Christmas Cards 2007

Each year we receive Christmas cards from our friends and family. And, after the season is over, I'm always in a quandry as to what to do with them.

This year, I decided I would scan my most favorite card cover to share on our blog. And, I scanned the photos shared by friends and family to share and preserve here. The only edit to the photos was to remove the last names to protect privacy if the cards listed first and last names.

My Favorite Card

While each of the cards are beautiful and thoughtful, my favorite this year was sent by my Grandma. I guess it was my favorite because I think it truly captures the "reason for the season."

"The virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,which means "God is with us." ~~ Matthew I:23

The inside of the card read:

May his gentle coming touch you with love, fill you with hope, enfold you in peace now and throughout the New Year.

Pictures of Friends and Family

We are so blessed to have such a loving family and so many wonderful friends in our life. We received many cards that didn't include photos and we also received newsletters that would be too much to include here. However, the photos are always nice because we get to see our friends and family members who aren't with us every day of the year.

Rachel and Anna in West Virginia

Rachel and Anna left with Gail & Harold on Dec 27th to travel to Princeton, WV, to visit with our family members there. We received this picture from Gail this morning.

From left (in back): Gail and her brother David; (in front) Aunt Ann, Rachel, Cousin Lauren and Anna. (on sofa) Harold, Great-Aunt Helen, and Great-Aunt Virginia.

Since they left, we started cleaning up and putting Christmas decorations away. It was sad to see how dull the house looked after all of the lights were taken down.

On Saturday, December 29th, our friends, Pete, Gabrielle, Lia, Krista, and Aili made a pit stop at our home on the way back from Florida going home to Huntsville. It would've been nice if Rachel and Anna were here to play with Lia and Krista but with all of the toys and the ferrets, they easily entertained themselves in the absence of playmates. Aili was a bit nervous holding the ferrets at first. In Germany, where Aili is from, she has visited a farm that uses ferrets for hunting rats, etc. on their property. Needless to say, the ferrets aren't pets and are not very nice. Our ferrets, on the other hand, are extremely sweet and quickly put her at ease. Aili was also taken aback at our RV. I gave her a tour and she could not believe how large it was. Of course, she also said something so large could never navigate many European roads due to the size.



They left on Sunday morning and Jeff and I enjoyed a leisurely morning of laying around watching TV. It was raining outside and Jeff started a nice fire in the fireplace. Being lazy and sitting around is a treat we rarely get to do. And, to do it in peace and quiet....Wow!!! We miss our children terribly but at the same time it was so nice to have some time alone which is something we rarely get. We also got satellite service again; mainly because we wanted to be able to watch the Auburn bowl game tonight. Other than that, I honestly have to say I really didn't miss having cable or satellite service. And, after seeing some of the junk on TV as of late, I'm questioning our sanity in getting it again. We signed up for 1 year of service. After that, we may cancel service and go back to being "disconnected" again. It is funny how coworkers mention shows that neither Jeff or I have ever heard of because we just don't watch TV often. Although, I'm sure Harold will appreciate having TV again when he and Gail visit.

Gail, Harold, Rachel and Anna traveled to Huntsville yesterday and will stay there until Wednesday. They'll be back home on Wednesday night. It'll be nice to have them back home. Even Simba, our cat, seems lonesome without them here.

Welcome Baby Sophia!

If I had my life to live over, instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy, I'd have cherished ever moment and realized that the wonderment growing inside me was the only chance in life to assist God in a miracle.~~Irma Bombeck

My friend Long called me this morning to tell me that his wife, Quyen, gave birth to a healthy baby girl this morning....on Christmas day. I wanted to go to the hospital to visit with them and after confirming that it was O.K. with them, I left home to visit with them. And, I found a store open on the way and there was one pink Christmas stocking left with "Baby's First Christmas" embroidered on it. It must've been meant for Sophia.

While Quyen hoped to give birth naturally; it was not meant to be. She ended up having a c-section after the doctors determined that Baby Sophia was stressed. Having had two c-sections myself, I knew the discomfort she was feeling all too well.

I'm happy to report though that Sophia and Quyen are both doing well overall. Sophia is a beautiful baby who weighed in at 6 lbs-11 oz with a head full of black hair. Quyen is resting and did a beautiful job at nursing Sophia while I was there.

Long and Queyn were very tired after a long night. And, Long is feeling a bit overwhelmed being a new Dad but I know he's going to be a champ in no time! Below is a picture of Long (holding Baby Sophia) and Quyen; and Long's parents who traveled from Ohio to be here for the birth of their first grandchild.

Congrats to the Nguyen family! And, welcome to the world baby Sophia!

I was so appreciative of them sharing such a joyous occasion with me. What a special Christmas! And, seeing Baby Sophia reminded me of the same special moments in our family when Anna and Rachel were born. Their smell, the softness of their skin, and the way they just snuggle up on you like a little bug in a rug....it all took me back. I can't say that I'll miss the sleepless nights that I know Long and Quyen are in for though. :-)

Merry Christmas!

From the movie, A Christmas Story:

[Ralphie is visiting Santa at the department store, only he can't remember what he wanted]

Santa Claus: How about a nice football?

Ralphie as Adult: [narrating] Football? Football? What's a football? With unconscious will my voice squeaked out 'football'.

Santa Claus: Okay, get him out of here.

Ralphie as Adult: [narrating] A football? Oh no, what was I doing? Wake up, Stupid! Wake up!

Ralphie : [Ralphie is shoved down the slide, but he stops himself and climbs back up] No! No! I want an Official Red Ryder Carbine-Action Two-Hundred-Shot Range Model Air Rifle!

Santa Claus: You'll shoot your eye out, kid.

At almost 40 years old, Santa finally decided Jeff was old enough to get the Red Rider rifle he always wanted. However, for those of you who know how prone he is to eye injuries, you would understand my concern for him shooting his eye out. :-)

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve was a busy day. I spent the majority of my day in the kitchen. The morning was spent baking cookies for Santa with Rachel and Anna. The afternoon was spent preparing food for dinner and baking a cake, and then we decorated the cookies for Santa after dinner.

Several of our family members were with us this year: Harold and Gail (mother-in-law and father-in-law), Todd (brother-in-law) and his children Yuki (nephew) and Mary Grace (niece). Two children from our neighborhood spent the afternoon and evening with us; Paige & Riley.

Paige had just bought a baby ferret on Christmas Eve so she brought her over to visit with our ferrets. Meeko and Molly, our ferrets, enjoyed having the baby to play with. I had forgotten how small our ferrets were when we got them earlier this year. Paige's ferret was so tiny that she could curl up and sleep in the palm of my hand.

We had a wonderful dinner where we all ate more food than our stomachs could possibly hold and then we topped it off with the chocolate cake that I made in honor of Jesus' birthday.

After dinner, Paige, Riley, Mary Grace, Rachel and Anna decorated the cookies that we had baked earlier in the day.

After our guests left, I bathed the girls and Jeff read, "Twas the Night Before Christmas" in front of a cozy fire. And, then it was time for the girls to turn in for the night. After Rachel & Anna were fast asleep, we were busy getting Christmas gifts in order.

One item that Anna asked for this year was Butterscotch the horse. There was one problem, it was not operating after Jeff assembled it and it was far too late at that point to exchange it as most all of the stores were closed. We fretted over this throughout the night as we were so worried Anna would be heartbroken about it being broken. It was the one thing she focused on and we were so worried she would be disappointed. We wrote a note from Santa explaining that Butterscotch was so happy to see her that he jumped out of Santa's sleigh and hurt himself and that Santa had arranged for her to exchange him at a local store since the North Pole was so far away.

Miraculously and thankfully, she accepted this. And, despite the fact that Butterscotch was not operational, she was still very happy on Christmas morning.

We had a wonderful Christmas morning and wish everyone else the same. It's hard to believe that Christmas day is here and that the gifts are unwrapped and the tree looks all bare again without the presents. But, the best gift of all is having one another and for that, I am greatful.

The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree: the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other. ~Burton Hillis

Christmas Wishes

And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more. ~Dr. Seuss

As with any year, this year has been one of joy and sadness; 2007 has been no different. There have been births; my great-nephew. There have been deaths; two uncles. There has been sickness; friends diagnosed with cancer who have battled it and are continuing in their fight. There has been happiness; my grandmother celebrated her 90th birthday. And, we have been blessed to live to celebrate another Christmas together as a family.

My next door neighbors celebrated their granddaughter's (Aspen) 2-year birthday a few days ago. They did not provide an advance invitation to us which was fine as we were home and were available. However, because of the late notice, we weren't exactly prepared to bring a gift. The problem was that my older daughter, Rachel, was determined that we would bring a gift and I was a bit in a quandry on how to come up with said gift at such a late hour. Luckily, I had an unopened box of crayons and a Disney Princess book on hand that were slated to be stocking stuffers. So, I placed them in a gift bag and off Rachel went to bring these items to Aspen. Aspen, you see, celebrated a very special 2nd birthday. She was diagnosed with Leukemia recently and as you can imagine, this day was certainly a milestone for her.

Yesterday, I spent the day baking pumpkin bread and banana nut bread and then Rachel and Anna walked with me to deliver the goodies to my neighbors. I missed baking last year; partly due to my poor health caused by the flu and bronchitis during that time of the year but mainly because I lacked a kitchen large enough to do much baking since I was in my RV at the time.

Today I visited with some relatively new friends; Long and his family. Long moved here earlier this year and he and I were both in new employee orientation together in July when we started our new jobs. At that time he had mentioned that his wife was pregnant and they were looking for an obstetrician as they had just moved here from Washington state. Long also works in the same building as I do and we live in the same neighborhood. But, as life normally goes, business has kept us from visiting very often with one another. Today I visited with him and his family at their home as their baby's due date is coming very close and I wanted to bring something for her. The due date is December 31st and with any new parents-to-be, they are anxiously awaiting the big day that their first child arrives. I just know everything will turn out just great and that this little girl is going to be born into a family that will love and treasure her. It reminded me of how nervous Jeff and I were when we were getting close to delivery. The first pregnancy and delivery is so exciting. I can't wait to meet their baby girl after she arrives.

It's hard to believe tomorrow is Christmas Eve already. It was cool enough today that Jeff built a fire in our fireplace. It didn't take long for Anna to get cozy by the fire; lawn chair and all.

We'll be busy tomorrow making a birthday cake for Jesus and cookies for Santa. And, basically, getting the girls in such a frenzy that they won't be able to sleep at night. :-)

For our friends and our family who are checking in before Christmas, we'd like to wish you a very Merry Christmas! And, one more quote to think on during the holiday time period:

Christmas Gift Suggestions:
To your enemy, forgiveness.
To an opponent, tolerance.
To a friend, your heart.
To a customer, service.
To all, charity.
To every child, a good example.
To yourself, respect.~~~Oren Arnold

I've got to get to work on a few of these myself!

December Update

House Updates

We have finished the house modifications with exception of installing all of the trim and some touch up paint work. But, the bulk of the work is complete. The house looks so much better now. Well, at least it does to us.

Here is the before picture of the living room with the carpet still installed.

And, here is the "after" picture with the new Pergo laminate flooring installed.

I don't have a picture of the foyer with the hardwood installed but here is a picture with the tile installed.

Below is a before shot of the dining room (which we don't use as a dining room) as it looked when we moved in.

And, now, this is what it looks like today (above) with paint and Pergo installed.

The only picture I haven't included here is a picture of the laundry room. It had linoleum installed. We painted the room and installed the same tile as what you see in the foyer.

I believe we are done with house modifications for a while.

Polar Express

Jeff bought a 9-foot inflatable movie screen a few months ago. We decided to host an event at our home. We sent out invitations for families to watch "The Polar Express" on the screen in our back yard Friday evening. It was perfect weather. It was a little on the cool side....just cold enough to have a fire in the back yard. I took a few photos before guests arrived (see below).

I spent a good portion of the week cooking. I made gingerbread, chocolate covered pretzels, and sugar cookies. I also made home made hot chocolate and hot apple cider. I bought some peppermint candy and I used the decorations that Rachel and Anna have been making for the table. A few weeks ago, Anna and Rachel made a gingerbread house and that was the centerpiece.

We had a pleasant evening with our friends and neighbors who joined us. I don't think the children watched much of the movie though. They seemed more interested in jumping on the trampoline and eating the goodies that we made.

Interestingly enough, Rachel had an event at school earlier in the day where they read "The Polar Express" and she was supposed to dress up in her pajamas. So, she had a full day of "The Polar Express."

It's hard to believe that Christmas day is almost here. We put a few wrapped presents under the tree last night and it's been driving Rachel and Anna crazy....which was the point of us doing it. :-)

Christmas Cards

I'm so happy that I finally got our Christmas cards in the mail. Last year, it just didn't happen. I was sick with the flu in December and then developed bronchitis on top of it. And, so did Anna. Needless to say, by the time I felt up to it, it was a bit late to be sending out cards. And, this year, with the house modifications that we were doing, I found myself a bit behind the power curve again. But, they are in the mail so they should arrive to our friends and family before Christmas.