Christmas 2009

We finally got all of the Christmas decorations put away last night. Things look a little bare around here today but it feels good to have it all down. I pondered the birth of Christ in a new way this season... probably because we welcomed our own little bundle almost 3 weeks ago. I thought about Mary, miraculously hosting this pregnancy, far away from her home, going through the labor process in a stable surrounded by animals and assisted by Joseph who had probably never stood by as a midwife before. That's bravery. She must have been terribly frightened by the whole thing. What an incredible paradox for Mary and Joseph to raise their savior. What a weight Mary and Joseph must have felt holding Jesus... but yet he was fully human, which makes me wonder if he went through the terrible 2's. Did he refuse a nap and shout for Mary from his bed as my own 2 year old is doing at this very instant? Did he stamp his foot and say no when Mary asked him to put his jammies in the dirty clothes? I wonder.....

Here With Us

It's still a mystery to me

That the hands of God could be so small

How tiny fingers reaching in the night

Were the very hands that measured the sky

Hallelujah, hallelujah

Heaven's love reaching down to save the world

Hallelujah, hallelujah

Son of God, Servant King

You're here with us

It's still a mystery to me

How his infant eyes have seen the dawn of time

How his ears have heard an angel's symphony

But still Mary had to rock her savior to sleep

Hallelujah, hallelujah

Heaven's love reaching down to save the world

Hallelujah, hallelujah

Son of God, Servant King

You're here with us

We had an incredible Christmas.

We celebrated Christmas Day in our own house, which we have never done before. My parents joined us on Christmas Eve and stayed the night, and Ron participated in the 11:00pm service. We had a great time. We celebrated Boxing Day with the Hunts, complete with "Nana and Papa Wales" visiting from the UK, celebrated Ron's 39th birthday, and headed to Lake Arrowhead for a few days all together. Take a look at our pictures!

Ron and Rosie look for Santa and his reindeer on Christmas Eve after the church service.

Christmas morning brought:

a stroller, baby bed and high chair for Rosie's doll

new books to be read.....

a new jersey....

a traditional trumpet solo......

that needed a little choreography....

homemade bagels...

a treat for the mutt.....

all while Miss Sadie slept.

and slept.....

and slept.

Ron's birthday morning

Yes, I know my daughter looks a little like Joe Dirt

December birthday celebration in Arrowhead

The cousins!

New Year's dinner

Ron and Simon rocking Sadie and Henry

Getting to Know You

"....... Getting to know you

Getting to know all about you

Getting to like you

Getting to hope you like me."

-from The King and I

Eckert, Party of 4!!

She's here! Sadie William Eckert was born on Friday, December 18th at 6:26 pm. She was 7 lbs 10 oz and 19 inches long. She's beautiful, and we are relishing her arrival. While the 3 of us got to know each other in the hospital, Rosie played with her Auntie Erin, Lucy, Baby Henry, Mimi and Papa. She had a great time. She adores her new baby sister.

My December Loves~

Out of the Mouths of Babes

This morning Rosie and I were playing with her Nativity set. We set up Mary and Joseph and the baby Jesus and I told her that Jesus, "came to love the whole world....." She thought for a second and looked at me and said, "I love Small World, too."

How is it that our theological discussion suddenly turned to Disneyland?

P.S... Yes, I'm STILL pregnant. The countdown on the side of this page? It's not telling the days until Baby comes... it's telling the days that I am overdue! Today it's a whopping 6. Needless to say, we're READY.

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree

We chose this chilly evening to pick out our Christmas tree. We had a tough critic along with us. Who knew that it could be so hard to pick out just the right tree for the season.

The perfect Christmas tree has to be straight... it can't lean.

The perfect Christmas tree has to be tall.... just like Daddy

The perfect Christmas tree has to have that good evergreen smell

We were all very excited about our choice.

But.... Rosie wasn't too thrilled with the chainsaw.

We certainly worked up an appetite for pizza

(and later, a frozen yogurt sundae with gummy bears and M&Ms.... she has a sophisticated pallet)

Waiting......

We've been missing in action, I know. Here's what we have been up to since recovering from H1N1 and while waiting for Baby Sister to arrive:

We participated in the Dana Point Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving, with Emerald Cove Camps being one of the proud supporters of the race. Ron trotted... Rosie and I strolled..... ever so slowly.

We celebrated Thanksgiving with the Welch/Bordeaux/Hunt side of the family, since my doc said no to traveling to Flagstaff to be with the Eckerts. We had a great time together. I'm the enormous one on the right.... the checker at Trader Joe's asked me if I was trying to smuggle a turkey under my shirt... nice, really nice. But in case you're wondering... I did make room for the Pumpkin Pie.

We've shared many hours of nesting, preparing, and cozy reading on the couch.

We had a rare rainy day here in San Clemente. We took advantage of it with a family walk.

We took Rosie to Disneyland for what is probably our last time for a while. We topped off the night with a licorice rope that was longer than Rosie.

We're celebrating Advent, and truly living out what it means to be "expectant."