Tis The Season!!

Those you who have been to our home know that we love to display pictures... everywhere! It may even be bordering on overkill but I don't care! Each Christmas season we start fresh and begin a collage on our pantry doors with the cards and photos our dearest friends and family send us. And there they will stay all year long. We add baby announcements and 'Save the Dates' through out the year as well. It just makes me happy to see your smiling faces everyday! Another fun thing I've noticed is how my kids will interact with the pictures. Pointing at people and asking us things like- What are their names? Where do they live? How old is your cousins boy? It's awesome when so many of those families we love live far from us. Through the pictures our kids will remember them until we can be with them again in person. :0)

Here is a picture of two of my favorite girls with the pantry behind them. This was taken in July and the photo cards are still on display ;o)

So if you haven't thought about doing so yet please do send us your beautiful pictures so that we can enjoy having you in our home this year!

I love the great choices I've found for my photo cards on Tiny Prints this year! I love this one (if only I could get my family to take one single nice picture of everyone!)

I also love (and I think this is new this year) how the back of the card comes printed! Super cute! Check out the other cute choices at http://www.tinyprints.com/shop/picture-christmas-cards.htm.

Merry Christmas!!!

Moments from 2011

Shutterfly 2010

Is it really that time of year again?! November for me seems to be all about preparing for the holidays. Sometimes all of the decisions can get overwhelming... do we do red and white lights on the house or blue? Do we really want to get Olivia a doll house with all of those small components?! Then its time to scour the black friday ads and nail down those decisions on who is getting what. AND this year we are packing up and heading west for the Thanksgiving holiday which entails it's very own list of to do's! One thing on my holiday have to's though has gotten a lot easier... Christmas Cards! We, along with most of America, have gone to the the tradition of sending out photo cards each year and nobody loves receiving them more than me!! In fact I've acquired a bit of a reputation among friends for keeping the cards we receive up on our pantry doors all year long... I can't help it! I just love to see all of your faces everyday! But when it comes to selecting the perfect design for OUR family card I can drive myself a little crazy. I can be quite particular about design and I tend to lean towards the contemporary so in the past I've spent a lot of time browsing all of the available sites sifting through lots of traditional in search for "the one" that I love! But this year I received an email with a link to the 2010 Shutterfly collection and let me just tell you it's my one stop shop!! The designs they have are just fantastically clean, simple and bold!! I honestly could be thrilled with one of ten designs that I've fallen in love with! So my problem this year isn't finding great designs it's in deciding which of these fabulous designs to go with! So go ahead, check em out for yourself and be as pleased as I am. http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/holiday-cards MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Some moments from 2010

Amia Simone ("beloved listener")

Born 10.28.09 @2:24pm 7lbs 12oz, 20-3/4"

Meeting their new baby sister. Going home!

Tavian likes to call his sister "little baby" and tells me "Mama baby cute, baby nice, baby silly." Our girls Olivia is constantly talking to Amia... "Hi baby girl!" She is awesome with her!

Amia Simone Hoang's Birth Story

What a week it's been! I stepped out of the shower last Wednesday morning, October 28th at 5:30 and my water broke! It started as a trickle and I thought "hmmmm?" and then it really started coming. I knew something was up because I had been experiencing some strong, different contractions over the previous few days. On Tuesday night I had my awesome midwife Sara Holt check me and I was at 3cm 80% effaced. "We're going to have a baby soon!" she said. But still, 2 weeks early was a surprise! We got ready, took the kids to school, went by the office to tie up a few things and then labored at home until about 10am. I have to thank my dear friend Amy for talking me through this part of my labor. She was an awesome coach over the phone and kept me distracted and laughing while that was still possible. My contractions were about 7 minutes apart at that point but when I got up and walked around they picked up considerably. Given the quick nature of our previous labors we decided to head to the hospital. When we checked in at the hospital at 10:30 I was at 4cm. Our doula Xylina joined us in the delivery room and was a tremendous support to both me and Quyen. By noon I was fully dilated and pushing... that was an intense 2-1/2 hours let me tell you! We had practiced the hypnobirthing technique during my pregnancy which is what allowed me to stay as focused as possible and labor with out intervention. Sadly, after some time pushing, we soon discovered that baby was posterior which means that she was lying with her back against my spine. That explained the extreme back labor I was experiencing! I was pushing but she was not moving down the birth canal. My midwife Sara then called an OB collegue of hers in to consult on how we should proceed. They decided to first try reaching in and turning baby manually. They would have to give me an epidural for the procedure. This was not what I had wanted or planned for but at that point I could only welcome the help. It was so incredibly painful that I don't want to imagine what it would've been like without the meds! They got the baby turned and it was time to push again. I was so motivated to NOT have a c-section! I pushed for 20 minutes and we had our baby girl!! Such an amazing moment! It's incredible how quickly it all goes away once you are holding that little one! Amia is an absolute sweet heart. We are all so in love!

Weddings!

Our summer has been full of love! On July 3rd we got to celebrate with Quyen's brother Sean and his wonderful bride Sara at The Alderbrook Resort in Union, WA. What a beautiful setting it was on the shore of the Hood Canal! Quyen was the best man, Olivia the flower girl and Tavian the ring bearer. They all did a great job and the ceremony was so lovely. Later in the evening during the reception Tav was getting antsy so I took him for a walk outside along the dock and was truly caught up in the beauty of this place. Rustic elegance. I just loved it and look forward to a day when Quyen and I can return for a little weekend retreat of our own. During Quyen's toast he talked about how well Sean & Sara compliment eachother and it is so true! We adore Sara... she is such a great addition to our family! It was an awesome weekend with our family and friends. Congratulations O'Laughlin's! We love you guys!! Then on August 1st our dear friends Dave & Angela tied the knot at Red Barn Farms in Colton, WA. Another awesome venue! I am lacking the actual stats but I do believe it was the hottest day of the summer. In fact both of our kids got sick from the heat and sadly had to miss the wedding. This left the wedding party 1 flower girl short but the other 9 fulfilled their duties perfectly and all was well. It was a gorgeous evening and a very emotional wedding for us. We introduced Dave and Angela about a year and a half earlier and they are a huge part of our daily lives. We love them dearly and so look forward to a lifetime of dinner parties, popcorn nights and growing old together! Angela is truly the queen of crafty details so I must share a few of her efforts. She thought of everything!