We're Back

Our days at home in Ohio were wonderful. It was so good to be back with family and friends. We were able to spend a number of days at both of our parents' home (mostly back and forth between the two). Jeremy's brother and sister were in from New York City for about a week. It was good to see them; unfortunately, they were battling colds/sinus infection/or something most of the time they were home. We took time to individually visit my brother's households. It was just way to fun to watch kids during Christmas to have any kind of quality time. We really enjoyed spending time with each family. In the picture to the left, you can see the line up of the nieces and nephews on my side of the family. My mom had little shirts made with each grandkids name and number of when they arrived (ex. Sophie #1 = first grandkid). We had not yet seen Samuel (#6) in person, so that was special; on the last night before leaving, I was holding him in the rocking chair and was gifted with his wide-mouthed smile! The other two boys (Cale #4 and Paxon #5) had really grown. Paxon loves to stare at you until he finally gives you the grin you've been making funny faces for; Cale sits up by himself and flashes smiles non-stop. Lilli (#3) is walking, running, and jumping around now. Sophie (#1) is continuing to grow into a special young girl. Chloe (#2) is cute, ornery, and enjoys talking much more than when we left; she is following in the steps of her older sister and loving anything princess. We also made it to Columbus to see a number of people in our small group; there was a lot of exciting news within the group - a pregnancy, an engagement, a graduation from seminary, an appearance on the Ellen show, and a new couple joined the group. We were able to get to Atwood Lake for the annual New Year's Eve party at a cabin (owned by one of our friend's parents) there. It was a mix of the die hards that are there every year and some newcomers; there were also a few unable to make it that were really missed. (Meredith celebrates the New Year in the pic to the right.) Waffles and white sauce on New Year's Day (my family tradition) was the perfect ending to our time at home. Travel to and from went without a hitch - no delays, no lost luggage, no mechanical problems, and no accidents. Thanks, everyone, for your prayers!

We got to La Jara (after a 3-1/2 hour drive from Albuquerque) about midnight on the 2nd. I woke up for work at 7am on the 3rd. I had a pile of things to catch up on when I got into the office. Rhonda is no longer there; I miss her as my office "boss." I am sure she is enjoying her time away. Jeremy wasn't feeling well and stayed home from work. On Friday (the 4th), both Jeremy and I stayed home from work with some type of stomach flu, I think. It wasn't pretty, and it wasn't fun. I haven't been sick like that for a long time. Today (the 5th), we are both feeling a little better although weak from not eating much yesterday. Hopefully, we will be back to working order for next week! I recieved an email from someone needing a player for the women's volleyball league. I will playing on Monday nights in the competitive league starting in February - one month to get myself in shape to breath normally while exerting energy! We are housesitting for a co-workers of Jeremy during the upcoming week. I assume that they have internet access, and I can continue to blog; if not, I'll catch up when we return. I hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Years.