Merry Christmas to all

Christmas Eve


Our pretty little table awaits our traditional Christmas Eve soups



Jember and Daddy make the Christmas soups (chicken curry and oyster soup)



Jonas loves the Christmas decorations



Elizabeth prepares the baked Brie


Matt snuggles babies (in their Christmas jammies) while dinner is prepared



A Burl Ives Christmas morning snow



Sleepy mamma and Jember on Christmas morning



Babies open up their Christmas present on Christmas morn


Jonas puzzles over Ross's new pasta spoon



Merry Christmas everyone!


And Happy New Year!

There is no business, like snow business....

I should have known. I should have known when I slipped on the ice and fell while singing "Winter Wonderland" at the top of my voice that this was a bad sign.


The white stuff started falling last week. It started our winter break 2 days early. It was ok. More time with our little ones. More time to prepare our little home for the arrival of my parents for the holidays. We played Christmas music, decked our halls...even baked a batch of sugar cookies.

And the snow kept falling.


Its okay. We own a shovel. We own a car that can make good tracks in the snow. And the babies got to see and feel snow!

And yet...the snow kept falling.



It snowed all the way into the babies 11-month birthday...



Happy 11-month old birthday, babies!


and Mat and Elizabeths' wedding...




Jember wishes Mat good luck before the day before the wedding


Babies and our favorite bride and groom!


Weddings are a twinkly affair!


It snowed all over our state....all over planes, trains and automobiles. It snowed all over our lovely little city that (for reasons I do NOT understand) does not seem to own a snow plough - it snowed all over what they do own - apparently 2 brooms and a mule.


Then my parents called to say that Amtrak canceled their trip due to weather...derailments...

Then the snow fell all over the our tears. We so wanted them to be here. They so wanted to be here with us. It was a terrible turn of events. The babies want to spend time with the grandparents they rarely see...We are all so terribly sad.

But we not as sad as the poor people who are stranded in airports, bus terminals, and train stations across the country are feeling. Not as sad as people who are alone and grieving. Not as sad as all the children in all the orphanages who grieve the loss of their families ~ whose lives have been destroyed by war, famine and disease. Children who wait, wait, wait for another beginning.

Not as sad as all the families waiting, waiting, waiting to cross the sea of red-tape to finally be united with their children.

So we re-group. Remember our blessings. Watch "Its a Wonderful Life".
We find ways to beat our severe case of cabin fever! Including:

Creating music. Jember loves jazz.


Admiring Christmas decorations

Snow day with our friends the Swets family.

Extra snuggling time!



Dressing our children like elves!


Keepin warm in the bathtub!



Marveling at the magic of the season. A flock of robins land in my window while I am thinking about my grandfather and my grandmother Bertha Mae who have passed away. I stand in the snow in my robe and fuzzy slippers taking their pictures...thankful for magic...for the love of family and friends...for the life force that brought my children to me...for the love that settles a robin onto my windowsill during the snowiest day of the year. A promise of sunshine, light and blessed moments to come warms me.

It is indeed...a wonderful life.

Tis the Season

"This is growing right out of your face? Woah"



Yep. The Christmas season is upon us. Music playing, sleigh bells ringing, chestnuts roasting and all that jazz. Or - music playing, salvation army bells ringing, and throngs of crazy shoppers charging their way through the malls, consuming everything in their paths - like a manic cloud of hungry locusts.

(shudder)

Well, we try and focus on the positive here at Camp Chaney. We decorate trees, bake cookies, dig out our favorite Christmas C.D's and re-watch our favorite holiday movies. ("Merry Christmas you old Building and Loan!") We don't worry about overspending...cuz we really don't have any money to spend. (3 cheers for poverty!)

But this week I decided to shake it up a little. What the heck. Live a little! Its the babies first Christmas...and I'm a mommy!! So...I joined a lot of other ambitious mommies and took my kids to visit Santa...in the m-a-l-l.

Ok. I have to be honest here. I avoid the mall like the PLAGUE this time of year. But...I'm a mommy. And everyone knows Santa lives at the mall. With Elizabeths help - we took the babies on a little "Santa sojourn".

It was Monday. (I was taking a break from school, after a successful opening weekend of my fall production of Jane Eyre). The mall was not as busy...I guess. We arrived MOMENTS before Santa took his merry one hour break. They were seriously - just about to close the gate, when the jolly ol' fellow took one look at the twins and let us come in. We were in line after a mother and her 3 kids. They were all squished onto Santas lap - and the younger child was screaming and screaming - with a big open mouth - formed as an "O" screeeeaaaming. The mother is calmly looking at Santa's picture lady and saying "Go ahead and take the photo. Its okay that he's crying."

Now. Aside from meeting a mother that I COMPLETELY don't understand - this was doing very little to install confidence in the old chubby dude in red for the twins. I worried that this might freak them out a bit (because god knows, it was freaking me out) but it didn't.

I had already decided that if the kids panicked we were out of there. But...it actually went ok. We all watched in fascination. Santa was a good Santa. This guy wasn't wearing a costume ~ he really looks like that!

Well - the kids didn't panic. They didn't really smile - but they didn't freak out either. All in all - not a bad first introduction to Santa!

Ross and I spent that evening decorating our Christmas tree. It was a quiet evening, spent listening to Christmas music and quietly unpacking and hanging Christmas ornaments. Our friend Judson, lent us the groovy baby barricade and so far - it seems to be working. The twins like their first Christmas tree - though I have a theory they are conspiring daily on how to get around that barricade. Ho ho ho!

My parents will be here in about 10 days. We are all excited and ready for Christmas vacation!



Babes in toyland


Babies First Christmas Tree

Contemplating how to get over the baricade and to that twinkly tree!

Our Thanksgiving

"Please pass the turkey!"


Babies first Thanksgiving. Our first Thanksgiving as a family. We spent our day visiting Sue and Shirley in their beautiful cabin up in Maple Falls. Mat and Elizabeth joined us. And making the day extra special was Tracy - who made the trip over from Montana to spend the long weekend.

One year ago, we began the adoption process. We went to an informational meeting that CHI sponsored here in town. One year ago my heart was full of hope and anticipation as we began the adoption process. We walked this journey with cherished friends and family who supported us, loved us and waited with us. A tide of great love - a swelling of community outpouring...waves upon waves of anticipation and hope brought us to this place. My children. Our children. Your children.

We have so much in which to be thankful. We have so many blessings in our lives.

Happy butts in the kitchen - creating our dinner

Jember and Tracy snuggling

Mat and Jonas listen to the football game on the radio

Sweet Elizabeth (a blushing soon-to-be-bride!)

Happy Thanksgiving revelry. (Sue in the background dishing up. Shirley takes the photos...never seen...but always there!)

Playing with Jonas and Jembers new gift! We love the teepee. Thank you Sue and Shirley!
Will the real child, please stand up?



To all you - who make a difference in our lives - we give thanks. We are so blessed.

So ...how are you doing?

I love this question.

Mostly I try and answer it concise, short answers.

"Fine"
"Tired but good"
or when people pass us in the streets and utter "Whew. Your your are hands full!" I always answer "Yep. And our hearts!"

I figure that is as much as most folks want. But recently my mother asked this popular question and I decided to level a bit more with her...so for those who are wondering... here is "how we are really doing". An excerpt from my letter to her:


Hey
yeah...its a pretty busy time. The play has proven to be pretty enormous...complete with a live string quartet, beautiful (rented) 1800's style costumes, and some hefty scene changes. We are in the midst of that "working it out phase" and I gotta tell ya its pretty stressful. We are so happy that we have a short week ahead. We both work only half days on Wednesday. Thursday we are heading up to Sue and Shirleys. We are very excited.We may even spend the night up in their cabin. Friday and Saturday sounds like a fun day down in Fairhaven. Victorian Christmas events - with carolers, Victorian Santas, etc. My students will be performing scenes from Jane Eyre down in the Village Green (behind Village Books). We hope to bring the little ones down for a bit of the fun - weather pending of course.

Jonas and Jember are becoming more mobile every day. Jember is almost crawling. She actually crawls a few inches...then get pretty screechy. Its not her favorite mode of transportation. (She'd much rather you carry her...) But the point is - she can do it. She seems far more interested in standing and has started maneuvering her way around the coffee table. Her new trick is clapping and waving "bye-bye". And have I mentioned she now says: mamamamama. Pretty thrilling. Jonas is really, really busy. I mean - he tears up this place. He loves to be chased. He crawls so fast and wants you to "come and get him". Of course, he loves to stop and watch you chase him...which sort of defeats the purpose. He plays hockey around the kitchen floor. He does this with any toy he can find. He's pretty good at it. He loves climbing. He climbs everything - including his sister. His favorite toy is anything that Jember is playing with. He loves to grab things away from her - which is starting to really infuriate her. He also is good at finding every little thing he isn't supposed to have...the kid is like - amazing. He found is way to a bottle of lotion on the floor. It was closed - but he just knew. He looked up at me....saw me looking at him...(checking to make sure the lid was closed!) and then when he saw I wasn't jumping up to grab it from him (my god. I was exhausted!) he started to laugh and laugh. (God. Getting away with things is FUN!) (siiiiiigh).

They both are very affectionate. Jember gives big open mouth kisses and loves her snuggly time - especially in the morning. Jonas crawls after me...pulls himself to standing and wants to hug, hug, hug. You pick him up - he cackles with glee - and hugs your neck. He is such a character.

They are cheerio junkies. Ross and I call it "baby heroin". And we are their dealers. I ain't kiddin here. A handful of cheerios buys me minutes in the bathroom in the mornings. 2 handfuls gets me a shower...complete with blow drying my hair. Cheerios are everywhere. On the carpet, in the cracks of the couch, under the table...and little Jonas finds them all. Its like an Easter egg hunt...only with stale cheerios. siiigh.

They are really not sleeping much. At night or during the day. All I want for Christmas is a night of uninterrupted sleep...well...that and a day at a spa...and maid service...and for someone to replace the yuccky wine/spit up/flea infested and coffee stained living room carpet with wood floors.

Anyway. Thats how we are. Thanksgiving pictures coming...until then - remember we love and cherish you all.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!


Vicki

Happy Halloween!

"The Great Pumpkin Bathtub Ghost"



I'm sitting here nibbling roasted pumpkin seeds - the remains of our Halloween revelry. Hundreds of little witches and goblins filled the streets in our little neighborhood community - trick or treating to local merchants. They roamed up and down the sidewalks in really - some of the most spectacular costumes I have ever seen. (Remember the days of those silly plastic costumes and awful plastic masks the grocery stores used to sell? It only took one year of wearing plastic all night for a kid to decide that NEXT year they would create their own costume. No more suffocating behind plastic masks.) I remember my first Halloween costume. I was around 4 years old. I think I was a gypsy. My mother dressed me up in a lot of her scarves and beaded necklaces. I loved it. This is ironic because I still dress like a gypsy most of the time. Woah. I wonder if there is some weird connection for my love of fringe and my first Halloween costume? Wierd.

Anyway...I digress...sorry. :0)

Our own little goblins stayed in last night - wearing their Halloween jammies they received from Grandma Myrna. We carved pumpkins, roasted pumpkin seeds and danced around to "Night on Bald Mountain" music - provided of course by daddy. They seemed delighted with all the little trick-or- treaters. It made Ross and I very excited for next year. I'm not sure but I think Ross is already planning his costume - for what he will wear when he takes the kids out to join those throngs of little ones in our neighborhood.

I think I may dress up like a gypsy.

Anyway - one last glimpse of our wonderful October!

Elizabeth and I took the babies to a pumpkin patch last weekend









Big pumpkins and li'l punkins - Our fun Halloween night




Halloween Sillies

"Oh Daddy. You are sooo funny"



Giggley girl



"Look Jember. Daddy has a camera. Lets go GET HIM!!"




"Its not a party until someone is wearing their bowl of cheerios on their head..."

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Novemer 1st. Rested from our family Halloween party.