Home for the Holidays (Post #5)

Chirstmas Day was extra laid back this year.  Since we had stayed up so late opening present on Christmas Eve we all slept in until like noon.  Ben and I got a hotel room while staying in Salem and it made for some VERY late mornings.  I felt like I didn't really deal with jet lag on this trip, but maybe that's because we stayed up til like 3 AM and slept til like noon every day while in Oregon.  It was a nice break.  We spent more time with family on Christmas.  We also went and visited some friends.  The first stop was to the cemetary to visit Isaac.  Isaac Bergevin was one of Ben's best friends through high school.  He was there the night we met and the night of our first date.  He was killed in a car accident that summer.  That's a story for another post, but we wanted to stop and leave a little Cebu souvinier. We were also able to go visit Jared and Amy Nelson and the whole Nelson clan.  Jared is another one of Ben's best friends from high school and was in an accident the September after we met, also a story for another post.  We try to see them as much as we can so visiting them while in Oregon was a must.  It was fun to catch up.

The day after Christmas was our last day in Oregon.  We attended church at Ben's home ward.  That's always a treat because he literally grew up in that ward and people love the Crisanto boys.  After church we just hung out at the house and played the new Mario Brothers on the WII with everyone.  We said a quick family prayer and were on our way.  It was an amazing week and such a treat to spend so much time with the family.   I don't admit this enough, but Oregon is beautiful.  Ben is always trying to convince me that we will end up there.  While I disagree, I can completely appreciate the amazing beauty that state has to offer.  While driving up the 1-5 to the airport I was looking out the window at the sprawling emptiness, the green fields, trees, hills and thinking "this is SO different than Cebu".  Instead of feeling sad that I don't live in a place like that right now though, all I thought was "We are SO lucky to be able to experience THIS and THAT.  Who else has the chance to experience so many different types of beauty".  We really are so lucky.

Our flight to Utah was uneventful and my dad was there at the airport, ready with thick winter coats to shield us from the cold.  We were very unprepared for what we met.  It was FREEZING!  The drive back to the house was full of just chatting, catching up, driving by new construction, the new Pioneer Crossing and so on.  When we drove up to the house it really felt like we really hadn't been gone that long.  But, when I was greeted at the door by my Sister in Law, Melissa, with the biggest hug ever and by Archie (our dog who is currently living with my parents) jumping all over me and acting like he was going to have a heart attack I could not help feeling like we had been missed just as much as we had missed home. I gave my mom a big hug and we were home.

Even though we arrived at the house close to 10 PM it was still lively.  My sister, Kristen, her husband  and two kids were there from California, my brother Jordan and his wife Melissa from St George, my mom and dad, and my brother Adam and his wife, Tonna,  there from Maine.  We got right back into the norm of the holidays.  We sat down to play games and Ben went to watch the big screen tv that he had missed so much.  It was a wonderful night and we were just so happy to be home.  Plus, my moms house at Christmas is amazing and really really made me feel like we were home for the holidays.