A Very Merry Christmas Here at Loon Lake Lodge

I sat down here on Christmas evening to write this entry, and somehow I hit a wrong button and all I had composed disappeared. I was so frustrated I just quit and enjoyed the evening. So now I thought I would share a bit of our wonderful Christmas celebration we had here. Amanda, Mike and the girls arrived Wednesday night, beating the lousy weather we were to get. The little ones were quite wound up as you can imagine. Thursday morning found us uncertain of the road conditions for traveling in to see Gary's mom at the nursing home.

Roads around the lake were icy and we had to go a ways before we decided main highways were clear enough to proceed. It was well worth it and we enjoyed a nice lunch and visit with one of the great grandmothers, who LOVED seeing the three girls.

Above you see the packages under the tree awaiting Christmas morning after we had the three little ones tucked in bed on Christmas Eve. What fun to have so many packages under the tree again, we adults could hardly wait!

With no fireplace, the stockings were hung above the wet bar with care. We just wish the other two felted stockings could have been there, we dearly missed Shell and Richard again this year! But, their stockings were hung above their wood stove in NC for their own little Christmas celebration together. Grandmommy had to go in to work on Christmas eve at midnight, so everyone was nestled in their beds by the time she left. On Christmas morning she brought GG home with her to celebrate the day with all of us.

The kiddos were all awake and eager to enter the family room where all the gifts lay waiting. Here you see the three of them in their matching PJs Amanda had made for this special morning. The room did not stay this neat very long. It was a very exciting morning!

The girls were patient only a short while before they couldn't open fast enough. Here Katers is held in amazement at all the packages. I think Libbers may have still be a bit sleepy, as she waited for Poppy to join her in his chair.

It was very special for all of us to have GG here with us for the first Christmas in many, many years. She loved the mittens and scarf I knit for her to keep warm in this cold weather. Our day was relaxing and topped off with a deliscious dinner in the evening. The next day we prepared for yet another family celebration.

We had Cathy and Pat come for dinner along with Matt and Mike. Here they crank out the fresh dough into spaghetti pasta for our feast. What fun for everyone have a part in this meal. Poppy and I prepared the sauce that morning and Amanda made delishious fresh french bread, piping hot at serving time. I had a couple huge yummy green salads and Cak brought baked goodies and peppermint ice cream to top off the big meal. A very special day with family so dear.

Cak's mom Helen came along too, so it was wonderful for the grandmothers to reconnect and spend time together. Later Saturday night the kids packed up their van and ventured back home on a snowy evening. We were very thankful to hear they made it safely and we slept tight to dream of all the wonderful memories.