Happy New Year

We went up to PA for our annual post-Christmas trip to Winter Wonderland. It's always fun. I really like that they celebrate Christmas with no apologies. I also love the atmosphere of the area. The Pennsylvania Dutch country is so interesting and peaceful. I'll post pictures when I have them uploaded.

Revitalization

I was making a book of Lily's first year yesterday. I know I'm a slacker, but the point is I spent some time checking through my old blog entries. I was looking for facts about her firsts, but what I found was much more than that. As I read I relived moments in time. Some moments I didn't remember until I read the entry. Some moments I remembered, but loved thinking about again. It was wonderful. I realized I want to keep capturing those moments so I can look back and my kids can read them some day. I have not been doing a good job keeping up with my blog, but today I am making the decision to revive this old blog.

Can we go to the post office?

Yesterday Ryan came up to me and said, "Can we go to the post office tomorrow?"
"Sure," I said.
He beamed and held up an envelope with "To God" written on the front.
I said, "Oh, you wrote a letter to God. What did you write to him about?" I was expecting something about Christmas.
"I asked him to make Petey (his friend from school) feel better tomorrow." Apparently Petey has the flu, poor kid.

Sometimes a child's faith and innocence can really melt your heart.

Away from the Manger...

When I went to turn on the tree lights this morning I noticed something amiss.

I guess Mary didn't feel like another long ride on a donkey... it does seem a bit crowded though.

PS This is what my mom is referring to in the comments. Just in case you haven't been playing along since 2006.

Wedding

My brother is getting married today. I've never been more excited for a wedding besides my own. Jodi is amazing. I already love her. She brings out the best in TJ, or Thomas as everyone has been calling him for the past two days. They are so cute together. TJ is a great guy and he loves big. I've always known he deserves someone like Jodi and I'm so glad they found each other. I'd been praying for him to meet just the right girl and I believe whole-heartedly that this is the answer to that prayer. It's a very exciting day!
Lily is one of the flower girls and Ryan is the ring bearer. They are going to look so cute! I'll also be standing up for them as a bridesmaid. I can already tell Jay is going to play a pivotal role in the background based on all he did during the rehearsal yesterday. Lily might need some guidance during the ceremony and he was right there when she needed him yesterday. Today she won't be able to do flips up my legs or run up to Uncle TJ and get picked up, so Jay is key to the whole process.