Hustle and Bustle

At Kendall's parents' house, Eden has a toy music table. If you press a button on that table, you'll hear a fun little ditty that goes, "Busy, busy, busy, busy; there's so much to do." I think that could be our theme song.

Eden is now into everything. If she can reach it, she grabs it. If she can open it, it's open. If she can pull it out, off, or down, then we just hope it isn't breakable or dangerous. She's even starting to become fairly adept at climbing - Lord help us.

I know it's been longer than normal since our last post, but we've been ... well, busy.

After Halloween, Kendall, Eden and I geared up for the next holiday adventure. This year for Thanksgiving, we were blessed to be able to go on an eight-day cruise with Kendall's mom, dad and grandpa. We all packed into our Tahoe and headed to Ft. Lauderdale, where we boarded the Carnival Freedom and set off for Cozumel, Mexico; Limon, Costa Rica; and Colon, Panama.

We had a wonderful time the entire trip. OK, almost the entire trip. If you ever have a choice between getting off a cruise ship at Port Everglades in Ft. Lauderdale and sticking a burning needle in your eye, suck it up and go for the needle. Leaving that port was the most chaotic, uncivil, blood-pressure-raising thing I think I have ever experienced. Just trust me, it's awful.

Thankfully, that was the only negative thing that happened on our cruise. We all had a lot of fun together, ate some great food, and laughed at how unfunny the comedians on the boat were. In Cozumel, we pretty much just hit the shops in port, tried on funny hats and ate at a good Mexican restaurant called Pancho's.

In Costa Rica we took a tour of a banana plantation and went on boat tour through the rainforest. However, I personally thought that our stop in Panama on Thanksgiving Day was the highlight of the trip. After a bus ride from the Atlantic side of the country over to Panama City on the Pacific, we took a boat tour through the Panama Canal. After going through the first set of locks, Tom, Grandpa and I marked the occasion with a commemorative Panama beer.

I was a little sad that we weren't able to be with my mom on her birthday this year or celebrate Thanksgiving with everyone on my side, but the trip was a wonderful once-in-a-lifetime experience. As my mom would say, "You have to grab those memories when you can."

After we got back from the cruise, we were barely unpacked before it was time to turn around and drive up to North Carolina with my mom and dad for my cousin Travis's wedding. Travis, who is eight months older than me, is stationed at Ft. Bragg. My cousin Cody is a chaplain in the Army, so he officiated the ceremony. The service was beautiful and we had a lot of fun at the reception. It was great to have a chance to catch up with aunts, uncles and cousins while we were there, and Travis and his bride, Shannon, looked like they couldn't be happier. Congratulations to you both!

Through all these travels, Eden did remarkably well. She hardly fussed at all during the four-hour drives to and from Ft. Lauderdale or the nine-hour drives up and back from Fayetteville. Of course, she had grandparents sitting back there to giggle with on both trips, so she made the most of her opportunities to ham it up. Henry also went with us on our trip to North Carolina, and he was a good boy too.

Speaking of going to North Carolina, I've also gotten a job since our last blog post. In August of next year, I will start as an assistant professor of journalism at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Kendall and I feel very blessed. Of the dozen or so schools that I applied to this year, UNCW was on the top of our list. I think the job will be a good fit, and we are really excited about living on the coast. Everyone I've spoken with who has been to Wilmington loves it, and many have commented that it is a great place to raise a family. God truly does know the plans he has for us.

Kendall continues to plug along at work despite equipment failures and personnel shortages. She also continues to be a stellar wife and mother. Don't ask me how, but somehow she manages to juggle it all.

From all of us at the Neely home, we wish you a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year.