Merry Christmas to all!

Aimee and I had a great Christmas season and are enjoying our time off. I think it's been since our honeymoon that we've had this much time off together. We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in Lansing. Starting with some last minute shopping and a traditional trip to Roma Bakery, we all gathered for mass at St. Gerard and then spent the rest of the evening at my parent's home.

Speaking of my parent's home -- they are finally moved back into their beautifully remodeled kitchen and living areas. 

click above for pictures!

After Christmas we spent a couple days with Aimee's family in Munster. With virtually no schedule to adhere to, it was truly a relaxing week!

Oh...and the Canon EOS Rebel XSi has officially been ordered! :)

Happy Birthday Kari.

We went home to Lansing this weekend to join the family for my sister Kari's 40th birthday party.  Hosted by Jami and Scott and my parents, it was an amazing party!  Homemade meatballs, dips, Italian sausage wontons (an overwhelming hit by the way), and a dessert spread so amazing it required its own room! We rented a Jeep Commander from Avis

Click the collage to view the album from the party

Deck the Hall.

'Twas a busy weekend...

The annual Deck the Hall concert was this weekend at OSP. Aimee had a solo in Huron Carol and got to sing in Huron (she's got some Native American heritage so somehow that makes sense to me). In the picture below, she is in the bottom left. I only went on Saturday night because a) my friend Jenny was in town and b) tickets were 50 bucks a pop.

Jenny Sullivan is a friend of mine from grade school and high school and now works for Families USA in DC. She was in town to speak at a health care conference, eat Chicago style pizza, and hang out with Aimee and me. It was great to see her!

In all, it was a very cooking-oriented weekend. Below are some pictures of Aimee preparing homemade marinara sauce, lasagna, tiramisu, and our friends from choir Anna and Megan. They came over on Sunday night for some Italian cooking (and Office-watching).