We had a wonderful Christmas break!

We especially had a lot of fun playing with our nephew Ethan. He’s about 15 months old now, babbles away in his own language, and loves running and kicking a ball. He reaches for everything and likes to look through his board books. Such a cutie!

Christmas Eve was the annual Benedict caroling and fondue party:

Our families live less than a hour apart, and we were able to see them both on Christmas Day. (This was the last year for that, though! My mom is retiring and heading south as soon as she can!)

We spent Near Years Eve with our dear friends and their sweet little one. (David was annoyed though – everyone fell asleep before midnight. He had to wake us up to watch the ball drop!)

We also spend some quality time with Grandma and Grandpa. We love them so much!

We even got in one of Sam’s basketball games:

It was so great to catch up with family and friends. We were also glad to visit with our church family. And we attended the wedding of one of our friends!

We made it out of Michigan just before the polar vortex. And even though our travels didn’t go completely as planned, we made it back safely and for the most part on time. There was a short week of school last week and we’re slowly getting back into sleep patterns and a routine. As much as we love our time at home in Michigan, it also feels good to be back home in Turkey!