Do You Hear What I Hear

We're back from SoCal, and what.a.trip. Not only did we stuff our faces (surprise, surprise) with "awesome" food, but we spent time with extended family members ("love that"), and came back with still a few days of vacation left - "perfect."

Christmas with Mr. Woo's family is so different than what I'm accustomed to. Spending several days with a bustling house filled with much noise was something I had only seen on TV and heard on the other line when I called friends to wish them a happy holiday. I guess being an only child with relatives living across borders makes it difficult to gather in such conditions. But, you know, this Christmas was a bit different from last year's in that his cousin's husband's sister's family joined us too.

Meet the cousins + the Lavenders (circa Summer 2008):

Yes, they have 5 girls. Yup, they all live under the same roof. Yeah, it's fun with them. I'm convinced that the more children the merrier - maybe not on the bank account, but in love, laughter, and cherished memories. Each is their own little person wrapped up with a different personality than the rest. What a joy! We're hoping to go visit them in the South sometime. It'd be my first trip to "my roots!"

I'm sitting here in the living room (which I've been "poofing" this past fall), and I never realized how quaint and quiet our place was until now...