Sunday: a relaxing day

Today was very relaxing and spent in the company of fun people. We read, napped, Wiied, and tried to go to a store only to remember that everything is closed on Sunday in this neck of the woods.

We also got a gift from Grandma Menkveld. Two years ago we got a gift from Grandpa Overbeek. These are my step-grandparents who really, I rarely interact with. And by rarely, I mean maybe once every three or four years. But the possibility that we might be coming to a Christmas party means that we get a gift too, even after Pat has told them not to get one and that we don't have a high chance of coming. To me it shows a new meaning to the words generosity and hospitality, things that I think I'm good at. I guess I still have a ways to go.

Saturday: Christmas in Hudsonville

We made it to Hudsonville today! We got up a bit before 4am though, so it is currently 9pm and we're already in bed.


Pat, Liz and I went to a 2nd hand store that was having a half-price sale and got some cute clothes. Then we exchanged presents. Below you can see Nathan sporting his new biking goggles.We had a delicious lasanga for dinner, played some hilarious catch phrase, and just had a really nice time together.

thursday: food day 4

Today was once again delicious. There were donuts! and bagels and these Oreo truffles that were amazing.

Tueday: food, ups, and downs

Today was food day #2. We had a catered lunch along with desserts (the cheesecake again!) at work and then a potluck with our Bible Study in the evening. More yummy food!

The down is that Julie crashed her car on the way to our house. She's fine, and they have good insurance. We still feel bad because it was our house she was going to...if we had chosen a different house or a different time or even a different activity maybe it wouldn't have happened. I know...a lot of ifs. But still...

The ups were that we did have a fun white elephant party though. I ended up with a Christmas tree topper and Ben with a game that gets boring rather quickly. Heidi ended up with footy pjs that everyone agreed just don't work for adults because they are too hot. Oh! And we all got to see Hugh's first roll. It was rather exciting. He just seemed rather grumpy that he was put on his stomach in the first place.

Monday: first day of food week

So someone in the building I work, being very smart, decided to make our Christmas eating celebration last all week instead of just one day. Today was "hot foods" but there were also snacks. Tomorrow is "catered lunch by the people that didn't want to bring anything." Wednesday is snack and catered lunch by Lockheed, and then Thursday is snack day. It might be a bit rough not eating everything. Today there were brownies with cherries, amazing carrot cake, puppy chow, chocolate covered pretzels, and the hot dishes.

Only four days of work left!

Sunday: ice

Today it was raining and right around freezing at noon. On our way home from church we saw five ambulances, several cars in the ditch, and multiple emergency vehicles. It was sad, but also weird because by the time we went by the roads were ok. The ice must have only been around for a few minutes, but enough to do damage.

Hmm...not a ton more happened today. We did several chores, I got the last of the Christmas presents (only waiting for one more to arrive), watched a movie, played some WoW did some quilting. The quilting has slowed down a bit these last few weeks, but oh well. I still do a little bit each week, just not as much as I had been doing. Oh! I also took a nap. :)

Saturday: Prince Caspian and Goats

We gave some goats again. I'm not sure what it is about these goats, but I love them. Maybe it's what the pamphlet says "Goats are cheap to raise. They will eat almost anything and can graze everywhere. They also provide nutritious milk to drink and meat to eat." They just sound like the ideal animal! I was listening to NPR on the way to work the other day and they were talking about people and their goats. It was a rather sad story overall, but these people did really care about their goats...they were basically the bank for the family.

We also watched "Prince Caspian" tonight which was much better than I was expecting. I always think about how hard it would be to have grown up and then have to become a teenager/kid again. I mean, you've already dealt with a lot of the annoying physical changes, but now you have to do it again. And you've grown up mentally too - kids think differently than adults, but now you're back to being a kid again.