Christmas Aftermath

Well a few days have passed and our house is feeling the effects of Christmas. Our family has eaten it's fair share of paninies (delicious), our carpets look beautiful (thanks for the carpet cleaner from the in-laws) and at any given hour I can find my boys, Jon and Jack, perched at the top of our stairs. In their hands almost 24 hours a day you can find the Nerf guns that Uncle Erik thought they needed. Our living room has become a danger zone, our front windows are littered with suction marks and what is left of our Christmas tree drops its remaining needles any time a Nerf arrow goes off its intended target. How sweet is the week after christmas. Boys having fun and a mommy feeling great about her carpet once again.

Santa has landed...

..and he left my living room a mess. Well Christmas has come and gone but we are still flying high. To begin the Christmas celebration we partook and Jack participated in the Christmas Eve service. Jack did a stellar job singing "Away in a Manger" and "Silent Night". He looked so handsome in his Christmas clothes. After the service we joined lots of other families from church for the annual Christmas eve party at Jon's parents house. There was lots of food and lots of fun...including skits.
Christmas morning we awoke to find that Santa had been listening and brought the loot that each family member had hoped for. Jack got Mack the Truck from the Cars movie, Mommy got a panini maker and beautiful earrings, and Daddy "the practical" got a new sonicare toothbrush & and xbox game. After the hullabaloo at our home we went to my parents house for Christmas breakfast and gifts. It was so fun to have Kendra and Travis there this year- last year they lived in Colorado. It was great to be together as a family.
Come Christmas afternoon we were on the road (for a whopping 5 minutes). We made our way to Jon's parents house were we opened the long anticipated stockings, ate a fantastic meal together and enjoyed gift opening. By far the most odd gift of the season was received by Jack. He received a 4 ft tall iron giraffe statue...what? It was part of the zoo membership that nan and pop gave him. Great gift but where the heck do I put a 4 ft giraffe that the kiddo loves?
As our evening came to an end we came home, unloaded the car and each hid away with our loot and then it was early to bed. Ahhh....a day of celebration and family. It really doesn't get much better than that. We hope that your day was also filled with the joy of family.

Guatemalan Christmas Gift

Today friends we recieved a fantastic little gift from Guatemala. Our adoption entered its final stage. We are in PGN. This is really great. We have been praying since October that our case would enter and now it has. Our case will stay here for several weeks/month and then once we exit we will wait another month or so to go get Max. AHHHHH! Other than a mini van, I cannot think of a gift that could be as sweet as this. We are all smiles. God is Good.

What a difference "MommyHood" makes.

Today I sat with some other preschool moms waiting for the class party to begin. As we chatted the topic quickly turned to Christmas presents past and present. We each shared our most treasured childhood present and we each shared what we would most love to find under the tree this year. It was funny, as each mom shared what we would like most there was a collective sigh and nodding that happen around the table. By the list it is easy to see that motherhood changes us...even in the area of gifts.

Past Favorites
- doll
- doll house
- roller skates
- locket,
- a box of 64 color crayons

Present Wishes
- a carpet cleaning machine
- matching bra and underwear (this recieved a collective amen)
- a quiet afternoon to read
- a mini van (okay, I will admit this was mine)
- a date night with no call from the babysitter

Who knows what Santa will bring this year. But for the preschool mommies and myself there certainly has been a shift when it comes to Christmas lists.

Snowflake Lane

Every year for the month of December there is a nightly extravaganza on Snowflake Lane (aka Bellevue Square Mall, a local destination). At 7pm each night the main street comes alive with lights, decorations, "real" tin soldiers and drummers. In the midst of traffic drummers and singers parade down the street providing a 15 minute holiday spectacular. Lights flash, snow falls and everyone on the street busts out their best dance moves. It is such a crazy time, it feels like a snippet from an old musical. This is our second year attending with our Mormor/Grandma. We partook of the holiday tradition last night. We enjoyed the show, ate dinner, shopped a little and came home late. Gotta love Christmas Time.

ZooLights

Tomorrow Daddy is on vacation so tonight we hit the town. We picked dad up from work went out to dinner and then went to the Point Defiance Zoo for "ZooLights". The whole zoo is decked out with a gorgeous display of lights and festive music plays throughout. Tonight there was even a crisp (really crips) breeze too boot. It was beautiful and a great way to kick off a long weekend.

Adoption Update | Happy 1/2 Birthday Max

Today our little Max turns the big 6 months old. He continues to be in great health and developing well with his foster family. We were able to send down some small Christmas gifts for him and his foster family. Last Wednesday we recieved a short video of him. He is super cute ( say his not bias parents) and while it was great to see the video it made the waiting more difficult. We really want him to be home with us. As far as our progress we continue to sit.We sit just outside PGN. We are anxious to enter as it is the "final" stage. We will let all of you know when we have entered or make any progress. Thank you again for all your continued support and your prayers.

The Christmas Tree Hunt

We have had a long standing date on the calendar. On December 1st we would set out to find this year's Christmas tree. We awoke this morning, filled some prior commitments, ate lunch and began to get dressed for our annual stroll through the tree farm. Just as we are tying our boots we look out the window to see small white flakes fall from the sky. While they were large..they were sporadic. By the time we were on the rode they had somewhat subsided (such is "seattle snow"). When we arrived at the tree farm though a mere 15 minutes later the snow was much heavier and was falling fast. A nice crisp wind had also joined the picture. But let us not be detoured. We proceeded to walk up and down every row..jack stopping along the way to suggest that the smallest trees could easily fit in the truck. Finally, we found our tree. A little more narrow than we are use to...but snow is a great motivator. We chopped down the tree carried it back to the car and then....noticed that the roads were covered in snow. We made it safely home warmed up with some hot chocolate and TONS of marshmallow and will now set out to beautify our tree. It was a terrific and picturesque day for a tree hunt. ( Beauty is pending....so there may or may not be a picture that follows)