On the Fifth and Sixth Days of Christmas...

...my true love gave to me, six pounds of onions, five charming children,

four needle sticks, three game controllers, two duelling dog lovers, and my health and some sanity.

Six Pounds of Onions

Happy New Year!

Last night we celebrated the new year with old friends from our former parish that we don't get to see very often. 16 adults and 16 kids (granted, most of them ours) made for quite a celebration.

I spent the afternoon serving as prep chef for my ambitious friend who was serving a multi-course sit down Prime Rib and shrimp dinner. I volunteered for any job that allowed me to sit, and that meant chopping. I sliced 6 pounds of onions, prepped 3 heads of cauliflower, peeled 24 potatoes and grated Gruyere cheese, among other things. This exhausted me so thoroughly that I promptly fell asleep on the couch when I sat down for "just 15 minutes". Pathetic, but true. It was really nice to just follow instructions rather than direct a meal of this magnitude and I enjoyed the afternoon chatting with friends while everyone prepared things.

Unbelievably, most of the children stayed awake for midnight and were plied with poppers that they gleefully set off at midnight. True to form, Sam and Julia fell asleep in the middle of it all and were oblivious to the noise. How do they do that?

Anyway, it felt great to be welcomed so warmly back into our former community. During mass yesterday morning, the priest even mentioned how happy he was to see the "Di Silvestris of the Desert" back for a visit. This warmed out hearts immeasurably. It took us nearly 45 minutes to leave church after mass so busy were we greeting people that we have missed. I am very grateful that we, especially our children, can maintain the friendships that made leaving Northern California so difficult for us. It's like having the best of both worlds, old and new.

I hope everyone had a happy New Year celebration and that 2007 brings nothing but health and happiness to the fine readers of this blog.

Five Charming Children

Need I say more?

Now, I'm not saying they're charming all the time, but overall I give them good marks. We are truly blessed.