Friday, December 24, 2010

December Visits

Merry Christmas Eve! I know I"m dreadfully behind on posting, so as my poor sick hubbie recovers and the girls nap, here's an update on what's been going on with us this last month.

We had the tremendous blessing to visit with my dad's brother and his family--whom we haven't seen since my sister's wedding in July of '09. They spent a short amount of time with us, but we loved all the time we got!

Here they are enjoying the sights of Fisherman's Wharf:





We saw this otter swimming around among a ton of jellyfish--it was amazing! (See the pink splotches in the picture--those are jellyfish.)


Thanks for taking time out of your quick trip to CA to visit us--We love you!





Another memorable occasion this month was Jon's graduation from the Naval PostGrad School. (More on that in another posting.) His aunt and uncle from LA drove up for the occasion and it was great to see them too:


And last but certainly not least, the Luminatis came out to see Jon graduate and to spend some good Christmas time together before we move. Here's Gram and Kate:




And Ellie with her new best friend. It was funny--Ellie LOVED Pops. (Who doesn't? :) She would wake up and call for him, and she adored having him chase her down the hall. It was so cute to see them play together! She even took him on a long walk. He needed a nap after that.


And Gram helped keep the tradition of sugar cookies alive in our house with her two little elves:



We opened presents before they headed back to Colorado and one of their thoughtful gifts was this book. It's a wonderful story recorded in their voices that I know we'll cherish when we're across the pond. Thanks so much! We love you and enjoyed all our time with you.



Gram and Pops watched the girls while Jon and I sorted stuff in preparation for the move next month. Our unaccompanied baggage has already left and we're only in Monterey for a few more weeks. It's hard to believe the move to Germany is almost here.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dear ones, it is hard to believe how fast our visit went!! We were so proud and delighted to see Jonathan graduate and proud also of all that Jen does to support him. Being with the girls was PRECIOUS time and being able to celebrate Christmas was a very special gift. Love the photos...love you all to the moon and back...G+P

Nana said...

Hi JJKE,
What a busy month you have had and what treasured memories of your time in Monterey. Isn't family great to have come and go and remind you that you are loved very much! Congrats Jon, we are so proud of you and your accomplishments! We're excited to see how God will use you in Germany! May your assignment be one that challenges you in your gifting! The first stage of moving is complete with many more to come. We like best the part where you are here in Colorado. We can't wait to see you all. Merry Christmas! We wish we could be with you!
Love,

Shari Baker said...

I am so happy for you that you could have so many visitors this month, especially as you will be a bit further away soon! Good times!