The Inn Is Full

"And the angel said unto them, Fear not, for behold, I bring unto you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you this day is born in the City of Bethlehem, a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; you shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel, a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on Earth peace, good will toward men". 
 
Luke 2:10

 

Blue Blue Christmas

I'll be heading to Temple for Christmas about 8 hours from now.  I do this with a heavy heart.  Never in my life would I have ever imagined a scenario where I would be spending Christmas without my beautiful boys. 

I gave the boys back to Lori this morning, and now I start an 7 day stretch without getting to see them.  One of those 7 days is Christmas.  Is it right.....nope.  Is it fair.....nope.  Is it in the "best interest" of the boys......nope.  It's just wrong.

It's hard to describe the feeling of watching your children, and feeling their excitement on Christmas morning.  It's unfiltered joy.  Christmas mornings are so fulfilling as a parent, you wouldn't trade them for any amount of money.  It's one thing in life that's truly priceless.

I am going to miss all of that this year, and no matter how much I enjoy my visit to see my mom and brother in Temple, I will be immensely sad knowing that I am missing out on Christopher and Aidan's Christmas day joy.

It is what it is, and I will make it through.  Life goes on.  The shell gets a little harder. 

I hope each and every one of you reading this blog has a wonderful Christmas, and a happy and safe New Year.

God Bless,

William

4 Dozen And Counting

Wow, I don't feel 48.......well, at least mentally.  My body could sure use some help in it's fight with gravity, but my mind is as sharp as ever.

Lori was originally scheduled to have the boys for an 11 day stretch during Christmas.  It started last Wednesday, and was to last until the Saturday after Christmas.  I of course, am extremely bummed.

In a very sweet gesture, Lori called me a couple of days ago, and asked me if I would like to have the boys on my birthday.  I leaped at the chance, and I am really looking forward to seeing them later this morning.  That's a heck of a present right there.  Thanks Lori.

It's raining and cold outside today, but that doesn't matter.  Just spending time with the boys here at the house playing games and watching movies will be fun, and just what I wanted for my birthday.

Oliver Wendell Homes Jr once said:

"Men do not quit playing because they grow old; they grow old because they quit playing.”


I like that philosophy and think I'll keep following it.


William

Burrrrrr.....................

Nope, that's not some rural neighborhood in Alaska,  oh no, no, no, no......that's good ol' Little Elm, Texas.  Yep that's right, solid ice streets for all to enjoy.  The above picture is day three of the first ice storm of the year.

The ice storm came last Thursday night, and I had the boys all day on Friday.  Driving over to Lori's house to pick the up was not too bad Friday morning, as the 4 inches of sleet that we got was till not compacted, so 4wd worked great with my truck.  Once we got back over to my house, we spent most of the day in the 14 degree wind chill, sledding and sliding around the neighborhood.  It was a ton of fun.

Christopher's cheeks were happy to finally be inside.

We warmed up, and spent the rest of the day watching movies and playing around the house.  Driving them back to Lori's house on Saturday morning was quite the ordeal.  The streets were basically skating rinks, and the 8 mile journey to her house took about 45 minutes.  It was ugly. 

We still have plenty of remnants of the storm all around the neighborhood.  My yard is still solid white even 7 days later.  The streets have now warmed up enough to melt all of the ice.  Whew!

It looks like the next couple of weeks will be OK weather wise, but I saw a few minutes ago, that another big cold front is supposed to blow in around Christmas Eve.  I hope no precipitation comes with it, for I will be in Temple.  I would not want to drive home from there on the kind of roads we've had for the last few days.  Nope, no thank you.

I get the kids this coming weekend, and I am looking forward to spending some time with them.  Aidan has his first league basketball game on Saturday morning, and I can't wait.  It will be fun. Don't worry, I will have plenty of pictures!

William

Different........But Fun!

Last week Aidan and Christopher and I went to Temple to visit "Grandma" and "Uncle Jim" for Thanksgiving week.  It was the first holiday spent apart from Lori, and it was certainly a different feeling.

Because we are following the Texas Standard Possession Code for holidays, I had the kids from Friday the 22nd, through Sunday the 1st at 6:00pm.  It was my year for Thanksgiving, and yep.....if your Lori, 9 days is a long time to be away from the kids.  Too long in fact, so I decided to give her Sunday the 24th, and most of Monday the 25th.  It just didn't feel right to keep them away from her all that time.

I got the boys back on Monday night, and we left Little Elm at 9:00am Tuesday morning.   Traffic was great, and we rolled into Temple just in time for lunch at 11:30am.  Did I say lunch?  Well.....first time in Temple in a while, so there was no doubt about where I would be going to pick up lunch.  Clem Mikeska's BBQ baby!!!!   Mmmmmm......best brisket ever!!!

We had a wonderful time visiting with Grandma.  Uncle Jim had to work on Tuesday and Wednesday, but we filled our days with hikes, and playing in the back yard, and Indiana Jones movies.   Lots of fun indeed.

Thanksgiving was Thursday, and lots of eating, playing, and football watching was on the menu.

Dinner was delicious, and everybody had no problem clearing their plates!  The rest of the day was spent playing outside, playing the board game SORRY and just having fun.  It was great spending time with my family.  They have been so supportive of me, and I just can't thank them enough. 

On Friday, Christopher decided he had a bit of structural engineering stuck inside of him that just needed to come out.  So, no better way to scratch that itch than Lincoln Logs!  Yep, I know that anyone of you that is reading this blog, remembers those.  Been around forever, and still fun!

I know his Nana would be proud of him.  He built her house!  Way to go buddy!!!

We stay in Temple all the way until Saturday night.  Saturday was spent playing outside again, and watching Aggie football ( grrrr....).  While outside, I got a few last pictures.

After watching the Aggies get beat, we left for Little Elm at 10:30 on Saturday night.  As you can imagine, traffic was light, and we made good time.  My two little buddies tried to stay awake to help dad not get tired, but that lasted about 30 miles for Christopher, and 75 miles for Aidan.  The last 85 was spent quietly reflecting on the week.

It was certainly great to get to visit for 5 days.  That is the longest visit we have ever had to see Grandma and Jim.  Thanks for everything.  We had a blast.

While it was fun, I couldn't help but feel the void left by Lori's absence.  I guess holiday's will never be the same, and for that I am sad.  Lori's light always shined brightest during holidays. 

I can't wait for the next adventure with the boys of Camelot. 

William