they say this is christmas

we made it, the other side of christmas.
we hope you all had a great season of celebration; afterall, this is the best excuse for time together with people you love and remembering the one who loves us the most. is that why we give gifts? in the blake family we resolved that we're not about the gifts, sending out lists and making sure we meet the financial standard. it's a nice feeling, knowing that this year we're focusing on our relationships and sending cards and things on birthdays and just spending more time together over the holidays. not that we could ever spend more time together than we did this last december 25th to january 1st. in the franz family we resolved that we would continue to give gifts for every holiday and pseudo-holiday, because that's our familial love language. what did you learn from your holiday? was a smaller gathering the greatest gift? did you start a new tradition? what moment made you smile the most? we had a full week but here's a glimpse of the madness we called christmas...
even though he believed with his whole heart that the long package under the tree was a light saber, miles was stoked to get a bow just like his dad's. only bigger...isobel got one of her many puzzles, the eternally cute carebears. she was eager to start putting it together, but i'm not quite sure why she isn't wearing a shirt. papa rod dressed up like ol' saint nick and handed out goodies to abbie and wyatt. then he hopped on his unconventional golf cart and made his rounds through the neighborhood. wyatt could hardly stand the excitement. i'm still waiting for my pony.
the don, aka mike blake, celebrated his 60th a little early, but definitely in style. we got on the party bus and toured the city, visiting places around town that have special meaning: his boyhood home, the "house on cottonwood" where the blake kids grew up, his office, et al. it will go down in the history books as quite a great surprise and quite possibly the longest limo ride ever.it's a good thing wyatt likes his car seat. and loves being held.
merry christmas to all, thanks for being part of our lives. we love you all and hope your 2006 is filled with lots of laughs and many blessings.