The Holidays

The 2 weeks we spent in Wallsburg went by too fast! There was hardly any snow on the ground but at least enough to go sledding behind the 4 wheeler and take a quick snowmobiling run. The nightly temperatures ranged from just above 0 degrees to below 15 degrees. So so cold. Trace got sick for half the trip... so we didn't really sleep for half of the nights. Good thing our time consisted of eating, playing, and catching up... needless to say we slept in a lot. Christmas eve we all slept over at Sarah's and some brave souls stayed up quite late watching random Christmas movies... again we are thankful that it is the season for sleeping in.  Christmas day was really fun! This was the first Christmas we have had together with my family. We received so many meaningful presents that we are grateful for. The giving didn't end after Christmas either... my mom gave us our long awaited wedding quilt... It is a work of art... she does some really nice work. Kenyn, Jenny, and Lawson came up for new years eve which ended up being an eclectic combination of food, watching the boys play, and not really doing anything. We're so grateful that the Koops aren't hard to please- we had fun just being with them! We also got a traditional bite of sushi thanks to Megan and Cory... thanks for keeping the tradition alive. It all ended, though, at 3:30am on the 4th of January when we headed to the airport. Thanks for driving Dad! We used desperate traveling parent tactics to make sure the seat next to us was empty on the plane... boarding the plane is the only time a parent really hopes that their child has a stinky diaper or is throwing a fit, because it means that the seat next to that child will remain empty unless the flight is full (in that case we have pity on the poor soul who boards last). So many things went right... up until we got home after the sun was already down... something had gone wrong with our trailers electricity. So from about 5 until 11pm I worked on figuring it out while Shayna and Trace slept over a heater vent in the kitchen powered by our battery. We went to bed before we had the power back on, hoping that the battery would power the furnace through the night. Somewhere during the night the battery ran out, but the 3 of us stayed perfectly warm under our covers. In the morning we were greeted by a reading of 38 degrees on the thermostat... a few hours later my dad and I had the power back on. Thank goodness for cell phones and amazing dads! My dad talked me through the trouble shooting process... and now a day and a half later we think we have it figured out. I wonder if my mom knows that she married a trailer repairman in disguise? At least now we have electricity and are done camping. Tomorrow I start a week of classes before we venture to Mississippi. Can't wait to get up and go!

p.s. Shayna got the news towards the end of the trip that her sister's house caught on fire. We were so sad to be far away and unable to help. We are so sorry for the loss, but thankful that everyone was safe. Summer, Sunde, and their families have such good attitudes and just keep going. Thanks to God that they are all safe.