Life is Good

I have never been one who has be ungrateful for the things she has the place I live or the people that are in my life. So when I moved to Whitefish some 5 going on 6 years ago I knew that I would likely be giving up spending and celebrating the holidays with my family. For those of you who don't know me I come for a huge extended family on my Mom's side and a family that is growing and growing on my Dad's side and the holidays are a time we all get together and have family time - a time that I truly cherish and is best part of Christmas if you ask me. Over the years of missing out on these family gatherings I always found comfort knowing that somewhere they were all gathering somewhere the traditions that I know that make a Koch or Goldmann Christmas-Holiday gathering were taking place. Even as I was hundreds of miles away I found happiness because they were together. But this Christmas I got a piece of that family christmas again. My cousins Travis Jill Sabrina Sadey Sharlotte and Luke came to Whitefish... and I have realized something major last night that I have been focusing so much on the glass half full when it came to missing out on the holidays that I truly forgot how great it was to spend the holidays with family....just how much I have missed it. My christmas gift this year came in the form of my family(part of it any ways) being with me to share in everything that is Christmas.

Too add to that joy it was a christmas with kids - which always makes the holidays more magical. Sharlotte who is 2 the day was spent learning on to ski with her Moo How (her godmother who happens to be me)...after we went down the bunny hill a couple of times she had a enough on Moo How's Mountain and wanted a chip break...so chips it was just her and me...While eating chips I asked Shar what did you ask from Santa? She replied... a piece of gum....later that night we attended the mountain's santa parade that ended in Santa handing out gifts to the kids by calling out their name...you can imagine how exciting it is to get a gift from Santa on Christmas Eve....well the Koch's were called and Shar and her siblings got their gifts...we left Shar open the gift right there and man oh man her facial expression was something when she oped up that gift and found gum...."OH MY GOSH GUM!!" Santa brought her just what she wanted. Later that night a gift bigger then her was given from her Moo How - she opened it up and that was it....her attention  was focused only on playing with her zoo refusing to open up the mound of gift that awaited for her and even missing out on eating christmas dinner because she just was having so much fun. Lots of laughs and smiles were had while we took in christmas eve together. Luke the almost one year old was so thrilled to have boy toys no more playing with girlie toys that were once his sisters...oh course Shar had to play with and when I say play with I mean steal his dump truck but we fixed that issue by giving her  my gift to open. We topped the night off by watching Its a Wonderful Life. Oh and it snowed on the mountain so it truly was a white and merry christmas.

As the night ended with everyone gathered at my place tucked up in the mountains I couldn't help but smile part of my family gave up the traditiona family christmas we are so use to having to spend it in whitefish with me...I realize the gift that just is and was to them to give to me. And how grateful I am to have them here.I am not sure what I ever did to be blessed to have such people in my life and to call those people family. So my place is an utter mess stuff everwhere its loud its noise clothes tossed everywhere a kid crying someone yelling something getting spilled one too many on the couch food on all the countertops toilet paper constantly having to be put on the roll a line for the bathroom and yet its the happiest I have ever been to have FAMILY with me for the Holidays....I am so grateful for the mess it means they are here. I know the blessing it is to have such family and I know what its like to spend years without family on Christmas...so I can only hope the mess gets bigger and bigger and more fun is had more laughs are shared more memories are created....LIFE is GOOD.