My Christmas break has officially started. Well, it officially started Friday afternoon when I came home from work, and I guess now I'm well into it. Erin & the kids came on Thursday afternoon and Josh flew in yesterday so they could have Christmas with his family, so it was good to spend some time with the Joneses for a couple days (everyone except Josh, that is...he managed to avoid us...for some reason he'd rather hang out with his family than his in-laws when he comes to Lubbock). Anyway, I hadn't seen Noelle much since I visited Liberty when she was just a few weeks old, and boy was she fun to hold and smile at. She is such a happy, content baby and will just sit in your lap and watch everything around her until she gets hungry. Kellen and Bonnie had fun jumping in dead leaves (we have a lot of those) and riding around in the wheelbarrow in the back yard with Uncle Chad as the driver.

It's cold here. The high here today is 34, and I see that it is cold pretty much everywhere in the state. Part of me wishes it was snowy too, but considering we have to drive to Tyler in the next few days, I am glad for the sunshine. If we were staying home I would be more open to some wintry weather.

Good news...Excelsior College finally processed Chad's school stuff and mailed his completion paperwork to the state board. So, Chad should be getting a letter soon from the state board saying he is eligible to test. This is great...it means he can start his job in January! He had been checking the EC website every day to see if it said "Degree completed" instead of "pursuing degree," and finally at the end of the week it did! So that is one more hoop that we are glad he has jumped through.

Yesterday we spent all day taping and priming the paneling and trim in the hallways, living room and kitchen. Chad hopes to be finished with that by Christmas. It is looking good...I will post pictures when it's all done.

That's about it from here. Life is good, and we are blessed. Happy holidays everyone!