The holidays in review

We rounded out 2012 with plenty of highs -- and just a few health-related lows.

Christmas was a blast. Caitlyn talked up Baby Jesus' birthday and couldn't wait to go to bed on Christmas Eve so Santa would come. On Christmas morning, the kids loved their toolbench from Santa so much that they played with it for about 10 minutes before ripping into any other presents -- which they both were very efficient at this year.

 

Another highlight was the weather. We scored three little snows in one week, starting with a beautiful snowfall that began as we went to church on Christmas Eve! Even better, the biggest of the snowfalls came on a Saturday, so we could play outside together. (Technically, Nathan couldn't move in his snowpants and boots, but Caitlyn enjoyed sledding with the neighbors.)

The slight bummers of the holidays were Caitlyn's (planned) ear tube and adenoid surgery -- from which she recovered great, after a few angry post-anesthesia moments and some liquid-diet frustrations -- along with Nathan's pinkeye, Karen's cold, and Gene's flu. But we bounced back enough to attend the Farm Show, where our sicknesses worked in the kids' favor because everyone got their own milkshake for fear of sharing germs....