Happy New Year!

The holidays kept us busy and kept us from posting.  We spent a week at my Grandma Jo’s for Christmas – though we’d been planning to spend this Christmas entirely at home in Buffalo.  Nonetheless, we found ourselves making two trips to Michigan in a 2-week span, and it was well worth it.

We had a wonderful time with the kids, both in Michigan and in getting to Michigan.  They made the 7-hour car ride really well, considering the activity of 3 kids under 4 in one vehicle.  And of course, it tested mom and dad, too, spending 28 hours in the car during 2 weeks time.

We celebrated our Christmas on the 23rd of December in Buffalo, after a week-long countdown with the kids.  Since they don’t know dates, counting down for a week to the 23rd, it mattered not that it wasn’t the 25th.  It was Christmas for us, and lots of fun.

Then we traveled on the 24th to Grandma’s house.  We spent Christmas with her, and the kids really enjoyed spending time at Grandma Jo’s, especially in playing with the many toys she has in the house for her grand- and great grand-children.  By far, the largest beneficiary of all of this was Izzabelle.

Several times during the  week we were there, Grandma Jo watched Izzabelle for a 3-hour stint while we went to town with Wil and McKinley.  For most of those 3 hours, Izzabelle enjoyed being held by Grandma. It was good for her.

Melodia and I thoroughly enjoyed our time with Grandma.  We figured on playing lots of Scrabble, but as it turned out, we ended up playing and really enjoying Upwords.  So most days and evenings, we played 2 games of Upwords.

We returned from Grandma’s on Tuesday the 30th, cleaned house, and headed down to Bemus Point to Adam and Danelle’s on Wednesday for a New Year’s Eve celebration with them and another set of friends, Jen and Benny Carlson.  We brought our Wii and played it as well as a few of the boardgames from our collection.

All of us stayed up until midnight, including Adam and Danelle’s son, both of the Carlson’s daughters, and Wil and McKinley.  This was the first time Wil and McKinley had ever stayed up until midnight.  But all the kids were running around and playing so much that they weren’t even winded during the 8p to 12a time that they would normally have been sleeping.

We rang in the new year together, woo-hoo, 2009, then went to bed. And of course, the kids didn’t sleep much past their normal 630a-730a wake-up time despite having four hours less rest. lol.

It seems we haven’t had much time around here to reflect on the happenings of 2008.  We’ve just been rushed into 2009.  But we definitely have much to be thankful for in 2008, the largest of which is the life and health of Melodia and Izzabelle whom we were close to losing in August. That whole experience has caused us to rethink life, and once again reassess our priorities.

One of my main priorities these days is to spend as much time home with the kids and Melodia as I can. I don’t have to be on-campus (i.e., at work) 40 hours per week, and so I have tried since August to take more time to enjoy the kids. And in that, I’ve tried, when I’m home to do less work, or to at least take breaks from the computer and play with the kids more.  Presence is one thing, but interaction is so important.

These days, Wil’s favorite movie is Kung-Fu Panda. He’s seen it more than a 12 times in the last week alone.  He and I have almost daily hopped onto the bed and played some Kung-Fu Panda.  Wil seems to always want to be the bad guy, Tai Lan (I hope that’s not prophetic, lol) – and I end up being Po the Panda and all of the Furious Five. But our wrestling time (interaction) is such good stuff for us.  McKinley, for her part, is always “Baby Panda” who mostly watches the battle take place, and helps Papi Panda up after Wil’s brought him down. lol.

Whatever else I may do or consider important, nothing really is compared to this.  I won’t get it back; and I must learn to revel in those moments – to stop my “important” tasks when my kids ask me to play with them, and wonder in the opportunities I have to play Kung-Fu Panda or whatever other game we devise to play. Other than winning souls for Jesus, or righting my own heart, I can’t imagine a more important thing than these times.  And yet, it’s so easy to say “no” or “wait a minute.” I am learning – and trying to remind myself – that I don’t get that “minute” back. Ever.

So 2008 wraps up with me trying to be better at spending time with family, and 2009 calls me to do more of the same.  Blessings to you and yours as we enter this new year. May you find the time to spend with those whom you love as well.