Merry New Year!

What a whirlwind of a Christmas! This year, we had the luck of scoring Mom and Dad and Courtney for the holiday. They came out of the snow of Colorado and into the cold cold rain! What was that all about anyway? We had our coldest week since we've lived here the week they were here. I think the weather gods followed them out because within hours after they left, the sun shone again like the beautiful SoCal I know and love! My kids didn't know what to think wearing all of those different clothes (what are these called mom? Oh yeah, socks!).

We tried to keep it real and focus on the true meaning of Christmas. We had our cousins over to do the nativity scene on Christmas day, and of all the activities of the week, that lined up at the top! The kids requested singing "Picture a Christmas" (a great primary song about Jesus' birth) at the end. My Dad didn't want Lucy to feel lonely as the only barn animal, so he joined her as a cow and doubled as the narrator, adding only minimal commentary to the Bible verses that guided our story.

Otherwise, we spent most of time swinging, dancing

and eating--three of my very favorite pastimes.

And for all of you who might not have received our Christmas card yet (oh wait, no one got a card from us!), I'll just say we love our dear friends and family. We wish we were better at keeping in touch, but we appreciate how everyone enriches our lives in different ways. I love this special time of year and hope to keep the spirit of Christmas, or the spirit of Christ, with me in to this new year.

note on picture to your left: Sam was in an angry picture mood. He was happy and jolly otherwise, but thought it was cool to mad-dog the camera anytime he had the chance.