Thanks to having two weeks off of our crazy schedule at school, we have been able to enjoy several days with my family. At this very moment, I am sitting next to Amber, watching The Blind Side, & just enjoying being able to chat, catch up, & share how God has worked & what He is teaching both of us.
This Christmas break came just in time! Titus & I have had such a crazy time since Thanksgiving. We started coaching the girl's basketball team at WCS. That has been a really great opportunity to get to know the girls better & to helpTitus; it has also given us an even fuller schedule! We are typically gone from about 7:30 in the morning until 6 at night. & game nights are much later! But it has been a wonderful opportunity, & I am thankful to be involved. However, once you add in all the Christmas programs, parties, shopping, & baking, normal life can seem like too much to fit in! So the last few weeks were quite a blur, & it has been so nice to have several weeks to catch our breath & to see my family again. I missed them SO much! Being 8-12 hours away, I sometimes just wish I could go visit for a weekend. But the distance is too much.
We started our vacation with an evening in Marshall with Titus' family. It was his aunt's birthday, & we were able to spend a fun time together & enjoy the time we had on the farm =)
After a quick overnight stop at my sister's house in the Dells, Titus & I were able to spend a few days. I am so thankful for my mom & how hard she works, & also that Dad got to come home from North Dakota to spend Christmas with his family. I know it is difficult for him to be so far away from home, & he is working such difficult, long hours, so it was good to be able to see him. We also discovered a game we all like...Yahtzee!! I won mostly. Kidding!! It was pretty evenly spread out, but there was one especially memorable game when all four of us got Yahtzees right in a row!! =) Unfortunately, Titus also got he flu & was down for all of Christmas Eve. He was a trooper & had such a good attitude though. Christmas Day was beautiful & refreshing; it was great to spend the day with my parents & then visit the Tomas family later in the evening. During our time in Chetek I also got to catch up with a few friends from Northland, which is always a blessing!
A few days after Christmas, we traveled down to the dells & were able to spend a day with our extended family, and then Titus & I also had 4 days with the Poppenga family, which was soooo much fun! It is always special to spend some time catching up with my sister, and Titus & I really enjoyed playing with Blake & Bri. Bri kicked both of our butts in chutes & ladders though, haha! I always learn so much about hospitality when I am with Amber; she is so gifted! She is also such a great mother & gets more accomplished in one morning an a lot of people do in a week! The weather was frigid, and we had to suffer through a Badger loss & a packer loss, along with half of the family getting the flu (first time I have thrown up in over ten years! Yuck!!) but we thoroughly enjoyed our time & can't wait to visit again soon, and meet Poppenga baby. #3!!
