And we're back!

How was everyone's Christmas?

Ours was fantastic! It was our year to have the older kids for Christmas and the decision was made months ago that we would share a special holiday with them! I grew up snowmobiling through Yellowstone park. Had I known that one day this privilege would be nearly non existent for my own children I perhaps would not have taken it for granted! I have been able to share the family passion with my husband who now bleeds ski doo. My great grandfather Wiese was one of the first people to enter the park by means of snow machine. A young man with a heart for flying across the snow....

While leaving town for the Christmas holiday is not for everyone it is certainly something our family will always remember! I always look forward to these trips but this year especially so... The day of our departure started out with unease! We received a text from our school district notifying us of the closure of our local high school due to a threat of violence. With Connecticut so fresh and devastating my mother bear instincts came out and my heart raced as I contacted my daughters elementary school which is only a block away from the high school. The superintendent would not allow the closure of the other schools in the district. I am positive this was because he did not want to spread unnecessary panic....

At the end of the day everyone was safe and we were on our way out of town, away from the chaos that has become "normal" everyday life. For five blissful days I did not worry about gun toting madmen. My children were safe under our presence and protection...

As we prepared to leave the one place on earth I feel most peaceful, I could not help but cry. Here we go back to reality! Back to uncertainty, back to life. I am so lucky and truly blessed . A few years from now they will not remember what they opened on Christmas morning, but they will remember the things we do together as a family. The new reality of what we must face is overwhelming and saddening.

And so we're back!