Last week we exchanged presents with my family. No one got coal this year. I guess we were all good!

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?

Continuing on with my beach posts…

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.

I’ve always thought that white Christmases are the best. I’ve changed my mind. Christmas time at the beach is WONDERFUL!!!

(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!

A week ago Tuesday, we flew from Maryland to Texas to visit my family.

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!