This year we had decided to do just stocking stuffers for Christmas with my family, but my dad broke the rule and presented my sister and I with a HUGE gift to us...he is self-employed and writes legacy journals (www.sagislegacy.com) for people. This year he wrote one of our life history, beginning with their marriage, and then going on to the years they spent in Ethiopia as missionaries, and our growing up years. It includes over 500 photos, copies of letters they wrote to us, their journal entries, newsletters of the time as missionaries, etc. A huge gift that had both my sister and I crying when we opened it.

We celebrated New Year's Eve with homemade pizza and lighting all of our Advent candles (the kids love having candles lit). We then spent the weekend with my immediate family having a belated Christmas celebration at their house. We are now settling back into our normal patterns at home after being in Nebraska and the cities and having Andre around for vacation. Grocery shopping, library trips, lots of coloring, playing outside in the "balmy" 15 degree weather (really, it is nice as long at the wind isn't blowing!), etc. Happy 2011!

Sporting his new Santa hat.