The Nest Half Full: Christmas in Virginia

We had a wonderful time visiting with Chris and Angie for Christmas! Our flights out there were fine, thanks much in part to having a brother who works for the FAA! Chris picked us up right at the gate.
The kids got along very well and had a blast together, though eventually they were so used to each other that there were sibling-like squabbles! Christmas morning was what Chris called "mildly organized chaos" and I don't believe there is a better term for it!
On the 26th Mom and Dad drove us to Culpeper on their way back to Georgia so we could stay with Gary's mom for a few days. We were able to connect with my sister in law and her family as well as Aunt Carolyn and some friends of the family. It was a nice visit that could have lasted a few more days :)
I spent my birthday in Winchester, Angie and I went to some antique stores and briefly to the outlets before we had to get on the road to beat the traffic.
Our journey home was much longer than planned. Chris escorted us to our gate and sat with us until he left for work. Shortly before they should have begun boarding us the attendant said that there was some mechanical trouble with the plane. The fuel gauge and "something else" were having issues and they kept delaying and delaying until they finally started to call us up one by one when it was obvious we'd miss our connections in Minneapolis/St.Paul. We were re-routed to Dallas/FtWorth on American Airlines (we started out on Northwest). We were originally to be home by 1pm on the 3rd but didn't make it through our door until about 9pm! John was there to pick us up, but he only had ONE suitcase to pull--my suitcase and Mia's carseat were delayed. They brought them to us the next day, so nothing lost!
It has been a little bit of an adjustment being home. Mia and I both got used to having people around! We're now back into the swing of things with school. Mia started back on the 6th and my classes begin on the 20th.
Today Mia is sick. She was seeming a bit off yesterday when I took her to her afternoon preschool, but she was playful and eating. This morning she woke up in a mess, so I cleaned things up and bathed her. She came down to the couch to watch some TV and ended up getting sick so now she's snoozing with a bucket nearby. We were going to go across the street to our neighbor's birthday party but it looks like we're staying in. It's a shame because it's such a beautiful day out, the kind of day where you just need a good sweater. I picked up the back yard, as it looked like a wind storm happened while we were away. I've been working on a few sewing projects, mostly re-sizing too-big items with my new dressform. It is making sewing life easier already!

All of our stockings, made by Grandma!

Christmas Morning, stockings are the first order of business!

Mia had been asking Santa for a purple elephant, but she wasn't too disappointed with a grey one.

Snowshoes, to keep up with Mommy

Now she has her own hydration system and we don't have to worry about what we're eating when she wants a sip from ours

Mom and Dad gave me a "Frank Birdhouse". The next-door neighbor is a carpenter and he reclaims materials to turn into birdhouses among other things. The perches are from an old calculator from UGA