don't worry about actually following the details I am about to share, but rather, I tell you all this to give you idea of the drama that surrounds this holiday season:Thanksgiving Drama:My parents left Corpus today and headed to my oldest sister's, Katy, in the Temple area. They will stay til Monday to have lunch with Brady at his school, then they will head to Waco to pick Ashlyn up from school. They were supposed to stay in Waco on Monday night with Kristy, Trent, Ashlyn & Cole. But Ashlyn told my mom she wanted them to spend the night for 2 nights. So my parents changed their plan to stay Monday & Tuesday night, and then head back on Wednesday morning to Temple to help get ready for Thanksgiving day. Well, this upset my oldest sister (whose house we are having Thanksgiving at) because she had wanted my parents to get back on Tuesday to help with some errands, cooking, etc.
Kelly, my sister closest to me in age, was going to go down to Temple on Sunday and stay through Tuesday to hang out with the fam, cook, run errands, help with the kiddos, etc. But she changed her mind because she is trying to get her house ready to sale. So she stayed in Arlington to clean out closets, get new carpet, etc. So we won't see her till Thanksgiving day. Oh, and she's bringing her boyfriend, Brandon, who will join us for his first time for a big Berry family gathering. Oh, and he doesn't know that we have a mandatory Thanksgiving tradition of going around the table and saying what we're thankful for. And now Kelly is also slightly frustrated because Brandon's work schedule just got changed and he has Friday off, which she would like to spend with him since he's in his residency for med school so they don't often both have the same day off, but instead, will be spending with the day with my parents & I because we'll be staying at her house on Friday & Saturday for some good shopping!
I on the other hand am sad because I had hoped to spend time with all the kiddos for several days, but Ashlyn has school til Wednesday, so they won't come to Temple til Wednesday afternoon. But I guess that will have to do.
Birthday Drama:
My niece Ashlyn will turn 6 on Dec 5th, and I will turn 25 on Dec 7th. We had originally thought to have dinner on my birthday to celebrate, and then Ashlyn's party on the 8th. Well, my mom can't make it to Waco in time for dinner on Friday night, so my birthday dinner got switched to Saturday night, which is fine, except for the fact that I have a Christmas party that night that I am going to have to miss :(
My sister, Katy, is upset about the time of Ashlyn's party because she has a dress rehearsal for the kids Christmas program that she is in charge of that Saturday morning, so she and they boys will be late for Ashlyn's surprise party.
My sister, Kelly, is upset because she wanted Ashlyn's party to be the weekend before, which it originally was going to be, but my mom couldn't be there, so Kristy had to switch it to the weekend of the 7th/8th, so now Kelly can't be there.
My mom is upset because Kelly is going on a girls spa retreat with her church, so she will miss the whole birthday weekend. Note the irony, it was my mom's fault that the party got moved to the weekend that Kelly couldn't go, but my mom is still upset with her.
Christmas Drama:
As my family has grown, sisters married, children born, our traditions and routines have had to change. It took Kelly and I a while to get used to Christmas morning without all of us there, but we adjusted, and began creating new traditions. So the new tradition is for my sisters to drive down on Christmas day with their families, and then we have a big Christmas dinner and open presents late in to the night.
Well, Katy mentioned that Brent feels bad about having they boys open presents, and then telling them they have to leave their presents and go to Grams & Gramps'. So Katy told me a few days ago that they may wait and come on the 26th. Well, I did not like this AT ALL!!!
So I mentioned it to my mom, so that she would make sure and convince Katy to make the trip on Christmas day. Well, my mom got REALLY upset. Saying it hurt her feelings, and the least they could do was come down for Christmas night...
We'll see what actually ends up happening...
While things are never simple with my family and we are all heading in 5 different directions all the time, I'm sure the holidays will be fun as usual and we will all be glad just to be together, creating memories.
Super Duper: NO CLASS ON MONDAY!!!
Super Pooper: book review due the Monday after Thanksgiving, and I've only skimmed half the book...
Aunt Bubba with her Boatwright boys
PROUD big brothers!!!
Brady, trying to look tough, and Ashlyn being the "Pirate Princess" (as she put it).
