Here are just a few shots of Joseph around the house today. Here here is playing with some of his new Christmas gifts...





and here he is playing outside in our new back yard! It's a little chilly, I suppose, but it's downright warm compared to Blacksburg!

Merry Christmas! Although we sure have been busy since moving in, today we're taking a break to celebrate my favorite holiday of the year. Here's Joseph sitting at this wee table set he discovered next to the Christmas tree after waking up this morning!

It's our first Christmas without any extended family around, and although we're keeping things pretty simple this year by necessity, we're still attempting to maintain some of our favorite family traditions like eating blueberry muffins for breakfast!



Now it's time to open presents! Joseph is sure excited to help!



As usual, it's nigh impossible to predict what's really going to grab the interest of a two-year-old! Grandma and Grandpa Allison gave Joseph a tiny set of trains and tracks, which is certainly interesting in and of itself, and I gave Tim a hardware organizer which Joseph isn't even supposed to care about. Together, though, all those drawers and train cars apparently make an irresistible combination!





Shirts are apparently quite a bit of fun as well! Our little fashion enthusiast always seems a bit partial to certain clothes, but his recent interest in learning how to put them on and take them off makes this cute shirt from Grandma and Grandpa Gedlaman even more exciting to unwrap!

Here I am with a fun new squirrel-resistant bird feeder. I sure can't wait to hang it up in our big, beautiful, back yard trees!



Although we opted to take a few shortcuts this year, like using store-bought instead of homemade rolls, we did manage to arrange for a fairly traditional Christmas dinner. He we are just getting ready to dig in! Yum!

For dessert, I opted to make a peppermint angel food cake. The cake turned out wonderfully, and it'll be even better once it's topped with some chocolate sauce! What a fun Christmas Day it's been!

Whew! All went well with closing on our house yesterday, and last night we slept in our own house for the first time. Joseph is already enjoying playing with these curtains the former owners left for us in the front room, and here comes the moving truck!

Now it's time to get all our stuff out of boxes! We're so excited to finally be here, but also a bit overwhelmed with all there is to do before Tim starts work on Dec 31, including my crazy wish to have a semi-normal Christmas Day. I guess we'd better get to work!

We made it to San Antonio yesterday afternoon, and we close on our house today! Here's a neat shot of a Kestrel Tim took from our hotel window this morning. It felt like he was here to welcome us back to TX!

Although Joseph tends to find hotels a little bit boring in general, he just can't seem to get enough of the hotel elevators. Here he is enjoying a ride downstairs!

It's our last morning here in Blacksburg, and apparently VA decided to see us off with a bang! It rained, snowed, and froze most of last night, meaning that this morning we woke up to slippery walks and glistening branches. It's so beautiful, but treacherous, too!

Thankfully, the plows and salting trucks must have been hard at work while we snoozed away, because the streets and highways were clear even before sunrise, when Tim took my parents to the airport. Joseph didn't get to see them this morning, but he did find this fun note from Grandma Susan as soon as he woke up! Tim's parents and Rob are on their way back up to PA this morning, and the Houstons are heading further south to TN, along some of the same roads we'll be taking to TX!

This morning, Grandpa Lloyd showed Joseph how these balloon bounce up, instead of down. They sure are having fun trying it out together!

A little later, though, Joseph's not quite sure what to make of this droopy balloon. It's amazing how many things there are to learn about in life!



Looking at all these shots, it becomes apparent that the movers have already come and gone, and we are currently without a speck of furniture of our own! Tim's parents brought some folding chairs with them so some of us could sit up off the floor now and again, and the Houstons brought their laptop with them so the kiddos could watch a movie here on this chilly day!

Actually, it's amazing what you can do with just a few simple tools! The first night everyone was here, we pulled off a home-cooked dinner of lasagna, veggies, garlic toast, and green salad, and tonight we're having subs. It's so much easier, and less expensive, to have dinner here where the kiddos can relax and play around a bit!



Speaking of which, here is Joseph now playing around with Benjamin. I'm not quite sure what Benjamin is feeding him in these shots, but he sure seems to think it's fun!

It's finally time for dessert! Tim's mom brought a box full of ingredients and utensils with her to make the Danish rice pudding Tim's family has always enjoyed around Christmas. It's full of delicious whipped cream and almonds, including one whole almond which, if found, yields the one who scooped it a prize! To make sure no one person has an unfair advantage, everyone gets a chance to stir the almond around in the bowl, which is what I'm doing here.



I don't think anyone can argue that the pudding is delicious! It's definitely a treat to have such a fancy homemade dessert during a time when we're already feeling a bit displaced. More importantly, though, we're so grateful to have had so much of our extended family here for Tim's graduation and our last few days here in VA!

Here we all are at Tim's graduation this afternoon, and as you can see, there are quite a few of us here! Tim is offstage with all the other graduates, of course, and Allan is taking the picture, but otherwise we're all shown.

Now here's a shot from the other side of the row, so you can see how big my belly's getting to be!

Joseph is doing great just sitting in his seat and waiting for the ceremony to get started, although I'm sure I'll be getting out the snacks and doodle board soon! Recently, Joseph has been really, really into numbers and counting, so I can probably keep him entertained for a good half hour just by writing numbers of the doodle board and letting him identify and erase them!

Here come the graduates, and there's Tim (in the top middle) just behind his advisor Dr Inman (wearing bright green)! Dr Inman was both surprised and excited when Tim mentioned he would be participating in today's ceremony. Apparently, most PhD graduates choose not to, so Dr Inman hardly ever gets a chance to actually hood any of his students!





Here are just a few more fun shots taken by my dad and Tim's mom as Tim made his way to his seat. It's really hard to successfully take pictures of a moving subject across a large indoor coliseum, but I think these turned out pretty well!



And now, the moment we've all been waiting for, here is Tim officially getting hooded and receiving his diploma for completing his doctoral degree in mechanical engineering! We're all so very proud of him!



Tim and I are both so grateful for what a great advisor Dr Inman has been for Tim! Here are some shots of them together back in their seats and after the ceremony when he came up with Tim to greet all the family.

All the kiddos did so well sitting through this really long and serious ceremony! Joseph made it through the all the PhDs, then spent the rest of the time happily looping around and around the coliseum with Grandpa Lloyd finding all the numbers above the doors. Benjamin also got a little antsy during the last ten minutes or so, but we managed to keep him busy with one of Joseph's toys. Here is Jonathan trying Tim's hat on for size. I wouldn't be at all surprised to see this smart kiddo wearing one of his own in just a few years!









The nice thing about ceremonies is that they make things feel so very official! We really are done with school for this stage of our lives! Tim's dad pointed out that we have now earned a grand total of five degrees in less than six years of marriage. What a super feeling!





Here are just a few more shots on the way back to the car, and now we're off for dinner at Outback Steakhouse!

Here at the restaurant, the kiddos just can't seem to get enough of these fun balloons!



Dinner was delicious, and just when we thought we were through, here come two waitresses with the biggest chocolate cake I have ever seen! These pictures just don't do its seven layers justice!



As we get ready to call it a night, I can't help but think what a great day it's been. Congratulations, again, Tim!