Hey you guys—-I’M crying already!!!

I want to come have Christmas with YOU!!!

And, I want to know how to do that link to Shutterfly!!!

Mary

Kristin is not kidding about the hoodie. [click here]

As Andi has pointed out, Christmas is a time to celebrate the birth of Christ, his life, and all that he has done for us. That being said, I too have a christmas to do list with a little added flavor from a December Birthday leading up.

December 1-15: Drink enormous amounts of caffine, read enormous amounts of legal material, sleep 4 hours a night with a break every hour to get 15 minutes of studying in, and kiss the sunlight goodbye (as if we get more than 2 hours in Minnesota anyway).

December 16: sit around and wonder why my final couldn’t be today.

December 17: study up until the last minute before my final thinking how the final schedulers have had it out for me for the last 6 years. Call rob congradulating him on living another year while making it clear it was way harder for me to accomplish the same.

December 18-22: Continue studying non-stop, drinking caffine, and sleeping like an insomniac between finals, trials, and oral arguements.

December 23: Emerge from a commatose state only to realize i have no christmas presents as well as no way to get to Valdosta, GA. Sit around all day thinking how unfortunate i have it.

December 24: Start driving at 12:01am to make it to Valdosta in time to open my PJs, which i will wear for the next 36 hours. Stop at various “travel stops” to solve the present problem. Don’t forget to get Circus Peanuts for Isaac.

December 25: Sleep until everyone forces me out of bed. Wonder when the majority of the presents became Isaacs and not mine. Eat an orange in defiance. Laugh at one of the girls for crying. Spend the rest of the day in my PJs playing with the fantastic things Isaac received. Don’t let him play with any of it.

Married in 1992!

Ok, so Christmas is the season of perpetual hope… the main point of which is one of the most important in the history of man (birth of Christ; saver of our souls, etc.)… and of course, we have many traditions that celebrate this important occasion. However, I have a few… less reverent traditions of my own.

Andi’s Christmas To Do List:

- Open PJs on Christmas Eve. Wear them for the following 35 hours.
- While Bible story is read by person in room with lowest-grade-level reading level; recite story in own head to see if still memorized.
- Place bets on who will cry.
- Attempt not to be person who does cry.
- Make fun of Charlie-Brown-Tree with paper ornaments from circa mid-1970s to present
- Dump red wine in middle of room with newest carpet (”accidentally”).
- See if Michelle can get wine out of carpet again.

Wish we had that 72 degrees, but I’m thankful for sunshine, clear blue skies, and gusty wind. I awoke to a sweet, sweet voice, “Wake up Mom, I want to go down!” Oh dear, it was 7 am and I was in a nice sleep. The little slapping on the face combined with the sweet voice persuaded me to get up and get going. I’m glad—it’s a gorgeous day here and perfect to enjoy.

Krystyne, Anna, and I spent a couple of hours shopping this morning. Quite a contrast–a 17 yr old and a 2 1/2 yr old. I think at the moment, I prefer the 17 yr old—-at least this one! She is a treasure and a joy to be with (most of the time anyway). God gave me a good “first” teenage girl to experiment with. She is easy, easy, easy. Thank you God!

We were quite productive with only two stops. Krys found four sweaters she wanted—very stylish, and walked away spending less than she would have on one in many other stores–thank you Ross’s. I walked away with very cute winter coats for Amanda and Anna and hear this THREE, yes I did say three pairs of jeans for ME. Buying that much for me is rare to be sure. Again, thank you Ross’s!! I can retire my shorts for now!

Well, happy shopping, eating, sewing, sporting, couch potatoing, working, or whatever you’re up to today. We love you!!!

Mary, Anna, Amanda, Krystyne

Here we are… mid-November. I think it is even reasonable to begin thinking about Christmas. It’s a good day. Partly cloudy and a perfect 72 degrees. When Robert was little, we’d send him outside in the morning in his PJs to tell us what the weather was like so we knew what to wear to school. On a day like this he’d run back inside and say “It’s nothing out.” I think that meant it was perfectly room temperature outside. I love it when it’s “nothing out.” Life is good today. The dogs are clean (thank you Michelle); the house is liveable (as in, no dirty dishes on the coffee table); work is busy, but good (heading in to the office shortly); I’ve got a pretty quilt started for a Christmas gift; two trips to NYC and back in the last 10 days… both went well. Dad is back from his week in NYC; Robert is back from Pennsylvania; Kristin is healthy and doing well; Jonathan is studying hard as 2L finals are creeping up; Daniel is MIA (but as the 6th 18 year-old college freshman in our fam, this is really no surprise); Joe is off to the ranch this morning to get some work done today before dinner; and Michelle is sleeping soundly… looks like she’s smiling, so it must have been a good night.
Hope you all enjoy a perfectly “nothing” weekend.
Love,
Andi

Hi to all of you—my loved ones. The sun is shining and the meteorologists have promised a 70+ degree day here on the Front Range. We have had summer, fall, winter, and now back to summer so far t his week. Never a dull moment.

Anna is up terrorizing our life—in good ways only! Our Angie dog is poking her nose through the backdoor curtain and enjoying the sights. Life is good!!

Love you all,

Mary

” You will be secure, because there is hope;
you will look about you and take your rest in safety.”
(Job 11:18)

We are safe.

Here’s what Miriam-Webster has to say about it:
safe
Main Entry: 1safe
Pronunciation: ’sAf
Function: adjective
Inflected Form(s): saf·er; saf·est
Etymology: Middle English sauf, from Old French, from Latin salvus safe, healthy; akin to Latin solidus solid, Greek holos whole, safe, Sanskrit sarva entire
1 : free from harm or risk : UNHURT
2 a : secure from threat of danger, harm, or loss b : successful at getting to a base in baseball without being put out
3 : affording safety or security from danger, risk, or difficulty

Good morning all you wonderful Frieden’s,

Celebrate! I am alive, breathing quite normally even in this high altitude. My girls are still beautiful and exciting. AND, we have made it all the way to Wednesday!!!

Have a wonderful day. Love to all of you,

Mary