Fantastic Sabbath

On Sunday we were running behind, and trying frantically to get ready for church; just then we received a phone call to let us know that church was cancelled because the water lines had frozen. We were so relieved, then sad to miss the services before Christmas, then glad to have some special time as a family.

Joseph was set apart to be a member of the High Council at the Stake President's house, then we were invited to join with our good friends in a small gathering for a Sacrament Service. We were so glad that we had this wonderful opportunity, and the spirit was very strong. The novelty of the situation was fun for the kids and they had some giggles, but it was so fantastic to join our voices in song and prayer in this special Sabbath day worship- these opportunities are few, but always memorable!

We also enjoyed the company of the Young's for dinner later in the day, and just had a lovely time visiting and eating yummy food!

What a beautiful time of year to reflect on the Savior's birth, his life and his great sacrifice for all of us! So grateful to have the light of Christ in our lives each day.

Now, Where is That?

Part of the joys of moving includes the constant echo, "Now, where is that ____". I could fill in that blank with a number of things like, the hardware to the girl's beds, or the camera docking station, that is needed so we can download all of our pictures to the computer-even the extra cable would be fine, but we can't find that either. These are the things that make moving a tad frustrating. I can find all the broken pieces to toys, and old towells and rags, or a thousand books that we really should donate to another home, but never those few items that are at the top of our list to find. Hopefully tomorrow we will come across them as we get the remainder of the stuff from the storage unit. Of course that won't help with the camera issue since that was a item coming back from New York. It isn't like you can substitute an empty flower pot, that has been sitting on the kitchen cupboard for over a week, to fill in as the needed item- drat! We have plenty of useless stuff that I just don't know what to do with- each box has a few curve balls; the majority has a home, but there are those few items that worked in one place, now they just don't seem to fall naturally into a new spot- designed just for them. These are the items that will likely go into those boxes labeled BYE BYE! Oh the joy!
Now I have to stop writing about it and get back to work- must hurry, we have the Quimby Pipe Organ holiday party at lunch today!

Returning Home

Wow- what a difference a day will make! Funny how one day you are in the cultural mecca of the world and the next day you are back in your familiar little town, boasting of a Wal-Mart and Lowe's for all your shopping pleasures; it seems strange and almost dreamlike that you could have ever experienced what you just did.
That old adage "I love New York" is ingrained in our very souls now- I mean really, how could it not be so! We miss Fairway, the beloved and busy grocery store that has more amazing delights crammed into one small building, than the entire town of Warrensburg. Gone are the days of gourmet cheese- sorry Joe, no more Gietost and Dutch Parrano!

Getting behind the wheel of the van was another experience- the kids were flipping out about our driving, which they seemed to think was rather crazy, because when you drive down your neighborhood road and there is a mailbox or a trash can- they think that you are going to hit everything. Whatever! This is from children very comfortable riding in buses, taxis, and subways, with blaring horns and cut corners, swerving and all manor of less that desirable tactics. I was shocked and stunned at their reaction- perhaps they were just looking for the same thrill!

We had been back a couple of days when Eli came to the stark realization that we were not returning to our previous home! He asked one night when we were going to go back to our "white house", he had enough of the camping out. When I told him that someone else lives there now, he was devastated and broke down into sobs. Bless his heart, this particular transition has been the most difficult for him! He is doing well now, we have gotten a couple boxes of his toys and some of our Christmas decorations out- so we are good! That was the kids one request when we got back, was to have our tree up and make it feel like Christmas here. We really enjoyed the festive feeling in NYC and had to appease them somehow! So now we have a tree and some garland and a couple of chairs and a fold out table, some nice air mattresses from friends and we are good to go! This is the week of retrieving our belongings and purging all unnecessary items! Everyone should live in NYC for at least a few months to see how maximum living can be done with minimal belongings! One great lesson for the Nielsen family!