2 Months in Normal Time = An Eternity With a Newborn

Wow, I can't believe it has already been 2 months since Owen joined our family. Time flies - especially with 2 kids. A lot has happened in the last couple of months. I'll get you caught up.

The day after Thanksgiving we took a trip up to Detroit to visit our friends, Andy and Rheanna, who were staying there while in the process of adopting their new little boy, and we were happy to learn that they are finally back home in Alabama. We stayed the night in the same hotel with them and shared stories and got caught up. We were envious about how quiet their little boy was compared to Owen, who apparently has just as healthy a pair of lungs as his older brother. Jake seemed to enjoy himself as well with Andy, Ranna, and "More Owen." Andy had the good fortune of sharing his name with a character in one of Jacob's favorite movies (Toy Story), so Jacob had no problems saying his name. Rheanna was trickier, but Jake did a pretty good job with it. However, when he saw Owen side by side with Brandt, his words were, "Hey, it's Owen, and more Owen."

At the beginning of December my mom came out to visit for the better part of a week to see her new grandson and his blessing. We had a good time. We paid a visit to her favorite Fudge Shop here in Columbus (Schmidt's Fudge Haus, located in the German Village, right next to Schmidt's Sausage Haus, a great German restaurant with great homemade Bratwurst and Knockwurst). We decided it might also be fun to drive up to Amish country, so we hopped into the van, but unfortunately picked the day a storm came through, so our 1 1/2 hour drive up to Berlin, Ohio, ended up taking 3 1/2 hours, and by the time we got there, we had only 30 minutes until everything closed. Then we drove 2 hours back (road conditions had improved). So we still haven't seen much of Amish country, but it was a pretty drive! On her last day, we went to the mall, because they have a nice play area that Jacob loves, and it gives him the opportunity to run around when it is too cold to go out to the park.

Leigh Ann starts back at work on the 29th, and she is worried that she has forgotten everything (which I seriously doubt). I am sure she is looking forward to getting out of the house a bit more.

With tithing settlement season in full swing, I spend a good part of my Sundays at church, as well as a couple of hours on Wednesday nights. I'll be glad to have it over and done with (and so will Leigh Ann). All in all, though, I am enjoying my calling as ward financial clerk. And as long as the audits go well, the bishopric is happy to keep me in my calling.

Next week we head down to Chattanooga to spend Christmas with Leigh Ann's family. The fact that gas prices are down to a comfortable level is particularly nice as we face the 8-hour car drive ahead of us. Things got pretty easy with Jacob on long trips - especially since we got the van with the DVD player. Now we are back to having a newborn, and they can make road trips take just a bit longer.

Next year we anticipate making a trip, sometime near the end of the year, to Utah for my brother Richard's upcoming wedding.

That is about all there is to update on.