Hey everyone! Merry Christmas! So fun to say that. I love this time of year.

I am writing from my parents' house in Greensboro, NC! We were here for Thanksgiving last week and have been able, thanks to Stan's new "work-from-home" status, to stay an extra week (he can work from anywhere that he has internet access)! We will be back in Kansas City this coming Saturday evening.

We have had a wonderful time with family and gotten to spend time with a few friends to boot! It has been a blast getting to introduce my family to Isaac. (My parents were the only family members on my side who'd met him previously.) Here are some pictures from our time together:

Stan and I (and half of Isaac's head) with my Grandma Kiser

Isaac with my cousin Amy

Isaac with Great Grandma and Grandpa

Gigi making Isaac smile :)

Meredith, my brother John's girlfriend

My sis-in-law Paige, and my sweet nephew Will

Stan and I, along with my brothers, had a great time going

through our old toys from when we were kids.

This puppet's name was "Oscar." Why? I dunno. Aaron is imitating Oscar's face.

My youngest brother, "Uncle" John. He fell in love with Isaac.

"The fam" hanging out at my parents' house.

My dad and his brother, my Uncle Larry

We had a dinner to celebrate my birthday (I turned 30 this past Sunday! :) ), along with my Grandpa's, my brother's, and my dad's, all of whose b-days are within a couple weeks of mine.

Isaac and Uncle John again :)

Our entire Thanksgiving crew - my dad's side of the family -

at my cousin's house for Thanksgiving Day.

Isaac, by the way, is growing incredibly quickly... more quickly than I remember Tali growing. He is already filling out his 3-6 month clothes (he will be 3 months December 13.), has outgrown some of his 3-6 mo. onesies..... Crazy. He is so much fun, talking and babbling all the time, just a blast to be with. His reflux/digestive issues are still a struggle but they are more controlled than before, so he has lots of "happy awake" time now. He is enjoying looking at toys, and starting to be able to control his arms and hands enough to touch and even grab (occasionally) them. He loves toys that play music. :) We are in the process of getting him on a routine so that our days have some structure (so that I can actually kind of plan out my life again! :) ) and he is responding WELL! (Yay for Baby Whisperer! http://books.google.com/books?id=Gc0cGZpcfH8C&printsec=frontcover&dq=baby+whisperer+tracy+hogg&source=bl&ots=zeyaL1VNwX&sig=47OAc_2zlrcbBgmOHYGhSE5JBZU&hl=en&ei=iAb4TMKvOMT_lgfwg_GKAg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7&ved=0CE8Q6AEwBg#v=onepage&q&f=false)

Here are a few recent Isaac pics. :)

Hope you all are enjoying your Christmas season and remembering to slow down and enjoy the things that are really important....and to meditate on the ONE we celebrate during this season.

Love to y'all! (Yes, I'm a southern girl at heart.)