Making it Merry .....

Today is Christmas Eve.  I should be waking up at my MIL's house. I should be driving to the Austin airport in a  few hours to pick up my husband.

But I'm not

I'm here in good ol' , snow covered, Liberty Township, Ohio ......

(yes, that is my backyard and yes, I did take the picture from inside - it's cold out there people!)

And while it is nice to be surrounded by my things and it is nice not to be living out of a suitcase for 10 days and taking up space in other people's homes .... there is still a big part of me that wishes we were away from Ohio and back home in TX .....

I know, I know I was just in Dallas in October but I had so much fun staying with "Aunt" Audrey and I was really looking forward to spending time with her again.  And so were the kids .....

And Austin - I haven't been to Austin in over a year now.  I miss it so much.  We were going to stay long enough this time to see everyone.  I was praying the weather would cooperate and the kids would be able to spend hour after hour outdoors.

But we are making the best of it.We spent yesterday cleaning and baking and I will do more of the same today.  (cleaning and baking are therapeutic for me - they allow me to control something tangible when the intangibles in my life are out of my control) All of the gifts are wrapped and ready (and have been since the 20th since that was when I intended to leave) And I have had time to sneak in a few extra gifts for everyone since now I don't have to worry about how to pack everything and keep it hidden ....

And since I couldn't make it to Texas - I made sure a little bit of Texas came to me:

What's that you say?  You don't own a cookie cutter in the shape of your state?  Well  then OBVIOUSLY you aren't a Texan!  And if you are from Texas and you don't own a Texas shaped cookie cutter - WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!?!  Go Get One!

The girls seem to be handling it OK.  Allison is really too young to understand the ramifications of not going.  Audrey was the most vocal in her disappointment, but then that is her nature. Amy has been hard to read .... I know she's disappointed but it's hard to say how much ..... One thing that cracked me up though ..... the other night - all 3 of them asked to sleep in the master bedroom.

Allison has been sick with a nasty head and chest cold and with her asthma any kind of cough makes us nervous.  So for two nights David and I had her sleeping in our room.  I guess the other two were jealous?  Or maybe this was how they dealt with their disappointment over not taking the trip?  Typically when we travel we all stay together in one hotel room or we sleep in close quarters when staying with friends and family and perhaps they wanted to recreate at least that part of the trip?  Who knows ..... All I do know is that I love these girls and I love that even as Audrey grows in to that "tween" stage, she still still wants and maybe even needs to be close to her mom and dad .....

Merry Christmas Eve everyone and if you are one of those we were supposed to be visiting, please know that we MISS YOU and wish we were there with you!!!!!