Bitterwsweet Christmas

Hello, and Happy Holidays! 

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas with family and friends, food and festivities, and God near in your hearts. For those of you celebrating anything other than Christmas, I hope you had a wonderful time as well! 

A lot has happened since my last post, so I will do my best to fill you in as much as I can without writing an entire novel. First off, I am now back in my wonderful hometown in Minnesota (since Sunday), but coming home ended up being very bittersweet. On Saturday night, I received the news that my uncle Bill (my dad's only brother) passed away extremely unexpectedly. I was in a state of shock and devastation, because my uncle Bill was a person so full of life and joy that he seemed to be a permanent fixture in my life. It's been hard on everyone, and all I can do is keep praying for all of my family and the many friends that he knew who cared about him as well. One thing I will never forget is when my family and I were driving back from the Butler family Christmas in the cities back when I was in elementary school...my uncle Bill (a police officer at the time) chased us down in his squad car while we were on the freeway because we forgot the giant bag of pop tops he collected for me to bring to school. I wish that words could do justice to how awesome uncle Bill was, because unless you met him, you could never really understand. I will always miss him, but he will always be in my heart. ♥

Up in the air...

My plane landed in the cities early Sunday (22nd) morning and my dad and brother picked me up at the airport. The plane ride went very smoothly, and I was actually fortunate enough to have gotten to sit next to a very nice guy (crazy, right?) who lives in Denver, and is originally from Rochester. We talked a majority of the flight and even exchanged numbers, so hopefully when I get back to Colorado we will be able to hang out at some point. He doesn't know how much he helped cheer me up that morning with everything that had been going on. From the airport we went to see my dad's side of the family, and as I mentioned earlier, it was very bittersweet. Although it wasn't the cheery Christmas gathering we had initially planned on, it was very comforting being together with family. On the drive back home to Carlton we swung by Target and Tobies (of course) before finally arriving at home for a delicious lasagna dinner with some family.

Monday (23rd) arrived quickly and I spent the morning getting a haircut and running errands with my mom. In the afternoon I got to spend some time with my best friend, Anna, and her fiance Matt, which was awesome. We went to the Warming House for coffee/cocoa and then did some last minute shopping at Walmart. We put the "pro" in "procrastination". ;) Monday night our power went out for a couple hours, so my dad and I played some Farkle (I know this sounds wacky but it's just a dice game) by the fireplace in the light of our headlamps. My cousins Amelia and Eliza came over to play some games with my brother and I that didn't require electricity or light. Overall, it ended up being an enjoyable night with no power (yes, it is still possible).

Lutefisk

Christmas Eve Dinner

Tuesday (24th) was Christmas Eve! Is it sad that I'm blanking on everything I did that day?...oofta, I'm getting old. Well, I'll fill you in on what I do remember. I think I spent the morning just laying low, wrapping presents, and hanging out around the house. We had an early family dinner of lutefisk (bleh) and meatballs (yum) before going to the Christmas Eve service at church, which is one of my favorite parts about Christmas time; it wouldn't feel like Christmas without it. Jesus is the reason for the season. :) My dad and I got to play a violin-guitar duet of the song "What Child Is This", and all of the other special music and service was great, too. After church, we came home and my immediate family did our own gift opening together as is tradition. I received many wonderful gifts and am so grateful for getting anything at all. The best gift I've gotten this year is simply spending time with my family and friends. Nothing beats that. 

Christmas Dinner

Wednesday (25th)...SANTA!!! Christmas day is now upon us, and we kicked it off with a delicious pancake breakfast followed by checking our stockings for the wonderful goodies Santa brought us. As usual, Santa did good and my stocking was abundant with many of my favorite things. I may get coal in my stocking next year, because I just realized that I totally forgot to put out cookies, milk, and carrots...do you think Santa would accept next day delivery? That morning my mom and I went to the gym for a quick work out, which felt great, and when we got home I decided to whip up a batch of Christmas themed sugar cookie cut outs. It was wonderful being in the kitchen baking, and as a bonus, The Santa Clause and Santa Clause 2 were both on TV which totally made my day. :)  That evening we had a delicious family dinner with turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, the works. We did a little family service with Christmas readings, some stories from the bible, and beautiful music provided by three of my cousins who play the cello, viola, and violin. Afterwards we got to eat my Grammy's delicious Christmas cookies and treats while sipping on tea which was lovely. We ended up getting enough people together to play a few rounds of the party game Mafia, which seems to be a large family gathering favorite. I won't get into the details of the game, but with a name like 'Mafia' you can kind of imagine that the game isn't all rainbows and butterflies. All in all, it was another beautiful day. 

*Side note: One thing that I need to mention is the snow on Christmas Eve and Christmas. It was the perfect kind of snowfall that you would typically only see in Christmas movies; light, soft flakes falling down at a slow yet steady pace. The snowfall just tied everything together and really made it feel like Christmas.

Thursday (26th) I had a dentist appointment in Duluth and then hung out with some friends in Duluth while I was there. Later that evening I went out to the Third Base (local bar) with Holly (local friend) to listen to Saint Anyway (local band) play their awesome folk music. It was a fun night. :)

It is now Friday (27th) and I've yet to do much of anything productive today, aside from writing this lengthy novel that I said I wasn't going to do, but oh well! Relaxing and not being productive is kind of what the holidays/time off is for, right? I don't have too many crazy plans, although I would like to get to the gym to burn off some of the delicious holiday food I've been scarfing down the past few days...but maybe I'll let it stick around just a little longer. ;) 

Family ♥

Anyways...as I'm sure you can tell by reading this, my time at home has been a roller coaster of emotions. It's been an interesting experience being at home for a visit, and I find that my mood/feelings can change almost minute by minute. I'm just taking life one day at a time and trying my best to soak up every minute and make the most of each new day. If there's one thing that's become more clear to me this past week, it's to live in and appreciate every single moment of your life. Tell your family and friends that you love them and live each day as if it were your last. Love more, hug more, and be kind to everyone, despite your differences.

Again, I hope everyone has been enjoying this wonderful holiday season while now preparing for the new year ahead. God bless.

♥ Jane