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.