The other author

Hi Faithful readers! (reader?) I am posting for the first time on, um, "our" blog. Usually the wife consults me and then posts whatever she wants. She is sleeping right now and my twin is making breakfast. We are in Santa Barbara for a little post Christmas visit. My baby girl is getting ready to arrive (one way of putting it) in about a month and we are are preparing to move to a place down the hill with a room for said baby. The wife, of course, is forbidden from any heavy lifting (pansy) so we are getting help from local friends and the twin and his wife. A busy month. We have had a nice holiday mostly with visits and calls to the family (both sides.) We had a very nice visit with my cousin, lovingly referred to as Bobby John (only by me and the twin) and his wonderful wife, Melinda, who is from the San Diego area. We met up at his grandparents' (the ones we don't share but are about the nicest people on God's green earth.) As always, the visit seemed too short. Bobby John and Melinda were nice enough to put us up (read: put up with us) last month when we went to Mormon land for a baby blessing. My wife's middle older sister had her third and it was a great opportunity to see a chunk of the family (again, on both sides), and a chance to see my old missionary areas, if only briefly. On that same trip the aforementioned Melinda invited me to speak to her 7th grade science classes (all at once) about science and to explain (make up information about) the finer points of atoms and molecules. It was so much fun and I was extremely grateful for the opportunity. There may be some video of the event posted here in the future. In more recent history, last Sunday we sang in our fourth consecutive sacrament meeting Christmas program with the ward choir. As always it came off much better than practices would indicate. After the Christmas eve visit with Bobby John and his wife, we spent a quiet night at home with some Skype video calls to family in Delaware. My dad showed us old ('97-'98) family videos. We went to Oceanside to visit the wife's grandparents and her uncle and cousin on Christmas morning and afternoon. Fun was had by all and we enjoyed a nice Christmas at home in the evening. Happy holidays! (Pictures coming soon!)