December 31

Well another year is ready to wrap up!  2021 did not prove to be a lot better than 2020.

Here are some new norms:

*All businesses are short staffed.  It's hard to not feel the effects when dining out or waiting in line at a store.  We also feel the effects at school.  We are short on subs on a daily basis so when we end up with staff out we are constantly juggling staff to fill all the positions.  In a matter of time we could see a school closure due to not enough staff.  

*At school we continue to wear masks and take extra cleaning precautions.

*Boosters are now available for most ages. 

*A third strand, Omicron, is spreading and hitting people hard.

*There is often a shortage of rapid tests

*Some stores are still monitoring their store capacity

*Large hospitals are full 

January 23, 2022 data: Fulton County: 4403 cases, 93 deaths; Indiana: 1,524,527 cases, 19,992 deaths; US: 70,206,220 cases, 862,494 deaths.

Traditions

This may seem like an odd picture, but I wanted to share a tradition my parents have done for all five of their grandsons since they were born.  Each grandson has a piggy bank at Mama and Papa's house and Papa randomly drops money into the banks for the boys.  Sometimes it is change, but often it is ones, fives, tens, and even twenty dollar bills.  And then every few years the boys get to empty the banks and take the money home.  Since we had Christmas at my parents' house this year, the boys got to empty their banks!  

 

Family Christmas

We were able to celebrate Christmas normally this year!  Yay!  

Steve, Tina, and Misty's family were able to join us Christmas afternoon.

And we celebrated with my parents, Jeff, and Jim's family the day after Christmas. I'm not sure what year the photo was taken that is on the blanket, but Mama captured this picture to compare how the boys have grown.

 

Christmas 2021

 We had a wonderful Christmas morning with the boys!  

Christmas Kitten

We've had Salsa for a year now!  He has been a great addition to our family.  During this holiday season, one of his favorite spots was under the Christmas tree.

And just because....

These photos were actually taken intentionally because we had socks made for the boys with Chips and Salsa's face all over them.  They will love them!

 

Merry Christmas!