Merry Christmas! Happy New Year!

Yeah, yeah....I realize I'm a wee bit late. My excuse box is full like my belly after two weeks of lots of food and very little movement. Seriously. FULL.

All I can say is that I'm sorry I have neglected this blog for 2+ weeks but now I'm back. In the office. Naturally, I post when I have time at work :)

So anywhoo - it's been a busy couple of weeks, full of food, family, laughs and snow. For all you East-Coasters who got to enjoy what was apparently a LOT of snow for the area, I'd like you to pause to recognize that there was already about a foot of snow on the ground in Wyoming when we arrived before Christmas and the good Lord decided to bless the area with another 8+ inches as we were trying to leave the Frozen Tundra, as I affectionately call my husband's homeland.

We enjoyed our break by spending time with my parents in TN, celebrating Christmas early, doing some last-minute shopping and birthday-celebrating, and of course - eating. Dad and I even got to ski for a day. It was a fun excursion, but a painful reminder that I'm getting older and that it's been a few years since I skied. My black and blue knee speaks to that!

We then flew west and spent a day with my father-in-law in Denver exploring our soon-to-be new neighborhood before we ventured north to the Arctic. Wyoming was nice, with sunshine and above freezing temperatures for most of the trip, although the snow and ice remained solid. We didn't get to go for walks in the mountains except for one time, but we did make sure to make eating at Su Casa (best Mexican food EVER) a priority - three times. We also enjoyed spending Christmas Eve with the family and Christmas day with Christian family at the Olsons' - the family that led my husband to Christ. I will forever be thankful to them for their spiritual legacy which has now affected MY family! They opened their home to us so we got to share in Bible study time, tons of tasty morsels and several rousing hands of Bingo, which won a new flashlight for my dear mother-in-law and a new 4GB memory card for me! It's good to be a Vanderburg. We win things.


Once we made it out of the blizzard (literally) in Wyoming and Colorado, we decided to spend an extra night with my parents in TN so we could celebrate New Year's Eve with them before heading home to OUR home.

It is good to be back. We love and miss our family, but there's nothing like a lazy Sunday in your own bed, football on the big screen and dominos and cuddling with OUR dog. We shared a bottle of sparkling white grape juice, a pot of chili and lots of snacks supplied by my mother.


So.....all travel news aside, I'm thankful to be home. Even though today marks the beginning of the last semester in NC for us, it's lovely to settle in for one more season of the familiar before the unfamiliar strikes hard and fast. 2010 was a great year but I am so looking forward to all the Lord has in store for us in 2011!