He's HOME!

It's a miracle!  There's a million little details that went on behind the scenes and it was uncertain up until Ben got on the plane whether he would actually get back to the US.  Even though we were only apart for 9 weeks, the uncertainty for 5 of those weeks made it seem much longer.  Ben even had to get special authorization just to let me pick him up from the airport.  It was a unique homecoming with just the two of us, but it was also very nice to have time to catch up a little.  We sat at baggage claim so long that we almost missed his bags!

Unfortunately Alison had class and the boys weren't feeling well, so it was a little anti-climatic when we got home.  We thought for sure Maya would lose her mind, but she also was very chill.

(Eli's standing on the step)

That night, it was like Santa had come to town early.  Ben bought us so much stuff while in the Philippine's that he had to buy another suitcase to bring it all home.  We crashed Colin's basketball game watching to have present time.

I've never liked the song 'All I Want for Christmas is You' until this year.  I don't need a single thing, my Christmas wish came true!

Maya's 10th Birthday!

She's 10!

Kansas-Saturday

We went to Kansas City to see Elizabeth and Kent.  We had lunch and decorated for Christmas.

They had just gotten home from visiting Nonny and Papa, so we were thankful to be able to squeeze in some time with them.

Mom spoiled us with all her cooking and made several batches of zwiebach.

We spent the afternoon looking through old pictures and watching old home videos.  Uncle Sam had a video of my grandparent's 50th wedding anniversary party and I had completely blocked out that I wore my Grandma's wedding dress for it!  As an adult, I can't believe she let me do that!

Pictures of pictures is never the best, but these were some of my favorites we found.

Colin and Beau really bonded this trip.  There's something about Colin's face that dogs really want to lick:)

Fresh peppernuts and games is the perfect way to end a trip.

 

Kansas-Friday

We went to Newton for the day.  There's something very therapeutic about driving through the Kansas plains.  We went to my Aunt Karen's for a big Thanksgiving reunion.  I was afraid my kids have forgotten what a real farm is, so I made them walk around in the freezing cold to explore. 

I believe this is the first time Eli's ever touched a horse.

Food preparations were going on in the kitchen

and everyone else was out in the shed.  My Uncle Sam greeted us and shared the family tree he had made.  He also had old family videos playing, which was really fun to watch.

It was so great catching up with family and meeting new-to-me additions.

The older cousins:

 

Thanksgiving

We watched the parade in the morning, while the food was cooking.  Seeing Huntriz preform live for the first time was a highlight.  Then, the kids had a coloring contest .

When the turkey was done, my dad let the kids eat the crispy skin first.

My Aunt Brenda even joined us for the day.

After our meal, some played baseball

and some played Life.  And Maggie knitted all afternoon...she's really good!

Alison and Katherine worked on a puzzle and we watched Miracle on 34st St.  Three puzzles were completed in just a few days!

We had peanut butter pie and peanut butter stuff for dessert .  The love of peanut butter is just in the genes.

Trip to Kansas-Wednesday

 Wednesday, the kids and I went to Kansas City to see Lydia and her family.  We had brunch, the kids played like they were little kids and not teens and then we got boba.  For some reason, Kansas has the best boba.

They played Uno and Courtney and Eli talked about learning Japanese.  Courtney even brought the flashcards she made.

Mom made spaetzles and gravy for dinner and then the kids played Up Jenkins.

We did some prep for Thanksgiving that night.  Alison helped me make great Aunt Irene's peanut butter pie.

She asked if we could make it again, so I feel like I've won at life.