Merry Christmas

I know I haven't posted in a while. And I know I've written more than a couple of blog posts about how I'm going to do better and catch up and blah blah blah--it ain't happenin', folks. Maybe one day . . .

For now, the best I can do is stay somewhat current and maybe backtrack with an older post every once in a while. I really want to have this record for my own family, but laundry and meals and carpools and kids' activities and sometimes sheer laziness (stupid facebook!!!) get in the way.

{Incidentally, in the one minute since I started this post, Jace climbed up to the kitchen bar and was cutting his Cap'N Crunch pieces with a knife. On the bar. Ricocheting cereal all over the counter and floor. Super fun. This is my life.}

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Today is Christmas Eve. Gavin is on IR (interventional radiology) which is the most demanding of the radiology sub-specialties. Any hospital procedure that requires imaging also requires my smarty pants, hard-working, radiologist husband. And so it is that I was planning on gym time and shopping and a pedicure all by my lonesome, and what do you know?

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP.

His darn pager. A 71-year-old patient pulled out a tube and needs to be assessed, perhaps the tube has to be replaced. Gav gathers all the info, calls the staff doc, and leaves for the hospital. It could be a very long day, especially since most hospital employees aren't there. Everyone will have to be called in.

I'm trying not to feel too sorry for myself. I need to remember my blessings and think of the patient's family. Their Christmas Eve is surely more of a bummer than mine. I also have many friends whose husbands are in Afghanistan or Iraq, so I really don't have it so bad. Maybe I'll make that toffee I've been drooling over.

In the mean time, I wanted to post our Christmas card pic for this year. At 6 months pregnant, I didn't feel like sending a photo of myself, and of course my husband's schedule isn't really conducive right now to the drama that is a family photo session. Luckily I had a photo from October's apple squeeze in Steilacoom that was good of each of the kids. So I created this little beauty:


And while I'm at it, here is last year's pic. I actually never sent them out, but cleverly included it in the ones I mailed this year. Once again, no family photo, just a hodge podge of each of us:


I went with an 'ABC' theme for this year's Christmas letter. I try to do something different each year. If I can figure out how to properly upload the letter, I'll get it on here too.

For now, I need to sweep up the Cap'N Crunch.