Christmas in Clearfield

After much thought and discussion, Sharon and I decided to take a minuscule risk by traveling back to my parent's house in Pennsylvania for Christmas this year. Although our doctor told us that he didn't have any real reservations about us traveling, we were a little concerned by the fact that our insurance may not have covered an out-of-state birth if Kürbis decided to shock everybody and come over three weeks early. Thankfully, he/she decided he really enjoys the warmth and comfort of mommy's belly and he won't be a 2007 tax deduction. Since our decision to go to Pennsylvania was a last-second one and we could only stay a few days, we made the trip with our friend Dawn who was going to a nearby area to see her family.

Our trip home was complicated a little by the fact that Dawn needed to leave on Friday to get home for her brother's college graduation, but I had already planned a two-day ski trip in Maine for Thursday and Friday. So after cutting my ski day a little short on Friday, I drove the four hours back to Boston so that we could leave for Pennsylvania at 8:00. Due to bad weather and frequent stops for the prego, we didn't actually make it to my parent's house until 5:00 AM. Since I had the privilege to be the driver for the last three hours, I was especially thankful to be able to stay awake while realizing that I won't be the dad that drives through the night if we can't find a hotel room.

Our time with my family was a lot of fun, and I eventually got to the point that I wasn't nervous that Sharon would go into unexpected labor. Nevertheless, it was a bit of relief when we made it back to Massachusetts and decided to hunker down into the baby comes. For New Year's Eve, we're planning on having a very small get together at our place and try as much as possible to stay out of the snow that is supposedly on the way. Below are some pictures from Christmas and a fun video of my niece Ella that reminded me of the wonder of Christmas morning for kids.


Sharon and me (and Kürbis) in front of our Christmas tree



My mom with the grandkids (Ella, Theo, Nancy, Catherin, Isaac from l-r)


Sharon and her fellow prego sister-in-law Chrissie


Sharon and me with my parents (and sister Megan and Chrissie)
My niece Ella on Christmas morning

Baby Showers and Such

Last weekend, my parents came up to visit us from Pennsylvania and it was great to have some time with them. Sharon was under the impression that they were coming up so that my dad could go to the Steelers-Patriots game with me on Sunday - which was half right. The other reason that they were coming up was so my mom could go to the surprise baby shower for Sharon at our church on Saturday morning. Sharon's friends who were organizing the shower really wanted to keep it a surprise, but I was doubting that could happen - especially since we announced it in church one Sunday when Sharon was away. My biggest fear was that one of the kids in our church that goes to our Awana kids program would slip up and mention it to her sometime. However, they were either really good at keeping the secret or else they just proved one of our friends belief that kids don't ever pay attention in church anyways.

Regardless, it was a lot of fun to be able to surprise Sharon and it was amazing to see how far people traveled to be there. We had one of Sharon's best friends Alice make the trip with my parents and then sneak in a mutual friend's apartment on Friday night so that she could surprise her in the morning. The sight of so many friends brought tears to her eyes - which I guess is the mark of success. So last weekend we had a lot of fun looking at our new baby stuff (lots of diapers!) and also got to go out with my parents to pick out our Christmas tree. Even more exciting was the fact that my parents gave us a camera as an early Christmas present, so hopefully this means that I'll be much better about posting pics. By the time little Kürbis makes his appearance, I'll be a photo taking machine. As far as the Steelers-Patriots games that we went to - I don't want to dwell on it other than to say that it was a good experience and I was still glad that we went despite the less than optimal result.

Sharon's Baby Shower Cake

Kürbis trying on his new clothes

Sharon and I with my parents

Sharon with our new stroller

Da' belly

Third Time's a Charm

As most of you know, Sharon and I are now on our third car in the last three months as we have quite a knack for killing cars. Since it looks like we'll be staying in the United States for a couple of years after Seminary, we decided to try and get a car that should last for a while. After much shopping around, we finally settled on a 2002 Mazda Protege that we bought off a private seller nearby. He was the original owner and has done an incredible job of maintaining it, so we think it should have close to another decade of life left in it. It's a really fun, somewhat sporty, car to drive and I can't resist from singing the Zoom, Zoom, Zoom little Mazda jingle when I'm in it. It's also exciting for me as this is the first car that I've owned that was made in the same century that I owned it (you may have to think long and hard about that one). We still haven't settled on a name for it yet, so let us know if you have any suggestions. Anyways, here are some pictures and hopefully we'll have some fun stuff to post after this weekend as my Mom and Dad are coming up from Clearfield so that Dad and I can go to the Steelers' - Patriots game this Sunday. If you're watching the game, keep your eyes peeled for a bunch of Steeler fans standing together amidst the angry mob of Pats fans.