We had our ward Christmas party last night and I'm just shooting myself for not at least taking the still camera. When the kids found out Santa was coming, they just about jumped out of their skins. Shrimp put her hands on Domba's shoulders and said (with a beatific smile on her face), "Santa is here! I knew he would come!" Bub was first in line and hopped right on his lap and talked to him even though she's too big now to believe in Santa (and is excited to BE Santa this year). Domba was a little scared, and Shrimp was in heaven. Even Mini-Me enjoyed the attention and just looked a little curiously at Santa's outfit then held still for a picture. One of my favorite parts of the evening was watching Mini-Me "walk" around the cultural hall pushing a small plastic chair! Can you believe that little lazy bum is still not walking? And is 18 months? At least she's putting in the effort to try now! Anyway, we had a great time stuffing stockings for families in the ward in need, making reindeer cards, eating lots of junk, and watching the kids sing Christmas carols at "Open Piano Night"... :)

I forgot to mention that Derek is in Minneapolis briefly for a project with a former professor of his. Last I talked to him, he had deactivated the key to his room by talking on the cell phone (which I guess they told him not to do). Weird, huh? He was sad he missed the ward party. I've been sad to have him gone and have missed the help with the kids! I consoled myself today as I missed most all of my Sunday meetings due to cranky baby with the fact that Mini-Me will be "legal" to enter Junior Nursery in a week! So hip, hip, hooray for my last Sunday with a bored one-year-old in the halls.

One more notable quote from Shrimp : she has been "translating" the gabble that Mini-Me spouts at all times. I asked her in teh car the other day how she knew what Mini-Me was saying and she told me, "Because, she is speaking Ainglish." Of course I have been trying to weasel that word out of her at every opportunity because it's so cute... ;)

Yes, folks, it does snow in Maryland. And contrary to what everyone told us, the world does not come to an end. In fact, they didn't even cancel school, just delayed it a couple of hours (that was really annoying timing), and salted and sanded our neighborhood and several other major roads around. The driving was as I expected--terrible! In fact, it seems much like what it was in Ann Arbor, just on a larger, denser scale--lots of people from tons of different countries and climates, some who have no clue how to drive in the snow, some who are stupid enough to be on the road with the afore mentioned people, and the desperate few (like Derek) who HAVE to drive with them. Poor Derek had the sad misfortune to take a friend to Reagan airport (normally at 30-40 min drive in non-rush hour)--took him 4 hours. Sad, huh? And this was after two nights of no sleep. Didn't I marry a saint?

I had my induction into the world of Enrichment leader last week as we held one of our quarterly meetings. Overall, I think it turned out quite nicely, though of course, there are never as many that come as you would like. It sure was stressful, though, and I think I've learned a few things that I need to delegate better next time. There's always tomorrow, there's so much to do...as the song goes.

I forgot to mention that Derek and I got new running shoes a few weeks back. We both felt like we were running on air! I have to admit, we both wore our last ones to ground and then some, but it's so hard to justify so much money for a pair of shoes when you are college ($100/pair average if you have never bought any). However, we rationalize that we don't have to buy any other equipment and that it is a safety thing anyway since poor shoes lead to all sorts of injuries. I noticed my arthritic hip has been so much better with my new shoes and Derek's back seems better. Ah, the joys of running. Most days, I just have to make myself go out and run. I often find I have enjoyed myself by the end, but getting out the door is pure willpower. Now that I'm so accustomed to getting up and running 6 days a week, I'm going to start lengthening my run. Right now I'm only going 1.5-2 miles per run. I need to get up to 3-4 soon, and then I think I'll start training for a 10K (8-ish miles). Derek was saying I should do that, and I reminded him that I was doing that the very month I got pregnant with Mini-Me. In fact, I ran 7.5 miles (my longest run yet), and didn't understand why I never recovered from that run... :)

Domba is just thriving in kindergarten. We had her dear teacher over for dinner (with her son) a month ago which was a pleasure. She is Quaker and a very serene person. It's been so much fun to see Domba learning to read small words and coming home so excited about the science projects they do at school. One recent adjustment that has been a transition for Domba has been her new bedtime. We switched Bub and Shrimp to different bedrooms so the older two and the younger two are now roommates. The switch has been relatively painless except for the fact that Domba often goes to bed too late for how early she gets up with Bub. We've tried to get her down earlier without a whole lot of success. Hopefully her high need for sleep will continue to diminish some and she will be able to sleep in more to compensate...

Okay, it's getting late, but let me close on how much I love my oldest daughter. She is so dear and has been the backbone of our family in so many ways this past half-year. She has weathered a big move to a new school and new ward with flying colors and continues to keep our family full of spunk and joy. Not only she succeeding in school and with extracurricular activities, but more importantly is gaining great self-mastery and maturity in her dealings with other members of the family and friends. In all the times that Derek has to be out of town, she has always risen to the occasion and been so extra helpful with the younger kids, often at a sacrifice to her own needs and wants. Here's to the special spirits God sends us! Cheers!
Maren
PS Pics will come as soon as I get my dumb computer up and running. You want pics? You can speed the process by praying that I can fix it sooner rather than later...