ho, ho, ho

 so the good news is that xia has yet to stick diaper pins into the fat of fuxiang's legs!

we'll choose to concentrate on the good news.

we have spent the past couple of months adjusting... it's coming along. some days are better than others. each girl needs her one-on-one time. so i haven't been making the progress on the novel i had been hoping to make....

but there have been two trips to disneyland....

 and an awesome thanksgiving at sarah & trevor's house, with her beloved parents in from south africa....

and luce and ad, and we noted with some shock and amazement that the six children around the table were all adopted.

we've had great visits from great friends....

and xia had her stage debut in a professional production of "the nutcracker," where she was both a chinese doll in the party scene, and a sugar babe who framed the sugar plum fairy quite nicely.

we did the holiday merriment, which included me ruining the gingerbread house....

and jeff's mom joan is out to share the holidays and new year with us, which makes things very merry.

santa must have had a hernia hauling for this crew....

then we were welcomed at stan & judy's in laguna, two of the most gracious people in the world, who welcome us to their holiday celebrations as if we were indeed part of the family.... here's judy and trev showing off the blond-and-blue-eyed thing....

 a gorgeous holiday table....

and the girls. xia and rosie best pals since they were 1... luna entering the picture not long after and being the little one... who is now one of the big girls. it seemed like it would be forever until all four of them were in one place... but here we are. merry christmas to all, and to all, a good night.