Thursday, December 24, 2009

Whirlwind

Whirlwind pretty much describes this holiday season. Beginning with a wonderful visit from my parents at Thanksgiving. They brought beautiful Az weather with them and we were able to hike, shop, eat, decorate the tree, and spend a great time together. I have missed family and it was so fun for us and the kids to have them here.
When they left the holiday preparations started, Christmas shopping, school activities, church activities. I was working on new holiday decorations, homemade gifts and then we received the call that Greg's Aunt Patti passed away. She had been fighting cancer for a year and half. We had a shift in the whirlwind and began the prep to get ready for an unexpected trip home. We left Thursday night drove through the night to arrive in time for the funeral on Friday. Patti was only 50, the baby of the family. The trip was bittersweet. We were able to be there with family in the sadness of saying good bye to a loved one and in the same trip have the opportunity to have the joy of kissing these sweet cheeks for the first time. We have arrived home just in time for what looks like a white Christmas. I drove home myself with the kids,(first time!)a day early due to the storm coming in. The 12 hour trip wasn't bad, just have lot's of movies, snacks and a good audio book.