The Odyssey

Christmas went off nicely, except for the fact that I had to return to work the next day. But, I guess I should be thankful since there are so many people that have to hit the streets every day job hunting. The food was good: turkey, mac and cheese, collard greens, blueberry muffins, sweet potato casserole, broccoli casserole (an invention of my husband that turned out really good), stuffing (not dressing), sour cream pound cake, lemon meringue pie, sweet potatoe pie, and I may have forgotten something. All this for just 7 people (not including the baby since he doesn't eat solid food anyway). This is what I love about the holidays. Danae got a toy vacuum cleaner that she loves. She also got her 'hot girl' accessories - an Elmo purse and sunglasses. She thinks she is the stuff with them on! Hilarious!!! She also got an Aquadoodle that she is beginning to enjoy now that her cousin is allowing her to play with. Speaking of that, I don't know if I'm ready for the sibli...

I went on my first trip without my babies and it was fabulous. My husband and I travelled a lot during our dating and early marriage years and it was nice to revisit that time in our lives. Although I'm tired and sore at the moment, I'm so very glad we went. We left Friday night around 9:30. We didn't get into our hotel room until close to 3 am Saturday morning. For church, we attended Kingsboro Temple of Seventh Day Adventists in Brooklyn. We got there late but didn't miss very much. We got to hear a wonderful choir called Temple Praise. There were so good I swear angels from heaven had to be singing along with them. The speaker was Pastor Marcel Wip who was visiting that church as their pastor was on vacation. His sermon title was "I've Got Reasons to Praise." It was based on the story about the ten lepers who were healed by Jesus but only one returned to thank him. We heard a different sermon based on the same story the week before. Two different men p...

Thanksgiving turned out to be really nice, even though we had way too much food. My dad, parents-in-law, brother and sister-in-law all came out to spend time with us. Actually, they probably all came for our kids. When you stay so far away from family, it's nice to see them. For Christmas, the in-laws will be here along with our oldest niece. Should be nice! Our baby took his first formal pictures yesterday and he did such a good job. He smiled and laughed like a little pro. It was so much fun! His big sister didn't do as well her first time around but you better believe she's a professional model now. I can't wait until they take pictures together; that should really be a lot of fun. You know, life is so precious! It seems that we're always hearing of someone finding out about an illness or having tests run because things just aren't working as they once did. We need to truly treasure the normal days because things could always be a lot worse. Happy Holidays!