The Man of the Hour

You know how you never seem to win any of those great raffle prizes or door prizes? Well Dennis won't be able to say that anymore! At the Sellafield Contractors Ball on Saturday, he actually won a prize... a good prize too, a 4G iPod nano! Please know that all of the technically advanced in my family already have iPods so Dennis decided to give it to me. What do I need my own for? I just listen to theirs! (Shelley, I've worn the bridesmaid's dress yet again)

We celebrated Dennis' birthday #43 on Monday night with a yummy lamb dinner. In his mind, a great gift is a really nice meal that you spent lots of time on. (That came from his family who valued time around the table with people. His love of good food came from his mom who is a culinary whiz!)Not that I slaved in the kitchen all day by any stretch but enough to have a special meal on the table. Nathan was in charge of ambiance so he had the table set nicely with enough candles to catch your shirt sleeve on fire. He was going for the 'Lights out but still enough light to be able to see your plate' atmosphere. The meal ended with Julieanne's chocolate layer cake made in "cookery' class or what we would call home economics. Of course, we had to use the tricky relighting candles which you can see Nathan helping to extinguish. You have try to 'get' Dennis any way you can. For those of you that have tried, you know what I mean.

Dennis is working hard, as you would expect. He's wearing many hats at the office, primarily leading the transition which has had its bumps in the road. They have been negotiating the details of the contract for a while and still it is not official. Unfortunately, the take over day keeps getting pushed back but the deliverables deadlines are staying the same. Go figure. That means it will be a lighter December which is good for our family to have more of Dennis but not good for the transition. Dennis has good rapport and an unusual ability to understand and embrace a new culture. The Brits on his team really like him and his way with people. Growing up in Spain continues to come in handy. As Julie Blakey put it, he's dispelling the 'Ugly American' stereotype with those he comes in contact with.

Life in our home is certainly more funny, more adventurous and more significant as a result of the man of our lives! We celebrate God's generous gift of you to us.