Christmas Part I

We had a lovely (and unique!) Christmas dinner last night of standing rib roast, goat cheese scalloped potatoes, broccolini and pumpkin custard pie. Delicious.

Lily was a particular fan of the broccolini.

And then it was on to the gifts which Lily just couldn't wait to get into. To her credit, I thought she was pretty darn patient due to the many delays. It was pretty funny when she snuck into the other room and finally broke down and opened one. Here she is showing off her new camera.

Irie sporting her new sweater. So cute.

Lily and Sha-shawn (they both have very similar dresses on amazingly enough.)

All tuckered out.

Hurricane Ryan

has hit St. Louis.

Ryan arrived in St. Louis a week ago tonight. He had packed his car much like mine had been only a few months before. He decided to ship the few things that wouldn't fit in the car rather than renting a truck which made a lot of economical sense. The only downfall to this plan is things like his dresser have not arrived yet, which leaves him nowhere to put his clothes except on the floor, as you can see. :-)

Good news!

Many of you have already heard as I saw most of the family this past week, but we got some exciting news last Tuesday. Ryan got a job! He'll be moving here one week from Thursday.

I can't believe how quickly it's happening, but I'm definitely ready! I hope the job turns out to be a good fit for him - I know he's leaving a job he likes a lot, but I also know he's ready to get back to the midwest as well.

As I've been waiting for Ryan to find a job, I've been busy getting my life in shape here. I've joined a couple of meetup groups that have led to meeting some nice people who I hope to get to know better. I also just joined a winter kickball league that I have really high hopes for. We've only played one weekend so far, but my team was very nice and welcoming. (Much better than the Baltimore team!) And I'm intrigued by the idea of playing in the snow! I also have gotten into a couple of volunteer activities, both involving local animal shelters. While I haven't met anyone that I'm spending a lot of regular time with, I definitely see lots of possibilities here.