Merry 5th Day of Christmas!!

I know, it feels a little late, but really, it is only the 5th day of Christmas! So, my wishing you a Merry Christmas not off target. Here's hoping that your day was filled with family, laughter, peace and joy. Here's a summary of our Christmas eve and day!

I was finally able to convince Samuel to be a sheep in the Christmas pageant this year. He did a smashing job-- baaa. His preference would have been to play ANY instrument in the band to being a sheep, but on the last song, Joy to the World, he got his wish!! He took his jingle bells out of my purse (he came prepared) and headed straight up to the front. When the band members saw him with his bells, they invited him up with them and lowered the microphone so he could sing. THAT was a Christmas wish come true!! Bummer that I didn't have the camera with me at that moment...

My Grandma (known as GG to S, T and LJ) was able to join us for church and dinner on Christmas Eve. I always feel blessed to be in her soon-to-be 93 year old presence.

LilyJoy likes to get a free ride when she can! GG is always willing to accomodate.

Can you believe that I didn't get ONE picture of our family in our Christmas clothes?? This is the only full shot of LJ in her pretty dress. Easter will be a different story...

Auntie (my sister) and Samuel being silly in their fancy hats.

Dad and Grandma.

There is no more common sight at my parent's house than the one where Bana (my mom) is reading to S and T. I think she read 10 books that night.

New Christmas jammies!!

LilyJoy's jammies have a fancy skirt that goes with it-- LOVE it!!!

Very exited about their Why-flyers from their stockings! This picture cracks me up, though, because of my telltale yawn :)

The guitar from Santa was a very big hit.

This Buzzlightyear wing pack was actually Timothy's Santa present, but he's not big on pictures right now-- Samuel jumps right in!

Good morning, little Dragon Princess! Santa came!

LJ enjoying all her Christmas gifts at once :)

Headed up the path to Bana and Papa's house, of course with Baobei in her stroller!

Steve and Dad have a disgusting tradition of smoking a pipe for about 30 seconds on Christmas Day. Unfortunately, this year was no different.

My sister, Dad and myself with Beano, Timmers and Little Joy.

Things got a little crazy toward the end of the morning after Cardamom bread, scrambled eggs and porkies to delight our bellies. Pictured here is the wrapping paper diving that ensued.

We all had a lovely time!

Finally, Some Movement!

If you're at all keeping track of the immunization issue that I have bookmarked at the top of my blog, you would have noticed that there is at least some movement going on! December 17th is the "date of consideration." I'm not entirely sure what that means, except that at least someone in the judiciary committee is looking at the issue. Here's hoping that they sign this into law quickly and you all who are traveling soon will get some relief from the stress of all those shots for your little ones!

In Memory of the Four

This is going to be a difficult week for the law enforcement community and their families. It is times like this that I wish I weren't counted in that, but the fact is, I am. Seattle and western Washington in particular will be grieving hard because last week we lost 4 brave souls all in one scary, horrific and awful moment. And all of this follows very closely on the heels of a Seattle officer who was killed in the line of duty only a few weeks ago. The memorial for these fallen officers is on Tuesday. I may not have even mentioned it here, except that some wonderful friends we met in China who live alllllllll the way over in New York took the time to email us and express their condolences and concerns upon hearing the news. I was actually quite shocked that the news had made it that far until DH explained to me why it was such big news. These four officers were caught off guard. They were in a coffee shop, enjoying a break, working on paperwork, talking about their Christmas shopping? Who knows. But that is where they were assaulted and killed, like it was just another thing on a to-do list. He was wanted and had served LOTS of time in other states. This is not justice.

I don't know a lot about the situation, mostly for self-preservation. But I do know that every time I hear a Christmas song, I think about those families who lost a member, a sister, a brother, a daughter, a son. I know one had a wife and kids, don't know about the others. I think about that Seattle officer who ended up killing the assaulter. His life will never be the same. None of their lives will.

I'm having difficulty processing this one. I feel so deeply with that wife, possibly wives. I can't imagine how she is doing it, coping. Maybe she is not. I just pray that she has Hope. Please keep these good folks in your prayers this week.

Raise 7 for Matthew

I can't believe I haven't posted about this yet, but I guess better late than never. Back in September, my cousin (technically 2nd cousin) was playing football at a high school football game in Cowiche, WA and was tackled during a play. He did get up, but only moments later he began complaining of numbness and headache. He was rushed to the hospital where they did emergency surgery to relieve the building pressure on his brain, caused by a severe concussion. This was all a very scary time for my family. A few weeks later, though, he made it out of the ICU and headed over the mountains to Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center in Seattle for rehab. He is still there and recovery is slow. He has had setbacks with infection and pain and rehab is only yet beginning again after a long break.

So, why am I telling you about this? Well, in order to raise awareness of love, support, prayers and financial resources, his team and many others are trying to start a national trend. They want everyone who knows about it to simply raise up their hands in the number 7-- Matthew's jersey number-- every time "your team" scores or does something inspiring! That's it! A pretty easy way to show support to a kid who deserves it. You can also become a fan on facebook by searching "Raise 7 for Matthew" or visit the blog Raise 7 for Matthew. The pictures are pretty inspiring.

One more little note I should add. LilyJoy had an appointment at Children's in October, so my mom and I decided to go visit Matthew and his mom. As you can imagine, his mom seemed pretty worn out. However, she has been at his side for the majority of his time in the hospital (his dad has too, but has to go home during the week to keep up his work-- he's an apple farmer and also works in the business realm of the apple industry). Any prayers you can offer on her behalf would, I'm sure, be a blessing to a weary soul.

I Just Called To Say...I Love You

Today is my dad's birthday, so this post is for him.

Last week, I had to run to my parent's house for a quick little errand. My mom and dad live only a mere handful of blocks from us-- part of the reason we moved to our house 2 years ago. I love that we live close, we've become good friends and neighbors (it's so convenient to have someone you can call up and ask to borrow a cup of this or a scoop of that!). So, it wasn't really an unusual thing that I ran to their house last week.

So, I went to their house, did my little task and my dad came and checked on me, then went back to what he was doing. I went to see him and say good bye when I realized what he was up to!

My dad has very vast taste in music from Beethoven, Mozart, Debussy and Pachelbel to Yonni and Enya to The Jackson 5 and The Bee Gees to techno dance mixes. I have great memories of his music from when I was little where we would be sitting downstairs after dinner in a well-lit room listening to record after record of dad's most favorite tunes (which in turn have become some of our favorites!). My sister and I loved "The Tide is High" by Blondie so much, in fact, that in high school, whenever we were hard at work on a big paper and needing a new source of inspiration late at night, we would turn on that record and dance around the room.

Well, it just happened to be that I came to their house on just such a night as I remembered so long ago. Dad had his little box full of 45's and he was playing all the greats! Among my favorites were "Queen of Hearts" by Juice Newton, "Bette Davis Eyes" by Kim Carnes, "Everywhere" by Fleetwood Mac and the best of all, "I Just Called To Say I Love You" by Stevie Wonder. These are the songs of my childhood and the songs that make me so nostalgic to be back at home.

So, Dad, even though it's your birthday today, I take that night last week as a huge gift and blessing in my own life. Thanks, I needed that.

H*A*P*P*Y*B*I*R*T*H*D*A*Y, Dad!!! I love you!

Bana's Baby Shower

**First of all, to those of you who don't know what or rather who a "Bana" is, that would be grandma to a little boy who learned to speak way too early for his own good! My mom (Bana) has said before that if Samuel had not learned to speak as early as he did (started at 9 months), she probably wouldn't be a Bana :) Anyway, since Samuel was first, the name has stuck and so be it. **

My mom has some really wonderful friends from when she was teaching. Most of them are also retired now (though, I don't know when we will actually be able to say that my mom is officially "retired." She still subs on a rare occasion) and a small group of them get together regularly for coffee. Well, a few weeks ago (I'm a little late in posting this), my mom showed up for coffee like it was any other coffee day. What she didn't know was that her loving friends had thrown her a surprise shower for her new granddaughter! Here are the fun things she/we received:







Thank you to everyone who was so generous!! LilyJoy will look smashing in all of her new duds just as soon as she fits into them :)

Headed in the Right Direction

Last night, we had the sweetest little moment that has yet transpired between Timothy and LJ. Timothy has seen me prepare a bottle for LJ once an evening ever since LJ came home. So, for the first time, Tim Tim got it into his little head that he was going to feed LJ. Now, I know how much she LOVES her bottle and how the only thing that she allows me to do anymore is rock her while she holds the bottle. If I attempt to hold it, she gently, but insistently pushes my hand away. So, as you can imagine, I did not think Timothy holding the bottle would go over so well. But, he was being so sweet and calm (a rarity in the evenings), that I figured, what the heck. So, while I laid her on my lap and rocked her, Timothy reached over and put his hand on her bottle. Granted, LJ had her hands both on it as well, but she actually allowed him to "help." And T was perfect. He kept saying all these loving little things to her, stroking her forehead. Then he looked up at me and said, "Mama, we're not going to bring LilyJoy back to China. She'll be with us forever..." It was almost like Timothy was resolved to the fact that this is a permanent thing and he is willing to accept it, while LJ was telling T that he's not so bad-- he is welcome to be her big brother.

I love these babies. Just trying to savor these kinds of rare moments when they happen.