Doing great here in the country.  Been very busy with the newborn and the holidays.  Luke is on a pretty good "schedule." The girls and I are on a much welcomed homeschooling break.

Illinois is having a mild winter so far and I'm grateful, though snow is pretty and has a silencing effect on the soul.

We are gearing up for Christmas. Which basically just involves throwing gifts in boxes,  sticking bows,  throwing under tree.  Dustin has done most of the shopping, but Lara and I did manage some sans-baby shopping yesterday. She so badly wanted to get Claire a gift with her own money.  So sweet.

Last week,  we stopped by the Christmas party at our church.We left the party early to do a service project that involved sorting food for needy children.  The girls stayed busy and really enjoyed the work.

On Sunday, we had a family Christmas celebration with Dustin's side of the family. It was a really nice time,  and especially enjoyable with all the new little babies in town!  The girls decorated Christmas cookies,  we had a big feast  (though very short since I had to nurse the baby), and opened presents.

I hope to write a more involved post later.  I've started several and can't seem to finish.  Story of my beautiful life.