Maya gave her brother what she described as a gorilla like monkey. I can only imagine what inspired her to select this gift for him. 

Jeanine received her very own camera selected for its user friendliness. I was inspired to make this gift by complaints that Nicolai monopolized the camera I sent them to Tanzania with. Jeanine mastered the unit within five minutes and then proceeded to photograph everything in sight. I may have created a monster. 

The boys received a Sonos whole house music system with a subscription to Rhapsody. Basically, they have immediate access to any song ever recorded and internet radio stations from around the globe. To say they were enthralled with this gift would be a huge understatment. 

Maya has been wishing for her own sewing machine. Apparently, Santa thought she was pretty nice last year and her wish was granted. 

Christmas Eve would not be complete without Zeppole Balls. I have forgotten the actual name for these fried dough balls bathed in honey and sprinkles but we make them every year just as my Italian grandmother did when I was a child. Jeanine made the dough, Maya was in charge of rolling it out into long strips, Nico cut the strips (with unusually high precision) into marble sized chunks, I cooked them, and Kyle cleaned up the mess. Our team effort resulted in one of our best batches ever. 

The girls pose with the statuary as we depart the restaurant. I like the notion of sword bearing soldiers standing guard over these two and may call them into service once they become teenagers. 

Here the girls take special care to ensure that their drinks are at exactly the same height. Why this is important, I can not say, but then I am not an eight year old girl. 

After the service we enjoyed another holiday tradition, diner out at our local Chinese restaurant. This year we invited the Budris family to join us. Sarinaugh is Maya’s soul mate and her two sisters are the same age as Kyle and Nico. It was a great meal spent in the company of great friends. 

This evening the family attended the Christmas Eve service at First Parish which culminates in the singing of Silent Night by candle light. Despite the fact that only one and a half members of the family can sing to save their life, everyone participates to the best of their ability. 

Jeanine shows Kate our photo wall which features enlarged black and white versions of our Christmas cards going back for a decade. We are going to have to start another wall to accommodate this year’s photo. 

Kyle was invited to dine with Chloe’s family. Knowing that Chloe’s mother enjoys peanut brittle he made a batch using Jeanine’s family recipe. It should be noted, that at no time during his life has Kyle ever made peanut brittle for his father who is also known to enjoy it.  

This evening we had the Yoder family over for dinner. Nicolai takes great pleasure and pride in being the official punch master. His concoction, as he refers to it, was outstanding and included freshly sliced fruit and frozen rasberries. 

Despite all the hardship created by the snow this year, there can be no argument that it makes for a wonderful white Christmas. It was almost midnight when I took this photo of the view we have from our front door. 

Nicolai scored 2 goals and had one assist to help his team to a 6-4 win. His first goal, pictured here was a short range chip, beating his defender and the goalie. His second was a gorgeous full volley that ripped into the upper corner. 

Nicolai had an indoor game this evening. Here he just misses a beautiful flick-on header. 

A nice winter scene on the way into work this morning. 

Question: How do you keep from losing your boyfriend in the crowd? Answer: You put a label on him. This is a very pragmatic solution that never occurred to me while I was growing up. Excuse me, I feel the sudden urge to label my wife in case she inadvertantly strolls beneath some mistletoe at a holiday party. 

Maya attended a Gingerbread House / Sledding party (I did not know these existed either) with this architectural masterpiece. 

While driving to work, I passed a tractor trailer covered in snow and ice and I thought to myself what would happen if a large chunk came flying off and hit my car. A second later, a man-hole size peice of solid ice crashed into my windshield. The impact was massive and I am still amazed that the glass did not shatter. For the rest of the day, I wondered how close I had come to death. What if I was driving 3mph faster? What if the chunk of ice had hit at a less oblique angle? What if I had swerved off the highway to avoid it? The fact that I had anticipated the possiblity left me wondering as well. At the end of the day, I am reminded to take nothing for granted, to live each day fully, and to love those close to me.

I think it is safe to say that Maya loves her dog. I believe in a popularity contest, I would come in after the canine. I now have a new appreciation for the phrase the world is going to the dogs. 

Jeanine assists Maya with her music homework after a day spent largely indoors. I ventured out early this morning to play futsol and cleared an additional 10 inches of snow when I returned. We have already had more snowfall in December than the entire winter last year. 

With all the help, the tree was decorated in no time. Jeanine prepared a two course fondu dinner (cheese entree and chocolate desert) which is a family favorite. Through in the first fire of the season and some holiday music and the house was filled with Christmas spirit. 

The entire crew pose with their creation. Guests this evening include Sarinnagh, Patrick, and David. 

Tonight we decorated the Christmas tree for family night. Each child invited a friend to spend the night and to participate in the tree trimming. 

Maya prepares to take a shot at basketball practice this morning. Despite her diminuative stature, she is a little dynamo. 

Naturally, the kids are enjoying the snow. I snapped this photo of Maya waiting for the bus as I departed for an early work meeting. 

This was the first big snow for Nala. She went crazy. I believe she confused herself with a submarine, burrowing deep into the soft powder. If it was not so entertaining to watch I would have liked to strangle her for messing up my perfect snow blown driveway contours. I should also report that she has learned how to open the front door. She can now let herself in or out of the house. Her ability to close the door behind her (she can’t) is only slightly worse than the children and I am anticipating an enormous gas bill this winter. 

Today we were hit with 12 inches of snow. It began to fall at around 1PM and did not stop until midnight. Because so many people let work early, the plows got stuck in traffic and the roads were really quite bad. I was lucky on my back road commute and it only took me an hour to get home. Some of my co-workers reported spending 5 hours on the road. 

This photo of Nico and Jeanine in Tanzania came in today. It was taken by the leader of the yoga group they spent time with on their visit to Africa. Do these guys look relaxed or what. 

Kyle is getting increasingly committed to his music and spends a good deal of time practicing by his own choice. 

Maya adorns herself with some fabric we are using to decorate the Chistmas tree.