We had a fun and relaxing winter break. It sort of crashed at the end there, the first week back at school Chase and Karen were sick for a week! But we finally got better, and got the Christmas decorations put away, and I guess it's really over now. It was such a beautiful 2.5 weeks that we didn't want to end. There was a lot of relaxing time, which is the best. The sleeping in and not having to worry about schedules was awesome! And the best part was that because Jason was so busy the few months before, he was off the 2.5 weeks too! It was incredible. We watched movies, and made treats for our friends and neighbors. We saw the lights at the Space Center, eating dinner at a Vietnamese place before hand and we were the only ones in there, just like on a Christmas Story movie!
We visited the giving machine downtown where you can buy clothes and supplies for needy families and that was a great experience. Before school ended Claire had a week of fun where Karen participated - Elf day, Polar Express Day, Grinch day, and even her holiday party day. It was a fun week! Jason also took Claire to the school for a gingerbread house contest, and they had a great time. We visited a few parks around town and had a great Christmas program at church before enjoying a wonderful Christmas day. The kids got all things they wanted and we felt very blessed.
After Christmas we explored the forest more around where we live and even saw a snake! We went and visited our friends in the country and got to ride ATV's and shoot guns, which the kids loved. We did spear throwing and fireworks for New Years and stayed up way too late celebrating with our neighbors.
We had a wonderful 2023. We feel so blessed to have each other and we enjoy so many wonderful blessings. We're excited to see what great things 2024 has in store!
