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Unbelievable! Another year marathon has been run. We are amazed that time is consumed so quickly. Our days are filled top to bottom with our children and their activities. We are very proud of the choices they make and we pray for strength to keep up with them. It is satisfying to be thankful at the end of each day.
We are Thankful...
- to have extra sheets to put on a couple of beds during flu or sick tummy season.
- to have so many great memories in the Nursery that we had tears putting the crib away. (okay, Nannette had the tears)
- for 18 wonderful years together.
- Shellfish is only served once a month at the school.
- getting the bolt through our tire means we avoided a greater trial.
- for a positive son who reminds us of why we might have got the bolt there.
- grateful we gave our sweetheart, Dad to Scouts for so long we don't notice the difference with his new calling at church.
- for toy cars that cover the floor like carpet, even though they can be painful, someday they will be gone.
- to know we are children of God.
A few of our children's favorite things:
Boston (15)
Started High School
Eagle (woo hoo so now he can begin...)
Driving
First Date coming
Drum Line
Caden (14)
Church Dances
Actor (Merry Wives of Windsor and Tom, Dick, and Harry)
Percussion
Dropped swimming to take up asthma
Aubrey (12)
Started in Young Women
Shakespeare x2
6th grade graduation & Jr. High
Make up
National Youth Storytelling Showcase Torchbearer
Proved she belonged in Algebra by missing the first two weeks of the class and getting the highest score on the first test.
Marley (9)
Furniture designer making beds for Emily the American Girl
4th Grade
Art & Math are favorites
Testing new possible winter olympic venues 'snow boogie board trampoline jumping'
Mason (7)
Traded Kindergarten graduation for 1st grade
Learned to tie his shoes
Played soccer again
Loves to ride his bike
Daxton (2)
Potty training
Becoming an illustrator - ruining/tracing and adding to pictures in library books
Potty Training
Playing catch with Daddy
Earning hot wheels while potty training
Oh how we LOVE them! They keep us busy, consistently. We are Thankful. Merry Christmas.
The LA Times has a great story about Jake, calling him the New Sensation. For those who may not be family (what are you doing here anyway?), Jake is my Brother-in-Law, married to my sister Jane. In Jake's own words, "She [is] so rad."
Good luck in Santa Barbara this weekend!
This is Snowbird's Tram Plaza deck at the bottom of the mountain. Over 6" of new snow fell last night pushing the season to date snow total to an amazing 629"!
Guess where I'll be this weekend. Nope, sorry. Guess again.
Baby Boy Watts, as he is known at this point, was born today.
We were at Wal-Mart yesterday, buying a baby car seat, and Nannette was timing contractions. They were small, but starting to get consistant, so she was timing them on her watch. I get embarassed when she gets a cramp or contraction in a public place, because I feel like everyone is watching, expecting this pregnant lady to give birth in the children's section. Anyway, I didn't think much of the contractions, he wasn't due for five days, so we got our car seat (good thing) and headed home.
Nannette continued to time the contractions until about 10:00 she was convinced and we headed to the Hospital. I hoped (and expected) the baby would be born before midnight, but the night dragged on and although the contractions were frequent and strong, Nannette made little progress. I was doing my job as a good coach, reassuring her that she was doing great and getting closer. Nannette was doing the hard labor. Rita Rudner used to say, "To me natural childbirth is backward; nowadays everyone takes drugs except when they need them." But this little guy was in no hurry. Nannette kept hitting the lap button on her stopwatch at the beginning of each contraction.
By the time the sun came up again we were both exhausted. It's tough to sleep during the 2-3 minutes between contractions, while finding new and creative birthing positions. Nannette's doctor suggested breaking her water to speed things up. Nannette wasn't excited about this idea, because it intensifies the labor, but eventually she gave in. At 7:15 the doctor broke her water, and one contraction later, one huge, intense, 25-minute long contraction later, Nannette was ready to push.
But she was too exhausted to push. It got a little bit scary to me, when the baby's head just kinda got stuck in the birth canal, and Nannette wasn't able to push. Amazingly, she found the strength, and at 7:40 AM, Baby Boy was born. I was almost as relieved as Nannette was, and just as elated. He's wonderful, and beautiful, and finally here. 8 lbs, 12 oz. and 19 1/2 inches with lots of dark hair.
Now we just need to find him a name. We could always go with big-brother Mason's suggestion. "Mushroom"
Click here to see some pictures
Kodachrome, Paul Simon
They give us those nice bright colors
They give us the greens of summers
Makes you think all the world's a sunny day, Oh yeah
I got a Nikon camera
I love to take a photograph
So mama don't take my Kodachrome away
