4 January 2007

2006: The Year in Review

We received a Christmas letter from some friends this year and they let their son write it. Mommy and daddy were inspired so they thought it would be neat if I did it too. So this is our year in review in my (Gabrielle's) words:

January: We started off the year with an amazing trip to Singapore to see my Nai-nai and Tha-tha - that's mommy's parents. One of our dear friends gave us something called frequent flier miles for daddy's ticket, and grandmother & granddaddy in California bought mommy's ticket as a Christmas present. It was so fun and I got to fly on my first airplane. I don't think mommy and daddy had very much fun though b/c I didn't sleep very much. But I loved it and got to know everyone on the plane because daddy walked me up and down the aisles for most of the flight. I'm a Glasgow girl, so Singapore was very hot for me. All of my friends and relatives there were so nice and generous with me and gave me lots of nice gifts. My favorite part was celebrating Chinese New Year!!!

February: We returned from Singapore to very cold weather - which I'm used too. Daddy did something very crazy... he fasted for two weeks!!! He lost 16 lbs. and weighed the same as he did when he graduated from high school. He was skinnier and looked much younger.

March: Mommy did something new this month. Daddy had to go away for three days up to Inverness for a meeting for his ministry's curriculum. Mommy took care of me all by herself, and though it was hard, she did a good job and we really enjoyed girl-time while daddy was gone. It also snowed really hard this month and Glasgow got its most snow in 30 years. I didn't really know what to think about it though... it was very cold and wet.

April: Mommy enrolled me in my first music class called Colour Strings. We had so much fun. We listened to music and did fun exercises to the music. I think I'm going to be like mommy and be a musician. I love music and singing! We also went to Amsterdam to see our good friends, the Grafs. They're missionaries there and mommy and daddy got married at their farm. That was my second airplane ride and it was better because it wasn't as long as to Singapore. The Grafs loved on me and mommy and daddy a lot and we had a great time. I can't wait to go back!

May: The weather started getting warmer and mommy and daddy took me and Cole to the park a lot. I loved watching all the kids play on the playground and all the doggies running around.

June: Mommy and daddy took me on another airplane ride to California where I got to see grandmother, granddaddy, Aunt Jenny, Uncle Tom and my cousins, Nico & Molly. We went there to attend CRM's world wide staff conference at daddy's alma mater, Westmont. Mommy and daddy also got to go to something called a Romance Conference at Hume Lake. Granddaddy was the speaker, but I don't know very much about romance.

July: Mommy and daddy had so much fun showing me off to all their friends in California. Everyone was so nice to me and loved on me a lot. We also got to go out to Palm Desert w/ Troy and Kristina Pierce and I got to play with their son, Owen. He's BIG! Oh! We also had my dedication. Granddaddy performed my baby dedication and lots of people came to celebrate. We had a Bar-B-Q and there were lots of kids and presents for me!!! I loved California. I woke up every morning and hung out with grandmother for about an hour while everyone else slept in. We really bonded and she showed me how to point at things and water all her plants. Oh! And one more thing: mommy and daddy found out that I'm going to have a little brother or sister. Yea!!! I could really use a playmate. Cole keeps running away from me.

August: We had to leave California and go back home to Glasgow, but the weather was really nice and we got to go to the park some more. This time, mommy and daddy let me get in the little-girl's swing. I love to swing. It's so fun! Daddy had to start preparing for the new participants. He got a promotion and became the Glasgow Director. He really loves his ministry!

September: This was a big month. I turned one-year-old and mommy and daddy had a big party for me. More than 60 people came to celebrate with me and I got tons of presents. I also got to eat a fruit tart - which was the first time I had something called SUGAR. I really liked it and smeared it all over my face. I got some of it in my mouth too. The participants also showed up this month and daddy was working a lot. Mommy had to watch me by herself again for three days when daddy went on a Listening Retreat with the new participants. They spent three days in silence listening to God. I don't even know how to spend three minutes in silence, so that's impressive to me.

October: Yea!!! I started walking this month. I love to walk. I also love to dance to the Fimbles on TV. Mommy also started letting me play the piano. I love the noise it makes when I bang on the keys. The days got shorter and it started getting cold. But that's okay with me because I have lots of warm clothes to bundle up in. People have been so kind to give me lots of clothes! Daddy got to fly back to California for a wedding. His friend Nate and his wife, Becky, flew him home so that he could co-officiate the wedding - whatever that means. He was home for a week and mommy had to take care of me by herself for the longest time yet. Oh yeah, and mommy's belly started to get big. The doctor said that she thinks it's a girl, but only 75% sure... boy will mommy be shocked if it's a little boy!

November: This was a really special month because grandmother came to visit from California. She didn't even tell us that she was coming. She just surprised us by showing up at the front door. Mommy and daddy were shocked! Mommy even started crying... but she was happy. I don't get that, but I guess it's a good thing. Grandmother bought me a rocking horse as an early Christmas present and I love it! This was a big food month. Mommy and daddy hosted an evening for all the staff and participants and they made Pad-Thai. We also celebrated Thanksgiving, even though it's not a holiday in Scotland. We had a huge turkey and grandmother made a delicious thing called cranberry sauce. We invited lots of Scottish friends to celebrate with us and they really enjoyed it.

December: I really like December. I didn't remember Christmas last year, but I really like it! I love all the decorations and the lights. Daddy also turned 34 this month - which means that he's older than Jesus. He had a nice birthday party with some of his friends here. I got a stocking for Christmas and a little table and chairs that me and mommy sit at to color and read books. I say lots of words now... my favorite words (other than 'Momma' and 'Daddy') are: Nose, Eye, Hot, No, Hi, Bye, Daggy (for Cole), Shees (shoes), Moe (more), and Ubiquitous... just kidding. I also just string a bunch of sounds together that sound like talking, but mommy and daddy have no idea what I'm saying. Mommy's tummy is HUGE... daddy says she's as big as a house, but mommy just smiles and shakes her head. I can't wait for my little sister or brother to come in March!

Well, that's the year through my eyes. It was a really good year and mommy and daddy say that it was filled with God's goodness and his blessings. If you want to see pictures from our year - lots of me getting bigger - you can click the link on the right side of this page that says, "Photo Album," or you can log on to: http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisandjasheen// to see all the pictures we took this year.

Thanks for checking out my first Blog entry. We're looking forward to another great year and can't wait to share it with you again!

Bye-bye!