Hope, you are loved by your family and you always will be! Happy 1st birthday!

Several photos at 11 days old were taken by Beth from sugarrushphotography.com. Thanks Beth!

From today:

The Cake(s)

Pure Bliss

We had a LOT of fun.

Here are a few pictures taken just a hop, skip and jump from the beach house.

Do you know what this is? Lauren found this heart shaped thing. At first we thought it was a shell but it was light-weight. Not until we saw one for sale at the local corner market did we figure out what Lauren found. It’s a seaweed bean.

A kiss from Dave. Cute, huh?!

Well, that about sums it up! I’m done posting about our trip to Texas. Now, back to everyday life!

I know I am repeating myself, but I thoroughly enjoyed the winter weather in Texas. I dream about weather in the 60s and 70s. I hope there isn’t some strange psychological disorder about loving nice weather so much!

Lauren asked me to take a picture of the castle and the fox.

We were out past bed time. We had one sleepy little girl and one very wide awake little girl.

I got royally beaten by Lauren and my mom. Clearly, Lauren has inherited her dad’s strategy skills and not my lack-of-all-things strategic non-skills!

While Lauren was busy playing games, Hope was busy too.

Busy munching on Puffs. And tossing them all around.

And busy finding shoes to chew on. Hope got her first top tooth while in Texas.

Uncle Kevin didn’t get any pork ‘n beans either. As a kid, he always asked for a can of pork ‘n beans for Christmas. Sadly, that tradition fell by the wayside. I will have to revive it next year!

Hope got a baby doll from my mom.

Lauren got Coconut the dog from my mom. If you know my mom (and all of her sisters), you will totally understand why she would buy a dog named Coconut! My mom would happily eat barbecued coconut, boiled coconut, roasted coconut, sauteed coconut, coconut ice cream, coconut candy, coconut bread, etc.

Hope liked playing in the box.

Hope liked playing with the bag.

Thumbs up for the Redskins!

My mom and Hope.

Every family has at least one person who makes faces in all the pictures. We have Micah.

What did you get for Christmas? Favorite present?

Alex and Lauren built a sandcastle.

See the butterfly? Every time I see a butterfly or a shape of a butterfly, I think of Carmen. She was trapped in her earthly body like a butterfly in its cocoon but is now free!

Lauren had a GREAT time with Alex. On the flight home, Lauren wrote in her school journal about her week in Texas. She wrote about building a sandcastle with Alex. She said to me, “My teacher won’t know who Alex is.” I suggested she put that Alex is her Uncle Micah’s girlfriend. She said, “No, I’m going to put that Alex is MY friend!” Thank you Alex for building sandcastles, flying kites, jumping in the ocean, playing games and drawing with Lauren!

Over the past few years, I worried so much that Lauren was missing out on fun. I knew she was learning valuable lessons from life with Carmen but I still agonized over the fact that so much of her life was centered around Carmen’s medical issues. I’m so thankful for my friends who included Lauren in their fun family times. Those times were life-savers for my sanity and a ray of sunshine for Lauren.

Now, I soak up the fun times we are having.

To Carmen up in Heaven: We read the Christmas story today. We thought about Mary and Joseph, excitedly showing off their new son. It’s amazing to think that you are right there with the Son of God. Like Uncle Wes said in your eulogy, you now understand the secrets of the universe. Merry Christmas sweet Carmen!

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

– As told in the book of Luke

(Dave had to work during the week and this was the view from his bedroom “office”!)

My aunt decorated a beach-themed Christmas tree for us.

For the photographers out there, I would like to point out that Dave shot this picture of Hope at ISO 5000!

Wherever you are, whether on a sunny beach or up to your eyeballs in snow, we hope you have a Merry Christmas!

We managed to pack all of our stuff in one suitcase, two duffel bags, one carry-on, one computer bag and one camera bag. Plus a stroller and a car seat. We whizzed right through security with no problems at all.

While we waited for our plane, we let Hope crawl around on the floor. Most of me was horrified thinking of the germs on the airport floor but the rest of me was thinking that Hope needed to wear herself out so that she would nap on the plane. Lauren was running in circles and Hope was following her when I heard a deep voice say, “Make sure you give them chocolate covered doughnuts and Dr. Pepper before you board.” I turned and the captain was standing right behind me. I assured him that I would most definitely get them all wired up before the flight!

See the man in the background on the right? That’s Mr. Doughnut/Dr. Pepper.

You know when you buy a blue car you suddenly see blue cars EVERYWHERE??? Well, Hope is everywhere.

I cannot express how happy we were that Hope did AMAZING on the plane. She played and played and played. She took a nap. She did not cry at all. Sweet baby!

Dave did not cry either. It was a successful trip.

I like to fly. I like getting places fast. I like looking out the window.

When we left Maryland it was 27 degrees. When we landed in Texas it was 72. I cannot express how happy I was to walk out of the airport in Houston and feel 72 degrees.

I’m not going to write a big long post about our flight home so I have one important thing to say:

Please, please, please do not take stinky dogs on the plane, sit in front of two people with allergies, fall asleep and let the dog run up and down the aisle.

That was unpleasant.

Sincerely, the allergic person who wanted to smack the girl with the stinky dog upside the head!