The rest of our break

The time off since Christmas has been absolutely wonderful.  I'm so grateful for a little bit of down time, and I'm trying not to dread the return of the rat race.  I'm trying to just enjoy each moment, regardless of the chaos involved!

I particularly appreciate that we did not travel to my in-laws on the 26th as we have for the last couple of years.  It made Christmas evening more relaxed, and with no activities scheduled on Tuesday it was a nice day to just hang out.  I did laundry and we packed, but there was no real schedule.

The time at my in-laws was really nice.  I feel badly that our kids ended up missing all three days of scheduled practices, but I will never regret that we took this time.  My father-in-law has been diagnosed with dementia, and we can really see him slowing down.  My brother-in-law had two fingers amputated right before Christmas, and he continues to struggle with his diabetes.  Even though we were only there 48 hours, it was the longest visit we've had in quite some time, and we were able to help them in some ways and truly visit with them.

The drive home took longer than expected.  About an hour away from home it began to snow, and the road conditions deteriorated quickly.  It took an extra 45 minutes, but Andrew took his time and I wasn't really worried...and it was very pretty.

Saturday we spent the day picking up the house for company.  Our friends who moved to Missouri several years ago were in town, and they were coming over with another couple.  We really enjoyed our evening and laughed so much!

Robert worked briefly on Sunday, and then we took the kids up to my mom's house.  We spent the evening in our former town hanging out with our best friends there.  It was another incredibly fun evening, and although we had taken clothes to stay over, I'm glad we drove home.  I appreciated sleeping in my own bed.

Yesterday was exactly the day I love it to be...football all day and not much else.  Today, although there are practices, it is still a day to relax a bit.  I'm enjoying a feeling of peace (and productivity) before it gets crazy again!