A Christmas Blessing

Some dear friends of ours in Missouri blessed us with a few night stay at Big Cedar Lodge just south of Branson. Though we had to balance this with work and school, we made it work! Ben took Sam and Asher for a night stay while Elijah and I stayed home and baked for the holidays. The next 30 hours, Ben spent time alone reading and studying and enjoying walks out in nature. On Wednesday, he took me down as we celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary. It was fun to recall how we had celebrated anniversaries in the past and fun memories in between.
The following day we came back for the boys and were excited to show them around the resort. We spent some time building cabins with Lincoln Logs, chatting with Santa, playing on the playground, and celebrating Asher's birthday.
Our favorite treat was having Blitz, a 98 year old elf, come tuck the boys in! I'm not kidding! She brought the boys stockings filled with goodies and read a few books before tickling them and giving them Christmas hugs goodnight. Elijah was full of questions about her occupation at the North Pole, while Sam and Asher sat enamored.
Definitely a blessing!