A little Christmas fun

I think Laura had more fun with this crazy cat toy than anything else this Christmas.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all. We are spending Christmas in San Diego with our two daughters, son-in-law and two grandsons. The weather is sunny and 65 degrees; no white Christmas for us, but being with the family is better than all the snow in the world.

The only thing missing is having our son and daughter-in-law with us. I can't complain too loudly, though, because they are baby-sitting our pooch, while we are away. Thanks, Pat and Katie.

We are off to Christmas Eve worship this afternoon and then to some friends' for a Christmas Eve gathering and dinner. Thank you, Father God, for this wonderful time of the year, but thank you most of all for sending your Son to be born in a lowly manger and grow up to pay the ransom for my sins and everyone-else's!

Merry Christmas, and a blessed New Year!

Another milestone

Here I am with my beautiful bride.

Bob and Angela live just four blocks from us.

Chuck is the discussion leader for our Life Group.
Here he is with wife Darlene. Dottie is on the right.

Dottie looks on as Ursula snuggles up to hubby, Eric.

This evening we marked another milestone in our transition to life in Dallas and our new home. Up until today, our only dinner guests had been family. We had 9 guests for a potluck dinner this evening. The group is our Life Group from church. Unfortunately, there were several who were unable to attend. Nevertheless, we had a wonderful time.

The menu included glazed ham, tossed salad, a layered salad with nuts and berries, a wonderful dish that was reminiscent of scalloped potatoes but included French fried onions, some delicious Chinese-style stir-fried green beans, a fruit salad, dinner rolls, and pumpkin cheesecake pie. Beverages included ice water, coffee and hot spiced cider. There was no lack of things to eat, and no one went hungry.

We had some lovely conversation, before, during and after dinner. It was fun to show off the house we have been telling the group about for the last three months.

As has been our usual experience when entertaining, we had the house cleaned up and back in order before all of the guests had made it home. I don't know about our guests, but Jill and I had a marvelous time.

Big news!!

Oh, happy day! Our son, Patrick, called this afternoon to tell us that his wife, Katie, is expecting a baby come next August. We are thrilled for them...and for us.

I must admit that I was unsure how to react, at first. It was my understanding that the kids were planning to be pregnant at this time next year, after Pat has finished his masters degree. I am afraid I didn't gush enough, when he told me the news.

What was really fun is the fact that I had planned to go to Patrick's school to watch him coach basketball this evening. After we got the great news, and Pat told us that Katie would be at the game, Jill decided to go with me. That was a great thing, because Katie was bubbling over with excitement and needed a woman to share with. I would have been a woefully inadequate, although sympathetic ear for her.

So, that's the big news. We will continue to offer updates as things develop.