What a great week we've had! I am sorry I haven't posted in a while, but we have been back & forth to different family homes, having an absolutely busy -- but very Merry -- Christmas! Since we are coming up on the Russian holidays, we will not have any adoption news to report for a while...so I guess you're stuck hearing about our Christmas adventures. :)

Alright, well, I'll begin! This Christmas was perhaps our last Christmas "just the two of us" for a really really long time...I know that there is no guarantee that we'll have Little One home by next Christmas -- but one can hope and pray!

Since our families both live out of town, we do not spend Christmas at our house. We left on Saturday to spend Christmas Eve-Eve & Christmas Eve @ Nana & Papa's (Nathan's parents') house...and Christmas Day @ my parents' house (BTW, if all goes as planned - i.e., Little One actually call them what they want to be called - they will be MamaLin & Grandpa).

Anyway, this year, Nathan & I exchanged gifts last Friday, Dec. 22. Because of our vast saving-needs, we decided we would NOT do big gifts this year -- in fact, we came to the conclusion that we would each get one gift for the other, and it was not to be an expensive gift. I gave him a "badge wallet" he has been wanting (for about 2 years now) ... and he gave me a double diploma frame (hoping - ah, er, GUARANTEEING - that I'll actually buckle down and write a thesis to finish my Master's - ha ha!).

We also gave the dogs & cats little gifts -- we pretty much give them "practical" things -- things that we normally would not buy for them (we love our pets but we are cheapskates when it comes to luxuries for them!). This year, Gracie & Heathcliff both were given dog beds. Since our house is mostly hardwood (and the 2 carpeted rooms we have are not the most comfortable), we decided they needed something soft to lay on. The cats each got a toy -- a stuffed lobster & a stuffed squirrel. Mia was more interested in the plastic bag the toys came in! But back to the dog beds...

Gracie LOVES hers. Heathcliff...?...well, he's actually afraid of his. He was initially curious about it, but not enough to actually lay down on it! So it seems like he's perfectly content to lay on the floor, while the cats sleep in the middle of this gargantuan dog pillow. Seems like a waste of space to me, but who am I to say? Oh well, time will tell -- Heathcliff is of the slow-to-warmup personality, so maybe he'll end up liking it one day. For now, Jay (and Mia, at times) is reaaallllly enjoying it. :)

Here are some pictures from "our" Christmas together:

As I said earlier, we celebrated Christmas with Nathan's family on Christmas Eve -- and with my family on Christmas Day. We had an absolutely wonderful time -- and actually felt like we got some rest!! Here are some pictures from those two celebrations...please excuse me for how rough I look in these pictures. But you know what? Christmas (at least in our families!) is not a time of looking great...it's just a wonderful time of being together! :)

((Also, to both my & Nathan's extended family, please forgive me for not including pictures from those gatherings...somehow, my camera did not make it with me. ))

Here are pictures of Christmas at Nana & Papa's house:

Natalie is 7, now...she is really growing up in a hurry!! As my mom used to say, it's time to put some bricks on her head! :)

And pictures taken at my parents' house:



So as you can see, a good time was had by all! I hope these slideshow pictures work for you...it's the first time I've used them...but I think it's a more space-friendly way to show you lots of pictures! Hopefully, Little One will be in these pictures next year!!! :)

And then the day after Christmas is our Anniversary...we celebrated 8 years of marriage by staying in a fantastic bed & breakfast not too far from here. Some would say that is a boring way to spend an Anniversary...and at the risk of sounding like a boring person, I'll say that we loved it!! We took a movie with us and watched it, and pretty much just relaxed. In our busy world, it was perfection!! :)