We missed you all this Christmas but are glad that you all seemed to have a great time. The pictures look cute, we'd love to see more from the rest of you! Our Christmas was great, it was anything but quiet with the number of noisy toys Hayden got! I don't think I've ever seen a kid more spoiled and more in love with all his gifts! Thank you so much for sending such great things for Hayden and Danica (and Tom and I too for that matter!!) We feel tremendously blessed this year and are so grateful for all that we have. It's been fun to have so much family together time with just the 4 of us. However, hopefully next year we can spend the holidays together with some extended family as well. We did get lucky enough to spend Christmas dinner with the Debaltzo's. They have really helped make our time out here in Ohio so much better. I don't know what we would do with out them and their hospitality. The kids are so great to play with Hayden and go out of their way to make him happy. Tom and I really enjoy the break and the chance to visit with Dennis and Lexi and to feel a part of a big family celebration. We have spent every major holiday with them this year and it's been so great for us! We owe them a huge THANK YOU!

Well I best finish this and get ready for the day because Tom wants to brave the crowds and try to return a few things. Of course most of what I bought him needs to be exchanged...oh well, I knew that would be the case because he is impossible to shop for since he not only buys it all for himself but he's also so picky! At least it's the thought that counts and he got to open gifts! Enjoy the post holiday fun and keep in touch!

Tracey

Danica in her Christmas dress

Hayden loved all his presents!

Baby Jesus with Mary and Joseph (just in case you couldn't tell!)

Hope everyone had a great Christmas! Love you all! 

As promised...Sadie and Morgan at Morgan's 4th Birthday party. What a pair. 

For the sake of those who are not here with us in Vancouver, I thought I would do a short posting. Last night we had a great Christmas eve including Ellery and Leann and Teri and Ron....LeAnn orchestrated the dramatization of the Christmas Story with Mike participating via the internet as Gabriel. I will never forget the angels on the landing...Brooke, Ellyn, Morgan and Sadie...all real angels.

The roasts are in the oven, potatoes baking, Dad and I just got out of the hot tub...and Marnie, Kim and Treven are anxiously awaiting the arrival of Dave, Adina, Brooke and all of their kiddos so that we can open the rest of the gifts. Santa came for the three children(?) here. I've decided Santa will come until they have children of their own...It was kind of a rush getting to church since Dad and I slept until 8:30...I had to be at church early for a last minute practice of the choir...and, of course, getting ready now includes getting Grandma ready and she is not hurried very easily. We made it though and had a good program at church. Since then I have been working on the latest puzzle, snacking and getting dinner ready.

I need to go down and get the table set...I wish I had to set eight more spaces....Mike, Brent, Buffy, Tom, Tracey, Hayden, Anne and Peter (I figure I wouldn't have to set a place for Danica yet) Merry Christmas...and we love you all!

Mom

You have to have Google Earth installed. Use this link:

Santa Tracker

Merry Christmas all!

I love you guys.

Mike

For Christmas Cheer

If you are experiencing any Christmas duldrums, please click on the link above.

I got the 360 in the mail! So, considering the circumstances, my Christmas is looking joyous. It is an incredible piece of hardware. Thank you Mom (and Dad).

I have to go to a Church Christmas Party tonight. Our branch and the Korean Ward are getting together for this. That ought to be interesting. Our branch president thought it was a good idea, and I would share his opinion, if I could also speak Korean like him!

For tomorrow, please hold the Christams events until I get home from Church. Around 8pm your time. So that I can do the web cam thing and be a part of it. Thanks.

Merry Christmas everyone.

Mike

Snowy River in Leavenworth, Washington 

Having too much fun in Leaverworth/Plain 

Cold Snow off the branches 

Mountain Springs, Leavenworth/Plain, Wash 

Two horse open sleigh Plain, Washington 

Cute

Kisses from brother!

Smiley

Well it has been much too long since we really wrote and told you about all the fun we are having here with Danica. I suppose we will start at the beginning:
I went to the hospital at 10:00am and they took me to the delivery room around 10:30 to do the prep work and to get the epidural started. Around 12:30 they transferred me to the operating room and told Tom to get in some scrubs and to just wait while they got things set up in the OR. It was a little bit scary in the OR because I’d never had a serious surgery before. There were like 10 people in there buzzing around doing different things; tons of machines beeping and such; I had to wear an oxygen mask and just laid there waiting to go numb. However, I just kept reminding myself that I was about to have a baby and I was so excited I just kept smiling and taking deep breaths. I could see my heart rate on a big screen and despite my nervousness the positive thinking kept me really quite calm. I had one great nurse sitting by my head and I kept asking her what was going on and she was pretty helpful. I also kept asking when Tom could come in because I didn’t want him to miss it (and I didn’t want to be alone) and finally the doctor said “Where’s the husband?” and they scrambled to get him. He almost wasn’t there in time! He came in right as they were doing the incisions. He was able to video tape some of it for me to watch because I couldn’t see anything.

At 1:06pm Danica was born! They had told me they would hold her up over the curtain so I could see her but when she came out she was a little bit blue and not breathing. They rushed her into the adjacent room and I sent Tom to go with her. He tried to video tape for a while but when the nurses panicked and started to push the emergency button he got too scared and turned the camera off. Luckily, just then Danica started to breath and they got her lungs cleaned out and she was fine. The nurses were young and Tom thinks that more experienced nurses may not have panicked. Needless to say I was a little stressed just waiting to hear her cry. No one told me what was going on so I was so relieved to hear that cry. A short time later Tom was able to bring her in and I got to see her! He held her while the doctor fixed me up. It took about 30 minutes and it felt like someone was sitting on my chest and my head was pounding but I am sure it could have been worse. After that we were all moved into a recovery room. I was able to hold and feed Danica and just try to rest while the feeling came back into my legs. I kept having contractions, which were really painful despite the epidural, so I guess my body hadn’t yet figured out that the baby was out! But within a couple of hours they moved us up to the mother/baby floor!

Tom went and picked up Hayden to meet his baby sister for the first time. When he came in the room he was excited to see me and ran over to give me a hug. Then he just kind of looked around confused and finally saw Danica in her little bed. Tom helped him look at her and it was really cute. I was feeling pretty good at this point because I still had an epidural pack that allowed me to feel my legs but kept the other pain in check. I couldn’t get out of bed due to all the things hooked up to me but that was just as well since I had no desire to move! We had a nice evening just hanging out in the hospital room together. When it got late Tom and Hayden went home and I had my first night with Danica. I was worried about how to care for her when I couldn’t even lift her out of the crib without a lot of pain but the night went really well. She was such a dream and never fussed except to eat or be held. I didn’t have to rock her or bounce or anything, she was just so content. I stayed in the hospital until Thursday and Tom and Hayden came to visit me every morning and evening. Hayden loved Danica right from the start and kept telling her how much he loved her and wanting to hold her. She kept being so calm and content and was eating like a champ. She was gaining weight before we even left the hospital! Coming home has gone really smoothly. We’ve had a lot of meals brought in and Tom has been doing the house work. I’ve just had to relax and play with Hayden a bit and hold and feed Danica so it’s been a dream week for me. We have no where to go and no one is coming over so we can just relax and sit around all day. Tom has taken Hayden on a few outings like to the zoo and such. On Monday night I ventured out with Danica for the first time and we took Hayden to see Santa Clause with the Debaltzo kids. However, Hayden didn’t like Santa and just cried and refused to go sit on his lap. Oh well, there’s always next year!

Hayden has adjusted to Danica beautifully so far so hopefully that will last. He just loves her and always talks to her and tries to read her stories and such. He pretends she can talk to him and always tell us what she is saying. Danica is a dream baby, she is so content to just sit in your arms and look at you. She sleeps well at night and has fun awake periods during the day. The only adjustment were working on is getting her to “go to bed” earlier because she likes to have her sleep cycles from about 1:00am to 1:00pm. But since all you really have to do is hold her (instead of walking circles around the room while she’s crying anyway) it’s not a big deal. I know it won’t last forever but I am relishing it while I can, she’s amazing! You couldn’t ask for a better baby! I took her to the doctor today for a jaundice check and they said she looks fine. She is only 9 days old and already weighs 6 lbs. 6 oz. and is 19.2 inches long, that is great growth!

So life here in Cleveland is great. The temperature is freezing but we’re staying inside so it doesn’t matter anyway. We’re getting ready for Christmas and are really enjoying all this time to just hang out together. Hayden can sing all the words to “Jingle Bells” and “Santa Claus is coming to Town.” Plus, he makes up his own songs that sound similar to Away in a Manger and stuff. Today when I was putting him down for his nap he was cracking me up because he didn’t want to talk about Christmas. He was insisting it is Halloween and he started singing “The 12 Days of Christmas” but he said “days of Halloween” and it was his ghost bringing him things. Funny kid; almost too clever for his own good really. His new line to anything he does is “Sorry, it was an accident.” That seems to get him out of anything!

Okay, now that I have written a novel, and Danica is about to wake up I will stop. I hope you are all doing well and excited for the holidays. We really wish we could be there with some of you to celebrate. Enjoy the festivities, we’ll send more pictures soon! Take care!

Tracey

On the memories of Gramma...only Brent, Marnie and Anne have submitted theirs....it is the 20th so time is getting short!!! That leaves Tom, David, Mike and Kim to contribute. Please send them to my e-mail...bstinch2@comcast.net.

Loved your tribute to Brooke, Mike. Very well deserved. I am so happy with all the spouses that my children have chosen...Each of you are perfect for the child of mine that you have married!

I am still fighting battles with HealthNet and Medclinics in Sacramento to get a referral to a podiatrist here to treat her sores on her feet. I have been working on this for over two weeks and her feet are getting more painful....She can't wear shoes at all any more. I am so irritated~~

Love you all,

Mom

As I announced several times to Adina on Saturday- I hate the cold. Give me a few weekends of skiing and keep the rest of the blasted cold weather away. So. Cal and a mini sound just perfect right now. Beautiful car Marnie.

Dave, I had my suspisions. The kids have just confirmed them. But if Mike needs a break then I will give it to him- we do have eternity.

Mike, I love you. Thank you for your blog. I couldn't be married to a better man and I feel so blessed to have you as my husband. Please hurry home as soon as your vacation is over. Believe me, I understand the need to get away from it all.

Buffy, I'm so glad your finals are over. Give Brent a big hug for us to get him through this busy time. Our address is 21915 NE 150th Ave.
Battle Ground Wa 98604

Okay, I love you all. Talk to you soon. Love, Brooke