The spirit of Christmas began early in 2021 as Bob and I helped with the creation of a Conroe Stake float to be entered in the Conroe Christmas Parade. This is a tradition which our friends, Joyce and Roy Pierce have been passionate about for the past few years. The parade theme this year was Miracles Around the World. The missionaries in our area are always a great support, and members wear the well-known "Helping Hands" t-shirts and walk the route giving out candy and pass-along cards with information about our church.
Members from our church unite with the community in Huntsville to provide a "Night in Bethlehem" each Christmas season. On the 3rd, I took Stephanie, Emma and Paige with me to participate in the festivities. We had a fun girl's night out, learning about food, games, and crafts associated with Bethlehem.
I took a quick trip to San Antonio to help out with the arrival of an extra special Christmas present for our family. Brooke Bosen was welcomed into the world on December 10, 2021.
Christmas with our children was celebrated in segments. Because Michael's and Stephanie's families were travelling to spend the holiday with their in-laws, and Chelsea was having her fourth baby in December, we had to improvise. We didn't even set up our Christmas tree. We drove to Katy to open gifts with Michael's family on the 15th. We gave all of the moms water-color style prints made from photos taken on the beach at the Outer Banks this summer. And, among other things, we had a book of memories from that vacation printed for the grandkids. For the dads, a personalized ammo box was ordered from Etsy.
On December 18, 2021, we went to the Johnson's home to open presents with their family.
Bob and I drove back to San Antonio on December 19. We experienced an unfortunate "fender bender" when a car backed into the side of us while stopped at a gas station. Bob had stopped so that I could take over driving and just as we were both walking around the car, someone backed out of a stall without looking first. We were fortunate that neither of us were hit, and glad it was not a serious accident and we were able to continue on our way to the Bosen's home.
Bob and I rented a WorldMark Stablewood Springs Resort condo for a few days from the 19th though the 23rd. We picked up Knox, Holly and Jude and took them there with us to give Chelsea and Thomas a little time alone to enjoy Brooke. It was a fun place to take the kids and we had a wonderful time together! We played and hiked around the resort . . .
We went to a park in Kerrville and fed the ducks . . .
Stonehenge II, in Ingram, was an interesting place to hang out for a while . . .
A visit to "The Coming King Sculpture Prayer Gardens" in Kerrville kept us entertained for some time . . .
And a few games at the arcade rounded out our fun adventure together . ..
Christmas Eve and Christmas day were spent together at the Bosen's home, and the kids frosted and decorated Christmas sugar cookies - a holiday tradition when I had children at home, that has been long forgotten at my house. Presents were shared and games played, intermittently between cuddles and hugs with Brooke. Bob and I departed the evening of Christmas, stopping for a non-traditional holiday dinner at a nearby sushi restaurant.
We are blessed, and having children and grandchildren who all love and follow Christ faithfully, is our greatest Christmas joy!
