The Queen’s Chronicles – Week 52B

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Okay….so finally I realized I screwed up 2015 the very first week of the year!  The first week is not counted until the first Thursday in January and I jumped the gun.  I really, really hate jacking something up but..hey…there is always next year right?!!
The real week 52…now dubbed 52B was pretty much all things Christmas.  Here’s a not so brief look at our happenings.
 There are those things you order in a hurry off Amazon and are shocked when they arrive.  My nephew wanted a plane and this one looked fun…I was surprised to receive this tiny box but thankfully it was noisy and the lights were bright enough the size didn’t matter!  
 Monday night these girls had a sleepover and made these little pretzel treats.  Somehow they disappeared before ever making it into any of our goody bags!  
BJ left some goodies for the girls to hand out to the sanitation workers on trash day!  
 Wednesday as my first day of vacation and Carly and I headed out to grab a few things but took along these candy canes to hand out along the way.  So much fun!  
 And the rest of the day I baked…I made almost 400 of these chocolate cookies.  Always a favorite!  
 We spend Christmas Eve with the Janac side of the family and the means I get to see my bestie.  We met when I was married to my first husband and she was only 20!  After Keith & I started dating she met his cousin and we both were married the same summer….a short 15 years ago.  So much fun knowing we are now somewhat related and our kids are cousins!  
 Speaking of kids…..here are 16 of the 22 great grandchildren on the Janac side!  All a bunch of little hanyaks!  If you aren’t Czech…that would be defined as a “rebel without a cause”.  Carly is the only one with shoes on!  
 Keith’s dad (far left) and his remaining siblings.  They are quite the bunch!  
 And the Janac cousins…missing two.  I just love these people!  
 My fave part of Christmas Eve is Jordan still comes to stay the night.  We had a little night cap of egg nog before heading to bed.  
 My girl made sure Santa and his reindeer had sufficient sustenance.  
 All is calm…..all is bright!  

Christmas morning & Santa delivered the “giant stuffed unicorn” Carly asked for.  
Games were played
Breakfast was enjoyed…the tried and true breakfast casserole from Mix and Mama and I also whipped up this tater tot casserole.  I read the reviews and decided to cook the bacon first and I definitely can’t imagine it would have been done if not.  I also broiled it for a few minutes at the end to crisp up the tots. 
Legos were assembled
These two are soooooo good to us!  
And then there was this!  Carly had been dying to play.  
There was a lot of delaying
And thoughtful consideration….is the peach or barf?  Good gracious this game…we laughed so hard but holy moly there was definitely some nastiness.  Skunk…the worst.  
The day after Christmas I loaded up this crew and we headed to my brother’s to celebrate Kielman Christmas.  
Where we eat tamales like it is our job!  
Do they look guilty or what?
And we attempt to take pictures….are they smelling Nana’s hair?

Real life!  
Ok…aside from the boys wearing their hats backwards this isn’t so bad!

Just for kicks…this popped up on my Timehop this week and OMG….Dillon gets my vote for most changed this year.  He doesn’t even look like the same kid!  One year folks…one year!  

And Brian asked for a picture with his “mommy”
This may actually be the very first time all of these kids have been together in a picture with my Mamaw!  
My fave part of Kielman Christmas was seeing this little guy’s face when he saw this “real” fireman suit!!  
I mean really…could he be any prouder?!!  And yes…someone received a 12 pack of Michelob Ultra for Christmas.  Redneck much?  
On Saturday Riley & I took new flowers out to the cemetery.  This is something my Mamaw always took care of but obviously cannot any more.  We spruced up my dad’s headstone along with my grandfathers’s, uncle and aunt.  My Mamaw…all her babies are gone and she just keeps asking “why am I still here”.  I pray for her often and try so hard to give her my understanding for a pain I know I just can’t comprehend.  I have been missing my daddy so much this past week so this was good for my soul.

While Christmas was filled with so much joy for us, I couldn’t help but think about those hurting.  I have a sweet friend who lost her 16 year old daughter 2 years ago and knowing the only gift she could ever hope for was not going to be under that tree broke my heart.  Another friend lost her brother…her young brother who was just my age…shortly before Christmas and another of my besties lost her dad on Christmas day.  While I know their Christmas’ was not as they would have ever planned, we all will surely face years when the joy of Christmas is overshadowed by loss or sadness.  I cling to the hope that our one true gift, the gift of our savior will be enough to offer hope and carry us through.  Prayers for all of you who are hurting or missing someone every day…but especially at this time of year.

If you made it this far you are a trooper….and I am grateful for you!  Thanks for reading along.

Happy New Year!