Visions of Christmas (Cards) Future

Well, this is not really what our card will look like, but more of what it could have been. Mainly bloopers. I hope you enjoy.

Oooh Baby A, hold that pose!

A couple of Christmas Elves.

MaryP: grr. . . Look . . . at the. . . camera. . . Baby A!

Why are you looking at me that way?

Baby A sure likes to talk to anyone willing to respond. And apparently I do too. :)

Arizona.

A one word sentence. That's what Woodine and I have been saying to each other for the last couple of days.

I will finish up my tour here in Washington in the Spring and we will be headed to Arizona for two years.

Woodine and I were surprised at first. We thought we might be going somewhere else, but as we have thought about it more and more, we are very happy to be headed south. I look forward to living close to so many sisters and friends.

I can look back in my life and see several times where the Lord has had something waiting for me while I had slightly different plans. So far His plans have turned out to be much better than how I would have done it. I expect this move may be that way as well.

I will miss our many friends in this area, as well as the stunning scenery. I am glad I could have the time up here to visit with my Aunt Betty before she passed away, as well as the time we have had to get to know my Uncle Leo and both sets of Woodine's Grandparents. We love this area enough that we have considered settling here, but we both feel that for now it is time to move somewhere else.

Wish us luck!

Taken care of

I've been sick the last few days and as you moms all know, you can't take sick leave*. But I had a sweet moment this morning where I was the one being taken care of.

After getting MaryP her breakfast I sat down with my own bowl.

MP: Where's your cup Mommy?
Me: I don't have one yet, I'll get one in a minute.
MP: I will get a cup for you Mommy, I will get you one. (Climbs down and goes over to the dishwasher)
MP: Would you like a regular cup?
Me: Sure
MP: I will get you a regular cup. (Pulls out one) How about this one?
Me: That's great.
MP: Would you like some water?
Me: I'll get some in a minute.
MP: I'll get you some. I will scoot my chair. It's so loud! (We recently had some people move in below us so we've been discussing how scooting the chair over the linoleum would be really loud downstairs.)
MP: (Getting some water) Here's some water for you Mommy.
Me: Thank you MP
MP: You're welcome Mommy, you're welcome.

I just thought that was so sweet. And yes, the conversation really went like that. MaryP has become very articulate and deliberate in how she speaks. It's really cute.

*For the record, Wood is good at taking care of me when he's around. He just hasn't been around much recently.

Catching Up

We've been delinquent in posting and so much has happened. Since time is of the essence right now I'm sticking primarily with pictures!

Grandmas are great! Thanks so much to my mother and MIL for the much appreciated help! It allowed me to get back on my feet much more quickly than I would have otherwise. It also preserved my sanity.

We've seen both sets of my grandparents but I only got pictures of one. I know I am grateful to have met and have memories of my great grandparents - I hope my children can say the same thing.
BabyA is one month old now. Yikes! He is so much more alert and smiling at us from time to time. I have yet to capture his smile on camera but I LOVE it. We all do!

She is such a good little mommy to her baby dolls.

Impromptu cat costume - just for fun.

Cinderella and Spiderman (UncleN) getting ready to go trick-or-treating.

I always loathed putting a coat over my own costume. But of course I made my daughter do the same - it was chilly!

Blessing day.

Brother and sister. (BabyA is actually very calm when MaryP is holding him and she sure loves her brother - it's a nice set-up).

Finished Product . . . I think

So I have talked to someone from each family and I think everything is right now. I put some green question marks on expected children. Please let me know of any mistakes, suggestions, or catchy phrases to add to the basic design.

Thanks.

Maybe at reunion we could have an activity where groups would have to fill in the tree with different things: eye color, blood type, hair color, favorite food, names, anything else that comes to mind.