Tuesday, December 26, 2006

A Cone/Franklin Christmas

2006 has been a year of firsts for our family and this Christmas is no exception. After surviving the post-wedding let-down and the dread of the long Spokane winter, Christmas has become the high spot in the middle of the cold, dark season that seems to last forever.

Whitney and Travis returned from their honeymoon on the 23rd, looking refreshed and in love! They had a great trip after a somewhat rough start (stranded at the airport and missing their connection - gotta love winter in the Pacific Northwest!). The enjoyed the warm weather and the beautiful sites of St. Thomas. It was fun for Keith and I to view the photos as we had been there around 20 years ago! The water is still just an amazing shade of blue - makes me want to go back (now would be good!)

Anyway, the new Franklin family decided to stay the night at our house on Christmas Eve to get an early start on the great gift opening! We all went to Christmas Eve Service at Timberview (always a highlight), including Alex and his "lady friend" Brittney. For me there is nothing better than having the kids around and sharing times as a family. Even though the dynamic has changed a bit, there's still nothing that warms my heart more than hearing the laughter when all our kids get together.

Now it's over for another year and we have the long wait till spring. We decided to sneak away to the Oregon coast with our friends, the Bievers, for a few days. We have a million great memories from our trips to the coast and hopefully they will continue. I am very thankful for all the wonderful times we have been blessed with. Life is good.....

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