Christmas party, cookies, lunar eclipse, friends

Last Saturday's Christmas party at Ken and Kyi Kyi Whiting's house was a lot fun. We got to visit with friends and also went caroling at two care homes in their neighborhood. Lisa loved hanging out with Karen Fathergill. She is so good with kids. I love being around people who have so much patience with kids and seem to genuinely enjoy their company. It's a good example to me to lighten up and let kids be kids. Lyra loved the Christmas tree and made it her mission to get those shiny ornaments. As I looked around the room that night, I soaked up the warm, fuzzy feeling that always seems to show up when surrounded by such great people.

Yesterday, we also had our own little cookie party. Donna brought Ollie over and decorated cookies with us for almost 4 hours! It has been a long time since I really baked like that and it was a blast. Now that Lisa is older, I actually get to sit and decorate my own cookies for real. Lyra made it super easy too by taking a FIVE hour nap. I was starting to get a little worried at the end and had Ryan go in and wake her up when he got home. She must be having a growth spurt or something. While Donna and I were visiting, she mentioned that she and Tony were going to view the lunar eclipse at the CSI Planetarium and invited us to come. We called our new favorite babysitter, Mary, and she agreed to watch the girls last minute. First we joined them for dinner at the Rock Creek Restaurant and then headed over to the Planetarium around 11:30pm, when moon was just starting to eclipse. I don't remember ever seeing an eclipse before and it was cool to look through the big telescope for a close-up. We watched until about 12:45am, when it appeared to be mostly eclipsed and turning that orangey-brown color. Apparently this is the first time in 500 years that a lunar eclipse has fallen right on Winter Solstice. Being in Idaho for this December event made it a rather chilly experience, but I'm glad we got to spend the time with each other and in such good company.