We went to Paragould first this year. It was a little awkward, as this
was the first year after Joyce passed. Earl seems to be holding up well.
Everything is a little different, as it was always Joyce that put out
the decorations, and made Christmas fudge, etc. Other than that, it looks
a lot like Paragould Christmases of the past. Here's Dawn handing out
the presents on Christmas morning.
Everybody gets some sweet-smelling stuff.
We had picked up lebkuchen (gingerbread) when we were in Germany last
year, and brought some for everybody.
We picked out a couple of movies for Dawn to watch.
Wade invited Kimberly to Teatro Zinzanni back home in the Segerstrom
Center for the Performing Arts. It's not the most romantic present in
the world, but it's easy to pack and ship.
Once a year, Kimberly has to prove that she can, indeed, cook. I think
this was spaghetti night.
We heard there was a storm coming through. This is the front yard in
the afternoon...
...going into the evening...
...and then the next morning. We had quite the adventure getting the
car out, and then up the slight uphill gravel driveway to the road. Earl
had to get a shovel and Wade dug wheel ruts, while Earl put wood shavings
under the tires.
Then we had Mr. Toad's wild sliding adventure driving the three miles
out to the main roads. Here is us coming up over a rise. Note that there
are exactly three wheel ruts to drive in, so we are crossing our fingers
and hoping there isn't a car coming the other way using the shared rut
in the middle. Kimberly is experienced with the snow and ice, and once
we got to the main roads, the driving was fine to Bloomington.
