Blessed Christmas & a Happy New Year!

Here's wishing you God's blessing on your Christmas celebration and may you receive much comfort from the true meaning of this season. We always comment on how empty people must feel after the commercial frenzy of the season is over and the pretty lights are gone. It's so easy to get caught up in our own version of things and forget what all the fuss is about. It's truly a time to reflect on Christ's birth and God's goodness and grace to us his people. We surely have a comfort that knows no time limits... May God surround you and bless you as you enter the New Year 2010.

So far we've been enjoying the company of many friends and family members - a great birthday celebration for Henry, a neighborhood get-together, family over for Christmas dinner and more. Lots of games have come out of storage and a new game (Poker) is being learnt and enjoyed (no gambling, just chips...) Today Henry took Alec & a friend ice-skating while Hannah and I went to look for some badly needed clothing (yet another growth spurt...) Again I've been too busy cooking, baking, serving and talking to remember to capture some of the fun on my camera. I'll try to remember next week!

Happy Days!

Last week Thursday was our school's Christmas/Band Concert. It was a very nice evening, but the best part about it was we would be leaving at 9:00 pm to drive to SeaTac Airport to pick up Lorelle. It was fun to hear the days being counted down & expressions of how much the kids were looking forward to having their family back together. We arrived without incident at the airport and waited for 10 minutes before their plane arrived. Her roommate's families were also waiting by the time we arrived. Here's a photo of everyone who greeted her at arrival (her good friend came with us) - less mom and dad. An excellent start to a happy holiday!

Warning: Contents Are Very Hot!

For lack of anything else exciting to write about I thought I'd try grossing you out. This past week I was making hot chocolate for the high school Spanish Class who planned to practice singing their spanish songs at our house. I shook the "pump style" thermos I had filled with hot chocolate to make sure it was well mixed and the hot chocolate shot back onto my arms. This caused a great deal of pain & left it's mark in the form of (possibly?) third degree burns on my wrist. Here's my arm, in all it's glory... or should I say "gory".

Our anniversary - 20 years flies by!

This past month we remembered and celebrated that 20 years ago we were married and began our journey as husband and wife. It seems like time has gone by quickly - yet so much has happened. We are thankful that God has been with us and blessed us each step of the way.

We were able to get away overnight thanks to some wonderful friends that shared the benefits of their timeshare membership. We drove to Leavenworth, WA which is over the mountain pass about a 3 hour drive. We've been several times with our kids when they were younger & have fond memories - both in summer when it's blazing hot and in winter when we could get our "snow fix". Here's a few photos of our trip. They don't look too exciting - probably because we're getting older and just enjoy reading a good book and enjoying some quiet time together.