Christmas & 2012

I spent a wonderful week at home during Christmas.

My first day home I took a motorcycle ride with my baby little brother; how is he 6 years younger than me, and like 6 inches taller..?! Okay, maybe not that tall, but still! One of my favorite parts of going home for Christmas was getting to spend time with Connor. He is such a great boy man.

{Connor and his motorcycle}

Brittany and Jared drove up from Santa Rosa again for Christmas. We spent Christmas Eve watching the 49ers game at the Ram, then headed over to Grandma Veer's house where I took over Papa's responsibilities of falling asleep at 8:30 pm until it was time to leave...

{Connor, Brittany and Jared}

On Christmas Eve, Brett and I took a festive run around Salem, and we got a lot* of honks...

{Brett and I on our run}

(*No horns were sounded, but we pretended anyways...)

I love waking up Christmas morning, knowing that our stockings are patiently waiting to be opened. This year, I was the first person to wake up on Christmas morning, besides my mom, who woke up early to WRAP PRESENTS... I thought Santa did that...

{Sibling Stockings: Brittany, Paige, Connor, Jared}

{Christmas Morning}

My family is not one to mess up often, or make fools of themselves, so sometimes I wonder how I fit in... I, individually, had my own Griswald Family Christmas. I'm so used to using liquid dish soap and washing our dishes by hand that I didn't realize it was not the same stuff as Dishwasher Detergent... About 10 minutes after I started with dishwasher, bubbles started foaming out the sides... ah geez. My solution, grab every towel in the house and stuff below, above and on the sides of the dishwasher.

{Who knew detergent and liquid dish soap were two different things...}

Our dear friend and neighbor Lisa Harder has been battling Cancer for the past 3.5 years, and was finally cleared of cancer in the middle of December. Two weeks later, they found a tumor growing in her brain. After surgery, Lisa came home and I got a chance to sit and visit with her for a while. She is one of the strongest, and most faithful people I know. She knows that God is holding her in His hands, that He will provide for her. As someone who knows what it feels like to lose hope, I am continually amazed at how hopeful she is. God has definitely granted her with a beautiful spirit and I am so blessed to have her in my life. Click here for Updates on Lisa Harder.

{Me, Connor and Lisa}

A few days after Christmas, my Grandma called and wanted to meet up at Starbucks. I loved getting coffee with her and my mom, we had no obligation, no plans and everything to talk about. The three of us sat there and gabbed for close to two hours. Doesn't she just look fabulous!

{Grandma Veer, Mom and Me}

I was able to sneak out of the house a few times to stretch out my legs down Brush College Road. One of the things I miss most about living down in California is being home, the familiarity of everything. We don't live very far out into the country, but two miles down the street: farms, miniature horses and old red barns start to frequent the ground. Please note the miniature horses running towards me on the left... and no, they didn't fit in my pocket to take back with me.

{View down my street}

It wouldn't be a trip home without a little crafting... Or a lot of crafting. I saw this on a friend's Facebook and knew that Connor and I had to do it, right away. Connor made the Oregon board for Cassie, and I made California for Brandon. I was so excited about it that I showed Brandon over Skype so he would know what to expect when I got back, only, it didn't fit in my suitcase. Oops. Sorry about that, I'll get it to him eventually...

{Oregon}

{California}

I feel so blessed to have had the week off work in between Christmas and New Years, I hardly checked my email and spent so much quality time with my friends and family. Analia was back from Tawain and I was so happy to be sitting physically next to her, something I only get to do once a year, if that. I am headed back up to Oregon in two weeks, and cannot wait for more time to spend with both her and Connor. Rumor has it Kelly Ritter and Mary Baum will be driving in also, and if so, my life would be complete. 

But, that is not all, Christmas gifts were still pouring in. Brandon got me Trapeze lessons for Christmas, and I decided to start practicing on the pull up bar at their house. Along with the lessons, I got that sweet peacock mask, which he so kindly applied for my first unofficial lesson... 

{First Trapeze Lesson}

For New Year's Eve, we went down to Laguna Beach and welcomed the New Year there. 

 

{Karin and me}

{Brandon and me}

Can you believe that it is 2012 already. Seems like just yesterday it was 2006... Time sure does fly. I am excited to see what this year has in store for me. No resolutions were made, but I am hoping it will be a year of good changes and growth. One of which includes a new car... But we'll see...