Playing Catch-up

Probably everyone has quit checking my blog since it has been so long since I added anything. My personal journal-keeping is almost as bad. I can't seem to get into the mood to write.
We had a nice Thanksgiving with all the family here except Kendall's bunch. The main attraction was the three sweet little babies, which the older girls enjoyed packing around. It was a joy for Val and me to see so many of our family members together, and was a great reminder of how much we have to be thankful for. We truly are blessed to have such a wonderful family. Each person is a precious treasure to us. There are thirty-three of us now.

The days between Thanksgiving and Christmas seemed to race by, and now Christmas is almost over for 2008 (it is after 6:00 p.m. Christmas evening). It was a very quiet day at our house, being just the two of us here most of the time. We were invited to Chad and Laura's and were looking forward to being with them, but the weather forecast and the looks of the weather this morning caused us to back out. When Andria found out that we were spending the day alone, she invited us to join them at her parents' home for dinner. Because of my mobility problems I had to say no, so she and her mother fixed up a nice meal, and Travis's family brought it when they came to visit this afternoon. It was so thoughtful of them, and the food was delicious.

We are hoping to have most everyone here for a few hours New Year's Day. Kendall's family is in Utah and will be here that day, so we have a little get-together in the making. Randy says they won't be able to come, though, so again we will be missing some. It's getting increasingly hard to all get together any more. It has been suggested that we change our family "do's" from alternating Christmas and Thanksgiving to having an activity during the summer. That seems like something we should consider. It would open up other options besides just gathering here at the house for a few hours and having a meal together.