Christmas Eve Morning

On Christmas Eve Morning we had breakfast and a lovely visit with Travis's parents and Travis's sister Liz and brother-in-law Andrew. Liz and Andrew spent a night with us when they first drove in from Michigan, and we are so happy that they did. We abused their goodwill by putting them to work assembling Christmas presents, but we hope we fed them well enough to be forgiven. We enjoyed a delicious breakfast with Mom and Dad Dastrup with two kinds of bundt pan pull-apart yumminess. We played music and sang together in the music room, which is really fun with Liz and Andrew because they sing so well and drown me out so I can pretend I'm contributing. Anna was still in bed at Grandma and Grandpa Thompson's after being up all night coughing with the worst cough we have ever heard, but Michael, Sarah, and Lucy opened very special gifts. Grandma crocheted teddy bears for all 17 of her grandchildren. Lucy's is pink with a white face; Sarah's is butter yellow; Michael's is chocolate brown; and Anna's is a fuzzy warm brown with lots of loopy texture. They are absolutely adorable, and have  music boxes in them that play Love One Another with a crank on the back. They are wearing tunics made of Grandmother Squares that Great-Grandma Holdaway crocheted. Each bear belongs in this army of cousin bears, a reminder that there are other loved ones to call on in time of need, and a Grandma and Grandpa Dastrup who love them, and Holdaway Grandparents who are also guarding them from beyond the veil. We know these bears will be treasured by every grandchild. How sweet to hear the music boxes from behind the closed doors of three bedrooms on Christmas Eve. Lucy was most interested in Sarah's bear for a few weeks, but recently she has discovered her own little pink bear. We hold it up as a reward at the end of a couple of steps. Then there are hugs and squeals and smiles!