quiet day

Today proves to be very quiet. Very little is scheduled, aside from Elle's sax lesson tonight. The weather is mild, and I plan to walk the dog this morning. Otherwise, I'm patiently waiting for our Christmas card photos to arrive. They were promised today at the latest, so I can mail them out soon. As I mentioned before, we wanted to include a wedding photo, so that's the reason for the delay. I have several friends who send after Christmas which is nice, too. Paul is busy today checking out rental SUV's for the trip to Nashville with the gifts. Even though we have a grand caravan, it's simply not big enough for all the gifts, which include everything from the shower as well. We'll be packing up on Christmas day, and leaving early on the 26th. Paul has several bookings for the New Year holiday, so we won't stay that long...3-4 days, and we can play it be ear, with an eye close to the weather forecast. Krissy and the girls may remember getting stuck in a blizzard in January 1999 in Mattoon, IL., after vacationing in Florida. We ended up in a Red Cross shelter at a church. When we talked about having to stay, the older girls said they didn't want to. Being around strangers frightened them, and as Krissy and Elise said, they didn't want to have to sleep next to a "Bubba." At that point a 5-year-old Elle spoke up and said, "I'll sleep next to Bubba!" It turned out to be a great experience. We met lots of great people, and they took care of our every need. Eva wrote them a thank you on a chalkboard in one of the children's rooms. Turns out the head of the Red Cross chapter found it, was touched by the sentiment, and it appeared on the first page of the paper the next day! Nice memory.