Photo Update

Lots has been happening here between Thanksgiving and now.  I have been bad at regular updates here, so let me catch you up a little:

 A chance to catch up with dear friend, Susan House Schrock, for dinner and some shopping...so cool that we live a drivable distance from one another for the first time in many many years!

A visit from our dear friend Gracie--and a night out at the Cheesecake Factory and Jared's football game.

 I thoroughly enjoyed the fall colors this year--it has been so many years since we've lived somewhere with four seasons!  (though it doesn't quite feel like winter here yet)...

Tad nearly pulls my arm off when he sees geese or ducks swimming in our neighborhood ponds.  He wants so badly to jump in, swim to them, and retrieve them.

 Thanksgiving held a "friendship feast" at Lilly's school...

Thanksgiving dinner at Justin and Lita's house....mmmmmmm....turkey...

 And a visit to Mount Vernon with Justin and Lita's family and Nana, Pap Pap, and Uncle Doug on "Black Friday".

ooopps...back to November briefly...Lilly enjoyed having cousins Delaney and Elianna spend the night on Thanksgiving evening...while Jared and Anna stayed with Joshua and Abby

And, in December....

 

 Tom was selected for Colonel (one year "below the zone" or one year early), and will pin on his new rank in 2013.

 We visited the National Harbor with Tom's sister Judi, her husband Doug, and our niece Brittany to experience "Christmas on the Potomac"

We cound teh long-lost "Awakening" sculpture...

We went to see "ICE!" which is ice sculptures carved by artists from China.  This year's theme was "Merry Madagascar", featuring cartoon figures from the kids' movie.  I was thrilled, however, to see the final room displaying a nativity scene with the Christmas story being read:

 .Lilly loves her Brittany!

 Tom, Jared, and I spent quite a lot of time rehearsing Christmas music for the Christmas orchestra at church...

 And we've done a bit of ice skating at a local ice rink--Reston Town Center.  The girls' school had a "skate night" and Anna invited her friend, Rachel, from China, to join us. 

Anna also chose ice skating for her December family date night...fun!

 The girls and I have been doing a lot of Christmas baking...and they worked hard on chocolate covered pretzels to give to teachers and neighbors as well as our annual gingerbread nativity scene...

 And today, being the first day of Christmas break, will be filled with cleaning the house and continuing to prepare goodies for tomorrow's Christmas Eve dinner and dessert!  We are excited to be hosting Nana, Pap Pap, Uncle Doug, Uncle Justin and Auntie Lita, JOshua, Abby, Delaney, and Elianna at our house for Christmas Eve.

THen Christmas Day we'll go to Justin and LIta's house after church.

Then the 26th we'll head north to New Jersey to drop off the big kiddos while Tom and I bring LIlly back down to CHOP on the 27th for surgery to--=Lord willing--finally clear her of this nasty lingering infection.

Looking ahead, January will be full with lots planned for the weekend...and we are hoping to have our Article 5 and travel approval for China prior to Chinese New Year.  Our trip to bring home Isabel could, Lord willing, be as early as early February.  Though I realize the timing (all in God's hands) could slip and it might be late February or early March before we go...  We got some new photos of her yesterday so I'll close with one of those!