Holiday Recap

I keep putting off this blog because it seems that it's become too big to handle. So I'm just going to write about what I want to. Feel free to ask me about whatever I skip.

I've been back in the Windy suburbs for a few days now, and hope to finish unpacking today. Thanks to the combination of Christmas gifts and the fallout from ruthlessly weeding through my storage items during break, that which I moved back to Wheaton was considerably more substantial than that which I moved to Ohio.

Among my noteworthy Christmas gifts, I got a down comforter from my dad and stepmom which makes me feel warm and cozy, just from thinking of it! Here's a shot of me enjoying said comforter with Alfred, the best teddy bear in the whole wide world. The comforter is mucho warm and cozy. Yesterday I ordered a cover, to protect it from drool (ahem) I mean the dirt of normal wear-and-tear. The cover is my first EBAY purchase, so I'm excited to see how that works out. And for the record, it's quite ridiculous of Kohl's to sell twin size comforters but not the covers for them.

One of my favorite things about this holiday was that I got to spend a lot of time with family- much more than usual. I got to have several good visits with my two adorable nieces, and even one overnight visit which was a lot of fun for all three of us. Here's a picture of them at our Christmas celebration at Dad and Sue's house. I picked this picture because I think Devan's expression is particularly cute. :) This is typical of the two girls; Dalen will do something (sit in the chair) and Devan will decide Hey! That's Exactly what I want to do right now, too! :) It's too funny.


I also got a hearty dose of friend time during my weeks in Ohio and Indiana. I was blessed to meet little Kensley, daughter of my friend, Jessica while I was home. She was less than two weeks old when I got to hold her. I LOVE holding new babies! They're so tiny and light and they make funny noises with their mouths when they sleep. Plus, when they start to funny funky or cry, you can just hand them back to their moms or dads. :) On the way home I stopped in Winona Lake to visit a couple of friends from undergrad, Jessica and Liz. Liz's two little girls helped us occupy our time. This is her oldest, sitting in a pot which, until right before this picture was taken, held toys, not toddlers. I told Liz Anne Geddes doesn't have anything on us! It's always good to see old friends. I regret that I can't see them more often. Sometimes I think what a joy it must be to have all the people that matter to you in one place. I'm not sure I can even imagine that anymore! But I suppose that's the price I pay to live overseas and away from home.

And speaking of living overseas, things are progressing with my application to teach ESL at Alliance Academy in Quito Ecuador. I had a really enjoyable phone interview with the director of the ESL department yesterday, which left me a little giddy for a few hours. I'd been trying to wait patiently since before Christmas break to hear back, and it was such a joy and relief to hear from them. Plus the woman was really easy to talk to and was encouraging to me in her description of the school's ESL needs. I felt like each of the positions she mentioned would be within my abilities. She told me at the end of our chat that I should hear back from them soon. I don't really know what "soon" means, but I'll definitely keep you all posted when I know more!

In less monumental news, I re-joined Curves for Woman this morning (that's an exercise place that I was a part of before I left for China) I'm really excited to be back at it and working out regularly. That hasn't been part of my life since my back started acting up in October of 2006. I never thought I'd be excited about paying money to work out! Ah, life is surprising sometimes!

I hope your new years are off to a good start.