A New Year, A New Family Member

I want to thank all who left a comment about our dog's passing. It hit me harder than I expected, and I appreciated the kind words. The holiday family gatherings never felt quite complete without Solomon wandering between our legs, tripping us, looking for a dropped treat, hogging the comfy chair. At the same time, I'm happy that he's no longer in constant pain. I think that he's probably running around in an endless field and forest, chasing deer to his heart's content. He was always thwarted by somebody when we lived on the mountain in Provo (although there was the one time when he actually cornered one in the woods behind our house and then panicked because he didn't know what to do next), but now he's free.

I have to say that while I'm always excited about a new year, I'm a little nervous about what this one will bring. The big news that I've been sitting on for awhile is that I'm expecting. My due date is June 9, and I'm really excited, but also exhausted. This brings the offspring tally to a (definitely final) four. It's a nice, square number. Even without the familial addition, we're getting too big for our little 2 bedroom bungalow, so we're trying to convince ourselves that we're putting the house on the market in the spring and looking for a bigger one. It doesn't have to be huge (I would prefer not, in fact), but it's got to have more than the single bathroom we have now, and hopefully lots of bedroom space.


The holidays have been nuts, of course, but in a good way (I didn't knit a stitch the whole week before Christmas). My brother (above) got homesick and bought tickets at the last minute for himself and his girlfriend to fly out from New York to spend Christmas with us. It was wonderful to have Blue here, and we also had all the cousins and siblings over on Christmas day and throughout the week. By the way, Blue's nickname may be one thing, but he seems to have made a tradition of dyeing his hair pink when he has more than a week-long break from teaching math to high school students in Manhatten's Chinatown. He has to wear a collar and tie to work everyday and lay down the law, so when he's on furlough, he seems to make the most of it. The Blonde One was smitten. The Neefer and I are going to New York at the beginning of March, and I can't wait.