'Tis the Season....well, almost!

22 months

This is Geoffrey's little girlfriend at daycare, Katie (aka.."Baby") They tried to take some pictures of the kids wearing their costumes on halloween. Geoffrey, of course, had to try and hug the dog...and then they tried to have him ride the dog....wouldn't that have been funny to see. Raise your hand if you're also glad that G doesn't quite know what to think about the"Devil"?!

Debi wore a panda mask. She tried having both kiddos on her lap...but that didn't photo so well.

So, I've become a winter widow on the weekends now. Last weekend was Gordon's first weekend of going up to Killington to ride. He made sure his boards were all tuned up and all his socks and winter attire were clean. He went on Saturday and Sunday. Only for about an hour each day...he says he needs to ease into the season. These are some pics he took while up at the mountain.

So, we had been having company for several weekends in a row. Company Round #3 belongs to my dear friend from IWU, Hrvoje, and his beautiful family.

I first met Hrvoje when I was at IWU in 2000. Then, I went to his home country of Croatia on 2 short-term mission trips. These 4 photos are from either 2000 or 2001 when I went there to teach English.

Hrvoje and his wife Jill and daughter Ema. They came up to my church to speak about going back to Croatia full time to help bring the love of Christ to a much needed area. They're actually in Croatia right now so that Hrvoje's family could meet Ema for the first time. It was such an awesome opportunity for us to be reconnected and for them to meet Gordon and Geoffrey. Geoffrey LOVED Ema. He kept wondering where the baby was for about a week after they'd left. We went out to dinner while they were here. Gordon cooked a lavish breakfast before church. My church really welcomed them and were open to all they had to say. It was such a fabulous weekend. We're hoping they come up again this winter before they move to Indiana.

No sooner did H&J Budimir leave then we had to go to a 90th birthday party for my great aunt. It said on the invitation that children must have mandatory attendance. So, hurray for the wives bring the babies while the husbands went hunting. Gordon got double bonus points for being there...especially since we ended up missing kick off for the Pats game. There weren't many good photo-opps....but these are two of the better ones. Kolby & Addison are catching up...but G was so tired he didn't really care. It was a lovely party and nice to see Auntie so happy and surrounded by loved ones.

We went to a Boston Bruins Hockey game!!! Gabs & Adam came too. We could see the puck at all times from where we were sitting. Blades (the mascot) was right in front of us when the game started so that was fun too. None of us had ever been to a game before so it was a total blast. The goalie is a UVM grad so we always cheer for him. He had the game of his life that night too. He must have had about 50+ saves. Fortunately, his teammates backed him up and they won...2-1.

I haven't really gotten to spend a lot of time at home recently b/c I was playing lead trumpet for a production of Wizard of Oz at our local playhouse. The shows were fantastic, but I am soooo glad it's over. I'm really glad it's a long week of NO school this week. I'm ready for some down time where G and I can just stay home and read and play and wait for "dahdah" to come home! (photo disclaimer: he brought the ribbon to me and wanted it tied around his head...I promise!!!)

I'm sorry I haven't posted more frequently and that this one is so long. Like I said, the play pretty much consumed all of my time. I went to bed each night as soon as I walked in the door. These pics were taken last night though when Gordon was reading with Geoffrey before bedtime. You can see his new lime green rain boots. He loves to read. I bought some magnetic letters for the fridge and he loves those too. He can pick out H and I and walk around the house holding them saying, "Hi...hi....hi..." in this really cute tone. He's great! Gordon's super glad that winter has finally decided to join us. He was such a trooper for picking G up each night last week and making sure he was bathed and fed and put to bed. I love my guys....that's what I'm thankful for....a fabulous family! Have a great week everyone. Enjoy the turkey and time with your family.