My Daughter Emily Sent This Christmas Eve day...

Updated with photos the next morning...

In the post below, I dared not write about something because it would have made me feel the very way the beautiful song above did.

Emily and Keith and Nora are not with us here in Kansas this year. It was inevitable that such a Christmas Day would come. I completely understand. It just so happens to be the first time in her life that Emily is not with us on Christmas, and the song describes perfectly what Emily knows is going on all over the house even as I type. The movie, White Christmas, is playing on one of the TVs. The sisters are in the kitchen with grandma. Grandpa is trying to get help figuring out some computer glitches. (He always has a bunch of technical questions to ask his young grandsons and they typically know the answers).

Tonight we will be playing a video-taped version of "A Minute to Win It" that Keith and Emily put together. Those two are always in charge of Christmas Eve games, and they are still fulfilling that role even though they are in Michigan. We will be home to see them and Nora on Monday. Meanwhile two house guests are bringing life to our home and enjoying our tree until we return.

Merry Christmas!

Photos added Christmas Day...

We gathered in the great room and watched the video Keith and Emily made for us with games from "Minute to Win it."

That's Emily on the TV to the right, demonstrating how each game is to be played.

That's Emily on the lap top watching us play the games via SKYPE. Keith was there, too, but when this photo was taken he was holding Nora off-camera. It was like they were there with us

 even though they did not make the trip to Kansas this Christmas.

That is me playing the "Snowball" game. I had to put Vaseline on my nose and transer snowballs (cotton balls) from one bowl into the other. I got 13 in one minute--it's harder than you think!

Julie won the "Blockhead" game by stacking five baby blocks on a plate on her head.

A few days before Christmas when Nate (Kim's fiance was still here with us), we did some skeet shooting.

This is Kim firing a shotgun for the first time. Her shoulder survived. She was funny to watch. No, she did not hit her target, but after she saw the blast of smoke come the barrel she said, "I am smokin'!" 

By the way, a week ago the yard was "smokin'" Grandpa McNabb was burning trash out back of the house and something in the trash blew up sending the fire onto the very dry grass. It burned about half an acre and they caught it about 30 feet from the back door. When we looked out the back door this morning, the scorched-earth was basically the opposite of a "White Christmas." Next spring it will all come back greener than ever.

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