A Christmas Carol | Christmas Eve 2009 from Granger Community on Vimeo.
We spent today up in Cadillac with some of our friends from Hope. Bryant and Becky drove in from Baltimore, Joel and Sarah (and baby Jamus) drove down from Boyne and we all met Luke and Lindsay in the middle! Ryan lived with Joel, Luke and Bryant throughout college and all those guys happened to marry Hope girls, many of us also lived together and knew each other from college... which makes our reunions very fun! We decided that all of our babies are destined to go to Hope College as well - and of course, they will marry each other and the circle of life will continue for many generations.
Ruby is just getting old enough to play - and Isla is a pile of fun. Even when there were huge plastic carrots to play with, the mail was the favorite toy of the day.
We so enjoy the random days when people are in town for the holidays and happen to find a time for a get-together. It's one of our favorite things about living in West Michigan. So many college friends either live in the area or have family in the area, so our town becomes a central meeting point. We only had 6 hours together today, but those 6 hours were full of laughter, stories and some delicious Mexican food (thank you Luke!) We love you guys! Can't wait for our next random reunion!
Ryan and I had a little date night tonight at a new sushi place in GR! We used to have incredible sushi at our favorite Sushi House in Chicago, but when we moved to Grand Rapids we couldn't find anything that compared. Tonight we went to OYSY Steak and Sushi Buffet in Centerpointe Mall. It was probably the best sushi we've found in GR. They fuze Korean and Japanese flavors and use special home-made sauces for each roll. Their all-you-can-eat sushi bar is only $8.95.
I had some time this morning so I pulled together some of the footage of Rubykins over the last 3 weeks or so. She is getting more fun every month... and seems to be figuring out ways to get our attention when we're not in the same room. She has an incredible scream - which sounds "very girly" according to my girlfriends who have boys. She is sitting up by herself (not going from laying to sitting, but staying in a sitting position once I put her there) and we have been trying out finger foods and sippy cups (mostly just for fun). She'll be on the move before we know it, so I am enjoying these days.
When we first moved to Grand Rapids I could not believe how much it snows here. I think I wore my huge snow boots every single day for 4 months... Each morning when I'd open the door to go to work I'd see fresh fallen snow. Incredible. It's been that way each winter since, and this morning it seems that the snowy winter has begun.
I am floored by the talent oozing from Ryan's brother Chris even though he's such a young'n. He does portraits that are spirited and real, and I love these ones he took of us a couple of weeks ago. He'll take your pictures too, all you have to do is contact him through his website or leave me a comment to let me know if you're interested and I can help move things along!
We made fudge! Piles and piles of fudge.
Chris looks good with the sunlight shining on his face.
Grandma and Grandpa Fisher drove up from Toledo.
This is my all-time favorite picture of grandpa. Love the hands inside the suspenders.
