Trying to understand yesterday's tragedy

Yesterday, a family we know lost their precious 7-year-old daughter in a tragic car accident north of Bellingham. Because I work for the church they attend, I was among the first to get word of the accident very early yesterday, and was able to watch events as they unfolded throughout the day. At first, we didn't know many details; then more and more information came out and the scope of the tragedy really hit home. There were many prayers, and many sad faces, around our office all day. But as the afternoon progressed, something else quite wonderful started to happen...people called in wanting to help. They had heard the news on the radio, in the local paper, and over the internet. Some knew the family well, or had known them in the past, or didn't really know them at all. But all wanted to help in whatever way they could.

Our church is pretty big. It is one of the largest (if not THE largest) in Whatcom County. It is easy for people to characterize big churches as uncaring, or a place where people don't connect, or where things are run more like a business than like a church. And yes, there may sometimes be truth to all of that. But yesterday, our church of 3000+ became a church of few. It became a place where people reached out to a family in need; where people cried and prayed together, and where every heart was touched in some way by this family's tragedy.

As a mom, I cannot begin to understand how a family could endure the loss of a child. I hope I never have to find out. And I know it's too early to look for any good or meaning in all of this sadness. But if, in a time when many in our nation and our community are reeling from the economic crisis, we have all spent the past 24 hours pondering our priorities, hugging our kids a little tighter, and realizing what is really REALLY important in life, then maybe something positive really can come from that horrible, horrible day.

Emma at the dentist

Today Emma went to the dentist. The kids have a pretty cool dentist - they have flatscreen TV's embedded in the ceiling and the kids can watch a movie while they're getting their teeth worked on. I wish MY dentist was this high tech!

Emma makes breakfast

Emma made herself some PB&J (+ banana) waffles for breakfast this morning. She was so proud. (Of course, daddy helped her just a little.)

Skiing at Mt. Baker

Today the boys and I joined our Boy Scout Troop for a day of skiing at Mt. Baker - it was a gorgeous day up there, nice and sunny, and not too cold. We had a great time!

Doing a good deed

Tonight the boys and I headed over to Western Washington University to help pack medical supplies for AIDS caregivers in Africa. It was a great experience, and nice to know that somehow we are helping people far away who are suffering from the AIDS pandemic.

Picnic in January

It was so sunny and beautiful today that we decided to brave the cold weather and head down to the park for a picnic after church! We picked up some fried chicken at Fred Meyer, stopped at the house for some snacks (and the dog), and headed off to Bloedel Donovan Park on Lake Whatcom. It wasn't even very cold there once we were out in the sun - and it was totally worth it to spend a couple of hours getting some much-needed Vitamin D (and a little family fun, too).

Emma's sticker shenanigans

Daddy bought Emma a whole bucket of foam stickers the other day, and she decided she would decorate the wall behind our bed with them! (I guess this is what I get for putting off finding some artwork for that wall.) The funny thing is, if she gets mad at one of us then she goes and rips the stickers off our side of the bed to show her disapproval! Jeff finally talked to her about not doing that...we'll see!

Christmas in January

Not to be outdone by Emma's school, Bailey's school had their holiday make-up concert tonight. Bailey plays trombone in the 6th grade band. Unfortunately I could not get a picture of him because he was sitting in the back, and he's a little camera-shy at school events. Suffice it to say, though, that the concert was great and we really enjoyed it. Bailey's a great trombone player, and hopes to go to Trombone Camp this summer!

Nolan's incredible accomplishment

Today Nolan came home with a brand new t-shirt to celebrate his amazing accomplishment: he is one of the few, the proud, the sub 7-minute runners at his school. That means he can run a mile in less than 7 minutes! As someone who can barely run a 12-minute mile, I'm impressed. Aren't you?!

(Sorry, Nolan, I blurred out the name of your school just in case any weirdos are reading this blog!)

Christmas isn't over yet

Due to the massive amounts of snow in December, Emma's school Christmas program was postponed until today. We started with a Christmas party in her classroom, followed by the entire school (and family) filling up the gymnasium for a holiday sing-a-long. It was actually kind of fun getting back into the spirit of the Christmas season!

Emma enjoys treats at her desk.

Emma and her Kindergarten teacher.

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The "nerve center" of the Kindergarten classroom, where the students begin each day learning about the days of the week, the weather, the time, the seasons, etc. You can barely see it in this picture, but they also have a photo of a soldier who is overseas, and they pray for him regularly. I think that's pretty neat!

Yes, we are still alive

You have probably all been hearing about our big floods up here. For incredible pictures check out the Bellingham Herald website. Luckily, we live on a big hill so we are far from most of the damage, but we are still affected because school has been cancelled the last 2 days. I think even the kids are tired of snow/flood days!

Meet Olivia, the pink monkey

Emma went to Build-A-Bear Workshop and got herself a cute new monkey named Olivia. She's been Emma's constant companion ever since. Meanwhile, every time I go to BABW and see all the money they rake in on bear stuff I say to myself..."Gee, I wish I would have thought of this!"

Look Grandma, you're on the internet!

On New Year's Day we went and visited my Grandma in Bellevue - she's in her 90's and looking so good! She loves seeing the kids, and they love hearing her talk about all the pictures on her wall. Yes, she's got pictures of every kid, grandkid, great-grandkid, and I yes she's even got some great-great-grandkids - and she knows them all by name and exactly how many of each she has. (I should have written it down because the numbers are most impressive. Yes, we have a large family!)

I'm dreaming of a...White Christmas

Actually, I'm not even dreaming of it anymore. It is a reality here at our house. In fact, we got another 3" of snow overnight - wow! I've always wanted a white Christmas and, well, here it is. But even more exciting than the snow was just the great day we had. We stayed home all day while the kids played with their presents, and the grandmas came over in the afternoon to celebrate with us.

Wow, how did Santa get all that down our chimney?!

This year, Nolan played Santa and passed out the gifts.
(Looks like he was hiding just one more present to sneak
under the tree!)

Emma got a Barbie doll...and a Barbie jet to go with it.

Bailey got a remote control helicopter; but it ended up not

working so we'll have to go exchange it. Bummer.

Henry got something too: a stuffed penguin to gnaw on!

Yep, Nolan got that guitar he'd been wanting!

Emma could hardly wait to play with her new "Ponyville."

As soon as we were done opening presents, Bailey sat

down for a drum solo on the new Rock Band game.

Nolan is such a good brother - he actually put Emma's

Barbie jet together for her. Awwwwww.

While the kids played, Jeff and I made breakfast. We had a yummy

ham & egg casserole, Jeff's famous "cheesy browns", and of course...

...freshly baked cinnamon rolls!

A Snowy Christmas Eve

This is probably going to come as a huge shock, but it's SNOWING again! We got about another 6-8" of the white stuff at our house today. The weird thing is it was raining just down the hill from us, but snowing at our house. Amazing what a different a couple hundred feet make! This afternoon we went to church (which is where the pics below were taken) and then grabbed Grandma JoAn and headed out for our special Christmas Eve tradition: Mexican food at Cinco de Mayo!

When we got home we let the kids open one present: a new "Rock Band" game for the Wii. If you're not familiar with the game, it's kind of like karaoke on steroids. We've been having a lot of fun with it!

Day 10: It's Snowing AGAIN

That's right. It started snowing again a few hours ago. For those who are keeping track, that means we've now had snow on the ground for 10 days. We may get another 3-6" tonight. The absolutely excellent news is that the City of Bellingham finally plowed our hill tonight. So, unfortunately I won't be able to take that previously mentioned picture of our car sliding downhill sideways. (Maybe tomorrow!)

Meanwhile I'm thinking of starting a wintertime anxiety support group for People Who Live on Steep Hills!

This picture was actually taken last week. It's snowed at least another foot since then!

Snowed in: Day 9

I can hardly believe I'm saying this, but we actually got more snow last night! It's definitely looking like we're having a white Christmas this year - how exciting! As beautiful as the snow is, though, there is a LOT of it and Bellingham simply isn't prepared for such an accumulation. The steep hill we live on is now almost impossible to climb, even in 4WD. The good news is the kids are still enjoying it!

Here are some pics - Henry and Emma playing in the back yard, the view from our deck early this morning, and Nolan after finding an icicle "ray gun". Sorry, but I didn't get a chance to take a picture earlier of our Ford Explorer sliding sideways down our hill! Maybe tomorrow...

Pink Marshmallow

Today I had to finally admit to myself that the snow was not going to melt enough for me to drive to the post office to get my Christmas cards mailed. So Emma and I hopped on the WTA (city bus), risked life and limb crossing icy streets and endless snowdrifts, and headed off to the P.O. While we were downtown a kindly old gentleman remarked, "Why, that child looks like a big pink marshmallow!" Hmmm...she kinda does!

Winter Wonderland (or, how do you get 3 kids and a crazy dog to pose for a snow picture?)

Today is officially our 8th day in a row with snow on the ground, including several more inches we received last night! This is big news in Bellingham, where usually we are lucky to get one snowstorm in a year and the snow only sticks around for a couple of days. So, on my way out the door for work this morning, I gave Jeff one goal for the morning: to please get a good snow picture of the kids. He also decided to include our dog, Henry (and his new doggy reindeer antlers), in the shot. Quote from an exhausted Jeff: "Do you know how much work it is to get three kids into snow gear, antlers onto the dog, and get everyone to be looking at the camera at the same time?" He did a good job, didn't he?! (Oh, and he also had a fire in the fireplace and lunch ready when I got home!)

Another letter to Santa

Emma wrote another letter to Santa today, and I managed to snap a picture of it before she sealed the envelope. This one is more detailed than her first letter - evidently she figured out she wasn't getting what she asked for in that one!