Update continued...

Just before we went to NC for Christmas, some of our closest friends arrived home from Ethiopia. They were bringing home their sweet son, Elijah. We got to welcome them at the airport. What a treat!

Lesley and Eli




We celebrated Christmas many times and in many different places with all our family. Here are a few of my favorite pictures.


Our sweet Jailyn - growing up so fast....

Justin, almost a teenager....

my wonderful parents

the Patrick "men"

all the Patrick cousins singing Christmas carols



my fun, hilarious grandma singing "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer"

Lange and I have been married fifteen years as of December 18th. We were fortunate to be able to go away - WITHOUT KIDS - for a week to Florida. My husband is the BEST at planning trips. We ate well, of course, rested, shopped, and saw some friends we hadn't seen in years. These are pictures of the view from our room.






We went to Caladesi Island State Park one day which was a real treat. You have to ride a ferry to get over to the island, and we saw several dolphins on the way over. The weather was great all week, and that day was no exception.

The dolphins

On New Year's Eve, we met up with some dear friends of ours who shared their Outback Bowl experience with us. Lange chose a restaurant off his Blackberry, and let's just say we were a little uncertain when we pulled up at the Latino strip mall. The food was delicious, though, and 'surprisingly' there was no wait. On Thursday, we went to the Outback Bowl and thoroughly enjoyed the entire experience - as VIP guests. We got to go to the pregame festivities - complete with breakfast, and we had awesome seats on the fifty yard line. Aside from the sunburn, it was a great day.

the restaurant

pregame fun with the bands

our "dream" car - although I don't know how we would fit all the kids in...

Creed - enjoying himself before the game

no joke, this is really where we sat

We returned to Raleigh Friday night to retrieve our kids and Saturday made the increasingly long journey to Louisville, KY completely loaded down with all the gifts we received in North Carolina.