My friend Stacy and her family came to visit over the holiday. It was great to see them--we've only seen them a handful of times since they moved to Alaska in March 2002. At the time they said it was just an adventure and they only planned to stay a year. I was sad at the time that Stacy would miss Gabriel's birth since she had helped us with Carmen's (she's an RN). Little did I know she would still be gone when Paloma arrived!

Stacy loves getting to be a nurse in Alaska because they fly over the vast state and she gets to do a lot more trauma-type stuff that she wouldn't get to do as much here. Her husband Daniel has spent the last few months working in the Hurricane-ravaged states, while kids Steven, Lance and Abby are doing well and staying busy with lots of sports.