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Holy Eucharist at the National Cathedral on Christmas Eve.
Opening the best present ever…
A shoe shining kit from Neil (made by handicapped folks). I am secretly obsessed with shining my shoes. Hurrah for Neil!
Neil enjoying a new book… I am not as good a gift-getter as Neil. No one ever could be.
MERRIEST OF CHRISTMASES TO ALL!!!!!!
For family (we hosted, for the 2nd year in a row, my ENTIRE family for Thanksgiving!)
For friends (generous, generous friends & hosts)
For food (Fab Frugal Food)
For fun (don’t I look like a natural dog-whisperer?) That is Henry, the dog we pet sit for free vacation space. Henry is the best dog ever. His average walk is about 30 ft. out the door. He then sits & refuses to move until taken back inside. My kind of pooch!
For my husband (well, I give thanks for him)
After all of the Thanksgiving hullabaloo we are looking forward to a nice quite Christmas!
We had a very merry Christmas indeed.
That, I presume, is evident from this picture of the cabbage patch ear muffs I received from my father for Christmas. 
We had the great fortune of visiting with both of our families for Christmas. (Thanks to a wedding. Shout Out to Jesse & Laura!) Neil was quite festive on Christmas Eve jangling his jingle bell wristbands at my parent’s house. My parents always do an exceptional job of making things very festive. We opened approximately 1 trillion presents, including, but not limited to: a Spanish bull & matador set, an easter snow globe (which was then re-gifted to Neil’s granny), a squirt gun, 2 JC Pennys gift cards, 2 oversize DC sweatshirts, a sushi DVD set, and….look out internet users…. a digital camcorder. I suspect that the evidence of this gift will soon be posted since Neil has been video taping me at close range 24 hours per day since we got said gift.
It was quite the haul, filled with hilarity. Upon receiving a strange woolen vest with leaves sewn on it from my dad I said, “well, if I ever decided to be a kindergarten teacher, I’ve got an outfit to wear.” And, when Neil’s mother handed me a hand-made stocking she wants me to give our firstborn I dashed her hopes with, “well, we’ll be putting that one in storage for a while.” Approximately 45% of gifts we received were re-gifted during the selfsame season– to spread the holiday love.
Overall we had a (very) white and wonderful Christmas. The highlight of the season was when we visited one of Neil’s aunts in Idaho for “breakfast” and were presented with sherbet over canned fruit at 10am. Apparently in Idaho ice cream for breakfast is not just an unrealistic childhood dream, it’s a reality. Ice cream is a legitimate way to start the day in the Gem State.
Hello all friends, family and internet wanderers. Feliz Navidad to all.
2007 has been filled with happiness & wonderful adventures for the Kelly/Ransom family. We started off 2007 being married, which was a first for both of us. So far, so good. We worked and lived in Provo, Utah until April. We then headed off to Guatemala & Southern Mexico for a belated honeymoon tour. We lived on an archeology compound, which looks pretty much exactly what you imagine in your mind when you hear the two words “archeology” and “compound” together. It was AMAZINGLY, INDESCRIBABLY, INCREDIBLY FUN. The foundation was located in San Cristobal de Las Casas in the Central highlands of Chiapas, Mexico. Neil got to organize artifacts, help digitize them and practice his Spanish. Kate got to work very intensively with the young Mormon girls in the area as a youth leader & volunteer with different agencies, including Habitat for Humanity. We made it to several surrounding indigenous villages, and up to Mexico City. We tasted delicious food, met wonderful people & bought a lot of tacky Mexican handicrafts.
Upon returning to the U.S. we crossed the border in Tijuana by foot & met up with Kate’s family in San Diego. It was a fun trip that involved Sea World.
Since September we have been living in Salt Lake City, smack-dab in the middle of downtown. We are a few blocks from the Temple & from the City library. Neil is working for the International Rescue Committee as a refugee caseworker. Last year 950 refugees were relocated to Salt Lake from nations like Burma, Somalia, Iraq, Burundi, Eritrea etc. He helps them transition to life in America from the airport to getting a new job to enrolling their children in school. While it has been interesting & rewarding, case work has made him realize that he wants to continue his schooling. He plans on going to grad school in the Fall, possibly in sustainable development & conservation biology.
Kate works with refugees & also immigrants at the English Skills Learning Center, a non-profit that trains volunteer tutors to help people learn English. She is in a 10 month Americorps position developing a program where elementary schools provide English classes to the parents at the schools. So far she has got 5 Salt Lake schools up and running and the program is very popular with the parents, who so desperately need English skills. She is applying to law schools to enter in September of 2008 (please cross your fingers).
We love living in Salt Lake & are learning all of the interesting & unique places to shop, eat and visit in the valley. We find that most of them are on the west side where all of the refugees live.
We are so grateful to all who have supported us in our endeavors. We have learned much & have much yet to learn. We hope 2008 brings challenges, blessings & new adventures.
May the best times you’ve ever had be the worst you’ll every see!
Love,
Kate and Neil
Panorama theme by Themocracy
