Christmas!

My first semester of college is finally behind me, by God's grace! It went well overall, but I am looking forward to this coming semester- I get to take Sign Language.

My time in Virginia was wonderful. It was so good to see Daniel again and to spend the time with him and his family. We got about 7.5 inches of snow, and so we got to go sledding. The snow was a little too 'powdery', so one night Tim and Daniel went out to pack it down better. What they had planned to do didn't work out as planned, so they called Beth and I out to give them 'weight' (fat joke? I think so!). Beth and I got in the Miller's fishing boat, and the guys pulled us across the field (the hill was already packed pretty well, they were just trying to make it so that we could slide across the field from the momentum of the hill). Apparently our 'weight' packed it down pretty well, and when they finally let us go inside, they hosed the track down and we let it freeze up. The next morning we all went out and enjoyed sledding on this newly made sledding track- what fun! Another thing I did while in VA was had Daniel teach me how to drive stick. Let's just say that I still have a lot of practice!

Christmas Eve Tim, Beth, and I left the Miller's a little after 6 am trying to make it back in time for Ira's Christmas Eve Service. It was a long drive, but God gave us an uneventful trip, and we made it to the service half way through Silent Night (there was only one song after Silent Night). I specifically enjoyed getting to see so many church people and visit with them after the service.

Christmas day was a lot of fun, starting with a delicious breakfast at Grandma and Grandpa Hewitt's. We then visited for a while with my grandparents, uncle, and two of my cousins from that side. Not sure how much longer they will be around, so we cherished our time with them. It was then time to go to Grandpa and Grandma Meigs'. We had several good laughs as we always do, and enjoyed that time of fellowship.

The 26th has always been our Christmas. We all slept in and slowly got up and had an amazing breakfast at about 9:30. We then took some family pictures with the seven of us, read the Christmas story from the Bible, and opened gifts. I got my calendar, and mom did a great job. I know, from being home when she would make the boys', that they take a lot of work. I can't wait to hang it up in my dorm room. Mom and Dad also surprised me with a Pea Coat! I had mentioned to mom a while back how much I liked them, but hadn't told her I wanted one for Christmas, so that was a pleasant surprise.

Before opening gifts, Dad had us focus on things we were thankful for, and I am amazed with what God has blessed me with. God is so good! Merry Christmas to all!