End of Year Wrap-UP

For reasons of safety, I try not to post about a trip BEFORE we take it. Consequently, I didn't post much about Christmas.... Time to fill you in on the end of our year. Pictures will be inserted later.

BEFORE we left for Fresno, we were waiting for news from our new landlords that all was in order and sign final papers and give a deposit, etc. No word came and we got NERVOUS! They're hiring a property manager and will get back to us when that happens... insert nerves here. So we gave all of our contact information and left on our trip.

We made an APPOINTMENT for Santa to come early to the Nickel Home. He'll do that, you know. We asked him to come on December 23, as we were going out of town and we really like to have Christmas at our home. It was AWESOME! The kids were NOT up before the crack of dawn. They loved their haul. And Hannah was most entertaining as she'd whoop/screech/yell "That's just what I've always wanted!" EVERY time she opened something up. MANY thanks to my friends who wrapped my presents for me!

December 24 found us packing and madly cleaning some of the house. We wanted to be on the road by 10 am, but we were off around 1:30 instead. But our floors (the parts that were visible) were vacuumed or mopped, and all of the dirty dishes had been washed! The ride to Kingsburg was really uneventful. No real bad traffic snarls, AND we beat the snow over the Grapevine. It started to snow as we were coming back down, so no traffic worries there. We were very excited to see Grandma D and Dan and enjoyed our 2 days there. The kids got to unwrap 1 present that night, and they each received a blow up bed/sleeping bag combo, which they enjoyed using.

December 25 was a great day too! We got to have our second Christmas in the morning with Grandma D and Dan. And Mom and Dad got surprised with Robert's newest toy--a GPS. From that minute forth, we have gone EVERYWHERE with it on. He is so funny! We had a nice, relaxed, lazy morning. Grandma made Abelskeivers for breakfast and we gorged ourselves on a turkey dinner in the afternoon. I was busily (and with help) finishing some hand-made cards that I was giving as gifts--and got done in time! Thanks Grandma D and Robert for your help! We loaded the kids up in the car and drove to Fresno to spend some time with my side of the family. I got to meet my newest niece for the first time (thanks Matt for handing her over!). We got to see Grandpa Birdie for a short time, and a good time was had by all. We did the right/left present exchange--a tradition we've had for many years. My parents really pulled one over on me. Sometime before our fires last year, my Dad STOLE my childhood photo album from me. When we had the fires and I evacuated with the kids, I spent valuable time looking for said photo album, but couldn't find it. That has been bothering me for more than a year, and I have diligently looked for it. Well, Dad stole it and digitized all of the pictures in it, and then he gave it back to me with a copy of the CD (and all of my sister, Laura's, pictures too). He'll be digitizing all of the family photos and giving us all copies--Thanks Dad! That was a real surprise! Also in the category of real surprises was a gift that Rob and Cody gave to my parents. You can read the contents of the card in Cody's blog. They gave my parents a nice card/book that was a few jokes and ended with the punch line: my brother is GRADUATING from College in February. My parents did not know that he has been going to school. The looks on their faces were PRICELESS--and NONE of us thought to video tape it!!! That wrapped up our third (and last) Christmas celebration very nicely.

The 26th we packed up our stuff at Grandma D's and drove around Fresno a bit, visiting some of our friends. We got to go to the old 'hood and visit with Doris and Grant, our former neighbors. The kids (and Robert) LOVED playing with their 3 dogs. After that, we got to go to one of MY favorites, Chevy's, and visit with Junell. She had a goodie bag for each kid, complete with foamie stickers, post it pads, and fun pens. We had a great time chatting with each other. Then we descended upon my sister, Aimee, and the cousins had a glorious reunion.

December 27th marked a milestone for our family: Topher got baptized. A friend of Aimee's had 2 of her kids baptized too, and it was a great experience. Except that the water was FREEZING cold. Yvette (the other Mom) and I were trying to figure out how many people would be there, and I was surprised to see so many people there to celebrate this awesome event with our kids. We had to set up more chairs. The room was almost full. It was so incredible! If you know me at all, you know that my "eyes leak" when I'm happy. I was really trying hard not to be a blubbering boob on this special day, and I did really well--until Robert confirmed Toph. His voice broke, and that was the end of it for me--but I wasn't alone! Everything (except the water temperature) was perfect! After the baptismal service, we went to another of our favorite Fresno food places, and we continued our party at Me & Ed's Pizza. Between the baptism and pizza we stopped at Aimee's for a "whole big family picture." Our last photo was 2 years ago, so we've added to our brood since then. It's always interesting to try to get that many people in the same place and looking nice AND happy at the same time. We also had the chance to take our small family picture. The pizza was FANTASTIC! Yes, we have pizza here too, but none like Me&Ed's. We made horrible pigs of ourselves and got to visit with friends and family. Thank you to all who helped us celebrate either at the baptism at pizza or at both. It was a day for the memory books.

December 28th continued our family milestones: my newest niece, Maycee Renae Givens was blessed (for those not of the LDS faith, a blessing is KIND OF like a Christening). She looked BEAUTIFUL in her dress. After Church, we got to go to Cody's Grandparents' for a delicious soup lunch. Laura's family came over to Aimee's in the afternoon and all of the cousins spent a few hours playing together.

December 29th we visited our friends, the Kraus'. Then we did a little bit of shopping and returned to play with the cousins. My kids had already started moping about having to leave for San Diego. Aimee and I went to my parents' to see their new entertainment unit (and I borrowed about 10 books) and then we got to visit with my Grandpa Birdie for a little while. He was in good spirits and gave each of us a night light as a "parting gift." In the evening, the kids stayed home with a babysitter and the parents left for a date! We saw the movie, Valkyrie, and had some yummy Panera for dinner. It was nice to be with just adults and to visit for awhile.

December 30 we had to return home. It was a sad day for all of us, because we'd had such a fun trip. The weather stayed pretty nice and we got to have such a positive trip. Besides, being "on vacation" gave me a chance to relax, guilt-free, since I couldn't possibly pack while in Fresno. The ride home was long--it always seems longer on the ride home. We hit some traffic on the 210, but other than that, it was pretty uneventful. Although we had an incredible time, it was nice to be back in our own beds.

December 31 Robert packed some boxes of books and I packed a box of kitchen stuff. We were supposed to be going to a friend's house to do some New Year's Eve celebrating, but by the late afternoon, Robert was running a fever. He got a nasty cold on December 24th, and he's still not better. I think he'll be visiting a doctor tomorrow! The rest of us have had the cold too, but I think we're mainly better by now. We were slugs and watched 2 movies with the kids last night--Horton Hears a Who and then Kung Fu Panda. Both movies were AWESOME to see on Blu-Ray! The kids were sent off to bed after 9, and we stayed up late enough to ring in the new year. It was pretty quiet around here.

Now we start a new year. 2009 is going to bring many changes for the Nickel family. The first change is our impending move. We spoke to the new landlords yesterday, and all is well. We still haven't signed any final papers, but I'm hopeful that will happen in the NEAR future. After we move, I'm going to go see a specialist in Marina Del Ray. He's an expert in Fibromyalgia. After listening to my sister, Aimee, and my friend, Christi, and after reading a couple of chapters in Aimee's book, I'm pretty sure I'm going to join the league of sufferers of this disease/syndrome. It's not pretty, BUT it can get better. When I do get diagnosed, I'm going to start a drug protocol that will help my body get rid of the phosphates that are making me sick. It will initially make me worse, but in a year's time, I should be SO much better. It will be worth any suffering--remind me of that later, please. I'll have to change a few things so that things I eat or put on my skin so I don't block the medicine, but that's all minor. I'm sure I'll become an expert in this as time goes on and I learn more. I think that's something I'll tackle in late-February or early-March. I'm still going to be doing what my regular doctor has recommended. It can't hurt. I'm still looking forward to the return of my brain. 2009 is going to be the year it returns! Lots of challenges, but the benefits will be SO worth all of it!

I'm thankful for this time of year, when we can look back on the previous year and remember our blessings and challenges and look to the future with hope. Happy New Year to all of you!