This Christmas we are not going anywhere but to our church and to our house. We are so committed to being at home for Christmas this year that we have invited my husband's ex-wife and all of her family over for Christmas Eve. But this Thanksgiving we did the holiday shuffle and by God we loved it! (Now stop touching her/him and if you don't shut it you can hand over your DS) Driving at night after a full day of school will help and bringing an entire laundry basket full of DVDs. We stopped in St.Louis, halfway between here and there. Our kids had never seen The Arch up close and personal.

Their father will never see the actual inside of The Arch because he is a chicken deathly afraid of heights. I will not be able to ride to the top ever again because it was there in The Arch, halfway up, that I became acutely aware that I was claustrophobic. The rocking back and forth in an enclosed cage much like a ferris wheel basket was more than I could handle. When my cage reached the top I almost trampled over the three ninety year old tourists that had ridden with me in my effort to get out to finally breathe and stand up straight.

Our kids didn't seem to mind that their parents were going to deny them the opportunity to reach the top of The Arch. They were too busy freezing. But what is the best way to warm a body up?

Racing to the car!