Tis the Season

Another holiday season has come and gone.  I hate to admit it, but I just couldn't get into it this year like I always do.  However, Gracie and Owen make it so much more enjoyable, despite the distraction of moving that has taken over.  If not for our kids, I probably would not have removed one Christmas decoration from our tubs of Christmas stuff.  Of course, I also just realized that it has been almost a month since I last posted anything.  Before updating on our departure from Ballard, I'll describe all of the fun pictures.

Gracie and I met Stephanie and Ryleigh to go see the Nutcracker Ballet in Des Moines.  It was so fun to go see this again, even if it wasn't the one in Ames.  Gracie loved it and told me that she wants to do that.  I will have to keep her involved in dance when we move to Columbia. 

Owen wrestling with Jonah at practice.  These two are practically inseparable.  Owen seems to be enjoying wrestling so much more than last year, but still doesn't really want to compete, which is fine with me.  As long as he is having fun...

Gracie, Owen, and I drove down to Columbia a few days after Nick secured a rental property.  It was only about a week before Christmas, so it was a short trip.  My mom met us there, too, and went out for lunch with us.  Nick was able to move into our rental house on December 16 and we will stay there at least through July.  Luckily, it's in the middle of a 200 acre horse ranch, so our animals will be right at home.  Bullseye and Dancer will probably not want to leave after being at this place.

The kids and I went to visit Nick in Columbia for a couple days.  Nick let the kids go play at the Mizzou gymnastics practice gym.  They loved it and played there for over an hour.  Nick and I even started playing on some of the equipment, which was not a good idea for either of us.  I have to remind myself that I am too old to do that and it really hurts.  I ended up going to the chiropractor twice the next week.  UGH.

Gracie and Owen at the football stadium.  The turf is not quite the same as the real thing, but they thought it was pretty neat to be down there anyway.

Nick came home for Christmas and as we have done for the past several years, Christmas Eve was spent at our house with my parents and Grandma Jeanne.  We attended our church for the candle light service and had dinner afterward.  The kids opened a few presents and prepared for Santa to come.

Dinner with our family

Plane tickets to Tampa during Spring Break! 

Mom and Dad are the BEST!

Santa came! 

Tiger Tail and new boots!

  Owen is in the background with his new train and Hotwheels track.

  

Gracie and Owen both used her new hair dye.  

It worked better on Owen's hair, but she was still happy. 

I was happy, too, as it came out with no problems.

We had a lot more snow on Christmas Eve day than expected.  Nick saddled Bullseye and had him pull the kids around on the tube on Christmas Day.  I believe everyone was happy.

Another event on Christmas Eve day that could have ended really badly...I went running with my friend Traci in Madrid before it started snowing.  As soon as we started running, it also started snowing, which is not that bad and very pretty on most occasions, so we thought nothing of it.  We ran on the High Trestle Trail, as we usually do, settling into a conversational pace, catching up from the last run together.  However, as the snow collected on the trail, it was very difficult to see the skating rink that covered the path before us.  Before either of us knew it, we were both in mid air at the same time, landing on our backs, unable to recover from the the sheet of ice that had frozen from the rain the day before.  After laying there for several seconds, we both realized what had happened and both could not contain our laughter.  Thank GOD neither of us landed on our head and were hurt.  If there is someone who has a trail cam in that area, it would probably win thousands of dollars.  I can only imagine how hilarious we both must have looked.  That is a run that I will never forget and it will forever bring a smile to my face.  Of course, after recovering from our laughter, we got up and continued our seven mile run.

Traci Havlik...I will miss you and our runs together so much! 

 You have made me a better runner and better person.

Anyway...back to Christmas.

More stuff from Santa!

Owen with his new toys.

We spent Christmas evening at my aunt and uncle's for dinner and a gift exchange.  Annie and Chad also came by our house afterward to visit for an hour or so before going back to Chad's family.

Gracie and Owen after a couple of big days.

After Christmas, we drove another load of stuff down to Missouri again and spent a few days down there while Nick worked.  The kids got to go to their first Mizzou women's basketball game and shopped for their cousins' Christmas gifts with me.  My parents also came up to go to the basketball game with us.  It was a fun night. 

However, the house down there is very bare, so it's hard to keep busy without actually going anywhere.  Plus, the few days we were down there, it was cold and rainy.  But anyway...it was nice that we could all be together.

Finally...Christmas with the Britton side!

Everyone made it to the DuRocher residence for New Year's Eve!  After driving back from Columbia, we made one more trip during our holiday break to Muscatine.

Gracie with her gift from Ryleigh.

Owen and Lucas sitting together, waiting to open presents.

New Tiger football gear!  Owen now has a whole new football uniform!

Sledding outside.  

Owen and Lucas spent almost all day outside playing in the snow.  Gracie and Ryleigh also partook in the activities, but not for quite as long.

The snow fun wouldn't be complete without hot chocolate!

Back to reality.  The countdown is on and our time left in the Ballard Community is running short.  This part of our journey is so hard for me and I have to have faith that we are doing what is best for our family and everything will work out the way it is supposed to.  I have 10 days left at Ballard High School and 12 days left in our house.  This is by far much more difficult than our previous move almost five years ago.  As much as I wanted to stay and finish out the school year, it would not be best for our family to continue to live apart.  I can't wait for us all to be under one roof together again.

We have reserved a semi-trailer for our belongings that will arrive this Wednesday.  We have five days to fill it, then it will be driven by the company down to Missouri to deliver the contents to our new house.  January 13 it will arrive at 3101 S. Olivet Rd. and the kids and I will follow two days later on January 15. Our residence at 56295 300th St. will have new owners and we will start to make memories at our new location in Columbia.

The past several weeks have been a roller coaster, as I have mentioned before.  Coming and going, packing and organizing, and lots of driving.  While it has been very stressful, there are many great things that have come out of the chaos.  My mom has been able to come stay with me and the kids several times, which probably would not have happened under different circumstances.  I am so grateful that she has been here to help.  Adversity can also provide so much clarity on the things that should carry priority in your life.  Family and friends are irreplaceable and you can find the relationships that will not be broken, regardless of what life throws at you.  There was a quote that I read on one of those painted boards...  "Good friends are like stars. You don't always see them, but you know they're always there."  So true. This provides reassurance for me.