Happy Boxing Day

...and Merry Christmas! Hope you all had a wonderful holiday.

We had a great day (stormy in the morning, though!) We opened gifts in the morning, and had Christmas dinner here with family friends (um, my brother's soon-to-be-ex-in-laws, to be exact). Mike cooked the traditional turkey. We were a bit concerned that it wasn't thawed enough, but he used the "water method" to thaw it more quickly, and it worked -- at least, the turkey was tasty and there are no reports of food poisoning yet!

We did end up decorating the tree, by the way -- at least the top two-thirds of it. So far, so good.

We got some sad news today. One of my great-uncles passed away, and one of my great-aunts died earlier in the week. Both were in their 90s and in failing health, so it wasn't unexpected -- but we will miss them. Rest in peace, Uncle Chuck. Rest in peace, Aunt Orpha.

But also in the past two weeks, two of our friends welcomed new baby sons into their families. Welcome, baby Julian, and welcome, baby Noah!