I hope everyone had a great holiday. It was a whirlwind for us. My sister Donna and her family from Maryland and my brother Kyle and his family from Colorado were in town for Christmas. It was the first time we were all together since my Mom died. It was a great feeling to be together and I know my Mom is smiling. My sister and I got to do our "usual" which includes an early morning Starbucks run, wandering stores and long talks.
We spent Christmas Eve with Dan's side of the family that were able to come in from Missouri, Texas, Indiana, and California. All told, there were 17 kids at the party and two on the way! I am happy to report there were no major injuries and the house was still structurally intact (at least when we left).
I did not host Christmas festivities at our house this year because my travel schedule was up in the air. I have been lucky, though, and my last trip was to Italy before Thanksgiving.
With the new year brings new travel for me. I leave tomorrow for Sweden and then a quick trip to Lithuania before I arrive home next Thursday. I will likely return to Sweden in late February to oversee the new deployment. If everying works out, my niece will join me for a short time in Sweden. I am excited at her sense of adventure and willingness to go to a new place.
As always, great friends, neighbors and family help out while I am away. Especially my amazing husband. Our Au Pair Melissa has been on vacation this past week and returns on Monday night (thankfully). So at least there will be two adults to keep the kids from running the show.
Dan will post pictures and video in the next few days.
