Had Ourselves a Merry Little Xmas

This Christmas, we decided not to travel. It was a difficult decision, because there were so many great reasons to go - both to FL and RI - but in the end, we were glad to stay put and celebrate the holiday with our ever-expanding Portland family. We hosted Christmas Eve, putting on a now-traditional-for-us feast of seven fishes. It was the usual rollicking good time - nice to have it at home so the childcare was easy. Hope got to stay up until almost 10pm, opening a few of her presents, including beautiful books and fantastic vintage dress-up items courtesy of Cousin Liz.

On Christmas Day, after Bryan used Google to fix the dishwasher (apparently, every appliance has a secret reset code NOT included in the manual), we set about the Christmas goose. We enjoyed a festive dinner and movie with our close friend Kelly P, who also made a stellar risotto. Hope is very fond of Kelly, who had her semi-successfully cleaning mushrooms, grating cheese, and hunting for stuffed mice in the Christmas tree. Zane spent the holiday rolling around the house, practicing clapping, enjoying persimmon, and quietly cooing "hah bah bah bah."

2009 was certainly a mixed bag. Who knows what 2010 will bring, but as it nears, we are feeling relieved and happy to bring this year to a positive conclusion. Onward and upward we go! Cheers - NBH&Z