Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! The year has certainly gotten off to a cold start. So far the highest temperature recorded on our thermometer is 21°. This morning’s low was 1°. I’ll take a coat and cracked fingers over sweating and a sunburn any time.

To catch up from last time, we have had a wonderful holiday. Since Christmas Eve fell on Sunday this year we were busy with our regular activities at church that morning and the Christmas Eve service that evening. We went to Mom’s afterward where we enjoyed the chicken enchiladas that Vicki and Jenna made for supper.

Christmas morning we got up and exchanged our gifts. We’re pretty much past the toy stage now, though I did see a Star Wars Lego set in the mix. Jenna got a new Kindle. As much as she enjoys reading this will be the gift that keeps on giving until she wears it out. The boys are wanting to build their own computer so they got money so they can buy computer parts. There were also a lot of clothes and books under the tree, and it seems the kids all got enough socks to replace everything in their sock drawers.

Later that morning we headed over to Mrs. Connie’s for brunch. It was sort of interesting to see two new girlfriends in the mix with all the family. That evening we returned to Mom’s and ate supper together. All in all, a pretty typical Christmas for us.

The next day we ventured out a bit. Vicki, Jenna, and Ben headed out after lunch to do a little shopping. Nate and I caught up with them a little later at the movie theater where we watched The Greatest Showman, the musical about the life of P. T. Barnum. We really enjoyed this flick.

Early Wednesday we headed out for Virginia to spend a few days with Will, Darice, and their kids. They live far enough away that the drive takes the whole day now, though we can work in a fun stop along the way.

Will and Darice’s new house is very beautiful. It is situated on the land they purchased when they lived in that area over ten years ago. They moved in about three months ago. As with their previous house in Georgia, there’s plenty of room for everyone to spread out and play games, watch movies, battle it out in ping pong or air hockey, etc. and that’s just what we did. One popular game this year was the Telestrations game we got for Christmas. I have not laughed that hard in a long time.

We ate out twice. The entire family dined at El Puerto in Staunton on Friday. That was the first time I’ve ever been to a Mexican buffet. The next day Will, Darice, Vicki, and I drove to Harrisonburg for lunch at A Taste of Thai.

All too soon our visit was over and we headed home on Sunday. We did a little shopping in Knoxville and Crossville on the way and still got back in plenty of time for most of us to celebrate the new year.

Yesterday we spent the day taking down our Christmas decorations, a big job in which everyone pitched in and made it happen smoothly. Ben also spent part of the day packing for his school trip to New York City. They had to be at the airport by 4:30 this morning. One of Ben’s friends lives in Hermitage and he invited Ben and a third friend to spend the night so their could sleep in a bit and have a short drive to catch their flight. So, all three families met for supper in Hermitage last night and we said our goodbyes to Ben there.

I want to say congratulations to my cousin, Ginny Yergler, who got married in Houston, Texas, on Wednesday. I wish it would have worked out where we could have gotten there to celebrate with them.

It’s hard to believe 2017 is in the books and our Christmas break is coming to a close. I return to work tomorrow and classes resume on Thursday. Hopefully there’s some snow in our future.

Joe