Merry Christmas! Can I just say I love vacation? I have ONE thing scheduled on the calendar for the whole entire week and plan on staying in my pajamas as much as possible. The older girls are glued to their new books and won't leave their beds for anything except to reheat their rice warmer bags in the microwave. The younger kids are playing with cousins from Virginia and running around half naked. Their goal is to render the house unlivable by making as many messes as possible. In fact, I just found Walter and Lela in MY bathroom smearing kids toothpaste all over my mirror with MY toothbrush. They got a stern talking-to and swore under oath they would never do it again. Hank is hanging out as much as possible with Weston playing the Wii until Wes has to drive home to VA. William is hanging out in the Florida Keys until further notice. Every time the furnace kicks on in the garage (which sounds like the automatic garage door opening), I think it's William coming home until I hear the hot air blowing through the vents. Why am I fooled every single time? Is it my wishful thinking or positive attitude?

I feel very blessed to have a wonderful husband, five active children, a baby on the way (can you believe it's in only 2.5 months?????) and many wonderful friends whom I love dearly. I hope you are all feeling healthy, happy and excited for a new year! I love you!