Time to get back into routine!

Christmas has come and gone, and I am so looking forward to getting back into routine!
Christmas was spent with family, family and more family. Jay and I managed to squeeze both sides of my family and his family gathering into our time in Winnipeg (which was 5 days). The gatherings were a little spread out so we spent some lazy days at my parents place. Maybe because I never had extended family around for Christmas when I was growing up the family at Christmas now is so important to me. I love Christmas eve with my mom's family, usually it is pretty casual, mom makes food, we eat, drink, and talk REALLY loud. Grandpa usually reminds us to quiet down every so often. With so many women in the room there is lots of talking, and whoever talks the loudest gets heard! Okay so I usually win. After the Putnams leave there are usually many hours of talking with just the four of us. This year we expanded to six and mom and dad were the first in bed, but there was still talking.

In the afternoon of Christmas day Jay and I headed over to his aunts place for their family gathering. I hadn't met all the extended family so it was a good chance to meet everyone.

Later in the week we had our Hayward gathering. This gathering was a little different as this was the first Christmas without grandpa. Almost everyone was there (one cousin and her family live in edmonton), which rarely happens. There is always less talking but more shouting at this gathering as it seems that deafness is as Hayward trait. We seem to have expanded in number each year at this gathering, after many years of fitting around one table we were forced to two!

We spent some lazy days in Mennville before New Years. We brought in 2008 with friends at a smallish gathering in Mennville.
2008 promises to be an exciting year. I love the possibilities of a new year, and this one is full of them. Of course getting married is the biggest excitment for me this year, but there will also be a move, and who knows what else in the next 12 months!

Enjoy 2008!
~S