Walking in a winter wonderland...

  ...but not a snow filled one, this year.  The grass is still greenish and the lake still isn't frozen...Ben is bummed since he finally remembered his ice skates this trip! :(  Oh well....I'm kind of enjoying being able to run errands without feeling like I'm always muddy, cold and wet! 

Before leaving home on Tuesday morning, Ben and I made Christmas cookies for friends, family and our neighbors.  His grandmother started this tradition long ago, and this year Ben carried on that tradition.  We had a grand time baking together and frosting all of the cookies.  We even got to eat a few!  See:

 Ben tests our finished Christmas cookies before we went out to give them to our neighbors.  If you didn't see the other camera in this picture, he is getting his first bite on video.  Have I mentioned that he likes his new toy?

 Our little "snow angel".  This was Lilyana's first time to be all bundled up, and we hadn't even left California, yet!  She was quite the charmer and brought a little bit of her own Christmas cheer to the neighbors that night.  Next year, she'll be running around!

 "Smiling is hard work...can't we just look cute and tired?"

 The next morning, at 3:30, we were up and showering and putting the last minute luggage into the car.  We made it to the Bay Area in plenty of time...arriving at 5:30.  We took a nap in the car before heading over to the airport.  Lilyana was a little ball of energy all day.

 See?  I told you so!  She was stopped by lots of people in the airport...it's so fun to see her throw a small ray of sunshine into the lives of people we've never met.

 After our nap, we rushed over the airport, and in the hurry, we forgot to grab her toys from her carseat. :(  So what do you do with an 8 month old on an airplane?  Give her a spoon, of course!  We also had some baby food, which made her very happy.

 We arrived without any problems and Lilyana was tickled pink that she didn't have to be quiet, or stuck on a lap, or in a seat.  She gets more expressive everyday!

 I brought our new favorite family game with me, so that my family could enjoy it, too.  We bought it from some friends of ours and usually describe it as Pictionary with little wood pieces that you can play with.  Here you see Jessica's version of "The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere"...and nope, we didn't get it either...

 My poor baby caught another cold, only this one is also tummy related. :(  As I'm writing this, she's napping on her father's lap...but thankfully, she hasn't thrown up in about an hour!  We put some Di-Gize oils on her tummy, and life has looked better!  

Now for some other excitement:

'Twas a week before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring....

 EEEEEEEK!!!!  Except for a MOUSE!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jill was sitting in the chair telling us a story when she quietly (quietly so as not to get screams for a reaction) said, "Ummmm, there's something in your kitchen...."  Can you guess what happened next?  

Yup....

Screams.

Oh well...she tried!

 After things calmed down a bit (and the mouse got away), Aunt Jill spent some time with Lilyana reading spiiiiiiiider books to her.

 Because smiling is too easy.

 Jessica introduces Lilyana to the Happy Hockey Family...a very fun family for those of you who haven't met them, yet.

 Tutu-cute!!!!  When you grow up in a house of mostly girls, tutus are high on the priority list.  When you grow up in a house of mostly boys, things like guns and camo come first.

 William likes to get himself caught in very interesting positions.  Stuck is usually where he ends up.

 Girls who are as pretty as a picture!  Oh, and pretty in a picture, too!

 Lilyana brings more holiday cheer as she sports Aunt Jessica's Santa hat.

And to close this post, I'll leave you with a picture of my little sickie and her daddy.

Grandpa prayed with her and now we're just waiting for her little perky self to come back.

As we continue to enjoy our visit, we'll try to post more pictures! :)

With love and a hearty "Merry Christmas" (just in case we don't make it back before then),

enjoy your Christmas season!