Rockford was our first stop where we got to visit with the Burkholders, who had made the long trip up from El Paso, the Hardings, in from Lafayette, and of course my parents - mostly known as Grandma and Grandpa in their house these days (with 6 grandkids with #7 on the way!). With 14 people under one roof, the kitchen was always bustling with activity - we enjoyed delicious dinners, lots of holiday desserts, and breakfasts that 
included our family's goetta recipe (traditional German breakfast meat). The snow was piled high, so the kids (and grown-up boys too!) did some afternoon sledding and made huge snow forts in the front yard - we saw a few good snowball fights from our perch inside the front window! We spent our days with lots of typical holiday/vacation activities - reading books by the fire, decorating Christmas cookies, and even holding a family-wide Wii bowling tourny (can't say I fared too well, I only survived 1 round - but very fun nonetheless!).
On Christmas Eve, it was time to exchange gifts. The kids opened presents in the afternoon and then we all attended the early evening church service. We came home to enjoy Christmas Eve dinner, and then once the kids were settled for bed, the adults exchanged gifts and enjoyed coffee and hot cocoa. It's a relaxing way to end a busy day!On Christmas morning, we drove down to Clarendon Hills to spend
time with Grammy and Grandpa Brown and Aunt Mel and Uncle Aaron (and Cooper of course). We arrived to a warm fire in the living room, as always! The Christmas tree, with the train running underneath, immediately caught Cassidy's attention. She became a 
skilled train conductor, running the train around the tree at full speed until it jumped off the tracks. Cassie also got a kick out of playing with all of her daddy's old toys that Grammy has kept over the years. These photos below are of Erik's old horsey and his Swedish "agg vagn" (egg wagon).
Now that we're back home, we've celebrated the entrance of 2009 and we're very excited for all
that it will hold. In a matter of days, we'll be moving to our new house in Wilmette, IL. We're excited to get settled there! And in 2 short months, we'll be welcoming a new baby to our family - we can't wait to meet him or her! Perhaps by then, spring will be upon us - which would be good news to Cassidy, as you can see in this picture! While I was gathering laundry, she managed to rip through her dresser drawers and find her swimming suit - she made it clear it had to be put on at that very moment - and then wandered around the house saying "pool?"
