Meeting a "Real" Friend

I have a great network of friends through the internet. It's always fun to get to meet people in person and turn your "pretend" friends into "real" friends.

While in Portland, I finally met up with my cyber friend, Kris. She brought her daughter Kaara to meet us at a mall in Portland on the day after Christmas (maybe not the best time and place to meet!) Kaara and Dayna had a blast playing in the play area while Kris and I got to visit for about an hour.




Hooray for "real" friends!

Who Can Resist Cute Baby Pictures?

Yup...that's Claire. The darling daughter of my sweet niece Ashleigh. 6 months on Christmas Day! This was my first chance to meet her.

And if you like cute baby pictures, or want to see some AWESOME DIY projects, check out Ashleigh's blog.

Dreaming of a Wet Christmas

Three years ago, we were snowed in...it was, quite honestly, one of the worst Christmases ever. This year, we were in Oregon again. It was a wet Christmas...and we were okay with that! (And yes...the grass IS greener in Oregon.)

So happy dreaming...
So...this one technically isn't dreaming...but movie snuggles are pretty cool, too!

Happy Birthday, Dan

I wrote last year (click here) about our Angel Food cake tradition for Dan's birthday. This year, I thought it would be wise to have Dayna learn the fine art of making her dad's cake.

We started by separating the eggs.
Then we added the sugar and flour that had been sifted (six times!)
Then we bake it, put it on a pretty cake plate, and have Dayna pose in her Cindy Lou Who pajamas.
Homemade angel food cake = one happy Dad!

Asking the Right Question

Thirteen years ago, Dan took me to an extremely romantic restaurant (Godfather's Pizza), ordered me a gourmet meal (Taco Pizza), arranged pre-dinner entertainment (a game of Gin), and asked me a question.

I'm so glad I gave him the right answer.

...and I'd say yes again! (and again and again and again)

Love you, Dan!

Pajama Run

Last night we brought back a yearly tradition. When Dayna least expects it, we put her to bed, get into our own Christmas-y jammies, make up some hot cocoa, then wake her up (quite noisily.)

It's time for a

PAJAMA RUN!!!

On a Pajama Run, we get in the car with our pajamas and cocoa, and drive around to look at Christmas lights. We make a point of counting how many Nativities we can see, and talk about how Jesus came to be the Light of the World.

What kind of fun Christmas traditions do you keep at your house?

Referral Day!

Six years ago today, I was sent an email. "There's a little girl I think you might want to see" was the message from Tiffany. She was our case worker at All God's Children.

So I ran to the computer lab (these were the days before internet in the portables) and checked it out. I read through the details of a little girl, showing amazing self restraint at not going directly to the photos at the end.

This little girl was only 7 months old! One of the youngest referrals seen at AGCI. She loved to be held, and her favorite activity was music time. How could she not be my child?

With tears in my eyes, and a heart screaming "YES! YES! YES!" I scrolled down and saw this beautiful face:


She had ten fingers, ten toes, and three chins!!!!

So glad you're in our family, Dayna!