Christmas Time is Here!!!

Christmastime is here.... Happiness and cheer....Fun for all that children call their favorite time of year! (music from Charlie Brown Christmas). What a great time we've been having here in Port Orchard/Olalla. Theo has been held and snuggled more than he can possibly stand and we've been busy having so much fun. Today we're finally taking things slow and just resting most of the day. We've had breakfast and lunch, but we haven't been anywhere outside of the house yet and it's already 1:30pm! Today is Naoko's (Tyler's girlfriend from Japan; that's Andy's middle brother if you don't know) last day before she heads for home, so we've been playing with Theo and spending time talking and laughing together. This evening we will all meet at a restaurant in Tacoma and have a goodbye dinner with her. I wish she could stay. Theo thinks she is soooo funny and we will all really miss her.

Christmas Eve

What a day we have had! We enjoyed a great night of sleep at my parents' house (Theo slept for 7 hours straight and then ate, was changed, and slept another 3. Wow!). This morning we went to church and came back home to eat pizza and bake pies for tomorrow. This evening we ate my mom's famous Christmas Eve clam chowder. It was so yummy. We went back to church for Christmas Eve service and had a great time seeing friends and introducing Theo to lots of people who hadn't met him yet. Now we're at Andy's folks house getting all set up for the night and having an eggnog Senseo latte. Yum!! Theo has had a wonderful day. We are so blessed to have such a wonderful family who love Theo and us so much and inspire us to celebrate the holidays to the fullest! Christ is born!!!

They've got....the pow-uh

I just got off the phone with Andy's mom and their power finally came back on last night. The funniest part is that they didn't realize it until his dad came home at 11:45pm (from work) because he had unplugged them from the power grid. He saw the lights on at the firestation next door to their house and came home to tell everyone that the power was finally back on!! How exciting. We will be leaving on Saturday morning to go down south for our Christmas visit and it will be so nice to celebrate with them with lights and heat and everything! Wow! Andy is done with school, so I've got him pretty booked up for the next 3 days. Today I have an interpreting job that he's going to drive me to and then play with Theo during and tomorrow and Friday are the dance recitals, so we'll be trading off during all-day rehearsals and the shows! Whew! We need Christmas this year so we can slow down a little bit. Please pray for peace and health....oh and goodwill toward men (especially if any parents start complaining or making wild requests!)

The week before Christmas!

Christmas is only 7 days away! We've had a very busy week, so I hadn't had a chance to post lately. Last Friday, Theo and I drove to Sea-Tac to pick up my Aunt Genine and Uncle Randy from Wichita. We stayed until Saturday (at my folks house) and had a great time. We can't wait to see them again next week when we drive down for Christmas. Today, Andy and I went out on a real date while Theo stayed with some friends. It was great to be together alone and have some down time. It's 9:00 now, so I'm sure we'll be heading to bed soon. I can't believe Christmas is almost here!!!

Theo's 1st Christmas Party!

Our small group Bible study had a white elephant Christmas party on Sunday. This was Theo's 1st Christmas party and he had lots of fun playing with his friends, Jonah (6 months) and Rory (4 months). It seemed like all of the adults could hardly hear eachother since one or more of the babies were always cooing, singing, or crying. We had a great time. The gifts were in rare form for white elephants. They were the best (do I mean worst?) white elephant gifts I've ever seen. There was a pasta container filled with every weird item in the house (i.e. lotion samples from hotels, key rings, sunglasses, wedding bubbles), a giant stuffed rabbit with an atrocious pink hat, a love magic 8 ball (the ones you ask questions to), a collection of great CDs (Aerosmith from the early 90s, 1997 Grammy Nominees, and a poorly recorded worship music CD), a bottle of wine shaped like a cat, holiday tins of candy (most normal gift in the bunch), a radar baseball (supposed to measure your speed, but it doesn't really work very well), a mini-DVD of Scooby-Doo meets Batman, and a neon colored book of Radical Devotions for Teens (a cheesy devotional book for pre-teen girls). All in all, we had a great time with our friends.

Rebel without a flaw!

Here's our own little rebel, Theo. When I was dressing him today, I thought he looked like James Dean in his undershirt and jeans. We took him, with the kids from Bellingham Christian School, to see the Dead Sea scrolls at the Pacific Science Center yesterday. He did so well and we had a wonderful time. The scrolls were very inspiring and the exhibit was interesting and well done. I definitely recommend that you go if you are near Seattle and have the time. The exhibit will end on January 7th, so don't wait too long. Our little buddy is lying on his tummy on his blanket right now. I know that the range of normal is anywhere from 2-6 months, but I am desperate for him to roll over! I don't know why. I'm sure I'll be just as desperate for him to stop rolling over and sit still once he figures it out!

The 1st Anniversary

Today was the 1st anniversary of the due date of the baby that we miscarried in 2005. I guess it would be lying to say that this hasn't been a hard day for me. To top it all off, Theo (our son who we love immensely and are so lucky and blessed to have) has been extra fussy today and I had a couple of extra interpreting and caretaking jobs to do also. I just finished taking a bath with him (1/2 of which he cried through and then 1/2 of which he thought was really interesting and fun). I held him and splashed him in the tub while Andy made crazy faces at him and sang silly songs. I realized just how large an impact he has made on our life. He has changed everything that we are just as his sibling who was lost changed us and made us into parents who were ready to parent another child. I don't want to ever forget the radical difference that first baby made in my life, my faith, and my marriage. I want to use this day each year to honor the very brief life of that child and hold onto the hope in Christ that he or she is safe in the arms of Jesus. Thank you Lord for giving us Theodore and thank you again for lending us that child we never met but will always cherish.