I will have to say that the last week and a half or so has been pretty quiet at work. Between everyone leaving for the holidays and no one being there ... ok, it's the same thing I suppose ... not a lot is going on! I did have a few members of the team there this past week to help gather the 583 pounds of canned goods for a local shelter that was inspired by Dad and Barb's Christmas request for a gift for the greater good vs. themselves, hope you enjoyed guys:) Also, I packed up the folks at work for a team building activity at Peachtree Mall. Instead of doing a big gift exchange, I thought it'd be nice if we all gave back over the holiday season. So, seven of us ... minus John ... went to help Habitat for Humanity with their annual gift wrapping at the mall. We all have very good skillz, it's just we don't all have wrapping skills to show off, so it was a pretty funny time watching them all:)
Last week also marked our farewell to Grandpa Klein up in Manchester. Time with family close to the holidays is always good, but sometimes it can be a bit tough. I flew back on Tuesday morning and had Dad pick me up for the wake on Tuesday afternoon. You could truly tell how well respected a man Grandpa was by the steady stream of friends and family that strolled through for 6 hours straight paying their respects to quite the family man. All of the cousins, aunts and uncles were there for each other to remember all of the good times that we have had over the years. I was honored to be asked to be a lector for the services on Wednesday, "Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air."~Thessalonians 4:13-18. 
The memories continued at Grandpa's house where all of the kids went through pictures to relive the memories of the last 20 some years in Manchester. Old birthday letters and pictures of Christmas parties filled the house once again with laughter and memories of times we will never forget. Today I'm missed Christmas up in Manchester, but know that Grandpa, Jenny and I were there in spirit and hope the days festivities were filled with memories to be cherished for years to come:) Thank you for all of the lessons and the Klein legacy Grandpa, we'll never let you down!
This past weekend also marked another Christmas celebration as the Shueyville clan flew down for an amazing weekend of relaxation, presents, ping-pong and plenty of food. They arrived late Friday evening to a warm greeting from Caden and the Columbus crew:) Saturday we took in some upside down french toast and some unwrapping of presents throughout the day. I finally got my ping pong table which we later hosted a family-size tournament along with a sleuth of other great gifts from family. We also visited our favorite restaurant, Fuji, for some hibachi action before a night at Callaway Gardens. 
Apparently when people come down to visit us, they're expecting decent weather, but we decided to give them a taste of home with mid-30's and some misty rain as we waited 90 minutes for the jolly trolly ... o was it worth it though! An hour of caroling on the trolley through the Christmas Fantasy in Lights display may have not warmed the toes, but it did the holiday spirit.
Sunday it was off to St. Anne's after some eggs and a good bit of playing with Christmas gifts. Between the Big Buck hunter, video-taping random activities and more ping pong ... we easily justified the 9,000 calories of Christmas candy that was consumed throughout the weekend. Now although Jenny and I couldn't be home for Christmas, the holiday greetings we received from family and friends back home truly made for a holiday to remember. Thank you all so much for all that you have done for us and we hope your holiday was full of good cheer!!
This weekend I hope to be putting together the 2009 Top 10 as a new blogging tradition before Jenny and I pack up for a New Year's celebration in Miami with 40,000 of our closest Iowa friends down there for the Orange Bowl ... thanks Todd for the tickets, it's going to be a blast!Until next time all, have a wonderful Christmas day:)
Alwayz,
Nate
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