Christmas was a special time for us this year. Michael's parents flew down form Fairfax, VA and spent a week with us and Susan & co., Michael's sister.
We started it all by attending Christmas eve service with Susan and Paul at Christ the King, their church. After service, we went to Omalu and Dudley Cole's house (Paul's parents) for a yummy dinner of lasagne, salad, garlic bread, and rainbow sherbet. The Coles (Susan, Paul, Caleb and Colin) opened their gifts from the Cole Srs.
The next day began a very long but fun adventure.
It all began with the prayer over breakfast. Michael and I discreetly pulled out our ribbons (see pictures below) during the prayer. His parents were seated across from us at the table. When we opened our eyes, his mom immediately noticed. She was speechless, with her mouth hanging wide open and looking from us to Dad. He was very unaware as he went on salting his eggs. Michael reminded him to have powers of observation...in fact, three times before standing and his dad finally looking up from the food to notice our GOOD NEWS! Then Mom burst into tears. This was just the beginning (well, actually the beginning had begun the night before--my parents' Christmastime in Saudi--when we told my parents) of many more wet eyes...including my own.
PS the ribbons are from the dollar store! (and I hope all of you have heard the news by now so it does not shock any of you...!)
A couple of hours later...Susan, Paul and the boys walked in the door. Again, we were sporting the ribbons. Susan noticed immediately.
The boys? Well, they were too cool to notice! :)
And this is Caleb's first reaction to the tree. This is for you, Michael!
Twelve people for Christmas generate a lot of presents under the tree...
Next, it was time to tell Sarah, Michael's other sister. We called Sarah and Rich on the phone and passed the good news along. She claims she knew at Thanksgiving when we stayed with them :) (we ourselves found out then, but...we even only confirmed it after we got home!)
Next to arrive were Alicia and her mom, Janet...longtime family friends. They were thrilled too.
We snacked and sat down to eat another yummy meal--I can say this without pride since I did very little. Alicia and Janet had cooked the turkey, their famous noodles (yum!), cole slaw, stuffing, and rolls. Susan had done pecan pies, green bean casserole, and yams. That left me with only mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie, and a few appetizers. (to which Sarah as a Christmas gift had sent a box of all sorts of yummies) There was way too much food!!!
After dinner, we retired for a late afternoon opening of the presents. Our last guests showed up then...
My brother, Andrew, and his fiancee, Shayna arrived. (Love her expression upon figuring out the news!)
Now time for the gifts--most of which were dedicated to Caleb and Colin...
Michael doling out the gifts--
Or does he just like to climb under the Christmas tree? (see previous blogs)
One of our gifts to the boys was cowboy hats. How can you live in Texas and not have one? Guess they still need to grow into theirs. :)
Our friend Alicia is helping keep the hat on
Her mom, Janet, is in the background
After a while, the kids starting handing all the new toys off to Andrew and Shayna
Hope that head does not get stuck in there, Colin!
Then, it was the big kids turn...
Michael sporting one of the silly gifts he got in his stocking
...and for those who were waiting...where would Christmas be without our crazy Christmas outfits. (this year, the unmatching turned out to match but the men in the family still sported crazy musical ties, goofy hats, and brilliant smiles)
While waiting for the much anticipated, family tradition of baked brie (remember Michael's love for this at Thanksgiving?), Michael and his dad show they have much more in common that just a first name.
At last! (after some of the lunch food had worn off) the baked brie!
What a memorable Christmas day!!!
...but the story does not end there. It always continues with Michael's big birthday bash three days later.
This year, we went to pizza, as requested by the birthday boy. Then, Susan, Paul, Michael, and I went to see the second National Treasure movie. All in all, decent. The best part was the disney cartoon before it though, "How to Hook Up Your Home Theater." (for those who know Michael's great love as an audiophile--his word, not mine.) We almost fell out of our seats laughing. I will try to post when it becomes available in its entirety. For now check out the 30 second clip here: http://media.awn.com/popup/fff-v12/?v=1400 . We returned to Susan's place to open gifts and shoot some marshmallows (see pictures)
Michael has always wanted a bowtie...
...but never thought he would get another bow too.
the marshmallows never made it in the open mouths
It was a nice 34th birthday!
...and now for the details many of you are wondering: I am currently almost 12 weeks pregnant and feeling great! (really not much change from normal--no nausea, and even rarely more tired than normal). Our due date is July 31st. We have had two ultrasounds (very neat to actually see what I so often show other girls at the Crisis Pregnancy Center) We have heard the heartbeat twice. Both times, I have sat there and marveled at the miracle (truly) of life that is inside of me. It was very difficult to keep the secret so long! I wanted to shout to the world what God, in HIS FAITHFULNESS, has done! He, in His perfect timing, answered a promise that He gave more than three years ago. As Michael shared on Sunday, it has not always been easy. There were many moments of doubt and fear regarding His power or His goodness. There have been frustration because there were no human answers. But above all, I learned to hold tight to His faithfulness and plan despite the circumstances. I declare that it is God who was able to raise my womb from death to LIFE!
Merry Christmas one and all!
The small town of Ridgeway is the 30-45 minutes half-way point between Montrose and Ouray.
Once in Ouray (an old mining town--even more remote than Montrose, population about 1000), we spent an hour looking at the architecture and dining in the best the town has to offer :), a hole-in-the-wall New Orleans Po' Boy shop. The town still really bears a strong resemblance to an old Western mining town with its saloon, bank, fancy hotel, and main street.
On the way home again, we saw dozens of mountain goats!
