A Secret Admirer

How scandalous! We have a secret admirer! This admirer doesn't shower us with gifts or good deeds (such as shoveling our driveway after the blizzard of '09). Instead, she (I'm pretty sure it's a she) sent us an anonymous Christmas card.

Going through the mail last week, I happened upon a Christmas card without a return mailing address, so I checked the postmark. Unfortunately, that was too faded to read. No problem. Surely the sender would sign her name. Oh no. She wanted to keep it interesting.

I opened the card and discovered... nothing except for the pre-printed message. Seriously! I had to laugh. No salutation. No closing. Nothing except for an envelope addressed to the three of us.

I've never heard of anyone anonymously wishing a Merry Christmas to someone. Maybe that's the gift: we get to play detective to determine the sender. Well, if that's the case, I do have a few clues and two possible suspects (but for privacy's sake, I won't reveal their names).

Clue #1: Red ink used to address the envelope
Clue #2: Very neat and pretty penmenship, much like a teacher's
Clue #3: Based on the minimal postmark, I'd say this is a local admirer
Clue #4: This person knows all three of us since she addressed the letter to all of us (not just me or Scott)

To whomever our admirer might be, thank you for the smile. And Merry Christmas right back at you!

Call a Spade a Spade

Each year about this time, Bill O'Reilly opines on the attack on Christmas. Obviously opinions vary on this topic, as evidenced by the overwhelming number of emails that he receives and shares on his show. However, Scott and I can't help but notice that what O'Reilly says has merit (and no, we don't always agree with him). Specifically, watching our favorite Thursday night shows on NBC verified O'Reilly's assertion.


Now don't get me wrong: I understand that there are other faiths that celebrate other holidays. I have no qualms with that. What bothers me is when people deliberately secularize Christmas, even though this season is the Christmas season. I mean, are we hitting all the sales because of some other holiday? No. What about the Christmas trees? Santa? Red and green? Are these for another holiday? No. Yet our society has been saying that despite all these factors, we can't say "Merry Christmas" for fear of offending someone. Why is that? Why is it that Christians are made to feel GUILTY for celebrating an important event in our faith, yet society bends over backward NOT to offend those of other faiths? Can someone explain this, because it doesn't make sense to me.

That being said, MERRY CHRISTMAS. Regardless of how you might celebrate, may your Christmas be filled with warmth, happiness, and laughter.

Nine Months

So, if Leah doesn't look too happy in the above photos, it's probably because she hasn't been feeling well lately. She's been battling a nasty cold since Saturday, so she hasn't been her usual happy self. Thankfully, though, this is nothing more serious than a cold (she had her nine-month check-up today, so the doctor also evaluated her sickness).

According to the doctor, Leah's right on track developmentally (which we already figured). Though she doesn't pull-up on furniture on her own, she will pull-up on our fingers. She's definitely TRYING to pull herself up, but she still doesn't have the upper body strength. That slight hindrance is not stopping our Leah. She knows we'll help her stand, and once she's up, she scoots right along. When she's feeling particularly bold, she'll hold onto me (or Scott) with one hand, leaving the other hand free. Because of her interest in standing (and moving!), Scott's teaching her how to sit down when she's tired. It seems to be working; she doesn't fall straight back as much as she used to. Don't worry; we still supervise her when she's mobile.

When she's not standing, she's exploring. Apparently she's grown tired of the family room and her many toys, so she feels a need to explore the rest of the house. This little adventurer will crawl right past the kitchen and head for the hallway, pausing just long enough for us to ask, "What are you doing?", before smiling, laughing, and taking off for the foyer and study. (Hmmm, I guess it IS a good thing that she's not walking yet!)

Oh, our intrepid explorer did find something of interest in our kitchen: gifts. There are two bags of gifts sitting on the kitchen floor. I didn't think she'd be interested, especially since she can't actually reach them. Silly me. Leah managed to pull one of the bags down (no clue how) and then proceeded to grab the bow off one of the packages. She did that not once, but twice, and then brought her "prize" into the family room to join her other toys. I can only imagine what will happen come Christmas! (Side note: surprisingly, she's not that interested in the Christmas tree, or the gifts under it, yet. She did pull a snowflake ornament off when I was holding her, but she then proceeded to "place" it on one of the boughs.)

Turkey Day

Our Little Turkey


Despite being sick, I think Leah enjoyed her first Thanksgiving. She was one of only three little ones at the annual Allen-Thorstad clan gathering, but she didn't mind, especially since she had plenty of adults to love on her. Plus, her (second) cousin Ben and friend Max kept her entertained (well, until they tired of it, and decided to do their own thing).

Leah with cousins Megan and Ben.

Hanging with the boys: Ben, Leah, & Max