2007 Year in Review

Another year come and gone... All those adults who told me as a child that life speeds up the older you get were right (I hate that!).

As I hastily review 2007, here are a few of the highlights I can remember:

• The exciting news of our pregnancy warmed our hearts in January even as the much media-hyped "Arctic Blast" shut down all of San Antonio.
• In March, Jonathan turned the big 3-0. He passed on a big party and instead opted to have a diamond placed in his Aggie ring. (I swear he now likes it better than his wedding ring!).
• Jonathan and I celebrated three happy years of marriage in March. Still going...
• My sister Kel returned from two years of service as a missionary associate in Cambodia. It's been great to get to see and talk with her on a more regular basis!
• Jonathan and I were joined by four other couples as we birthed from the Espinoza's Young Marrieds small group to create a new one with JD and I as the leaders.
• In April, JD & I "baby-mooned" in Kauai for a week courtesy of Grandma Boston.
• Jonathan's sister Jen had a successful gall bladder removal surgery and made other significant health strides, including overcoming gluten intolerance. These were huge answers to the prayers of us and many others!
• Steph & Matt, my sister and brother in law, announced they are expecting their first child in February. I can't wait to be an aunt!
• I was blessed with several wonderful baby showers from caring family, friends and co-workers.
  
• For my birthday in August, Jonathan surprised me by flying my parents down for a visit. Wonder what he'll cook up for my 30th this year...
• On September 13th, our lives and family were changed forever as beautiful Morgan Leanne was born! Being a mom is one of the best gifts God has ever given me!
• At the end of October, after much prayerful consideration, I resigned from my job as an assistant district attorney. It was four great years! To my friends there, I miss you...
• Finally, we closed out the year with our families here in San Antonio helping us celebrate Morgan's first Christmas. She and we had a great time and made several special memories.

We look forward to God's continued faithfulness to us in 2008 and anxiously await to see where He leads us next!

Thanks to all of you whose friendship has enriched our lives this past year ... whether near to us or far away, know that we think of and treasure you! Our prayer is that God blesses you with greater amounts of Himself in each of your lives in this upcoming new year.

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord,
plans to prosper you and not to harm you,
plans to give you hope and a future.
- Jeremiah 29:11

Red, Green, and Blue...

I remember as a kid the sadness I felt as I went to sleep Christmas night. My favorite day of the entire year was over, the culmination of a month's worth of anticipation ended. Soon the Christmas tree would be on the curb, the beautiful decorations would be stored away for another year, and everyone would return to their same daily routine lacking that special joy and glow they carried during the holiday season. I must confess that I don't think I've outgrown the post-Christmas blues. In fact, in some ways it has become harder as now the end of Christmas also means parting ways with my family once again.

I haven't found a solution for the post-Christmas blues except to leave the lights lit a little longer, keep playing carols for a few extra days, and to recount the holiday highlights through viewing pictures and video taken. So in that vein, here are some of our Christmas highlights...

Bling: (noun) expensive, ostentatious clothing or jewelry

Jonathan and I have an annual tradition of having a Christmas date. And just when we thought Morgan or the busyness of holiday season threatened to end that this year, our super friends Ian and Kara came to the rescue. Because of their generous offer to babysit, we were able to go downtown and have a great dinner at Biga on the Banks. The food was excellent and the company wonderful :)

This was the first date Jonathan and I had been on since Morgan was born. Accordingly, I was happy just to be wearing clothes that didn't have any baby slobber, spit up, urine or poop anywhere on them. And I forgot how nice it is to carry a small purse rather than a loaded diaper bag!

However, what made the night the most special was "a little something" from Jonathan...


That's right, I'm one lucky girl, and I have a fabulous husband!

I think I shall call you Pimpy...

We celebrated Christmas today with Jonathan's family and had a REALLY great time. Everyone got and gave such wonderful gifts! One gift in particular, however, warrants such special attention as to have a blog devoted all to it :)

Here's a little background to preface this unique gift - three years ago Jonathan's parents had four long, tall boxes wrapped for us and Jenny and Brian under their Christmas tree. We tried and tried to guess what was in them, but Jonathan's parents smiled coyly and said we'd never figure it out. Later that night when we all opened them simultaneously, we found out how right they were! We each received a three foot tall wooden nutcracker (yes, that's right I said nutcracker).

The Twins

This year was the same routine - early in the holiday season Jonathan's parents hinted that they had already picked out our gifts and suggested that we would be surprised. While Jonathan and I were shopping at Sam's, we saw a seven foot tall wooden nutcracker (yeah, I know ... almost as bad as a ten foot inflatable nutcracker). However, we rationalized that at $150, they wouldn't buy it. Well, they didn't get that nutcracker, but they were able to find the next generation in the nutcracker collection from three years ago! This time they only got one per family (which is good otherwise we'd be working on a nutcracker army at this house!). They got us once again and all six of us had a good laugh.


As you may be able to tell, this nutcracker is a bit more blinged out than his brothers. His green coat is actually laden with glitter! Plus he's sporting gold chains and applique. And let's not forget that fly mustache. Hence, I have named him Pimpy. So now I realize that "the twins" are the only nameless nutcrackers in this home. Any ideas?

Bah humbug....

Well, I'm good to my word. The votes favored of Ol' Nutty rather than me so now he stands gloating at me from my lawn. All ten glowing feet of him. So those of you punks that call yourselves my friends come on by and get your laughs. Just know, next year he could be the pink flamingo in your lawn....

Can you believe how big this thing is?

And Matt and Steph were true to their promise too ... Nascar Santa rides with pride in their front lawn. They too are already plotting retribution for next year so watch out if you live in the Springfield, Missouri area!

Yeah, Steph's eight months pregnant and you can't even tell!
I'm so jealous...

Jolly: (adj) merry, festive, or happy

Can you believe we are less than two weeks away from Christmas? As the days decrease, it seems my to do list increases. Though I fully realize that a majority of it is of my own making. Why you ask? Because my parents and youngest sister Kelly are coming HERE for Christmas! Jonathan and I are so exited to have them come and share Morgan's first Christmas.

Having them come to San Antonio poses some interesting new challenges ... like determining what holiday traditions to keep, tweak, or pass on altogether. This is a pretty big deal because in my family we have pretty much followed the same holiday routine for as long as I can remember. Some decisions have been easy while others have been a bit harder. Nonetheless, it's fun to start new traditions with my new family.

Now take a minute and tell me about your holiday traditions/preferences...

1. Colored or white lights?

For our "official" tree, it has to be colored lights. However, our unofficial tree and our outdoor decorations are white lights.

2. Favorite holiday food?

I love the cookies! Mostly I love the variety of cookies that the season brings - different flavors, shapes, and colors and always displayed together on festive holiday platters. So irresistible...

3. Open gifts on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day?

Christmas morning (though JD's family always did it on Christmas Eve). There's nothing like all your holiday pictures depicting you with bed head and in pajamas!

4. Favorite Christmas song?

Gosh, I really don't know. It really depends on my mood. However, I think I will always like "White Christmas" and "I'll Be Home for Christmas" because of my Midwestern background and living so far away from family.

And for good measure, what are you asking Santa for this year?

My "Santa" is bringing me a new set of dishes! We've had his set of Walmart dishes since we got married, and I've been looking to replace them ever since. "Santa" did so good ... he even picked out the pattern himself (and I like it!).

Countdown: (noun) the final moments before a significant event

Though I'm not sure I'd consider putting Ol' Nutty in my yard significant as much as traumatic, the countdown is on nonetheless. Less than twelve hours of voting remain before Nutty's (and mine and JD's) fate is decided. Midnight is the deadline so don't forget to vote ... and get all your friends to vote :)

If voting trends continue as they have, you will be able to drive by my house tomorrow night and the twelve foot inflatable beacon that is Nutty will be illuminated in front of our house. Oh the shame...

Have you ever met a centenarian?

I have! A centenarian is someone who is between the ages of 100 to 109, and Jonathan's great grandmother turns 106 today. No kidding! This picture was taken of "Granny" on her birthday last year. Doesn't she look great?

Willard Scott saluted Granny this morning on the Today show in his Smuckers Birthday Greetings segment. She was the first person he mentioned. Amazingly, she was one of three women all turning 106 (I guess it's true that women live longer than men!).

Granny is truly an astounding woman and an inspiration to us. She loves her family and lives to see each of member happy. She is an avid reader and researcher and has used those skills to focus on health issues. Obviously, she has learned a thing or two from her studies!

Another amazing characteristic about Granny is that she still lives in the same home she has lived in for over fifty years in Los Angeles. In fact, they have built a subdivision around the home because it's been there for so long! Granny lives there with her son Richard ("Uncle Dick"), and they take great care of each other.

In past years, Jonathan and I have gone out to L.A. to help Granny celebrate each new birthday milestone. Unfortunately, this year with Morgan we are unable to make the trip. We celebrate with her in spirit and plan to visit her at Mother's Day where we fully intend to get a five generation photo. You don't see those everyday!

We love you Granny! Happy Birthday!

Tacky: (adj) not tasteful or fashionable; gaudy; flashy; showy

Growing up my sister Steph and I had this odd fascination with anything tacky. The more hideous, the better was our montra. For example, the interior ceiling of the car we shared in high school (a gold Crown Vic which was atrocious in and of itself) was covered with a collage of random crap we deemed worthy of display. Then when I went off to college, Steph gave me a fish pillow. It looked a bit like this one, except mine was a rainbow trout. I think Steph wanted to make sure I didn't make friends in college.

Well, we've aged a few years since those days. I think deep down we each are still amused by the truly tasteless; however, now neither of us wants it in our homes. Despite this, two Christmases ago, Steph and her husband Matt got us an inflatable twelve foot nutcracker. Hideousness at its prime.

Now I share Kara's disdain for inflatables ... to the point where Jonathan and I left the stupid thing at my parent's house in Illinois in hopes that it would be forgotten about by all. Sadly, my parents didn't forget and, when they came to visit us last summer, they flew Ol' Nutty down with them! (Seriously, can you imagine what people were thinking about them as they toted the Nutster through the airport?)

So when Christmas rolled around last year, Jonathan and I debated whether to release Ol' Nutty from his cardboard home and expose him to the world (i.e. our poor, unsuspecting neighbors whose home values would be placed in jeopardy). Well, we like a good joke so Nutty had his big debut in our front yard. No joke, when we looked out our second story window you could see his hat!


Needless to say, we got Steph and Matt back as best we could when we visited them for Christmas by setting up a Nascar Santa inflatable in their yard for them to come home to :)


Here we are a year later and debating what to do with Ol' Nutty, and I've decided to let you decide. In the right hand margin, there's a poll for you to determine Nutty's fate. Polls close Friday at midnight so don't debate your choice too long! And please only vote once.

And if it sways your decision any, Steph has said that if the results dictate that Nutso gets freed once again then she too will put out the Santa speedster.

Unselfish: (adj) willing to put the needs or wishes of others before one's own

Today is Jonathan's sister Jen's birthday (Happy Birthday Sis!). When I asked Jonathan this morning for one word to describe Jenny, he said "unselfish". He went on to describe his sister as continually thinking of others and ways to bless or help them, always placing them in higher regard than herself and her own needs, desires, or problems. This is so true; we often have to pull these things from Jen because she is so focused on us!

And let me tell you when it comes to her niece Morgan, there are few who rank higher in Jen's book :) The last several times Jen has come to visit Morgan she has come equipped with gifts - most notably economy-sized boxes of diapers and wipes. Yeah ... Aunt Jenny rocks!

If you haven't gathered yet, Jonathan, Morgan, and I truly value having Jen in our family. We pray that she allows herself to be blessed today on her birthday by us and all the others who care for her. We love you Jen!

Three months, Eight hours, and Never

Three months - the length of time it's been since I last slept through the night.

Eight hours - the amount of sleep I got last night.

Never - the last time Morgan slept through the night.

That's right! Morgan slept through the night for the first time last night. What a huge blessing!

Ironic too because I was reading about baby sleep patterns in the third month yesterday in What to Expect the First Year and was contemplating switching up Morgan's sleep schedule. However, I decided to wait and pray about it before making any changes. God's answer was NOT what I expected ... it was way better!

In fact, I had been doing okay with getting up in the middle of the night. But when the two month mark passed a few weeks ago, I finally noticed the lack of regular sleep wearing on me. So God's timing and provision are perfect in giving me this gift of rest.

Please Lord may this continue...