Time to Pack...

HI! I have been sorely negligent lately, haven't I? But life has been so exciting! We had an absolutely wonderful Christmas! Although it is always hard to be away from family during the holidays, we are so blessed with amazing friends who make it not only bearable, but truly joyful. We enjoyed a great Christmas Eve service and had close friends over on Christmas Eve and again on Christmas night, sharing food, laughter and great conversation. Karl, Matt and I were up until 1:30 am on Christmas morning, assembling Garin's train table, but it was all worth it for the look on his face when he woke up and saw it the next morning! After all of our gift-opening, I cooked a nice, big lunch for the four of us on Christmas Day and made my great-grandmother's rolls, which are a necessity for any family holiday celebration. Matt flew out on Saturday afternoon to meet his dad and head to Colorado for some skiing before school resumes. The rest of us had a really special morning at church. It's always iffy when we haven't had praise team rehearsal during the week, but it came together this morning in a big way, and worship was great. We had lunch with three other families, came home for a nap, and then met some other friends for dinner tonight. We're all exhausted, but happily so!

It's back to the office for Karl tomorrow, as he makes preparations for.....drumroll please....our upcoming move!!! We have known for quite some time that we were up for a new assignment, but it has taken so long to get the actual orders in hand. Orders arrived last week, and we don't have much time to prepare! This assignment is just what we've prayed for. It's great for Karl's career, and it's indescribably awesome for our family. We are choosing, for now, not to disclose the location here on the blog, simply because it is public, and we don't know everyone who is reading it. It's not a great secret, but I'm torn between being open (which I'd love to do in a perfect world) and protecting our family's privacy and security. If you haven't already heard where we're headed and want to know (Amy, Bethany, etc.), please let me know how to contact you off of the blog or find me on facebook, and I'm happy to share more.

We are told that the move should not adversely affect our adoption process. We are still waiting for our Trip 1 invitation, and all our updated paperwork has been submitted. I'm assuming at this point that it won't happen in January due to the Russian Orthodox Christmas season. I'll certainly let you all know when we hear something!

In the meantime, people are planning farewell parties for us (I know!...isn't that sweet?!), so we'll be busy saying goodbyes for the next several weeks! When we moved here, I was sure I'd be thrilled to leave as soon as we got the opportunity. But even though this new assignment is so perfect that I am thrilled to go, I am truly sad to leave Delaware. We have been blessed by some wonderful friends who are irreplaceable. Seriously, how do you say goodbye to a woman who, although she barely knew you, stepped in and spent ten hours in a hospital room with you, held your leg up during childbirth and witnessed the birth of your miracle baby because your own family couldn't be there? We will leave a huge part of our hearts here when we go, and I can honestly say that I hope the Air Force brings us back here. I won't know what to do with my summers when I can't run to the shore at a moment's notice on a hot, sunny day!

I'll write again soon(er). If I don't catch up to you before Thursday, let me wish you a very happy new year!!



Another family shot...

Garin with his train table...

Matt with his new book...

Karl got his long-desired dual-temperature wine refrigerator...
And as much as I hate posting pics of myself with bed head and without makeup, I figure I owe it to my family to do so, since they're all on here the same way...