{My Holiday Helpers}

This has been a strange month. It's like Friday the 13th
everyday or something. :( Couple good things though...

* My last day of classes is Tuesday the 16th. Glad this
semester (if you can call it that) is almost over.

* I've spent a lot of time with the Morenos in the past week.
Linds and Michael had their baby girls, Teagan and Boston,
Sunday the 7th. Boston is still in the NICU but doing okay.
She just needs to eat on her own before she can come home.
Teagan is home and in the process of figuring out her new
schedule. Mom and dad are doing a lot of back and forth,
but they're hanging in there. Those girls are so itty bitty!


Grandma Diane with Lindsay and Boston


Michael and Teagan


Here's a better look at Teagan's face.
Boston looks exactly the same, just a little smaller.

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Now onto those holiday helpers of mine. Killian was the
best gift wrapping partner a girl could ask for. We got
all the gifts for the kids wrapped and sent this week.
Killian loves wrapping paper rolls. :)
I was really excited to only spend $50 on gift shipping
this year -- a bargain after spending $200 on that last
year. I was also able to avoid buying one single plastic-
laden toy! Sorry "made in China". Instead, I focused on
books and clothes. (The first picture is a little blurry, but
it makes me smile.)




Remember how I discovered Oliver in my tree chewing on the
lights? Well, I took the lights off, and what do ya know...
They all still work. It's a mystery, but I'm glad they do.
They're the first lights I ever bought -- December 1996 --
and they're still delivering glimmering Christmas joy. :)


These floating shelves in the living room have become my
favorite seasonal decorating tool. They lend themselves
so nicely to holiday flair. Here's what they look like
this Christmas...




And one last thing...
Norah and Killian are the best. They make me smile every
single day, without fail. (And I've needed it lately.) They were
playing out in the back yard the other day with their trusty
tennis ball when it landed in the pool. I heard the sound of
sloshing water through the open window and thought they
had gotten in themselves. I went back to check on them and
found this. Such cute babies.


Never fear, guys. Mom is here. :)