Gotta slow down

Sometimes you've got to take a breather. Things have been crazy at work, and they will just be getting busier and busier until at least the end of January.

So I still haven't finished the Guatemala entries. Rest assured, they will be coming. But this was a special weekend to relax and spend time with Michael.



But I wanted to post a picture...albeit one that is a few weeks old...of my fabulous friend, Rachel, and her new baby, Gideon. I have some readers who know and love Rachel but don't use Facebook, so they haven't seen the latest.


Isn't Gideon cute? You can already tell that he is a bright child who will have a big personality.

Here's to enjoying all the little moments of life right now!

Time is flying!

Photo by Jason Specland

It's just two weeks till Michael's and my FIRST WEDDING ANNIVERSARY!

How much has happened in the past year?

Babies:

• Lex and Erik's first
• Tanja and Joerg's second
• Jon and Joanne's second
• Randi and Dave's first
• Brian and Heather's second
• Rachel and Seth's first is on the way
• Barb and Kozak's first is on the way

Weddings:

• Tanja and Joerg
• Jess and Chris
• Greg and Maggie's engagement
• Lisa and David's engagement

New Homeowners:

• Us
• Don and Alex
• Grace and Steve
• Rachel and Seth became homeowners twice over!

And there are probably a ton more things that I am forgetting! What an exciting time in our lives.

Happy photo to start the week

Congrats to our friends, Jon and Joanne, on their beautiful family!

I was delighted to be part of the celebration of Jonas' christening today, and I'm looking forward to watching him grow up, like his sister, Julia.

Awww!

Welcome to the world, Paul!

Our friends, Tanja and Joerg in Germany, just gave birth to their second son, Paul. What a beautiful baby! I'd been eagerly awaiting the news the past few weeks, and yesterday I got a wonderful email from Tanja.

There have been a number of babies born to our friends in the last year:

• Joanne and Jon's Jonas
• Susan and Jon's Bryan and Katherine
• Lex and Erik's Zachary
• Ivana and Vlada's Sara

To celebrate our blessings, we are donating a baby chick in honor of each baby to Mayan Families' Bucks for Clucks program. Here are photos from last year's campaign. Our best wishes to all the families!