We're Home!

Hi Bloggy Friends!

We're back! Are you still here? I hope so. I missed chatting with you while we were away. We had a great time back home for the holidays. We spent about eight days with a ton of family and friends that we don't have the chance to see on a regular basis. Christmas felt a lot different to me this year. It didn't quite feel like "Christmas," but the good thing about it was that it felt a lot more laid back. I divided my time between Lancaster with my Mom, and Louisville with my Dad. Alan and Galileo spent a few days with me in Kentucky, but the majority of their time was spent in Knoxville with Alan's parents. They had a nice time too. Alan's parents have three dogs, so Galileo had a busy social calendar of his own. He's so cute.

It felt so good to be back home with my parents and my brother and sister. I love them so much. I spent most of my time with my brother, Derek. We ran around seeing friends, and attending traditional family gatherings. We don't always get along perfectly, but he remains my very best friend in the whole world. Everyone else seems to be doing really well. It feels strange to be considered a visitor in a world that was once my own. When it came time to leave I felt really sad. I think leaving your family is the hardest thing in the world to do. I've had to do it several times. It doesn't feel right, but I know my place is here.

I hope you all had a fantastic Christmas/Holiday/Kwanzaa/Hanukkah. You can check out some photos of my trip by clicking HERE and HERE. I divided them up between Lexington and Louisville to make for easier viewing. I'd love to hear how your Christmas went. Do you feel that Christmas seemed a lot different this year? Is it the economy? The state of the world? Or is Christmas just changing altogether? I happened to enjoy it more this year than I have in a while. In the past few years Christmas has just seemed like a major hassle. This year, however, people didn't seem to get too hot and bothered by it. We all gave thoughtful, cost-conscious gifts and didn't have to sweat spending a ton of money to make people happy. This year we seemed to focus more on the togetherness of family. I think that's just what Christmas should be about. Don't you?

Have a great time celebrating the new year tonight! I'm not sure how our night will unfold. We have dinner reservations with a few friends, but what happens after that is up in the air. We both have the whole rest of the week off. I'm so thankful for that! I'll chat with you guys soon. Have a fun, safe, fulfilling evening.

Love, Josh