Christmas with the Heiners

{better late than never}

We had a great Christmas season this year with mom Heiner and Kellen coming to spend a week with us. We had to work one of the days, but were able to enjoy many days of relaxation, travel, eating way to much and catching up. The first day they were here we headed up to check out the church history sites near Kansas city and stopped by Joplin on the way. At the end of the trip, I found myself reflecting more on the many blessings I have in my life. While its not perfect, I do have a roof over my head (unlike many in Joplin) and religious freedom. I am always amazed at what the early saints had to endure. Mom Heiner loved seeing independence, liberty jail and Far West.

We tried to make Christmas eve as lively as we could and enjoyed a study of Luke 2 followed by some hilarious rounds of a Christmas version of minute-to-win-it.

Christmas morning was a great time to be together and celebrate the many blessings we have and remember the birth and life of the savior. While I missed being with my side of the family, I was grateful to be as to use FaceTime to see each of them, including Brad who is serving a mission in Washington.

Of course the fun had to come to an end eventually and we found ourselves once again just the two of us wishing we lived slightly closer to family and able to spend time together on a more consistent basis.

And here is the photo over-load... (all photos from my phone, excuse the quality...)