A good Christmas

We spent our Christmas in Seattle with Craig's folks. His mom's birthday is Christmas eve, so we were able to celebrate both occasions with them. We drove up there Wed. and got home today around 3:00. The drive up was pretty miserable...it rained a lot nearly the whole trip. It should be about a 5 hr. trip but took us a lot longer. Visibility was poor and that caused drivers to drive pretty slowly. Then there were places where there  was so much traffic, it was stop and go...mostly stop. But we made it and had a very good time. I feel very blessed to have Norm and UnaJean MacDonald for my other parents. I have learned a lot from both of them. The first time I met them, they had just lost their daughter in a plane accident...I learned how to mourn with grace. They insisted on continuing on with plans for a reception so I could meet friends and family all the while making me feel welcome. I fell in love with them on that first meeting.

I got the opportunity to spend some quality time with my sis-in-law, Lora, while Scott (her hubby) took Mother for her hair appt. and dad to shop. We always have a good time together. I love her dearly and hope, now that we're closer, we'll be able to see them more often. We all went out to dinner Thurs. night for Mother's birthday, then to Mark and Mimi's house for more food and visiting (Mark is Craig's younger brother). That was a good time...lots of talk, catching up, etc. Mimi had put out a beautiful table and the food was wonderful!

On our way up to Seattle, we stopped to look at a manufactured home. We are now considering buying  one of those instead of building. We have a lot of research to do to compare the costs of both, and this was the first step. The one we looked at was very nice...924 sq. ft, a double wide that's shorter and narrower than the usual double wide. It had 9 ft. ceilings and didn't feel all that small. It was very nice.

Tomorrow there's no church...they cancelled it because so many people weren't going to be there. So we're headed to a Starbucks to study...Craig will work on his book and I'll study for the Sunday School lesson I'll teach next Sun.

It was a very good Christmas and I am thankful for my family...immediate and extended.