December 26

We had a good day on Christmas. Sidney fell asleep early on Christmas Eve after the Christmas Eve service at church so Santa could come. Nobody got up until 7 and it was a leisurely morning if opening gifts, cleaning up afterwords and eating a light breakfast. I did try to kill the blender with orange juice while trying to make a smoothie. The bottom of the blender bowl leaked and I didn't realize it until the blender just stopped working. OJ'ed out I guess. It started up again once I dumped all the juice out.

We went to get Kirk at 10 and arrived at our friends at around 11. Kirk helped peel potatoes. It was a little difficult at first but then muscle memory took over. He still isn't as strong or coordinated so he wasn't speedy but he got it done. We shared a great meal of turkey, stuffing, green beans, corn, mashed potatoes, biscuits and cranberry jello.

Kirk is a plate cleaner. He will clean it every time with dedication. This is an example of the focus that is apparent after the injury. That's also why condiments in dishes can't be near him. He thinks those need to be eaten as well. He has drank soy sauce and dressing. I took barbecue sauce away from him before to keep him from drinking it.

Kirk was very restless after dinner. He would sit and watch TV for a while before he needed to wander. Our friend finally took him outside to help set up a trampoline they got for their kids. Again Kirk demonstrated his focus and muscle memory. Given a socket wrench and direction to tighten bolts, it got done.

It seemed like he was content to happy all day. He liked watching the dogs run around, watching the kids eat, and helping with the trampoline. He never seemed overwhelmed or over tired. He wanted to stay but accepted that he needed to go back to his house in part because his medications were there.

We took him to his house and he opened his gifts. He got some slippers, a couple of new pairs of sweat suits, and several games and crafts. I don't think he totally got that it was Christmas. I mean with feeling. The opening of gifts was automatic.

Sidney's big gift this year was horse back riding lessons. She took her first lesson today and loved it. She will get two more before school starts and then once a week after that. It's another thing to do but she was completely surprised and it's worth it to get some time taking her too and from and seeing her fully enjoy something.

I don't know if we got memory for Christmas. Please continue praying for it. The next post will be about our adventure this time last year in Peru. Needless to say I am way behind.