New Year and BIG News

We finally got to see the kids and do Christmas with them...

It was so fun...

We miss them when we are not with them... 

And always love spoiling them and doing things with them...

This year we reverted back to the ol' box in a box in a box gift... 

down to a gift certificate to do an escape room.

They were excited to try that out together... so hopefully it will be a good gift for them to go spend some time and have fun together as a family!

I really want to be a fly on the wall... but we will go again with them if they end up liking it :)

Our best surprise of the day was the crazy Hogwarts Letter!

It took me WAYYYYYYY too long to catch on!

But I am over the top excited for a new student in July 2026!!!!!!!!

 

Christmas break…

Taking a drive to look at Christmas lights with Jim and Lynn was a blur...

quite literally!!!

But I got a new diamond painting set up that I really love!!!

And worked on this beauty during Christmas break...

We played some games with my BFF... which is ALWAYS fun!

She is always sooo good at helping me navigate and learn to work with Jim better 

and not get frustrated with things when he gets sideways!

 

Christmas 2026

It was so awesome to have my sister back with us for Christmas!!!

The dogs LOVE having her here.

The kids were at their mom's and Jack and Courtney went to her parents... so it was just us.  But we made it fun!

I got a new pizza oven I won at a Valli work party.

And that was fun learning how to use... 

until it wasn't!

Yep a messy big learning curve.

But I am hoping we will get better at it along the way!!

This wasn't as fun as it looked at all.  

Actually it was stressful and overwhelming.

Maybe I shouldn't learn new things in my old age :(

 

Christmas Eve Traditions

 Christmas Eve Traditions with Jim's family has been Rootbeer floats and Hoagies.

We changed up the bread this year... but it was fun to text pics to his siblings and see what theirs looked like... they mostly still keep up with it, or at least remember it fondly.

Jim loves ice cream anything... so it's never hard to talk him into this one every year.

He's wearing his Dad's Christmas shirt... it looks good on him and it's warm and cozy.

But he sure does look alot like his Dad (Jack Dayley) more and more... even though he was adopted I've noticed the similarities.  Especially when he wears his shirts and tennis shoes.    He hunches a little when he walks, he paces allot like his Dad used to do when he would come visit.  He laughs at his own jokes. Hhmmmm it's weird how that happens.

Diamond in her new home...

She loved it!

Here it is in her new home.

I'm so glad I found a good way to frame her that it could be rolled up and stored away after Christmas.