best things from home

well, dorothy said it best after she clicked her heels together. . . and it's true, so so true. best things about being home (in no particular order):
1. michael making coffee in the morning
2. owen playing with sierra doggy pretending he's a horse and yelling "kittycatkittycat" up the stairs
3. sleeping in our own bed, even if five bodies are snuggling up on one queen sized bed
4. ahhhh. bathtub. bathtub. bathtub.
5. this, right now. my office hour. closing the door, upstairs, in my own corner of the office with my coffee while michael and owen play downstairs in the garage/playroom.
and really these these bests all have to do with all of us (dog and cat included) being together.

ok, i promised myself a quick post as my office hour today is so i can keep these little wheels of mine turning. i've got an amersfoort paper draft here and various and sundry school-ish things to do. but i couldn't resist sharing these holiday pics.

some best snapshots:
1. owen and mama making cookie dough christmas red--a great opportunity for owen to show off his counting skills "ooooonetwothreefiveseveneighteighteighthoooorah!eight)(while nana pulls the first batch of purple cookies out of the oven off screen):
2. owen wearing great (great?) aunt fredonia's apron he found in the back of the towel drawer (while mama and nana sweep sprinkles up off the floor):

3. christmas eve-day at the beach:4. see best-thing #2 above (and owen holding his favorite "bag"--his easter basket from grandma--he carries around with treasures he finds around the house)5. owen sitting on santa-papa's lap christmas day:which leads to all the best things about christmas: sal and jenn spending christmas eve with us and then playing with owen and his new kitchen while michael and i opened our gifts to each other on christmas morning, nana and papa playing with owen's new legos, edy and jerry remembering stockings for sierra and izzy, our neighbors joining us for christmas dinner, owen's absolute joy each time he opened a new present "train! tRAIN! EEEEllllmo! ooooooh! circle circle color crayons yellow!" and his continued use of "donkuvelle" along with please and tankyooou and how he stopped and had to play with each toy for half an hour before he would even consider untying another bow.