening Mass, but there was a casualty along the way: Jacque called as we were driving to let us know that her car was shaking at high speeds.  :(  I told her how to get home on back roads and Bryan and I spent the rest of the ride marveling at her apparent superpowers.  What else should you call it when cars fear her magnificence so much that they immediately break down in her presence?  Anyway, she did make it home, but we need to take her car in to get it checked on Monday.  :/  She'll be taking our van to Michigan for the wedding she's attending today.

Bossards (minus Joseph) arrived Saturday night and are here for the week.  Oh the exciting week ahead.  :)

Pictures:
Kaitlyn follows Archie around the house and tries to pull his ears: