Surgery Day

Emmy has had six episodes of strep throat in the past year, and the last two times she got sick, she needed two different antibiotics to get better. After all that, we decided it was finally time to have her tonsils removed, since they were causing so many issues. As a mom/nurse who takes care of these kids every day, I knew how tough recovery could be, and I wasn’t looking forward to it. After surgery, they need to stay home for 10 days due to the risk of bleeding, so we had to schedule it during a school break—otherwise, she'd miss too much school.

We tried to prepare her for the surgery without making her overly anxious. She was really nervous about the IV, so Andrea talked to her beforehand and reassured her that she would be the one to start it. There were a few tears, but Emmy was so brave through it all.

Sara took care of her up in PACU and said she did good she was a little loopy though. 

She looks a little rough here. This is post blue popsicle, her lips aren't blue from lack of oxygen.

I wanted to get a picture of her with her nurses but the poor girl looks so miserable. 

Abby had a little gift basket of stuff for her when she got home. The rest of the day was pretty rough. Emmy kept saying that it was hard to breathe because a ball was in her throat. She wasn't wrong, her poor uvula was incredibly swollen.

 

Unseasonably warm

This winter has brought some unusual weather. While we've had a few really cold days, there’s been a surprising number of mild ones, especially for late December. On one of those nicer days, Emmy took the chance to try out her new bike. It was the perfect opportunity to get outside, enjoy the weather and remember how to ride her bike!

 

I Think She Liked the Gift

Bryce, Bob, and Susie were looking for a place to stay for their trip to Indianapolis for the Big Ten Tournament. They put in their search criteria for a 3-bedroom place, and that’s when Bob and Susie surprised Bryce by telling him they were going to invite Bree to join them this year! Bryce was excited and knew Bree would be thrilled, especially since she had wanted to go the last couple of years.

When Bryce and Bree exchanged gifts, he wrapped up the Big Ten Tournament papers he had gotten for his gift to tell him he was going.  When she opened them, her reaction was priceless! She was so excited, she almost started crying. In hindsight, we probably should’ve asked her parents first, but we’d only just found out about the plan that same day. Thankfully, her parents agreed to let her go!

 

Christmas Day at the Lutz's

Merry Christmas! Santa was especially generous with us this year. Emmy got a set of ski resort Legos that look like so much fun! Abby received a cart to organize all her nail supplies, while Bryce got a cozy hoodie, and Caleb received a hat and golf towel.

Caleb had been looking forward to attending Grammy's Christmas breakfast, and while the rest of us would have loved to join her, we just couldn't make it that early. Caleb’s not a fan of the ride due to the crowded car, the late departure, and the dogs, so to avoid any fuss, we decided to let him go on his own. Grammy and Grandma were absolutely thrilled to have him!

We got a late start because Robb and I were just too tired to get going in the morning. We woke up, enjoyed the Santa gifts, and then decided to go back to sleep for a bit. By the time we finally packed everything up, even Bryce was getting frustrated with how late we were leaving! We ended up arriving in Norfolk around the same time as Bob and Susie. Their tree was amazing, as always! I love seeing just how big of a tree they manage to get every year.

When Brook and AJ got there the kids were anxious to start opening gifts. Grandma and Grandpa always get them the coolest gifts. 

Bryce got his favorite gift, tickets to the Big Ten Tournament and some Husker clothes.

AJ got a Ninja Creami, him and Abby will have to share recipes.

Brook got an Ipad.

I told Bob it looked like he was opening gifts on a tropical island, surrounded by all the plants.

Abby got an Apple Watch which she has been wanting.

Caleb got golf clubs that he has been wanting.

Emmy had to go on a scavenger hunt for her gift. 

She got a new bike.

Karen was able to join us for the celebration, which was wonderful! We had given Bob and Susie the Awkward Cousin Photos as a funny Christmas gift, so we got Karen a puzzle of one of the pictures. She was incredibly generous and gave us money for both us and the kids. Robb and I have been a little stressed about having two boys heading off to college, so this really eased a lot of that burden.

Susie and Bob made a delicious meal, and following Susie's idea, the kids served us dinner. We got a good laugh out of watching our kids as servers. AJ even pulled up a tip calculator on his phone to ask if we’d be leaving a tip! At one point, they mixed me (Erin) up with Aaron and served him chicken instead. When he mentioned it, AJ told him to "shush up and be happy with what you got." We all burst into laughter!

Christmas Eve

Work kept us all in suspense about whether or not we would have Christmas Eve off until the very last minute. I was mentally preparing to work, though secretly hoping I wouldn't have to. When I finally found out I was off, everyone, including me, was beyond excited!

Bryce decided to make us breakfast that morning, which was a delightful surprise. The night before, he sent out a menu and asked us to put in our orders. I knew he could cook, but I was a little concerned about how it would go—he's not exactly an early riser and usually sleeps in until about 11 when he doesn't have school. But to my surprise, he was up bright and early, asking for the credit card so he could grab groceries from the gas station. Emmy jumped in as his helper, and together, they made an impressive breakfast.

I chose the stuffed French toast, which was incredible. Bryce made both a blueberry cream cheese filling and a lemon cream cheese filling. I went with the lemon, and it was amazing. He also made bacon, hashbrowns, eggs, and omelets, serving each person’s order hot and fresh as they woke up. After cooking all that delicious food, Bryce had to take a couple-hour nap to recharge and be able to function for the rest of the day. I guess even a breakfast chef needs his 10 hours of beauty sleep!

The kids were absolutely dying to open gifts, but they're old enough now that when we gave them a time frame, they didn’t beg all day long—well, not too much anyway! Robb had a couple of errands to run, and we needed to pick up a few gifts from the Ashbrook house. But when Robb’s errands ran longer than expected and he wasn’t home by the designated time to open presents, things started to get a little... tense. The kids were getting anxious and restless, and you could feel the impatience building. The kids were getting anxious and restless, and the waiting was starting to feel a bit long for everyone.

The kids all got us gifts and it was nice to see how much thought they put into what they chose for each of us. We are lucky to have such thoughtful kids!

Caleb asked for money this year, which, to be honest, I’m not a huge fan of, but I totally understood his reasoning. The new golf clubs come out in January, and he had his eye on a couple of new ones. Plus, he tends to buy clubs that are a bit above our Christmas price range, so he wanted the money to put toward them. After discussing it, we decided it was fine—this way, he could get exactly what he wanted.

Caleb also mentioned to Robb that he’d like a locker spot to store his golf clubs, cleats, and balls in his room. Right now, he brings his clubs down to his room, so having a dedicated spot for them would be perfect. Robb, excited to make it happen, built him the locker he wanted. As usual, this time of year flew by, and we were cutting it close to the deadline, with the stain barely dry by the time we were ready to give it to him!

Emmy had a great variety of items on her list this year, with something for every price range. She received several Lego sets, including the botanical garden set, which she was especially excited about—and honestly, I’m excited about it too! She also got a TV for her room, a planner with stickers, the hair conditioner she wanted, and a couple of cozy hoodies. It was the perfect mix of toys and non toy gifts, and she was thrilled with everything!

Abby had a hard time thinking of things for her Christmas list this year. Robb had the idea to get her the Ninja Creami Ice Cream maker before she even added it to her list, and she was so excited to try it out right away. That night, we had to run to Hy-Vee for ingredients, and when they told us we had only 15 minutes of shopping time left, we rushed to grab everything we needed for a couple of ice cream recipes.

I also ordered Abby a White Fox hoodie, which is a popular brand, but the catch is that it’s based in Australia. I had to keep an eye on the shipping, and even though I ordered it the day after Thanksgiving, it got stuck in Australia until December 18. Once it finally left Australia, I was hopeful it might make it to her in time, but then it sat in customs for a week. At that point, I had to just tell her it was coming, even though it wasn’t there yet.

In addition to the hoodie (which she eventually got), Abby also received some pretty gold earrings, hair accessories, and some markers she’d been wanting. She was happy with everything, even if the hoodie took a little longer than expected to arrive!

Bryce’s list this year was mostly clothes. He wanted some Husker gear and a few nicer brands that I don’t typically buy for everyday wear. Robb and I picked out a Husker shooting shirt, a Herbie Husker T-shirt, and a couple of Nike hoodies. He also got an UNRL hoodie that looked really nice on him. Bryce needed a new wallet, so we got him one, along with coffee pods for his Nespresso machine and some coffee flavoring syrups. It's crazy how things have changed—almost everything he asked for this year was clothing, and he was genuinely excited about it!

As a dog lover, of course, the dogs got gifts too! Robb kept finding dog toys in the closet and would joke, "Do we really need more dog toys?" But they love playing with them—well, usually playing or fighting over them! Scout even found one of her gifts under the tree the week before Christmas and decided to open it while we were at church. When we got home, she greeted us at the door, proudly prancing around with her new toy. She was so excited and absolutely full of herself! It was the cutest thing ever.

Caleb really wanted to go to Grammy's Christmas breakfast on Christmas morning. It wasn’t that Robb and I didn’t want to go, but we still wanted Emmy to have the Santa experience, probably for the last time. So, we told Caleb he could get up early and head to Tekamah. So he got to get his stocking stuff and Santa gift the night before. He was excited about his Travis Matthews golf towel and Chiefs hat. Caleb likes to do his own thing and always wants to leave earlier than the rest of us can manage. Over time, we've learned that letting him take his own vehicle often makes things smoother, so as much as I was going to miss him on Christmas morning, I knew Grammy would love having him there. If he was willing to be up and ready to go by 7 a.m., then kudos to him!

Robb and I decided we were done with cooking and wanted something easy for dinner tonight. When the kids were little, we used to go to Imperial Palace after church, but since it closed and the building was torn down, we've found a new favorite Chinese spot—Mr. Hui's, which is closer to our house. The only tricky part is that Abby can't eat there, so Robb picked up Chick-fil-A for her. Abby went with me to pick up the Chinese order for the rest of us. 

The hard part was that their online ordering system was a bit misleading when it came to pickup times. We ended up waiting in line for about 45 minutes, which was pretty frustrating. But in the spirit of Christmas, I was patient and felt bad for how crazy busy they were. We finally made it home just in time for Robb to eat quickly before rushing off to save seats at church. We've learned the hard way that if you want to sit in the sanctuary instead of the overflow areas, you have to get there early. Caleb joined him to help save seats, and the rest of us just barely made it on time.

The service was really nice, though. I always enjoy the singing at the Christmas service. We had a family with 18-month-old twins and a 5-year-old sitting in front of us, and I couldn’t help but feel thankful that I’m past that stage. It was such a challenge to keep them quiet and happy when they were that little! I am so thankful that we all got to spend the day together. I can't help but feel a little sad that that next year the boys will be in college and have different commitments and I might not get them for as much time as I would like. 

 

Grinch Christmas

Grinch Christmas is hands down one of my favorite traditions! We started it when the kids were little, aiming for a night with no gift expectations—just quality family time. And it’s a tradition that the kids insist on keeping every year. This year, though, with sports schedules, babysitting jobs, and show choir commitments, finding a night that worked was a challenge. So, we ended up doing it later in December than usual.

We stuck to our usual Grinch-inspired menu: roast beast, Who hash, a green veggie, pudding cups, and festive drinks. Emmy’s favorite part is always eating by candlelight—she’s basically got more Christmas spirit than the Grinch has grumpiness! She’s always the first to volunteer for anything related to Christmas, and this year she made adorable place cards for everyone and set the table with all the fun Grinch decorations.

Bree joined us again this year, and I swear, if she thinks we’re all crazy, she just goes along with it because she’s genuinely excited to be part of it. This year, though, the 5-year age gap between the boys and Emmy really became clear. The boys love to give her a hard time, like they would with their friends, but Emmy doesn’t let anything slide and gets offended by everything. Cue a few dramatic moments where we had to remind the boys they’re practically adults now and can’t make a 10-year-old miserable. On the flip side, we had to remind Emmy that, while she might feel like it, she can’t hit or physically beat the boys—because if they hit her, they’re the ones who get in trouble. Sibling rivalry at its finest!

No matter how old they get, I think sibling drama will always be a part of the mix. But despite the chaos, Grinch Christmas is always a night full of laughter, memories, and, of course, a little bit of drama.

 

Celebrating Christmas with my family

We hosted our annual Christmas get-together with he family the weekend before Christmas. This year, we decided to keep things simple by serving just appetizers instead of a big meal, and we had the gathering in the middle of the day so our family members who drove in from Norfolk wouldn’t have to drive home too late. It was a wonderful time of visiting, and of course, we ate way too much cheese!

Steph brought Bingo, which we had also played at Thanksgiving, and the kids loved it so much they asked for it again. We also had a ring toss game with a reindeer head, but it was nearly impossible to win! All in all, it was a fun, relaxed day full of laughter and good memories.

The annual passing of the frog. Grandma Ilene made this and painted it and we all wanted the frog so every year we move the frog to the next house. Steph gets the frog for 2025.