Merry Christmas, Everyone!

Well, we had an absolutely wonderful Christmas. We spend Christmas Eve and part of Christmas Day with T's family, where we enjoyed lots of coffee, hot cocoa, and laughs with his sweet family. They were way too generous in their gift giving and I finally received my MomAgenda! Although, I technically got the MyAgenda since I'm not a mom to a human yet. However, I did find myself a cat about a week ago and have since adopted him-- as an outdoor cat. Tyler's exact words were, "That cat can never come in this house." Personally, I thought the word never was a bit harsh, but since I'm all about obeying my husband, I took this with a minimal amount of whining. I have named my cat Pepperoni, he lives outside, drinks from a Gladware full of milk and has half an ear. He is lovely and he is mine.

On Christmas Day, we traveled to Grand Rapids, Michigan to spend some of Christmas with my dad's younger sister and her family. I love my little cousins; they are so much fun. That night, we came back to Troy and celebrated Christmas with my family on Saturday! And yes, I got my much anticipated Hunter Wellies and my steam mop! I am itching to get back to Cincinnati and try that baby out.

Speaking of Cincinnati, T left for home yesterday. Bless his heart, he has to work this week. I stayed in Michigan to spend some more time with family and friends that I don't get to see all that often. Last night, I was able to go out for coffee with two of my best friends who I don't get to see very much (we missed you, Meg!). We were there for close to three hours, just talking and laughing and filling each other in on life. It was such a joy to be together! I am looking forward to getting together with a larger group of our friends on Tuesday. I wish I could get Michael W. Smith's "Friends" song to start playing right now; it would be such a perfect addition. In a few hours, I am headed out to have lunch with another dear friend and tomorrow, I have more "friend dates" on the agenda. I am so blessed with such amazing buddies, both here and in Cincinnati. Lucky, lucky me!!! Pictures to come.

On Wednesday, I will leave this land of Range Rovers and Ugg Boots (seriously-- SO MANY UGGS) and travel back to the city of Bengals fans and chili. I was going to fly originally, but after the "Scare in the Air" as the media has so eloquently dubbed it, I am going to be driving back with my friend's family. They are going down to Atlanta and will drop me off on the way. I am so thankful to them! Otherwise, I would have had to get to the airport a whopping 4 hours before my flight, and I'm so not doing that.

On a more sobering note, many of you know that my dad is a pilot for Northwest Airlines. His regular route is from Amsterdam to Detroit on the A330 Airbus. The flight that the terrorist was on was an actual flight that he bid to work. Jesus protected him and not only did my dad not have to fly that aircraft, but he was home for the entirety of Christmas for the first time in years. Thank you, Jesus, for protecting him!!!! I can't tell you what that would have done to me if he had been on that flight. I know our days are numbered and that the Lord's will is perfect, but I still can't stop thanking Him that Dad was home with us when this happened.

On a final note, I am going to whip my little house into shape with my mop and some good old fashioned elbow grease and Chris Brown tunes. Then, on Thursday, my sweet friend that was missing from coffee last night will be coming into town for the weekend with her husband! I am so thrilled and can't wait to spend time with Meg and Chad. We love them so much and can't wait for our vacation with them in March.

I am blessed beyond measure this break with family, friends, and of course-- food. The diet will resume in a day or so. Yay. Can you sense my excitement?

And now, because I love you all so much (and I seek to provide you with as much entertainment as possible), I would like to share with you a few old photos that my mom has on her computer. I have never blogged from this particular machine and would like to show you just what a lovely and normal child I was growing up. So, without further ado...

I believe this was shortly after my parents brought home the boy known as Brother. In this photo, it is panifully obvious how much I loved him as a baby. "Who is this person and WHERE DID HE COME FROM?!"

This was Jack's first haircut. I should know, I was there. Clearly, I was paying close attention during the picture of this momentous occasion. Or was I? Let's take a closer look.

Okay, maybe not. I know that it's hard to believe, but I am as a child I was a bit of an attention seeker. Exhibit A. I was obviously very bored and the cure-all for boredom is always putting one's sweatshirt string in one's mouth and refusing to pay attention for pictures. Hey, if you look at the original picture, Jack seems to think I'm pretty awesome.

Y'all have a happy new year and be safe!