A New Decade! - Week of Dec. 30th

”Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
“For last year’s words belong to last year’s language, and next year’s words await another voice.” ~T.S. Eliot

We received a gift at Christmas that will keep on giving for quite some time.  Auntie Karen gave us a "gratitude journal" to record as a family those things we are grateful for.  It is not a daily must-do task, but rather a reminder that there are little things we should be mindful of.

On Monday, we welcomed cousin David back for his final night in Michigan.  Cam was excited to show off his walking skills!  These two shared quite a few laughs and their love of music. 

Tuesday morning, David had an early flight and rental car return.  Michigan gave us roughly 4 new inches of snow overnight.  Much to everyone's surprise, our cousin was able to accidentally lock the car doors while the rental was running.  Around 5am we were all awake and Jane drove David to the airport.  David called triple A to have the car unlocked.  When Jane returned the locksmith successfully finished his task in less than 2 minutes and then we were all off to the airport in separate vehicles to return the rental vehicle.  As Cam noted, "now you can get your coffee early, Mom, and I can have a breakfast sandwich from Starbucks!"  After a crazy early start to the day, Cam can always find the positive outlook.
Since it was New Year's Eve, we had decided to take Cam and Ms. Ann out to dinner at Outback Steakhouse.  After a delicious meal, Ann and Cam hung out at home while Chris and Jane went to play a card game with friends.  We were super thankful to ring in the new year knowing Cam was with one of his favorite people.  Although he didn't stay up until midnight, his parents actually made it through the countdown.

On New Year's Day, we had a sweet visit with Auntie Jo and Will to celebrate the late holiday with gift exchanges.  It was literally sweetened by their yummy offering of an edible arrangement fruit plate and chocolate covered berries, apples and bananas!  We had a great time hanging out, catching up and sharing a meal together.

Thursday was a Ms. Amanda day for Cam filled with game playing and baking, one of their favorite shared activities.

The week ended on a high note with a trip over to Brody be's Cafe.  Jane and her son met up with Cam's buddy Liam and his brother and mom.  These two have been pals since preschool and it's pretty cool that their chairs can fit in through the zippered doorway of the outside dome at the cafe.

As we say hello to 2020, it's pretty incredible to think all that has been accomplished and created in the last 10 years...
from the Halloween Heroes project to Brody be's Cafe! 

We cannot wait to see what the next decade brings for us all 😃

Cam's teacher brought in her new puppy
to school- looks like he wanted to test out
his driving skills on Cam's chair!

Camology Quotes:

We were discussing New Year's resolutions with Cam over the weekend.  We were questioned about what types of resolutions we had created and why you made them.  Chris jokingly told his son he was making a resolution to limit his number of hugs per month, to which his clever boy replied: 
"Check your attitude, mister!  
That is not allowed."