A good man is not a perfect man; a good man is an honest man, faithful, and unhesitatingly responsive to the voice of God in his life.

Hello blog friends! Have you missed me? I thought so - happy 2010! I realized today when sitting down to blog that this is why weekly blogging is key because it's nearly impossible to remember everything cool & funny that has happened in the past several weeks.

Christmas Rundown
We began our journey to Hot Springs with high hopes while listening to John Mayer's new album. I give it 3 stars because it was good, but I keep expecting something different from him & then it always sounds the same.

During our first year of marriage we went on a road trip to Colorado & downloaded a "road trip" CD which always reminds us of that trip & the first time we heard those songs. We've continued to do this ever since & it's been a fun family tradition to go along with Twizzlers (i.e. the most fun snack to eat & play air drums with in the car).

We had a blast with Ben's fam watching our nephews & niece open presents & taking time to have meaningful conversations. Then we trucked it up to Missouri & had a good ole' Griswold family Christmas with my fam including my grandparents, aunts, uncles & cousins. My favorite Christmas present went to my cousin Chad ...it's a pregnant lady coffee mug - priceless!

Should auld acquaintance be forgot
Since we're both having a milestone birthday this year, we decided to act old & stay in on NYE. A couple of friends came over & we made pizza, watched a movie & stayed up to watch the ball drop twice. On New Year's Day we hosted a brunch at our house & had 6 people of the 30 friends we invited come, but Ben got to make t-bones & eggs & it was a lot of fun.

Hibernating...
is pretty much what we've been doing since the holidays. We have been winterizing our house this week by putting plastic on all the windows, covers on the outside facets & dripping the inside facets so that our pipes don't bust. Ben has been eating, drinking & sleeping football & I've been attempting not to go into post-Twilight depression. He did voluntarily watch the movie Twilight with me & he liked it! Oh, & we began our first real attempt at a budget complete with a pretty awesome iPhone app on Jan 1 - so far so good.

The quote title of this blog makes me think of my grandpa. He is currently in a hospital in Florida because yesterday he had a stroke. He is a good man & none of us are ready to stop sharing life with him yet, so please keep him & our family in your prayers. Here's hoping that each of you develop a GREAT story in 2010!