Merry Christmas!**

Merry Christmas from Kevin, Stacie & Micah!

(click on the link for you Christmas surprise :)

**Yucky - it is not working! It did work earlier. Anyhoo - just to let you in on the fun... you can go to elfyourself.com (or you used to be able to) and upload photos to make dancing elves of your family and then email them to people. You can even do the dogs (and the cats for you cat-people! :). I have made three already. I really don't have this much free time - I just keep putting off the things I need to do (laundry!). So, Merry Christmas anyway - sorry your Christmas surprise isn't working!

Whole Lotta Rambling (& Pictures!)

First things first... how cute are these pictures that Kevin took?


I mean, I think they're adorable, but these might be the kind of pics that only a mama would find cute. :) I even had to make them large because they're so cute. (And, in case you're wondering - he does not eat with a spoon yet. He chews on them. They're his after-dinner treat.)

Speaking of pictures - here is the one I finally decided on one for the Christmas card. Since they've been sent, I can share. I did not use the one everyone loved because, as my Aunt Terry pointed out, I didn't even iron the sheet I had draped over the chair. It was a practice run, people! So, here is the winner...


I just think he looks like a little elf baby in this one, so that's the one I used.

This week the UPS or FedEx man has been to my house every day. Sometimes both in one day. Or the mailman who likes to knock loudly and aggressively on my door and then run back to his truck. I need to put a "Baby Sleeping" sign on the door because he always comes during naps. Have I mentioned that Hammie has a personal vendetta against the mailman? Well, the mailman, the UPS person and the FedEx person. She has serious probs with all of them, which include barking hysterically when they, or their trucks come anywhere close to the house. Anyway, this is what the delivery fairies brought me today (among other things)...

That's right - we're FINALLY going to tackle the art of Ethiopian cooking. I was inspired by Mike & Jo who are just beginning their wait for a referral and have already made a fabulous looking Ethiopian meal. So, Kevin and I decided to make Ethiopian food for Micah's first Christmas Eve. My mom is coming over for dinner and she's a fan of Doro Wat & Shiro Wat (right Mimi?) so that's what we're having. We're also having lasagna because that was served to us in Ethiopia at our big feast, so we figured, why not? We're not going to tackle injera yet - we're trying to keep things low-key. But, did you know you can buy fresh injera at EthiopianSpices.com? Yep! That's where I got the spices too. Ok, so our feast may not look like the one we had in Ethiopia ...

but, I'm sure it will be yummy. I'll be sure to take pictures!

Oh, and since we're having Ethiopian dinner, I thought I'd dress Micah in his traditional Ethiopian outfit before he grows out of it...

Can someone please help me and tell me how to wash this? I don't want to ruin it, but I want to wash it before (and assuredly after) he wears it. Please let me know if you have some tips!

Chub alert: Micah went to the doc yesterday and has gained 2 lbs. in the last 6 weeks! He is 20 lbs. now! We didn't measure him, but last time he was almost 29 inches. He seems huge to me! But, don't worry, he has himself on a baby yoga program...


This is Micah's way of getting from sitting to rolling position. It totally cracks me up. When he gets to rolling mode, he looks up at me and I have to clap a little bit and say, "You did it!" or else he may cry because he bumped his head a teeny bit on the way down. Cutie. (Oh, and please excuse what appears to be a dirty floor - it isn't really dirty - it is just old and needs to be replaced. It is LAST on the list of all of the things we have replaced in this house - including entirely new floors/carpeting in the rest of the house, completely re-painted entire house, 2 new bathrooms, and a brand new deck. But, I digress...)

I'm sure I have more to say, but it's getting late, and someone (I'm not saying who) is teething and kept both of us up for 2 hours last night. I'm scared for tonight...

SNOW!

We love snow around here. We don't get it that often, so when we do (well, if it's more than a dusting) we get pretty excited. Kevin watches the Weather Channel all day & night when there is "weather" on the way. I even got him a Weather Channel t-shirt and he wore it. (Kev - hope it's ok I'm giving out your secrets :) So, when it snowed about 7 inches here last night - he was VERY excited to take his son out in the snow.

Just to prove that we had the kid bundled up, let me tell you that he had on 2 shirts, baby legs, socks, fleece footie jammies and then this snowsuit (I LAUGHED the entire time I was trying to put this thing on him! Poor child.)

I'm still laughing. My sister handed this down to us and, although the tag says 9-12 months, she told me her son wore it at age 2. Okay - I believe it. This thing is HUGE and hilarious. All I could think of was Ralphie from A Christmas Story. I think we need to invest in a proper snow outfit if we get another snow.

Here are some pictures of Micah's first foray into snow!

He's still traumatized from being put in the snowsuit.

A little confused about why we just put him down in the snow.

Kevin is trying to show him how much fun snow is...

He got into it for a minute.

Cute boys!

This Tops The List...

This is the question I got tonight from someone (someone I've known for years!!) wondering about Micah: "Is that yours?"

Incredulous, I answer a bit sarcastically, "You mean this?" rubbing Micah's sweet belly. I put my face up next to my son's and asked, "Cant' you tell?"

For a minute I thought about saying, "Oh no, we just borrowed him for the night."

Seriously.

Oh - and FINALLY - It snowed! I asked for 6 inches - that's what we got! :) Pictures later!

Currently Inspiring Me...

"Someday At Christmas"

Someday at Christmas men won't be boys
Playing with bombs like kids play with toys
One warm December our hearts will see
A world where men are free

Someday at Christmas there'll be no wars
When we have learned what Christmas is for
When we have found what life's really worth
There'll be peace on earth

Someday all our dreams will come to be
Someday in a world where men are free
Maybe not in time for you and me
But someday at Christmastime

Someday at Christmas we'll see a Man
No hungry children, no empty hand
One happy morning people will share
Our world where people care

Someday at Christmas there'll be no tears
All men are equal and no men have fears
One shinning moment my heart ran away
From our world today

Someday all our dreams will come to be
Someday in a world where men are free
Maybe not in time for you and me
But someday at Christmastime

Someday at Christmas man will not fail
Take hope because your love will prevail
Someday a new world that we can start
With hope in every heart

Someday all our dreams will come to be
Someday in a world where men are free
Maybe not in time for you and me
But someday at Christmastime
Someday at Christmastime

written by Ronald N. Miller and Bryan Wells
recorded by Stevie Wonder on the album "Someday at Christmas" 1967

Micah's First Tree!

Picking out and decorating the Christmas tree is always a special time for us. Five years ago, Kevin asked me to marry him while we were decorating the tree - our engagaversary is Saturday. (No - he did not rip off the Helzberg commercial and put the ring on an ornament! :) Christmas is Kevin's favorite holiday - and the tree has been something that we look forward to each year.

Picking it out - well, I have been known to cry at the tree lot. Yes, this is weird. Yes, I am weird. But, for some reason, I always feel sorry for the little scraggly tree, and yes, that is usually the one we get. For the past few years, we have gone to the tree lot with high expectations of finally getting a bigger, fuller tree. But, we always come home with the most sad looking tree - even if we thought it looked perfect at the lot. But, we love our sad little trees. It's a family tradition. Maybe someday we'll have a big ol' tree, but not yet.

This year was no different - we picked out a small tree but thought it looked great. (You must note that it was sitting off to the side all by itself... yep - that was probably what did it for me.)

We got it home, put it up and then laughed - the branches were haphazardly placed, with big gaps and goofy ones that stuck out of nowhere. This is a little embarrassing, but we even put it up on blocks to make it taller. I know - so fancy! But they are covered by the tree skirt - so it's not as bad as you think (only a little bit as bad as you think :)

Oh well! We'd make it work! We always do. So, tonight we decorated the tree. Micah was up for the lights to be added and turned on, and to add a very special ornament. His ornament...

(I know - we all have one of these.) I put it on the tree and told him it was for him, because he is our inspiration. Then I cried a little bit. Then he took it off the tree and proceeded to eat it. It was obviously very emotional for him as well.

I put him to bed and Kevin and I finished decorating - my favorite part about decorating is finding all of those ornaments from years past and remembering who gave them to us and what memories they hold. I used to dream of a martha-like tree with all one style of ornaments, but this year I realized how much I love all of the different ones we've collected over the years. And, I'm sure the future will bring us more - homemade ornaments from Micah, etc. I look forward to that! :) Anyway, here is the finished product. I think we did okay with what we had! (It looks prettier in person - all lit up.)

It's a little goofy, but we love it. Oh, and this also made me cry tonight...

See Micah's new stocking? (The other three are for the dogs :) Seeing that there just makes me very happy. I'm very happy. My Christmas wish is that all of you who are waiting - just beginning, waiting for a referral, or getting ready to travel - that you all have this same joy next Christmas!

Funny....