The Flood of 2009

Today is the first day I have used a brush in 1 1/2 weeks. On Saturday (a week and a half ago), we arrived home to find a growing puddle of water outside of our door. When we walked in, our feet sunk into the carpet and water squished into my socks. Daylight was fading and the electricity wasn't working. So, we quickly looked for flashlights to figure out the source of the water flow. It turned out that a pipe to the sprinkler system had frozen and burst in our closet. Tom was at the apartment that night until 2 am working with a restoration crew to try and fix things up. Our friend Carlos was staying with us for the long MLK holiday weekend, so we all packed a few essentials and moved into a house at Camp Lurecrest. We're still there and probably will be for another week or so. They have torn up our carpet, torn out the drywall, repainted, and now we're just waiting for them to put down new carpet and clean up some of the mess. So, it's a bit of an inconvenience, but we are doing fine. Most of our stuff survived without too much water damage. We moved out all of our books and framed artwork after the cleaning crew blew moisture all over them without using dehumidifiers. That was probably the most disappointing damage. And today, I finally decided I would do anything to get my brush and face lotion. I spent about 15 minutes climbing over furniture piled in our bathroom and moving it to get to my toiletries. So now I'll finally be a clean woman again.

Santa's Little Reindeer

Santa's cutest little reindeer has escaped! (Thanks Sarah!)

Growing Girl

We are enjoying watching Anna grow! She is a very vocal little one and is making all kinds of coos and new sounds. She is in the stage where she is becoming aware of herself as a seperate person. She loves to look at her hands- they fascinate her! She also loves to clasp her hands and put them in her mouth. I absolutely love being a mama. It is amazing how naturally I have evolved into this new role. I don't mean for that to sound conceited- it just surprises me that I could go from struggling if I got less than 8 hours of sleep (before Anna) to being elated if I get more than four. Or that finding chunks of curdled milk in my hair (hidden from previous spit ups) doesn't phase me. It's strange how easy it is to consider Anna's needs first. And it's fun! Her life is such a gift to us. I think one of the neatest things she has taught me so far is to cherish the present. I have never been able to just enjoy people and enjoy the moment as much as I can now. It is the outcome of a constant understanding that each moment with Anna is unique. I am watching her grow. She will not be the same tomorrow, so I have to enjoy her now.

Happy New Year's

Happy New Year friends and family!

We have had a Christmas filled with wonder. Being with Anna Grace during this season has made us marvel even more at the mystery of God being born as a baby.  When you think about shepherds and kings coming to bow before a tiny baby, it is obvious how humble God is.  First, He came to us  to meet us where we are instead of demanding us to be a certain way before we came to Him.  Manifested as one of us and as a helpless infant, He accepts all of us, from shepherds to kings. What a mystery!  Sharing life with our own baby has made this truth even more real this Christmas.  

We hope you enjoy perusing a few of our Christmas pictures.  You will see that Tom gave the sermon on Christmas day at my parents’ church in Virginia and I sang a solo of Ave Maria.  We both received standing ovations.