Christmas Eve

Christmas Kids

The Family Stair Photo '08 (Sadly, Minus William)

Lots o' Presents

Hangin' with Cousin Reis

A Sleepy Wyatt Gettin' Hugs from Cousin Lauren

A few days after we arrived in Arlington, Wyatt, his mom, his dad, his grandma and his Uncle Pat got in an SUV and headed to St. Louis. About halfway there, we got a phone call from William's mom saying that his Dad, who lives in Midland, was in the hospital with a colapsed heart valve and he would need to have sugery asap*. What to do? What to do? Well, obviously, William needed to get on a plane right away and head down to Midland. But what about Wyatt and I? Should we go, too? It was a tough call. Stay together as a family for Christmas, or split up, Wyatt and I going on to St. Louis as planned? Well, William made the call, saying that we might as well go and have an enjoyable Christmas, let Wyatt see his cousins, etc. So that's what we did. It wasn't the same without him, but that's what we did. We scrambled to find William a cheap flight, backtracked an hour or so to Oklahoma City's airport and off he went to DFW. No direct flights into Midland until the next day, and luckily, our good friends Chad and James were heading to Midland earlier and could give William a ride.

Sadly, we ventured on to St. Louis sans William. Christmas Eve was the next day, and we spent the evening at Cousin Cathy, Dave, Dustin, Caroline and Reis's house with tons of other aunts, uncles, cousins and other relations and friends. The highlight was drunken carolling to a few houses in Cathy and Dave's posh neighborhood. Surprisingly, no one told us to get lost, even though they probably should have.

*Happy news to report: William's dad's surgery went well and he is now healthier than ever. He celebrated his 70th birthday in March 09.