Christmas in Columbus, Part 2

Beautiful tree:

After playing "7 Wonders" with David and Rachel in Holland, Brian and I got a copy, and we started to teach it to Dave and Amy. I was happy to let Brian manage the explanation.

Rick enjoys the role of Santa - hat and all.

Dave's ipad was very interesting to Brian.

Christmas in Columbus, Part 1

Brian with a card:

Here is the nicest picture I took all day:

What a big present. I wonder what it is?

Awesome! It is a roaster pan!

Amy with a "I Love Lucy" pin:

Dave tried to use Brian's coat to reduce the window's glare, to improve photos. Amy was confused at first.

Dave with a present:

Smiles all around:

Karen with the only Coldwater Creek gift card that was given, despite the multitude of Coldwater Creek gift boxes (which were re-used from previous years).

Rick unwrapping:

A joint gift:

Eve

As most of you know by now, Eve got sick over Christmas and we had to put her down last week. She developed a large tumor in her chest cavity that was taking up the space her lungs used to breathe, and the tumor was a type that could not be treated with chemo. It was a very difficult decision for us, but we hope it was the right thing to do.

Here are some pictures from Eve's life, from early 2008 to the present. We actually got her in 2007, but those older pictures are not on my computer's hard drive. Still, you can see that she looks younger in the earlier pictures and grows more mature over time.

Eve and me playing on the futon in Florida:

Eve and Brussels, exploring a bowl of cherries, Florida:

Eve, pausing for a picture, Florida:

Rex and Eve, Florida:

Eve resting with Brian, Florida:

Eve, curling up into an "o", being cute, Florida:

Eve peering up at the camera lens, Florida:

(Top to bottom) Brussels, Rex, Chewbacca, Eve:

Eve yawning, Florida:

Eve on the laundry pile, right before we left Florida:

Eve, systematically removing socks from Brian's sock storage box, New Jersey:

Eve, Brussels, and Rex, snuggling in the cage, New Jersey:

Eve and me, having girl talk, New Jersey:

Eve and Rex in their hammock, Columbus, Ohio:

Eve resting in the gator, Columbus:

Chewbacca and Eve playing together, Columbus:

Rex, Chews, and Eve relaxing in Columbus:

Eve in the gator, Columbus:

Eve in Cincinnati with some of her favorite toys:

Eve in her last days, with Rex, who was her constant companion, Cincinnati:

Christmas in Holland, part 3

These two look Christmasy!

Eli nearly abandoned unwrapping his own gift to check our Josiah's, since he was faster unwrapping. Silly boy.

Three interested boys checking out the book Brian just got.

Josiah watching his Opa unwrap a gift very carefully:

No matter who was unwrapping, these 3 boys were always watching. Oma shows them her new book:

Christmas in Holland, part 2

Eli was trilled with his birthday gift, although it did lead to some other upset boys. The next day, when it was time to share, everyone was a lot happier.

These little boys like to listen to stories. Here their Oma is reading one.

Merry Christmas toast!

Dad and Eli, petting Ginger:

Since it was Christmas, we had to decorate some cookies. (L to R) Josiah, Mom, Simon, David, Rachel

Christmas in Holland, part 1

I'm not really in the mood to write a lot, but I wanted to post some pictures from our recent trip to Holland for Christmas. It was really great to see family and spend some time at my parents' house.

Eli's birthday is a few days before Christmas, so we were around to celebrate it. Here are the boys with a cake made my their Aunt Lisa. (L to R) back row: Rachel, Mom, Rachel's Dad; front row: Simon, Eli, Josiah

I visited with some of my friends from high school on our first day in town.

The boys quickly discovered that Uncle Brian had some games on his phone, and never tired of playing with it.

The boys also liked visiting with the ferrets. On this visit, we practiced sitting down on the ground when the ferrets are out so no one gets squished and giving the ferrets water.