Back to Normal

Finally, Chris's parents are back into their house. The repairs following the hurricane last year took longer than expected, but the day of completion finally came. While they are still working on refurnishing their house, at least they have their home back. We are so happy for them and can't wait to see the finished product!

Disclaimer: The following skit is a product of the creativity of children and not deamed historically accurate.

Here is a little skit the boys put together to demonstrate their interpretation of the first encounter between the pilgrims and the indians. Enjoy.

CHRISTMAS!!!

We were so lucky this Christmas. We were able to see all of our extended family members. Chris's parents came up to visit a couple of day before our big journey to Idaho and Utah. We are very thankful for the time we spent with them and for the lovely gifts they gave. The boys especially loved spending time with cousins. Matthew and Peyton are experts in the art of dogpiling. Cousin Cody and Ronnie found that one out the hard way. Peyton has also gotten quite skilled in Madden football thanks to Cody's great instruction and patience with his cousin. The boys made their first snowman with Grandpa. We also met some wonderful new people. Christie's husband Sam and her son Donovan. They are a joy and blessing for Grandma Tripp. Cynthia has a very nice boyfriend, who can endure a tremendous amount of silliness and ribbing from us Tripps. It was a very enjoyable vacation, but we are glad to be home and back to normal. Once again, our thoughts and prayers were with Chris as he is entrenched in his work. We hope he was able to find some solace during the holidays. We miss him terribly and are much anticipating his return.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving has come and gone, but I thought I should post some information about our holiday season. Matthew was sick, so we stayed close to home. We spent the day with our friends the Mondellos. They were so nice to invite us to share the holiday with them. The boys had fun playing with Skotty and Jake. They made a complete mess out of a gingerbread house and cookies which was a blast. The dinner was delicious, and we played games together. Peyton displayed his skills at learning new games. He is an excellent dominoes player. He won the second game we played. Matthew is an excellent destructer of dominoes. We missed Chris very much, but prayed that his Thanksgiving would bring him joy.