South Dakota Highlights

Well, our bi-annual Christmas trip to South Dakota is officially over. I'm always sad when we have to leave. My family is pretty amazing, and each time we go it seems like it is better and better. The one thing that made it possible for me to leave this year was the fact that I am going back in two weeks to spend a week with my sister and her brand new baby girl! I think that this was the first time I hugged my parents goodbye and didn't start crying, I simply said, "See you in two weeks!" We all decided that someone in our family needs to get a pilot's license and a load of money so we can see each other more frequently!

This year was a good one. There are so many highlights from the trip that I'm sure I won't be able to cover all of them, but I'll try.

• Highlight #1: The Birth of My Niece!! One of the top moments, of course, was meeting my brand new niece! We were all wondering if she would arrive before we had to leave, and she kept us on our toes, but came just in the nick of time! She was born at 2:58 on Wednesday, December 31st! I'm thrilled because not only is she absolutely gorgeous, but we share a birthday month! I was hoping for her arrival on my actual birthday but hey, I can't blame the girl for wanting her own special day. Her parents are already lamenting the fact that her 21st birthday is going to be on a New Year's Eve, and my sister is already planning how she will supervise that event! Candace and Alex are proving to be great parents already, and little Baby G is a rock star. She's already sleeping great and eating really well. I'm thankful that my sister is having such a great experience as a mom, and I feel so blessed that we were there to meet her little one!





• Highlight #2: Seeing my Grandmother Hold My Son!! We all love our grandparents so much. They were such a great example of what a grandma and grandpa should be when we were growing up. My grandma used to throw slumber parties for all of us grandchildren and we would make pizzas, go "fishing" for prizes, play games, and have all kinds of fun! You also always know when you go to G and G's place that there will be oreo's waiting for you, and when we were little Grandpa always gave us a handful of M and Ms from his desk. My grandparents are getting older now, and although it is hard to see them becoming more frail, I feel so blessed that they had a chance to meet and hold my son. My grandma was a little bit afraid to hold him, because neither of her arms work very well now, but I just propped her on a pillow and laid Rusty in her arms. I swear, as I took the picture of the two of them there were tears leaking out of my eyes. Of course, we also had to get the four generation shot, and it is going to be a photo that is dear to my heart!




• Highlight #3: Watching My Nephews Playing with Rusty!! They were so excited to meet him and although I thought their interest in him would die out, it didn't! Even up until the last day they were still coming up to him and saying "Hey Rusty, hey Rusty!" They got his toys for him and entertained him and they were just so great with him. I'm so happy that he has such great cousins to play with when we go home for summer and Christmases!


• Highlight #4: Quiet Morning Moments with My Parents!!! Because Rusty likes to wake up early, we had some great moments with my mom and dad before the rest of the house awoke. Usually I would go in to my dad's office where he was either working, praying, or reading his Bible and he would take Rusty in his arms and talk and play with him for about half an hour until my mom woke up, and then she had her time with him. Sometimes I stayed for these special moments, other times I took advantage of them and got in a little nap!! It is so wonderful to see Rusty bringing so much joy to my parents. He is a little charmer, and cast his spell over my entire family!



• Highlight #5: Our new Christmas Eve! We started something new this year. My little sister lives about half an hour from my parents and we all went to her place. My parents got a hotel room and kept the two oldest grandkids with them. We all went over to the hotel for some swimming that afternoon-Rusty took his first dip in the pool-and we then got ready for church and enjoyed a beautiful service at Candy's church. After that we went back to Candy's house and had lots of good food, opened a few presents, and shared. The most important part of the night was when we went around the circle and we all shared what we were thankful for that year. There were quite a few tears of joy and thankfulness, and it was just so touching. After that my nephew and Dad read the Christmas story. We are so blessed to be children of the Lord.


• Highlight #6: Laughter, laughter and more laughter! I always laugh when I'm with my family. We have so much fun together. We aren't afraid to tease each other and the brothers-in-law seem to have a great time together. One night the boys all went out together while we girls stayed in and got a chick flick and ate some pizza. The kids make us laugh, we make each other laugh. We try silly tricks to have fun. One night my brother even attempted to eat a carton of KFC gravy on a dare from my husband. We all stopped him before he got too far, but it was hilarious! Kev and I always leave these family gatherings saying we can't remember when we have laughed so much!




• Highlight #7: Recognition of the Love of a Family! It was really neat to see Kevin and my brother in law, Alex, talking about how great it is to be a part of our family this year. They both were just saying how they felt so loved and accepted, and this made me feel happy, warm and fuzzy, and proud. I have always thought my family was pretty great, but seeing that they recognize it and feel welcomed made me feel so happy. My family is always real with each other. We laugh together, we cry together, sometimes we even get mad, but we are real and share real feelings and emotions. I think we are closer as a result of this and seeing Kev and Alex recognize that was pretty neat.



• Highlight #8: So much Time with my Little Brother!!! We haven't seen Neil that much since my little sister's wedding in 2005. He was home from the 19th to the 28th, and since Kev and I were staying at my parents' house when he was there, we got a lot of one on one time with him. Any time we went somewhere he rode in our car with us, and it was so neat to just talk to him and see the great young man that he is becoming. He was AMAZING with Rusty! He always wanted to carry him in his car seat, he changed his diapers-even poopy ones!, he fed him from the bottle, he cooed at him, it was just special. We got a chance to meet Neil's beautiful girlfriend, which we were so thankful for. She's very sweet and they seem so happy and cute together. Neil is like a different person than the last time we saw him, and it's so wonderful to have my little brother back...yet even better than before!


Highlight #9: Hanging out with Matt, Nessa, and their Kids!!! My cousin Matt is just six months younger than me. We were always SUPER close growing up, he was pretty much my best friend until grade 8 when a great girl named Vanessa moved to town! She and I became best friends and she also started dating Matt! Here we are fourteen years later, still great friends, with three beautiful and wonderful children between us! Kev and I get along so well with Matt and Vanessa. Every time we see them we wish that we lived closer. It was so great to just relax at their house and enjoy spending time with them. They have two super cute and wonderful kids and the kids just LOVED Rusty! THeir little girl, who I will call Mini Ness, just took the best care of him. I had to smile when we were out for dinner at the Olive Garden with them and my sister, Adrienne and her husband. Mini Ness turned to her mom and said, "Rusty is like my brother!" She was so thrilled with that idea that we couldn't help but smile and agree! We talked a lot with them, and even though we stayed up until 2 a.m. and felt tired the next day it was totally worth it. There is talk that perhaps they will come up here and visit us in the summer, and I am praying with all my heart that it works out!


• Highlight #10: Family, family and more family!!! That is what it is really all about. When Kev and I were finally home yesterday, we woke up and felt a little strange. We had spent so much time with family, that it felt weird to just have a day at home with the three of us. We were used to going here and there, playing games, laughing, watching football games, eating good food, laughing more, sharing deep heart talks, laughing, watching Rusty charm the pants off of my entire family, laughing, and just enjoying being a family! Although it was nice to have a quiet day at home, it felt a little strange. We have determined that we will have to go home every summer now, there just isn't an option now that Rusty is here. He needs to know his cousins, he needs to see his Aunts and Uncles, he needs that loving time with my parents. We are so thankful to have great friends and family nearby, not everyone has that, but it is still also important for Rusty to know my family. I loved all of the hugs, the talks with my sisters, the games played around the kitchen table, the quiet moments with various people, the long heart-felt talks, the laugher, the tears...all of it.

Yep, this year was definitely a trip of memories! I love my family, and I loved seeing Rusty with my family. I can't wait to go back!