Fast Away the Old Year Passes

As 2o08 draws to a close, I wish I had some pithy observations on the year past. But the most special blessing of the year is reading a book with his Baba and will soon need Mama's warmth to help him sleep. So all I can say is....

Happy New Year, everyone!
May the year to come
bring you your heart's desire.

Bye bye to family

This morning we bid farewell to Lao Lao and Lao Ye, the last of our house guests. I got a little misty as they left and a tear fell down my cheek. Micah looked at me, patted my hair and said, "Don't cry Mama. Lao Lao and Lao Ye going to Michigan. They'll be back."

Didn't help the tears.....

Family Christmas Pictures

It's always been a tradition in our family to take pictures of the family at Christmas. (I suppose that's not unique). Here are this year's pictures.
Micah with Lao Lao and Lao Ye (that's Chinese for Grandma and Grandpa)
I like this shot of the four of us.
My mom with her boys (and Libby!)Micah and Kurt have a special relationship.

(Looking at these pictures it makes me want a new couch!)

Updated the Mary Kay Website

There are lots of new products on my Mary Kay Website. Check it out!

Micah's First Christmas

Santa brought me a big blue truck and a toolbox! Micah's day started with presents from Santa where he received exactly what he had asked for. He was excited to show everyone that Santa had eaten all of the milk and cookies we had left out, too. After a Christmas breakfast, we went to the tree to open presents. Micah really enjoyed opening his gifts and helping everyone else with their gifts, too. We opened presents in three phases to avoid completely overwhelming him (or us!). Here is Micah's day in pictures... I'm ready for my solo.Lao Lao and Lao Ye gave me more cars for my Thomas train. We've been counting down days until "Lao Lao and Lao Ye see Micah" since before Halloween. Micah is thrilled to spend time with them.
Micah loves his new shirts!Taking a break....Phase three included Uncle Kurt - hooray!Uncle Kurt gave me more Thomas Train cars and track!Christmas is good to doggies too!

Snowflake the Elf

We've had a special visitor at our house lately. Snowflake the elf is visiting from the North Pole. Of course he must return every night to report to Santa on Micah's behavior. I'm amazed at the power of the elf! Micah is working very hard at being good each day so Snowflake doesn't have to report that he made Mama, Baba or his teachers sad that day.

Libby is a Christmas Tree

Micah was so enthralled by decorating the tree that he decided to decorate the dog, too! He told me that Libby was a Christmas tree. Nice imagination!
Libby was less than impressed!

A visit to Santa

This season has provided such joy with Micah discovering Christmas and its many traditions. We took Micah to Chik Fil A to see Santa. Apparently Santa shares Mama's love of the Peppermint Chocolate Chip Milk Shake and goes each Thursday evening to indulge. We were prepared for any reaction from total meltdown to cautious interest. What we weren't prepared for was Micah greeting Santa with exuberant enthusiasm! Enjoy the wonderful pictures.
Santa, I want a big truck and a tool box!
High five, Santa!
Family picture with Santa. I couldn't think of anything more to tell Santa that I wanted. I have everything I could hope for right here.
Of course, no visit to Chik Fil A is complete unless you trade your toy in for ice cream! Yummy!

Deck the Halls

Micah's First Christmas. How amazing and awesome is that? He helped us put up the Christmas tree. He found sheer wonder in the lights and ornaments and humor in there being a tree in the living room.

During the tree decorating, Micah said, "Tree fall down." He has had an obsession with things falling down lately (usually it means that someone or something is hurt or broken). So of course we said, "No, Micah. The tree isn't falling down." Five seconds later, the tree begins to topple. Micah looks at me and says, "No, Mama. Tree fall down. Sure enough, he was right. So Mama held the tree up while Baba ran up to the attic to get the backup reserve tree stand to replace the one that had cracked. Now Micah says, "Mama and Baba save Christmas tree."
Mama showed Micah special ornaments that we acquired while waiting for him.
But his favorite ornaments are the ones that light up or play music. He plays the Charlie Brown Christmas ornaments over and over. Happy boys!
A couple of artsy shots of the tree.