Merry Christmas From the Nuthouse!!!!

It was a traditional Chin Family Christmas, even though we sure missed our girls this year. The boys kept it VERY lively and Catie and Alexis kept the giggles going non-stop....Christmas Eve wouldn't have been complete without Mike Ohm and Justin joining us. Once again, I was surrounded by boys! Thank God for Alexis and Catie!

Catie picked out the Hannah Montana wig for her gift to Alexis and she was squealing in delight as Catie helped her put it on. She was SO excited that Catie got a BIG hug!






For once, Joe got to play Santa and the gifts were handed out one by one. Josie found the Doggy Bag and stuck her head in to get her own gift. First thing in the morning she was hunting around for the new dog treats and toys.



Mike got a "toy" for the first time in years...a new XBox 360 and he had that same trance-like look on his face that he gets when he plays the guitar! He was lost in the game for hours...like from the time he opened it on Christmas Eve until about six oclock on Christmas morning. After a sleep break until 2pm, he was back at it again!



Catie and Alexis were very quiet as they crept down the stairs early this morning to see what Santa had left. Catie then left to go to brunch with her Graham family and Alexis played quietly while the family slept in! What a great kid!

It wasn't long before Laura and Daniel joined us, Justin came back and we had a delicious dinner of ham AND turkey with all the trimmings. Everyone played with new toys, watched old Christmas videos and ate and ate and ate! It was a good day.

Happy Birthday Alexis!

This family LOVES birthdays and Alexis turning 6 was a good reason to celebrate. If you think about it, with a family the size of ours, we can get together, have fun and eat cake on a pretty frquent basis. Last night was no exception, as Alexis celebrated being 6 years old with a Hannah Montana birthday cake, lots of dolls and lots of family.




Now she actually missed eating a piece of cake, which she realized on the way home. Good thing Gram had taken the rest home. Alexis was so busy opening gifts, playing with Chuck E Cheese and playing games that cake was forgotten.

Daniel NEVER forgets cake!



We all laughed as we watched him trying to steal licks from the main cake, eat as many pieces as he could get and lick every drop of frosting from EVERY plate he could find! You would think he was related to Junkfood Grandma!

What a Fun Day

Catie had the role of Snow White in the local children's play "2 Nights Before Christmas" and after we attended her wonderful performance, we all gathered for dinner. When I say all, I mean Joe, myelf, Mike, Andy, Justin, Catie, Nicolas, Cameron, Laura, Alexis, Daniel, in addition to Ruby,Shelby and Dan Graham. As Nicholas said at the dinner table, "Grandma, this feels like a family reunion!" It was a good warm feeling to sit at that table.

The kids were excited to be together and that is not a strong enough word to use to describe it. They were just so happy! They played in the snow, used the sled in the driveway to pull each other and then came in for a snack. Daniel suddenly said,
"CHOCOLATE!" He saw the Oreos and was scoped in on them. They all enjoyed cookies and milk and I enjoyed just watching my beautiful grandchildren.

This is what Sunday is meant to be.

Look at my SMILE!

The braces are off! Mike's new smile is definitely worth the $$.....He looks like a million bucks!

He's DRIVING!!!

The day has come when my youngest child left the driveway behind the wheel alone. It was a milestone for both of us. He was ready....I was not!

We had a day that proved the theory.."If it can go wrong...it will!"
I was happy for Andy as he felt his first day of independence, if a bit nervous.

The day began with plans for Andy to take his Driver Test, so of course, we got up to SNOW! Now, since he took Driver Ed in the spring, it didn't give him any snow driving time. I offered to reschedule the test for a day of dry pavement, but I should have known what the response would be...."I've got it, Mom."

I followed Joe's instructions to take the car to the local garage for fluid checks, tires, etc. before going to the test. The car must be in perfect working order in order to use it for testing. We get to the test site and Andy begins to practice driving in and around the cones in the lot on snow. He turns the car off and seems to be waiting for the instructor.....then I see him motion to me. What is wrong?

The auto ignition has LOCKED UP and the car will NOT start! I could NOT believe this! After 10 minutes of trying, I call Joe, who tells me "It has done that to me a few times. Just keep playing with it." I do not believe this is happening.

I finally get lucky and the key turns after about 50 tries. Andy and I both give a sigh of relief. Now the guy begins to check the car equipment. He informs us that we have a BRAKE LIGHT OUT! We look at each other in total amazement. Is the devil after us today? Since we have 2 part brake lights and one working, at least, on each side, that he will test and Andy passes with an excellent score. I think the worst is over. NOT!

Andy has about 45 minutes before he must be on the Wrestling bus to a tournament, so I tell him he can take my car out for a spin. He calls me 10 minutes later and the car is again LOCKED UP! Mike to the rescue!! I send Mike to get him and as he gets 1/2 way to Andy, the car finally starts.

Mike got to work on time. Andy made the bus and I am exhausted. For those of you who hang around much, you will know what I mean when I say..."Andy is an excellent driver."

Is it really Christmas already?

Saturday night was the Eaton Rapids Christmas Parade and Catie was in it! At first, I grumbled, as usual about having to be out in the FREEZING cold, but of course I went anyway. One stop at Family Dollar and I had gloves, hat and scarf, but I was STILL FREEZING. Then I began to laugh, as I watched all the children running down Main Street and throwing themselves on the street to slide. It was like a scene from an old movie.


I was alone, as Mikey was at work and Joe and Andy were at a wrestling match. It was kind of strange to stand in the midst of all the families, but the Christmas spirit was alive and I began to enjoy myself in spite of the cold. Finally, Catie's float came by and I NEVER EVEN SAW HER!!!!!

Saying Goodbye

It was a tough morning on Thursday, as Cat, Paul and Tate loaded up and moved on down the road towards St. Louis. If we weren't laughing so hard at Paul, it would have been much worse.

The trailer he rented was too small and as he kept smiling and packing (and repacking) we got to listen to Cat. That was enough to keep everyone laughing. It really was funny, if you weren't the one it was happening to! By the end of the morning, Paul had crammed and jammed every crack and crevice in the van and trailer. He ended it all by making his own back door for the trailer to hold it all in! I really did chuckle as he tied it together.

We Are Thankful

Every year, we all begin looking forward to the Thanksgiving trip to the Alberts. Now, we moan and groan about the traffic, change our departure times at least 3 times and finally load up the car, ready to brave Chicago traffic.

Some things never change and that is so good. We begin Wednesday night....EATING! We have decided it is our weekend theme. Actually, it is EAT, SLEEP, EAT some more (while the women scrapbook between naps) and Dave and Paul shop for bargains.





First thing Thursday morning Dave and Paul are looking for newspapers. It is so hard to find, that last year Paul was spotted removing them from neighbors driveways! He said, "Just going to waste! They are out of town for the holiday."



Thursday was great. Dave even remembered to get our Mom's special cranberry dish out and the table was complete with Mom's china and lots of memories. We allowed only good memories. Prayers said, the dishes began to fly and we really did consume 29 lbs of turkey before the weekend was over.

Lots of scrapbooking was done, in between naps and lots of shopping. Cat and Paul made a couple of trips to Ikea, Dave hit the bargain stores with Paul on Friday morning while the rest of us slept off the turkey dinner. On Saturday Joe, Andy, Catie and I went to the train station to head into Chicago. Catie really wanted to see the American Girl store.



I had no idea that it was going to be a day of Chicago living up to it's name...The Windy City. I was absolutely FREEZING! I am not much of a walker to start with and with the wind ripping through me, I was miserable as we waited for the trolley car. Then my phone rang...it was Cat and she was only blocks away! She had followed us into the city and was truly my Angel, as she scooped me off that cold, windy street.
We continued to the American Girl store, where Catie nearly lost her mind. Then on to dinner at a Spanish place that Joe had read about.

By Sunday night, we were relaxed and had enjoyed a great weekend with family as we headed home. It doesn't get any better!

Home at Last

After 6 long months, Paul is home and safe. Tate acted as if it was just yesterday that he had been hanging all over his Dad. From the moment he saw Paul, he latched on and they are best buds, as usual. Cat is both relieved to have Paul home safe and to have 2 minutes to herself for a change. It was fun to watch her enjoy eating a whole meal without interruption, as Paul and Tate bonded again.