Home for Christmas

So, our trip home for Christmas this year started out with a bang...we arrived in Chicago the day before Christmas Eve, only to find that nearly all flights were being canceled due to bad weather! After being bumped off of our flight and being placed on standby for two later flights, we were finally two of five (from the 100+ people on the standby list) to be placed on the only flight to Des Moines. We were greeted at the Des Moines Airport by our parents in the wee small hours of the morning, but it was so good to be home!

The next morning, we were up bright and early for Christmas Eve brunch with the Anderson family, here is our giant Christmas tree:

After brunch and gifts, we were off to Christmas Eve Mass at Sacred Heart, followed by dinner and games at Kiley (my sister) and Erich's new townhome. And to finish off the night, we were back to church at Lutheran Church of Hope with Anderson's, Thoreson's and Ottervangers. It was a really great way to spend Christmas Eve all together.

The next day we spent Christmas with the Thoreson family, and our luggage arrived right in the middle of opening presents- perfect timing for the delivery from Santa!

A few nights later, all of our siblings got together for a group dinner, which was really great considering we rarely have the opportunity to hang out as a group. After dinner, we headed to a piano bar for some music and drinks.

My aunt Sue and soon-to-be uncle Ken...they got engaged while we were home and Matt and I were lucky enough to go out to dinner with them to celebrate!

Lena and her godparents...not a happy camper

The beautiful baptismal gown...

Our precious neice, Lena, looking somthing like a cupie doll in this picture...

New Year's Eve at the Gillaspey's. Crazy, but we were in Belgium this time last year with Ki and Erich! It's the final countdown...

The men

And the clock strikes 12...Happy New Year!

Our family dog, Brandy (12 years old). It makes me very sad to say that I'm not sure how many more times I will get to see this old girl. She is still playful and spirited, but her body is slowing down quite a bit.

Milk shakes with the cousins (Elie pictured below)


Kiley and Erich had a really great wedding shower a couple of days after New Years hosted by aunts and uncles. There was a time theme to this shower, with everyone assigned a time and tasked with finding a gift to fit that hour of the day.

The future Mr. and Mrs. Ottervanger

Just the four of us...

And then the night took a turn for the crazy...this was only one of several costume changes towards the end of the evening. And yes, one of those kids (the angry one in a headdress) is quite a bit taller than the rest. That's Kiley's friend Jamie, having a blast, so funny.

And finally, our adorable nephew Magnus. It was so good to spend time with him and experience the sweet, funny, and smart little boy he is becoming!

We loved every minute of our time in Iowa and are already looking forward to our next trip home in June 2009 for the Anderson/Ottervanger Wedding!

Love you all! Matt and Ashley