Here we are on the first Wednesday of 2022--January 5th

 TERRY

As I write it is almost 8:00 AM and Terry is awake reading the paper.  I would say she is same same today.   I think we need to have her get into the living room at least once today as getting out of bed is a good thing for her.  We will see how things go.

Well the house is quiet and will remain that way ALL day as the MN gang was scheduled to fly/drive towards MN early this morning.  So here we are quietly reading, eating and blogging this morning.  Oh my much took place over the last week+ with family.

• Of course we will remember the bright red lobsters and then the yummy meat in them for a long long time.
• The brisket that John and Benedict prepared!
• AND the bags of shells that were gathered on the Gulf beach.
• The brisket and cream potatoes were delicious. 
• It was so good to see the Chinese checkers come out and give enjoyment to some
• One can not leave out the pool where the kids spent many hours having fun
• Actually they enjoyed the club pool as well as that is a lot larger.
• As the girls sat on the edge of the pool I kind of would like to know the conversation!
• What about the Royal Scoop where each enjoyed cones of different ice cream.
• I think perhaps the "cousin time" may have been the very best thing!  As we walked towards the club house I noticed Elspeth and Agatha walking together and I would have given a lot of money to know the conversation!
• The kids got a lot of "Travis" over the days.
• There was the excitement of a dead battery on the Adkins new van!  Mike took care of it after we borrowed cables to start it as he drove to Costco for a new battery!  When I asked why he did not get a new battery at the dealer when he bought the van he mentioned Costco price was $90 and the dealer price was $160 AND the Costco warranty was better!
• I am sure the kids will be water logged for a long time.  
• Of course we could not have Christmas without lefse and Mary and Cynthia took care of that with LOVE.
• Of course with older kids there needed to be basketball practice as Henry was missing his team practice so we found a playground place for him.
• OK the list could be a lot longer but will stop for now.  I am hoping that the kids had as much fun as Grandpa did over the several days.  It will be a Christmas to remember for a long time

In 1977, our first Christmas in St. Paul, we invited everyone down for Christmas and here is what family looked like 44 years ago!!  I know that is a long time ago but still we now miss Dave, Roxanne, Charlie, Gail, Mom and Dad.  It was a wonderful Christmas to have so many family there.  BUT as we all know time passes, people leave us and those who are still here move on with life in the best possible way.  So we should all cherish NOW, remember the past and look forward to the future!

Enough for today but be there may be more memories in January!