We are home!

I have too much on my plate!  We arrived home on New Years Day.  We made it home fairly late so we had a quick dinner, opened gifts from Santa and went to bed.  Since then, I have been trying to catch up on shopping and other small tasks that I did not get to before the holiday.  I feel like we were gone such a long time.  I was so ready to come home.  I have a long list of things to do and am trying to prioritize as best as possible.  Ainsley and I started collecting toys to give to Good will and have made quite a dent.  I had asked her to pick out at least 5 stuffed animals to give away.  She picked out at least 15!  I am so proud of her.  I did ask her to keep certain critters that were made by my Mom and a few small ones that are mine when I was her age.  Everything else was fair game.  She did well.  I find that I am much more successful at getting them to cull toys when they participate with me.  Once we are done with the removal we will make space for her new items.  I am also making sure more goes out than came in.  Success!

The high of our trip was getting to spend time with family and some and old friends.  The low of our trip was getting sick on Christmas eve with the worst congestion that I have had in some time.  I caved in and actually had B go to the pharmacy and pick up cold medication for me.  I detest taking cold meds!  They make me feel almost as awful as the cold itself, but the congestion was so bad this time I made the exception.  I drank gallons of hot tea and finally started to feel a bit better right before we left.  Not 100 percent but at least I no longer felt like I was drowning.  No fun trying to go places with the family when all you want to do is crawl into the bed and rub vicks on your chest.  I will try to post some more pictures later this week.  If you are a regular reader you may remember that we spent a few days in May at my SIL 's home.  I have a picture of the river to which they have access then.  I also have a picture of what that river looks like today after an extremely hot summer of drought.  Where my parents live has fared better...the last two months have brought normal rainfall levels.  But in the Hill Country, evidence of drought and wildfires is rampant and humbling.  Well, I will try to get back to at least weekly posting in this new year.  I have a few goals in mind which I hope to write about next time...better eating habits, more consistent bible time, as well as more consistent exercise.  Consistancy...maybe that is my word for the year.  Humm, something to think about.  If I don't get a chance to write tomorrow, have a most excellent weekend all.