January 4

Today was our final full day in Maryland, and we spent it in simple fashion, just hanging around my grandma's house. (Which wasn't a hard decision to make since the western edge of the so-called bomb cyclone Grayson brought a small amount of snow, a lot of wind, and extremely cold temps to our door.)

While Adam finally finished the 1,000-piece puzzle he started shortly after we arrived, the boys played video games, Abby read and listened to music, and I hung out with my grandma watching TV. (That was after we spent a very short time outside in the snow! And by "very short," I mean about seven minutes because we were all frozen just a few minutes in.)

A little later in the day, the Little Boys "helped" my grandma make brownies for dessert (which means she talked to them while she did all of the actual work and then let them lick the bowl), and then Bobby and family brought over Ledos pizza for dinner. It's always hard to watch the kiddos get close to their cousins only to have to leave a short time later, but I really do treasure the moments, so I enjoyed watching them goof off this evening.

What else can I say, really? It's hard to be bicoastal. It's hard to live 3,000 miles away from all of... this. (Well, I can do without the 16-degree high temps, but you know what I mean.) So I'm deeply thankful for the time we've had here with my family and friends, and I'm thankful that I have people I truly treasure on both coasts.