Lots to Tell

I know I have been a bit slack in posting lately and so I will have to condense a lot of info into this post. Let's see... we had the boys' first Christmas this year and what a whirlwind it was. We celebrated with my extended family here in New Zealand on Christmas day, with Nathan's family on the 26th and had my cousin's wedding on the 27th. Both babies were recovering from ear infections - ugh!- but handled the busy days really well. Aunty Kristina even bought them matching Christmas outfits which looked really cute! Neither of the boys were old enough to really get the concept of the holiday but Reuben did understand how to rip the paper off his Christmas presents and really enjoyed that aspect of it all. He was very blessed with gifts from all the family and has new toys galore. One favorite of children and adults alike was the 'Elmo Live' which is an elmo doll that sings, talks, dances, tells stories, etc. Possibly a little advanced for Reuben at the moment but the adults sure got a kick out of him. I find it amazing that with all the fancy, hi-tech toys that are out there now for kids that Reuben's highlight of the day was probably unwrapping everything. He honestly gets as much enjoyment out of playing with a kitchen untensil or piece of crinkly paper as he would with something that cost a lot of money. Ah, how simple life is before someone comes along and informs us that true happiness lies in the acquisition of lots of 'things.' :)

On to the wedding... my cousin Ashley got married to the lovely Katie on the weekend after Christmas and it was a beautiful day for the ceremony. They met earlier in 2008 and it was love at first sight. As Katie is Vietnamese, they are having ceremonies in both New Zealand and Vietnam. Even though there was a bit of a language barrier, we could understand enough to know that they are very much in love and that she is an absolutely beautiful person, inside and out. We wish them all the best.

We saw the New Year in without much fanfare. In fact, both Nathan and I were asleep before midnight which would be a first in who knows how many years. I guess that's what happens when you have very small children, one of whom I knew would wake in the middle of the night for a feed. Sleep is a very precious commodity in our house at the moment so we take any opportunity to grab some when we can. In saying that, I am excited about this year and am optimistic about what it has in store (I think I can safely say another baby won't be on the cards just yet, though.) Hope all of you reading this had a great Christmas and New Year and that 2009 is full of many wonderful surprises for you.