CHOOSE JOY...December 28...

Today I am celebrating family! We got to visit with my sister at her house near Allentown. My parents tagged along. We went down Friday afternoon and spent the night. We brought the Wii and Scoty knocked us all out in boxing (check Mo-mo out in action!)! Then, after the kids were in bed, we got to play The Office trivia game with Regina. You really have to be an Office fan to play it, so it was great to have someone else as crazy as we are! After a lazy morning and some delicious bagels, we hit the ground running.

We were off to Scot's Aunt Norma's house for the Dressler Family Christmas Gathering. It's a house full of Dresslers! Aunts, Uncles, cousins, siblings...it's always a crazy time! Yesterday there were 50 people attending! Here's a picture of us with Scot's brother and some of his 1st cousins.

Today was a visit to our home church followed by Scoty's 6th birthday party. The grandparents were here, of course, and my Na-na, who'd been sick over the holidays, was able to come, which was a blessing for all of us!

So, today, I celebrate family. It's good to be close to our families, at least for a little while...

CHOOSE JOY...I missed a few days! :)

Looks like I missed out on my chance for the prize...but I had a good couple of days and a wonderful Christmas, so I've got a lot to be joyful about!

Christmas Eve was a fairly calm day. The day ended with a Christmas Eve service at our church and the annual opening of the Christmas ornaments. Unfortunately, Georgia Kate konked out during the service and could not be awakened. She slept on the couch while the ornament opening chaos ensued! My mom was there to experience the Dressler Family ornament opening.

Christmas Day started early for us. At 3am, Georgia Kate fell out of bed and bloodied her lip. We actually had the "Does she need stitches?" discussion. At 4am, Thomas was up, asking if it was okay to be awake. We sent him back, hoping to fill his head with visions of sugar plums. He was back in 5 minutes. So, we compromised. Normally they have to stay in bed until 6am. Because it was Christmas, I told him he could get up at 5:30. So, while he was standing there and I was desperate to get more sleep, I told him if he went back to bed, he could get up at 5:15. He was happy.

We were up at 5:15am on the dot. :) The kids were pretty much spastically excited. It was fun! And the Wii wasn't as big a hit initially as we thought it would be. Turns out our kids had no idea what it was. Now they know. And they haven't moved from the living room, wanting to try every game. Boxing and baseball have been the favorites so far. That thing is going to be addictive! I am glad to know I still have some baseball talent. My kids were amazed, asking me how I could be so good at batting. :) Yeah, I'm no athlete, but I never struck out when playing little league softball. I was the go to hitter. My kids now think I'm cool...or at least cooler than I was before.

We went to my in-laws house and got to open gifts with our nephews, which was crazy and fun. This visit was followed by a visit to my parents' house. My mom wasn't feeling well, which was kind of a bummer. But, we enjoyed a delicious meal and opening more gifts. My Dad took over the cooking duties and did a great job!

We were suppoed to visit my Na-na and Papa Joe, but Na-na has had a stomach bug and was still sick. Even today she wasn't able to handle the tornado that is the Dresslers, so we'll visit her tomorrow. It was disappointing to all of us, but better for her to feel good before we descend on her house.

And today we are headed to my sister's house. She had to work Christmas Day, which was a real bummer. But we're going to sleep over and hang out with her today and tomorrow morning. Tomorrow holds a Dressler Family gathering at Scot's aunt's house followed by a quick visit to Na-na and Papa Joe, if Na-na's feeling better. We are on the move.

How good it is to be home. I'm feeling tired, but happy. We are blessed. Life is good.

CHOOSE JOY...December 23...

Today wasn't a particularly eventful day, but it was still fun. We went to get the boys' hair cut, but the barber shop had closed for lunch, so we drove to Friendly's, which is actually quite a drive for us. Maggie had been asking about going to Friendly's. She remembered going there over 4 1/2 years ago and drinking blue soda. It was a must visit. Well, the kids were so excited and we all laughed a lot. They enjoyed their meals (though I'm not sure the food was as magical as they remembered! :), and then we drove back to the barber and got nice, Christmas cuts. The day ended with the older 3 kids decorating a gingerbread house with Mo-mo (my mom). They chattered about that nonstop. It was fun.

Yep. Another day where choosing joy was easy. :)

CHOOSE JOY...December 22...

Today I got to spend the day with my sister, Regina. Aunt Danni came to town to hang out with us, make some cookies, visit and just have fun. The kids loved having her, especially since she has to work on Christmas day. It was nice to have her come before the holidays to see our tree and just be with the kids. We'll be visiting her on Friday to spend the night and open some more presents.

I'm thankful that we're close enough to just hang out. I love to see how much the kids love having their Aunt Danni around. It's an extra special blessing. We are abundantly blessed.

CHOOSE JOY...December 21...

We got to see a Christmas play today! A Child's Christmas in Wales was playing at a local theater and we took the older 3 kids and my Mom as a Christmas treat. It was FUN! First, we visited a local Chinese food buffet, which was something completely unknown to our kids. Scoty is really into compartmentalizing everything, so every food he tasted was met with the statement, "We eat this in Palestine." Or, "We don't eat this in Palestine." He settled for some white rice because "we definitely eat this in Palestine." :)

The play was festive and funny and the kids loved it! The favorite comment of the evening? As we took our seats, Scoty looked intently at the stage and said, "I can't see. That house is in my way." Apparently he thought we were there to see a movie, and the set was standing right in front of the screen! :) He continued to be amazed at how real all the people on stage looked! We need to get this kid out more!

I love to support this local theater. I volunteered with them and even performed in A Christmas Carol way back in 1991. My kids thought that was the coolest thing...that I was actually in a play on that stage. They wanted to know if anyone would recognize me. :)

It was just a fun experience and I'm so glad we were able to fit this into our holiday schedule.

We also got to visit our home church for the first time. Though we had snow and the crowd was low, it was so comfortable to fit back into that life. It felt good....

CHOOSE JOY...December 20...

We got to decorate the tree today! First, we all slept normally for the first time since arriving. I woke at 5:30am, and I was the first one awake! The kids soon followed, but 5:30 is way better than 3am! Since we were all awake and relatively happy, we decided to decorate the tree before Scot left with his Dad for some Christmas shopping. The kids loved it!

Last night when we untied the tree we realized it was still full of snow! We had to open it and let it dry before we decorated it. The kids were disappointed, but we did get to visit my parents and decorate their tree. That was, apparently, good enough.

I can't express what a blessing it has been to be here. We've been tired and sick, but it's nice to be among family. Hey...yesterday we got to go shopping for 3 hours without kids! :) That doesn't happen everyday!

So...here are some pictures from our adventure getting the Christmas tree yesterday and from the decorating. Enjoy! Christmas is almost here!

CHOOSE JOY...December 19...

Today we went and picked out a Christmas tree! It was a magical moment for all of us, because it was snowing! We went to a farm to cut down our own tree. It was cold, but we had a BLAST! My mom was picking out her tree, and my in-laws came along for a snowy ride.

Pictures to come...but it was a wonderful, JOYful day!

CHOOSE JOY...December 18...

I spent the afternoon with my Na-na and Papa Joe. It was so comfortable to be at their house. The kids enjoyed their time running around. Things seem a little unfamiliar to them and they've been somewhat overwhelmed, but being there made us all feel at home.

I loved the familiar rhythm that life has at their house. Not too much has changed in the last 4 years. Papa Joe is confused these days. He looks at us with recognition, and sometimes I know he recognizes us. Other times he looks at us like we are welcomed strangers. That's hard. Even before we left his memory was slipping some, but he always knew me. Now he smiles and interacts with the kids, but I don't know if he really knows me. It breaks my heart.

But, in spite of that, it was a joyful day. I won't get into Scoty's doctor's appointment. He needed some booster shots, which we weren't prepared for. He was an unhappy little boy. But, the good news is, he's healthy. He's got an appointment with the orthopedic doctor in January because of his tip-toe walking, but the doctor doesn't think it's anything more than physical. That's an answer to prayer!

CHOOSE JOY...December 17...

I'm beat! The kids have been up at 3am both days. And though we tried to prevent early sleeping, 3 of them fell asleep before 5pm again today! So, we'll see what happens in the am. Guess I better get to bed, just in case!

But...today I choose joy because I'm connected! Yep...I'm online at my new home. I ordered the information to connect to Verizon DSL yesterday and the package came today! I had a few minutes to get things all situated, and here I am! That makes me happy!

Now...off to bed! :)

CHOOSE JOY...December 16...

We're HOME!!!!! I am typing to you from central PA! It's amazing how much is just the same. Subtle changes, but it still feels like home. At least for me and Scot. The kids? Well, they're happy. But nothing is familiar to them here.

The flight was uneventful. Security was easy. And here we are! All of our bags made it, we met our family at the airport, and got back to PA without a single problem! We're so thankful!

Unfortunately, we were awake at 3am...jet lag is awful! But, we moved into a full furnished home provided by a local church, so we rested easy. Our family filled the fridge and made us comfy. We're all set. And we're blessed.

And we've already been to Starbucks and Dunkin' Donuts. :)

More to come from this side of the ocean...