It's December already!

Hello again! Well, we've been back home for almost a week and are beginning to gear up for the holidays! Our last few days in Virginia were wonderful... especially our day trip to Outer Banks in North Carolina. The weather was beautiful, clear skies and the temperature was around 60 degrees...quite a bit different than what it was at home in Puyallup...where they got their first snow of the season! We weren't sorry to have missed it...or the snow and ice that came the next couple of days. Our time with Josh, Miranda and Jayden was great...we miss them so much that when we get a chance to spend time with them...we cherish it! Jayden is a DOLL and growing so fast...it's hard to believe that she's 14 months old already...and what a personality! They are coming out here for Christmas and will be here in a little over a week, so we'll get to see them again soon...and be able to share our holidays with them. We can't wait to see Jayden opening the gifts!!

Boy, was someone watching out for us when we came home...first, that we didn't' fly in on Monday evening when the snow and ice was horrible around here and traffic a nightmare. That would have not been a good way to end a great week! So, when we flew in Tuesday evening, everything had settled down and the roads were fairly good...no problems getting home. We flew through Chicago and it was quite nice there Tuesday morning, but if it had been Thursday or Friday, I'm afraid we would have been stranded there for a few days...they got the wintry weather that the Seattle area had on Monday! We were happy to be home...and look forward to getting the house decorated for Christmas. Besides Josh and family, Rick's parents will also be joining us for Christmas, so we'll have a full house. We're hoping that Terri's cousin, Tara, and her boyfriend will also join us...to have a house full of family and friends is exactly what the holidays are all about!

Time to get the house decorated...we got some outside lights put out this morning and this week the tree and decorations will follow. Of course, the shopping, wrapping, cards and baking also will fill the days...so much to do, but all make up the joy of the holiday season!

We're hoping this finds you all staying warm, looking forward to the holiday season and counting your blessings for the the passed year.

The photos are from our trip to Virginia. The lighthouse is Bodie Island Lighthouse and it was a great day to visit...and as you can see, Jayden is "flying" with excitement over the day! The other is a photo Terri took of Jayden at their home. She loves giraffes!!