The Snowy Day

It looks like we're going to have a White Christmas here in Chicago. Not that unusual, but since Ava was two the last time she experienced a snowy winter, she's pretty thrilled. Of course it took us forty five minutes to get on our hats, gloves, boots, socks, scarves, clothes, snowsuits, and coats but it was worth it. I mean is there anything cuter that a baby in a snowsuit? Especially when he's stuck on his back and can't get up. :)

snow babies

Baby turns one...

365 (ok 366) days ago Ian James Theodore Hsieh made his overdue appearance in the world. Can I just say how much I love this boy? He has the sweetest voice and although he doesn't say any official words yet, his little, "ja ja ja's" melt my heart every time. He's still a little on the reserved side and you have to work hard for a smile or laugh. He finally started to crawl on his hands and knees last week and I can tell he's understanding more. I love his easygoing nature and especially his need for 12-14 hours of sleep a night. :)

We had a low key party with our family and Ben's mom. I'm pretty sure Ian's favorite part was his first cup of apple juice. He held that cup the whole time and would not let anyone get near it. His Nai Nai bought him a ride on train that goes around a track and he loves it. He doesn't actually smile when he's on it, but he crawls over to it and grunts until you put him on. And he can't push the pedal down to make it go so Ben duck-taped it down for him. I'll have to put some of the video up because he is so cute on it. I can only imagine the fights that are going to erupt once all the cousins get here and see it. But for now he only has to contend with his sister, who is having multiple lessons in sharing and allowing her brother to enjoy his special day.

So happy birthday to my beautiful boy. We are so thankful for you and can't imagine life without you in it. Love, love, love you!

Take 2( or 40)

We landed safely in Chicago yesterday and Ava said, "We were just here Mommy!" My thoughts exactly. I think flying to the same place for both Thanksgiving and Christmas might be a little excessive. Not that the trips aren't great but there might be a few less next year. I was actually trying to count up how many one way flights Ava's been on since she was born and I lost track at 35. She is only 4! I realized that before her first birthday she had flown to Portland and Dallas twice, Florida, San Diego, and New York. The girl is a professional traveler. You should see her at security. I don't say a word and she takes off her shoes, gets her own bin, organizes her backpack, shoes, coat, and green blankie, and puts it up on the conveyer belt. It is hilarious.

So the flight itself went pretty well. I appreciate everyone who prayed for me. It was stressful but I felt this peace about the whole situation. Ian only slept about 30 minutes and the rest of the time I felt like I was being physically assaulted. He's just so active that it's hard to hold him in my lap for 4 hours. I let him rip out all the pages of the sky mall, pull out the flight info cards and throw them on the ground (20 times), read him every book I had 2-3 times, sang him all the songs I know, fed him snacks, and gave him 3 bottles to keep him happy. It was hard work but I didn't feel frustrated and I felt like I could handle it.

There was a very nice lady sitting next to us who luckily didn't ask to change seats after Ava told her that she had a dream that she had a penis and I wouldn't let her play with it. MORTIFIED! Oh how I wished I could disappear at that moment.

All in all I would consider it a success. Especially after having to wake them both up at 5:15 in the morning and not getting them back into a home for 10 hours. We all slept well last night and I actually had to wake Ian up after 15 hours of sleep because I thought he had died.

Now after having to restrain Ava for an entire day I'm off to take them into the snow!

Today I woke up with the gentle nudging of the spirit. None of my circumstances had changed. I still had more presents to buy and everyone needed my constant attention. The house was a mess, we were late for church, had to pick someone up on the way, and I had to be in the nursery. But I felt the gentle reminder of where my peace truly comes from and I was thankful. Then we got to church and I was so filled with community and warmth and time in the word. I felt overwhelmed in a completely different way. This song especially spoke to me today because I am thirsty and weak and I needed to come to the fountain and receive life. Thankfully God is patient as I'm an especially slow learner.

All who are thirsty
All who are weak
Come to the fountain
Dip your heart in the stream of life
Let the pain and the sorrow
Be washed away
In the waves of his mercy
As deep cries out to deep

Come Lord Jesus Come

Along for the ride...

Last summer our family was in San Diego and we were making plans and working out details of various outings and I looked over at Ben's dad and asked him what he wanted to do. He said, "Oh, I'm just along for the ride." I cannot tell you how much I wish I could say that, even just for one day, or one hour. How nice would it be to take the place of that middle aged man at the mall, reading his book while unshowered, list-yoked women (uhh...me) practically run from store to store looking for gifts for loved ones. Or to just go somewhere and not have to have diapers, wipes, toys, healthy food, utensils, snacks, and 2 changes of clothes just in case. Life right now is good, it really is, but sometimes it feels like there's just so much riding on me. It can get a little overwhelming. I know I would miss out on everything that matters to me but some days I wish I was just along for the ride.

New Traditions

Last year at this time I was 39 weeks pregnant and I vividly remember being woken up, after I had just fallen asleep, by the sounds of multiple firetruck sirens parading up and down our street. In a panic I sat up in bed and tried to comprehend all that was happening. Was there a neighborhood fire? Should I evacuate Ava and the animals? Were there terrorists ambushing our street? I ran to the window in a confused state and instead of answers, found more questions. Why are there adults dressed like elves running up and down the street? Why is there a giant sled and man dressed as Santa on top of an ambulance? What is going on?!? Ben assured me that everything was ok and told me to go back to bed. The next day I texted my neighbor Anne and discovered that our neighborhood participates in a toy/canned food drive parade of sorts every year. 'Maybe this should be posted on a welcome to the neighborhood flyer' I thought.

Anyway, this year there were signs posted around the street letting people know that Saturday was parade day. This year we were going to be prepared. So we collected all our canned goods and camped out on the driveway. Ava was blissful for many reasons. She had her parents all to herself, she had hot chocolate, and Ben taught her how to ride her bike down the driveway. We explained to her what was going to happen but we weren't really prepared.

It was almost 10 by the time the commotion started. You can hear the sirens from far away and anticipation builds as they get closer and closer. Then we had a front row seat. Four firetrucks, two ambulances, and a bus filled with adult elves come racing around the corner. Did I mention there's a santa in a giant sleigh on top of one of the ambulances? The elves jump out of the bus and race up and down the street collecting their goodies. With great pride Ava carried her big bag down to one of them and joyfully received two candy canes for her efforts. We sat on camping chairs all bundled up and watched our neighbors come out of their houses.

Last year I may or may not have tried to convince Ben that we should send a very angry letter to whoever thought up such a ridiculous idea. But this year I loved every minute of it and I can't wait to have it be a part of our Christmas traditions.

Christmas Card Reject 2010

Well 2010 is ending with a bang as our cat Stormy has infested our home with fleas. After Rebekah found 3 of them attempting to nest in our infant son's hair, she decided to fumigate our home and nearly killed Ben's beloved turtle of 30 years. Thankfully all animals were spared, and hopefully our children won't come down with various forms of cancer due to the severe fogging of hazardous chemicals all over their toys and stuffed animals. In other news, Ava has apparently caught a yeast infection and a rare form of strep in her va-jay-jay. Ben is now referring to this as Strepgina. Rebekah received her mother of the year award when Ava's doctor asked her with a puzzled look, "Ava hasn't had antibiotics since the end of October. When did Ava start complaining about itching and pain while urinating?" To which Rebekah lied and said she can't quite remember. Even though she knew Ava had been privately scratching herself for more than 4 weeks. Not to be outdone in the master of parenting department, Ben has now perfected the art of pretending to play, you -make- what- I- make- with Ava and the blocks, while watching various Miami Heat games on his laptop. And we don't want to leave out Ian, who we hope will celebrate his first birthday by learning how to stop drooling, eat solid foods, and attempt to show some interest in walking or even crawling correctly. Yes, we have a lot to be thankful for. No one has had a nervous breakdown, we are still ringing in the New Year as a married couple, and our children are naive enough to think we are the perfect parents.

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

Ben, Rebekah, Ava, Ian, Stormy, & hopefully by the time this letter reaches you, Tippy

Yuck!

You wouldn't think strep throat could cause such havoc on your body, but after 3 days spent quarantined in "the guest room of death" I'm pretty sure I would rather go through childbirth again. Eventually I made Ben take me to the ER because I knew I was dehydrated and couldn't keep any liquids down. After an iv drip, a giant shot of penicillin in my butt and about 20 hours of sleep I finally recovered.

I do want to say that after you are rendered useless for a while you really start to appreciate the capabilities of those around you. I was so thankful for Ben who took a few days off of work. Which meant he stayed up until 11 writing lesson plans, left at 6 to get the sub started, came home, took care of both kids from breakfast till bedtime, and everything in between. Then my parents watched the kids at a moments notice so Ben could spend 6 hours with me at the hospital. And just as I was recovering, my neighbor Anne shows up at the door with hot soup and it was the first thing I kept down in 4 days. Sometimes I feel like I have to do it all, but then when you can't it's nice to know that there are people in your life who love you and will take care of you, even if you haven't showered and smell like throwup.

deck the halls!

Last weekend we made it out to a tree farm by our house to pick up our 10 foot prized noble fir. You can do that out here because this is the Christmas tree capital of the world. They are usually wrapping up and shipping most of the trees to be sold in various Texas home depot's for $80. We just drive into the place with the cheapest sign. You cut/ All trees $8. It makes me happy. Unfortunately we decided on a 13 year old tree that had the biggest trunk in the field and poor Ben had to use a flimsy saw to cut it down. He was muddy from head to toe but I'm pretty sure I caught a smile. Ahh... boys and their cutting down tree fantasies. :) I forgot my camera but we got a couple pictures on Ben's phone.

Our friends Karl and Abby came over with a pizza and helped us haul in the giant tree beast. To say the tree is wide would be a crazy understatement. There is barely room to stand in the living room. But it smells good and looks beautiful. Ava loves decorating the tree with me and we talk about all the ornaments and she oohs and ahhs over each one. This year it was all about the birds that my grandparents gave us from their trip to China 20 years ago. They were all given names and Karl was made to wear one on each shoulder. It was pretty cute.