Merry Christmas!

Micah opens his stocking

Grammy shows Jacob a new toy

Jacob enjoys his new teether 

"Oooh, I've got big brother's blankey!"

That's a happy Christmas grin, folks!

Jacob and Grammy are looking nice for the Christmas Eve service.

                                                       Big brother is looking dapper (but tired) too!

Well, we made it! Two flights, a round of antibiotics and a holiday later, we are back at home. The things that were especially wonderful: seeing family and friends in Delaware again after two years of not being there, watching Micah and Jacob's faces while they opened gifts and played with cousins, eating lots of delicious homemade food, having a "date night," a surprise meet-up with Dan's brother and his wife Amanda, smooth flights and good weather. We enjoyed our holiday time and wish we could have spent more time with the people we love. We also battled some illness, which is par for the course when it's winter and you have small children. Micah had an ear infection, which has cleared up thanks to Dr. Kluck in Arkadelphia who called in a antibiotic for us to pick up in Delaware the day after Christmas! That part was not so fun, but atleast the worst of it was over quickly and it was fine before we had to fly home. After we flew home, I ended up taking Jacob to the ER that night due to some serious wheezing. They checked him out and said it wasn't in his lungs, but just right up front so not a major cause for concern. A follow-up appointment on Monday landed us with several medications to help him feel better and prevent further illness and it was also discovered that he too, had an ear infection. So he's taking his first antibiotic to clear that up. (On a side note, the illness hasn't affected his eating habits any. He's now just 2 oz. shy of 24 lbs!) Poor kids! I'm grateful that unlike some parents who are dealing with more serious ailments, our kids are generally healthy and likely to make it through all of this just fine. It's just stressful for us all, but I think it helps to be back on our routines and in our own beds. Dan's enjoying a couple of weeks off before classes start up again so it helps to have him around all of the extra time. I've got lots of photos and videos to post, but I'll just start with the ones above from Christmas Eve and Day. The video below just cracks me up with Micah's little giggle--he's a java lover after my own heart :-)