Monday morning we loaded the car and Tom, Mom and I drove to Jonathan and Kristy's in Iowa. We had a beautiful drive. We started with a cool morning. About Springfield, light reflected off sparkling frost on trees and ground. Then we started to see a skiff of snow. It gradually grew to thick drifts of snow. But the roads were all clear, the sun was out and it was beautiful!
The temperature also dropped as we traveled north. It went from the 20's to the teens and ended up at 7 degrees at Jonathan's. That night it dropped to -15! We stayed inside!
We watched children play. We made food and ate it. We chatted and visited. We even all sat around and read books one evening. We played games.
Christmas Eve we had Bethlehem night where we sat on the floor, dressed in Biblical costumes and ate the kinds of foods Jesus and Mary might have eaten. We ate by candle light and it felt special.
When all the presents were under the tree, there was a tremendous amount of loot. It was well received!
Kristy wanted a cake to celebrate Jesus's birthday. But no one really likes cakes. So we made a cheese cake. Tom made pumpkin and pecan pies. They were great to gnosh on for the next several days. The kids were so enamored with their gingerbread houses and other candy, they left the good deserts to us.
We helped the kids make gingerbread houses. Tom helped them put together some of their Christmas gifts. Mom helped Kristy organize her recipe book. Mom read to the children. They were willing listeners! I was impressed with how well she did. She fit right in. Probably she was exhausted by the end of the trip, but she looked great!
It warmed up as the week progressed and actually got into the mid 30's. We visited the sheep and helped milk the cow. We petted Isabelle's new rabbit she got for Christmas.
We bought a queen, high air mattress for the trip and expected to be quite comfortable. Alas. It had a leak. Tom found it and patched it and we had a good night's sleep. Then, either the patch didn't hold, or there was another leak as we kept awaking in a sling. The last night I bailed out and slept on the couch. There was such a dip in the air mattress, I didn't think Tom was in there! We called the company and hope to send it back. Sigh.
Saturday morning we left about ten am and drove Mom to the Kansas City airport. Wow! It was crowded! But age and wheelchairs have their privilege. A porter came and checked Mom's luggage and whisked her past the security line to a faster check through.
Tom and I drove the rest of the way home and got back before 7 pm. It was a great trip.
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