Well, the past couple of months have been FULL! Blogging has obviously not been high on my list of priorities, but I’m hoping to get into a new rhythm this year, posting at least once a week.
So, let me start by catching you up on the happenings of my life!
You met Zea. Sweet angel. Here is a more recent photo of her:

Doubtful that another baby has owned so many homemade hats… I just can’t help myself. Zea is adored by her siblings and doted on by her parents. She is smiling and cooing and stealing our hearts. I can’t wait to hear her laugh. What a blessing she is.
We bought a house! It’s perfect. God totally hand-picked it and gave it to us. Well, there’s a payment every month that we have to make on it, but I still consider it a huge GIFT. It’s the kind of place that we will be comfortable living in for a long time. That’s what I wanted. It’s close to my parents, surrounded by pine trees, and planted in a quiet, safe neighborhood. I couldn’t ask for more.
Thanksgiving was wonderful. We took a road trip to southern California to spend the holiday with family. I love seeing family. My aunt is the most gracious hostess. The little ones had a great time running around. My aging grandpa even seemed to enjoy watching them…
Christmas. It seemed like, this year, it came so quickly after Thanksgiving! I couldn’t believe there was actually a month in between. We did a “progressive dinner” for Christmas Eve. Appetizers at my brother’s house, dinner at my parents’, dessert and gifts at our new home. It was a nice way to spend the day together; each of us got to host each other. Christmas day, we headed over to my inlaws where Ryan’s family gathered for gift exchanging and fondue. Yes, fondue. It was quite the ordeal, but it was neat to have somthing different. There was meat, vegetables, bread, cheese, and all kinds of oils, broths, and marinades… and of course, chocolate for dessert.
New Years Eve was celebrated with Ryan’s sister and her family, along with a couple of young friends. They came over for pizza and Wii playing; it was an intentionally low-key night.
On January 5, the world started to turn again. The kids went back to school, and I went back to work! I highly recommend the last quarter of the calendar for maternity leave, should any of you wonder when the best time to have a baby is. Luckily for me, my workload also compliments this idea. It’s sort of slow at the beginning of the year and builds up as time goes on. I’ve been able to ease back into the groove of my job (and of getting up at 4:30am). Oh, I’m back on the coffee.
Anyway, my mind is spinning with bloggable stuff, but if I’m going to post weekly, I must save some of it, right?
I’ve missed my bloggy friends, as I’ve been reading almost as little as I’ve written lately. I hope you are all well!!! I should be online more these days…
Thanks for stopping by. May God bless you in 2010.