Merry Christmas

Christmas was so much fun this year. Josiah is at the age where everything is new and exciting. This year for the first time in many years we made cookies. Josiah helped of course. We made a cookie that is so rich even Greg could only eat one at a time. It is Oreo cookies mixed with cream cheese and dipped in chocolate. They were good!
We spent many conversations debating Santa or no Santa. Greg and I finally decided that we would go a ahead and do Santa. Some good friends of ours gave us a Santa's cookie making kit on the Sunday before Christmas and we put it to good use. Thanks Laura for the yummy cookie recipe. The three of us had so much fun making and decorating the cookies. I think we will do this every year.
Christmas eve was spent at Greg's parent's house this year. After a wonderful dinner the children exchanged gifts. Josiah and Leah were so excited they could not contain themselves. A funny Josiah story: He has been telling us that he wants to play the guitar. we have in turn been telling him that we thought it would be a good idea to learn to play piano first. Grandma got Josiah a play guitar for Christmas and one of the first things Josiah said was, "Mom, I told you I didn't have to play the piano first!"
When we got home from Grandma's house we put out cookies and milk for Santa. The next morning Josiah was so surprised to find that the glass was empty and the cookies gone. In their place were presents under the tree. It was great to see the expression on his face. Watching open his gifts was so much fun for me. He was excited about every single thing he got. We could not get him to sit still for even a minute to eat any breakfast because he was too busy bouncing from one new thing to another.
Christmas day Greg's parents came over for lunch and brought a seminary couple who was not able to go home for Christmas with them. We had a grand time.

One if by Land, Two if by Sea

Last week Tuesday Greg and I left for a 4 day break in Boston. Actually, Greg was at a conference and I went with him. We arrived late Tuesday night and after dinner we went to sleep.

Wednesday morning Greg had to be at his conference to register by 7am. After registering he returned to the room and ordered room service breakfast for me. I ate breakfast in bed then got an hour or so more shut eye (unheard of at home!). I got out of bed around 9am, showered and then strolled along the canal for about an hour. The time alone was so peaceful. I had time to think, pray and read my Bible uninterrupted! After a quick lunch at the food court at the mall across the street I went over to the Science Museum. I have a membership to the Science Museum in Louisville, so I was able to get in free. The afternoon at the museum was so much fun. I had forgotten that I could enjoy just being alone. I went to see a talk on stem cell research that was very informative, I saw the largest Van de Graaf generator in the world at work and I saw a presentation on making weather. I also spent an hour in the math room. Greg was surprised by this. By the time I got back to the room at 4:30pm I was tired. I rested for an hour and then Greg and I went to Quincey Market for dinner. Getting around on the T was a piece of cake. We got back to the hotel at 9:30 and both of us were exhausted.

Thursday I met my friend Deb, who now lives in Massachusetts for a couple of hours. We got manicures and went for lunch. Right at lunch time the snow began to fall. By 1pm it was really coming down and we were supposed to be getting about 7 inches in the next several hours. Debbie decided to take off early so that she did not get stuck in the snow. A wise decision I think. I had a 5 minute walk from the train station to the hotel and was the ground was completely covered by the time I got there. I spent the entire afternoon in bed watching TV and napping. Oh how glorious that was. And by the way, I didn't have to watch anything that had a cartoon in it. By the time Greg was done with his conference there was 4-6 inches of snow on the ground. We decided to eat at the Cheesecake Factory across the street even though it broke Greg's rule (no eating at chain restaurants when in Boston!) Back to the room to watch Survivor - yes I am addicted.

Friday Greg had the day off. We met up with Deb and Pete and toured Boston. We had so much fun seeing the sights. First we went to the Prudential building observation deck to get the lay of the land. After that we went to the North end for lunch at the authentic Italian area of town. My only request for lunch was good seafood. Pete delivered! I had the most awesome seafood risotto. It had clams, mussels, scallops, shrimp and risotto and it was goooood. I don't know what everyone else had - all I know is mine was good. After lunch we followed the Freedom trail. Visited Paul Reveres house and the Old North Church. We had to go into the gift shop to find the story of Paul Revere, since I didn't know all the details and needed an American history lesson. We bought pastries at Mikes Pastry shop and then took a train to Harvard Square. We bought hot chocolate at the Harvard bookstore and ate our dessert. By the time our sweet treats were gone it was time for Pete and Deb to head back on the commuter train home. Greg and I went back to the hotel for an evening of laying around. We arrived back home late Saturday night and while the time away was grand we are glad to be back to our routine and home cooking.

More Naomi Pictures!

I am still getting used to the idea that we have a daughter. God has definitely surprised us with this. When we were waiting for Josiah to come home all we had was the 2 pictures that were sent with our initial paperwork. This time around we have been blessed with so many pictures of Naomi. Here are some pictures for you to enjoy: