So this is Christmas
And what have you done
Another year over
And a new one just begun
And so this is Christmas
I hope you have fun
The near and the dear ones
The old and the young

A very merry Christmas
And a happy New Year
Let’s hope it’s a good one
Without any fear

- John Lennon

It is my favorite Christmas tradition, and the only one that really matters to me. To stop and take a moment and remember how blessed and fortunate and thankful we are for all the many good things in our lives: Good heath, amazing children, wonderfully loving families, supportive friends, jobs we enjoy, our comparative wealth, and the ability to share this time of peace in peace with those we love.

And to you, too, we wish health, peace, joy, and much love this holiday season!

Everyone’s doing well. Noah’s still spending the vast majority of his time sleeping (as is only right and good!). Anna is as enthusiastic about her baby brother as you could expect an almost-three-year-old to be (“he’s a real baby!”). Max greeted the newcomer with reasonable interest and has spent most of the afternoon upstairs hanging out with all of us (compare to Anna’s arrival, when he hid in the basement for about a week). And Granny’s been a superstar, handling most of the cooking and cleaning.

We’re off to bed soon.  We’ll see how our first night all together goes — here’s hoping we manage to get a little more sleep than we did at the hospital.

But it’s good to be home.

Note: I just posted the day’s photos on our Flickr site, including a pretty cool video of Anna singing a rousing rendition of “baa baa black sheep, havin’ you da wolf” for her baby brother.

We always looked forward to spending time with Keith and his brother Kevin during holidays and family gatherings.  His love and appreciation for music was impressive in its diversity and scope, and his humor was sharp, sensitive, and quick. We always felt that Keith truly embodied what it meant to be an artist — he was overtly and openly passionate about his art, his ideas, and his politics, with his heart on his sleeve and always trying his very best to live his convictions.

What impressed us perhaps most of all was his fierce devotion to his friends, and in this terrible moment we wish we could speak with him just once more to thank him for his friendship and the good times he shared with our family, and my father in particular.

Keith, Kevin, and their friends and family are in our thoughts and prayers.

I’ve been busy making Halloween costumes for Henry and Anna.  We’re planning on taking them for pictures with their costumes – hopefully they will cooperate and wear them during the photo shoot.

We had dinner last night with Taara, Erik and Ian! We hadn’t seen them in about 6 months, and were amazed at how much the babies had grown.  We had a great time and hope we can get together again soon.

Anna’s new orthotic is causing some bruising on her leg – so we have an appointment with the orthotist so he can modify the brace.

That’s all for now.  It’s raining here…has been all day long.  Very dreary and cold.  Makes me want to stay in bed with the covers pulled up to my chin.

Some very special thanks are in order here. Thanks so very much to those of you who supported our team. We were able to raise nearly $2500 for the March of Dimes thanks to your generous donations. Every penny counts! And thanks to our Team “Miss Anna” members: Henry, Gus and Wil. Each member raised money on their own, which contributed to our team total.

Thanks again for your support of the March of Dimes!

This realization hit me recently: It seems like we spend a lot of time tiptoeing around our own house these days.

I guess that’s just part of life with a new baby around. Especially when she’s been sick for so long. We try to do everything we can to make sure that when she’s sleepy she can actually go to sleep, and stay asleep for as long as she can. So we throw each other dirty looks as we’re putting away the dishes (that clink might wake Anna!) or get a drink (the ice maker is too loud!), and hope that the kid stays asleep.

Fortunately, the whole family had a good night last night. Tara slept. I slept. Max didn’t wake us up with his usual antics at three o’clock in the morning. And most importantly, Anna slept from about 9:00pm through to 4:30am — without coughing! I don’t think she’s entirely over her cold, but the antibiotics do appear to have helped a bit, and she’s seem to be on the upswing at this point.

I’m going to go and try to sneak off to the gym now. Very, very quietly…

Why this is happening to a kind, intelligent, and sensitive six year-old boy is beyond my understanding, and beyond my willingness to understand.

We love you Ben, Madie, Melinda, and Dean. You are the bravest people we know.

Well thanks to this blog I just learned that Erik’s wife Taara (mother of wee Ian) was college roomates with Gus Brockmann’s (father of wee Henry) sister Liv. Liv plays in the same bell choir as Tara, and she’s also Max’s vet. Max likes turkey, and — get this — so does Erik!

It’s a very small world sometimes.

But wait!  There’s more.  Many hearty congratulations go out to my cousin Dean and his wife Melinda, who just announced they’re pregnant!

Anyone who’s not looking to get pregnant should probably stay the heck away from northern Colorado at this point.