Back from the Holidays! Where to Now?

 Hey All! Sorry I left you hanging, I took the time in Maryland to relax and slack off . We had such a great time and I feel so well rested. There's nothing like being with your mom for the Holidays. It took about a week and a half just to unwind, I did this mostly by baking large quantities of Christmas cookies , which we took to calling "Kristina's fat pills." Not only did I bake my heart out but my mom brought out the old Chocolate candy house molds and we decorated chocolate candy houses which I think is way better than gingerbread or graham cracker houses.It was so  nice to be in a house that was completely decorated for Christmas it really made our Christmas special! I cannot even tell you how good it felt to have a Grandma take the kiddos off my hands so I can go to Target alone (WOO HOO!)

   Ian was able to join us before Christmas which was truly a blessing, because we were told that a layoff would be coming soon and we weren't sure of the timing and if it would effect him coming out to be with us. We were able to spend the Holidays as a family and what made it so special for me was that I actually got to go on quite a few dates with my husband, thanks to Grandma and the Uncles ( a huge shout out to Adri becasue I know Preston fell asleep on babysitting duty) who watched our kids for us.  I don't think we've had that much time together in a long while, it was very memorable for me. Apparently it was memorable for the people in their town too because Ian kept getting recognized by his moustache, one day we went to Cracker Barrel for Breakfast and Outback for dinner and it just so happened that our server worked at both places and remembered Ian, people were constantly calling him out, telling him how awesome his moustache was, I can tell you, he was very proud of the reputation the stache got around town.

  I also got to go on quite a few runs with my family members, which was good because I ate a lot of those "fat pills" I had been baking. I started my mom out on the couch to 5k program and she did great, I ran with my brother Nate, who came home and promptly told everyone that he was faster than me (this is true by the way, but I think I can out distance him so :P) Then one day Ian mentioned that I never invite him on a run, so we made a running date, unfortunately his mind was willing but his body wasn't. My poor husband, he really thought he could just jump into running, because he is very fit, but lets just say his knees were in serious protest. But what memories we made!
   My brothers all flew out and drove out for Christmas, it had been sometime since all four of us were together and we had a really great Christmas. I made an amazing Prime Rib, which was a first for me and I sent Wrex and Houston on a scavenger hunt to get their Christmas present. I could not have asked for a better vacation. We even were able to go to a dinner and a movie date  with my brothers and their wives and girlfriend in Ian and Nate were laughing so hard at "This is 40." Great movie to watch if you've been married awhile, it'll make you laugh! Seriously we had such a good time. I haven't even told you about the ice sculptures we saw, or visiting with extended family. I know I should've posted more but I truly and thoroughly just enjoyed myself. And you never would have guessed who was sleeping through the night?  That's right my little Waylon monster, slept like a baby, thank the Lord! He also left Maryland a walking boy and now there is no stopping him. It was hard to say goodbye to all of our family, but Colorado was calling. It had snowed quite a bit over the Christmas break, not much for the locals but a lot for this California girl to take in. The roads are clear and the trailer is warm, so we are grateful. Unfortunately, the job here is completed and we are officially laid off. So now we wait , until the next job, which we don't know when or where that will be. I'd be lying if I said that we didn't find this unnerving, but we know that this is a part of the apprenticeship and we know of others who have weathered it out, so we will wait patiently and see what God has in store for us next.