Christmas Journey
We decided to take 2 1/2 weeks and travel to PA and then Connecticut for Christmas. It would be the first time that many of our family members saw Rhys in the flesh. We drove through the night and arrived at my grandma’s house in PA just before a major ice/snow storm started. Everyone did great on the trip including Rhys which is a miracle since we realized as we were leaving that the DVD players were not working. We love driving through the night…less traffic and the kids sleep. We stayed in PA for four days visiting family. My dad drove up to spend a few days with us and so did my sister and her family. We had an early Christmas dinner and all opened presents. It was great to see Rhys playing with his little cousin, Luke. My sister’s baby is just 2 weeks older than Rhys. One of the highlights of our time in PA was personal visit from Santa Claus. He showed up at Grandma’s front door. The kids were so excited that Santa came to see them.
After Santa’s visit the girls got to decorate sugar cookies with nana and open presents with Aunt Helen. These were the most heavily frosted and sprinkled cookies I have ever seen!!
The excitement was only beginning. Jessica and her family along with Grandma Whitlow and Papa showed up shortly after that. We got to open presents with them and Luke met his cousins. The girls loved all their gifts. Ellie got a crocodile from Papa who she named Alligator. I guess we will call him Al for short. The most special part of the night was Victoria’s gift to Gabe and me. She brought it home wrapped from Kindergarten and was so anxious for us to open it. It was a beautiful pillow. On the front she used her hands to make a wreath and on the back she used her foot to create an angel. It is my favorite gift. I loved seeing her excitement in having something special to give to me. It reminds you of what the season is really about.
It was time to leave PA and head to Connecticut. This trip was a lot scarier than our trip out to PA. The kids were still excellent in the car and such troopers given no dvd players and the trip lasting 9 hours instead of 6 1/2. There was a bad ice storm the night before we left so we were headed up the mountains in PA very, very slowly. Gabe was slipping all over the road and we saw semi trucks that couldn’t even make it up the mountain. It rained the whole way which is better than icing but the roads were horrible the whole way. We are so thankful that we made it safely to Connecticut even if it did take longer. We had an awesome stay in Connecticut. We hadn’t been out there in 2 years so it was great to see Gabe’s family and for them to meet Rhys. Gabe’s sister Amy lives in Connecticut and Sarah drove up from DC. Even with all the issues that develop in being with family in tight quarters, it is so worth to spend the holidays with loved ones. Victoria left cookies and milk for Santa. She worked very hard on her note. Santa even left her a note thanking her for the yummy cookies. Now we know why he is such a big, jolly guy. Santa brought Victoria a barbie with wings and ellie got the handy manny tool kit….just what they both asked for. After opening all the presents which took forever we went to church. It was a beautiful service. it is so nice to be able to go to church on Christmas and celebrate the real reason for Christmas. It is so easy to forget about Jesus’ birth when you are surrounded by way too many presents. One of the best gifts we got for Christmas were tickets to ride an old train to the North Pole. We all (and I do mean all of us) dressed in our pj’s and santa hats to ride the train. What a fun time. Santa and Mrs. Claus both came on the train to say hello. Victoria looked right up at Santa and said “thank you for my barbie with wings”. It was the cutest. Gabe and I took the kids to Mystic, CT to meet up with my roommate from college, Mary Beth and her husband Brad. I am so glad we had the opportunity to see them even if it was only for a few hours. Gabe and I also got to take advantage of having grandma babysit. We went out with Amy and her fiancee, Shawn for New Year’s Eve. It was so much fun dancing into 2009. Unfortunately, our camera battery died so we don’t have many pictures from the train ride or our activities after that. That is okay since this is definitely the longest blog I have ever written. It was a long trip, though. On New Year’s Day we started our journey back to WI via PA. The drive went well and we arrived home safely ready to get back to all of our many activities.
When we got home we still had the gifts from mom and dad to open. These girls are going to think that Christmas lasts 3 weeks and they just get lots of gifts. We will be changing that for next year.
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Do They Have A Conscience?
Recently Gabe and I found out that someone or some persons hacked into the main computer system of our bank. They stole up to 50 customers credit card numbers and were using them in Illinois. Unfortunately, Gabe and I were one of those fifty. Thankfully, the bank’s fraud department contacted us to verify the charges. I checked our voice messages the other night and heard this message to call the bank’s card processing department to verify charges immediately. Gabe was already in bed so I called. The customer service rep said that the charges were linked to Gabe’s card and she needed to speak to him. I asked if it could wait. She responded with the question, “has your husband been out of state today”. When I told her no she told me to wake him immediately. She explained that there were charges totalling $500 (which by the next day were up to $1,000) on our account from a Wal-Mart in Addison, IL. After confirming that those were not purchases that we made, she deactivated our cards. So now we start the process of getting new cards and filling out paperwork to dispute the charges and hopefully get our money back.
That night I couldn’t sleep. I was so sick to my stomach over the ordeal. Obviously I am pissed about the $1,000 but what has me more upset is the fact that there are people out there with no regard for others. Gabe works so hard for our money. We budeted for Christmas and didn’t even spend near this amount on gifts for our family and friends. Now someone has the audacity to take our money along with 49 other people’s money and spend it. Does this person(s) have no conscience? You know that people like this are in the world but when it hits so close to home, you feel so violated. What makes me even sadder is that many of the customers of our bank have recently been laid off. Several companies in the fox valley (like the rest of the US) have had major lay offs in the past couple of months. Those could be some of the very same people that had their credit card numbers stolen. I am just sick thinking about that. It is sad.
Uncategorized | Comments (3)Rhys – 5 months old
I know that this is so cliche but it feels like just yesterday we were bringing this little baby home from the hospital and today he is 5 months old. He is such a good baby. All three of my kids have been awesome babies. I am so thankful and feel completely blessed. Of course, like every baby, he has his moments of fussiness. He does love to be held a lot. He is getting better at napping. I can put him in his crib and he will talk himself to sleep. He only naps for about an hour but that is getting better. I am sure all of that will change when we head out east for Christmas. That is what did it for Victoria. She was thrown off her schedule when she was 6 months old and we travelled. It took her another two years before she was sleeping through the night and taking decent naps. I am going to try very hard this time to keep all three kids to their normal routine when we are travelling. Anyhow, Rhys is a pretty content baby. He loves when people talk to him. He has the biggest, most adorable smile. Today he was laying on the floor singing and chatting with me. Still no rolling. He tries hard but just can’t seem to manage to get his whole body over. He will sit unsupported for a few minutes now. He just loves grabbing for toys, hair, blankets and anything else that he can put in his mouth. His newest trick is sticking his tounge out. It is the funniest thing I have ever seen. That’s my “Rhysie J”.
