The Happy Holidays - Part 2

"It is amazing how much crisper the general experience of life becomes when your body is given a chance to develop a little strength." ~Frank Duff

The second half of our winter holidays was spent in Wellsville with my family. It was very nice to spend time with them all. Even Teya, Justin, and Bryleigh came out to visit from Florida! We love seeing them when ever we get the chance. As nice as it was to be with the family though...a dark cloud known as the Stomach Flu hung over the Miner house for about a week. All but four of the family got it (Mom, Justin, Jeff, and Whitney) and a few of us even went to an insta-care clinic. In addition to the stomach flu, Duane and I got some sort of throat infection. On top of all that, I got such a bad ear infection that even the doctor said, "Whoa! Your ear is a bloody mess!" You know something is really bad when even the doctor is shocked.

Anyway...We all got to empathize with dad. He was the first to enjoy the sick sensation on Christmas morning! After breakfast we all posed for the traditional Christmas Lineup picture (minus dad-who was sick; Chris and Jenny who were out of town). It was so fun to watch Evan open his presents. Of course mommy and daddy had to help him. For those of you who know Evan, he can be rather mellow about most things. I guess that Christmas morning was one of those things. He got lots of good stuff

like books, some toys, and a blanket that Grandma Miner made for him! Playing with the presents was more fun than opening them though.




Here are some pictures of Evan wearing and enjoying Christmas presents...

Evan got Three new footie pajamas. So Cute!! He also got a toy that he can push and that changes into a riding toy.


As is the tradition, we all got some pajamas from mom and dad. The guys were coerced into wearing them for this picture. Looks like mom will probably be getting them only for the girls from now on! Just so you know mom....I appreciate the PJ's!!! It's a fun tradition in my opinion!!

Evan enjoyed look at the cats! They were probably freezing outside since it snowed pretty good on Christmas Eve. Bryleigh even joined in on looking at them sometimes.



After playing with presents for a while... we were all pretty tired. I'm so glad Evan takes good naps in the afternoon!!

Other than the Flu Epidemic that hit us... We had a really good vacation with the family. Isn't there a saying somewhere like, "The family that pukes together, stays together." Something like that!

We got to celebrate Bryleigh's 1st birthday! We made a cute piggy cake for her! Due to illness, it was a joint effort. Grandma/Mom baked the cake and Teya helped me decorate it! Duane even added a curly pink tail to it! I won't say much about the taste... just make sure you're careful about which Wilton Buttercream Icing recipe you use. The one on the Meringue powder can comes out a little salty! Oh Well!! It looked so cute though!

I love all of my family so very much!! I am so grateful to have each of them in my life. That includes my adopted family, like Whitney and Jeff. You all teach me so much! I got to see everyone pull together and help each other through the rough moments, laugh together in the funny moments, and relax together in the right moments. I'm so glad that Duane, Evan and I got to spend so much time with you all over the holidays!

Here are some other random pictures from our Wellsville visit...


The Miner/Burton girls. L to R: Rochelle, Me(Maren), Mom(Karen), Jenny, Teya, and Melody.





The studly hubbies! L to R: Duane, Chris, and Justin.




Chris is often grabbing whatever little niece or nephew crosses his path. He caught them both this time!! He obviously hates being an uncle!





Whitney and Jeff Merrill came to visit just after Christmas. We love them!!






Evan showing off his cheesy grin! By the way... We just had his follow-up appointment with his plastic surgeon and he's doing great! The doctor said he won't need to check his lip again for several years!



Mommy(me) was having more fun with Evan's hair and it ended in a wave pattern. As you can see, he was thrilled!






Evan has started teaching his daddy some bad habits! It's cute though, what can I say.


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