Mr. Bichler: December 27~After-Christmas

Whew! Another Christmas to put in the books. I have been exhausted for the last two days, maybe longer, I'm so tired I don't remember! I do know that it was wonderful having everyone here on Christmas Day. Our Christmas Eve Service this year was especially nice and I enjoyed singing in the choir even if my singing voice has seen it's better days. (Too much screaming at basketball games I imagine). Trish and her family were here for a week and we were able to visit Sara's new house and check out the Wild Lights at the Zoo during that time.

Quality cousin time

A belated mini-birthday party from Luke, Lily & Aunt Trish, and Uncle Chad

Our zoo visit was the same day as Colo's 58th birthday. We saw the remnants of her party.

Evie with Santa

Christmas day started out pretty bad. Molly, our dog, has been having seizures since October. She has been on some pretty heavy duty phenobarbital and a newly added potassium bromide to try to prevent the seizures. Unfortunately, there are multiple side effects, none of them good but preferrable to seizure activity. On this morning she lost control of her bowels and bladder at about 4 a.m. I spent the next several hours shampooing carpets. Our vets are in agreement that the seizures are most likely being caused by a brain tumor. She has lost vision in her left eye and is having difficulty using her hind legs. She is being treated for a urinary infection which might have caused the problems she was having Christmas day. So we are saddened by the prospect of what may be in store in the very near future. Andy has become quite attached to Molly and she has been a great companion when I am gone.
Sorry, didn't mean to be such a downer. The day actually got better after Sara, Matt and Evie came and then Trish, Chad, Luke & Lily arrived and it was time to open gifts. Christmas is so much fun when there are children around. Around 4, Luke and I went to London to pick up Grandma-Great who seemed quite surprised that it was Christmas Day, despite the fact that all the aides were wearing Santa hats! We have learned to appreciate the fact that she is happy in the moment.

Andy, trying to guess the contents of his present!

Luke was impressed by the life-size Nutcracker at the Madison House

I had told myself that this year I was going to keep my menu simple and not have as much food since most everyone has usually already eaten a large meal earlier. I'm not sure what happened but by the time I made everyone's favorite dish I still had way too much food! But it was certainly enjoyed so it really didn't matter. Daniel brought his crew and Bob, Ramona and Adam came to help eat the Christmas feast. The kids had a great time and we opened presents again and we all enjoyed each others company. Grandma-Great enjoyed watching all the little ones and we were grateful that her health is good enough to allow her to get out and join us.