Christmas Letter 2006

The point, one supposes, of such a ltter is to update the general public about the sizes and stages of one's family. Especially when the family in question is ours, which seems to continually be increasing in number.

Michael finished his PhD this year. He is finally "Dr." and I must admit that thus far the only real advantage I've seen to this is that I get to hang up on telemarketers who don't ask for him by proper title on the second try. For example....... Telemarketer: Is Michael there? Becca: Maybe, maybe not. Perhaps I could locate the individual in question if you could address him properly? Telemarketer: Is MR Michael there? Becca: Wrong answer. Thank you for playing. This may seem rather obnoxious but I say if we invested 10 years of our marriage into that dang title somebody had better use it. And telemarketers are the only people who call us that wouldn't smack us upside the head or write us out of the will if we demand such a thing.

I (Becca, of course) managed to get pregnant against all established rules of nature early in the year. So, for anyone that wants to make the joke about knowing what causes such a thing, I challenge you that perhaps it is not as straightforward as originally suspected. I say that there is a possibility that we don't know what causes such a thing and thus I am abstaining from recreational painting, value meals at fast food establishments and poetry in general. Anyway, I delivered by incision our 5th child (second son) on September 19. I had polyhydramnios throughout the pregnancy, and he was delivered by emergency c-section because he decided to go into fetus hibernation. I valiantly attempted to bleed to death post delivery but was thwarted by medical personel who seemed to lack the true vision for what makes a good biography special on A&E.

And the kids? Well, they are just absolutely spectacular. You know, a christmas letter is the only correspondence in which a person is allowed to refer to their offspring as "fabulous" or "spectacular" and not be socially shunned; however "fantabulous" is yet to be accepted. Anyway, Summer has managed to get another year closer to teenagerdom (she's 11) and, as always, excels in her studies and her art projects. Lily turned 9 and has continued to fail as a vegetarian although I credit her for the dedication she displays to someday achieving her goal. Mackenzie turned 7 and continues to climb doorways and hallways. On the bright side, we did not have to call the fire department even one time this year to get her down from somewhere stupid. Langdon mastered potty training (finally, oh, and did I say, finally) and is doted upon and spoiled by his older sisters to the point of doing actual detriment to his development. We're going to have to crack down on that this year. Dexter (our latest addition) is finally sleeping through the night, and has kept us busy going from doctor to doctor through the latter part of the year. One for his weight (he's a big 'ol boy), one for his voicebox (he has laryngomalacia - a deformed voicebox) and one for his goopy eye (clogged tear duct, you see). I'm sure the boy isn't completely defective and look toward the upcoming year to prove it.

As a whole, it's been a pretty exciting year for our family. We began homeschooling and have been extremely blessed and changed by this experience. We relocated several states away, and this included living in our first top story apartment (it's like living in a treehouse, but anyway...), found out that we will be relocating again this year to the East coast, and added another child to the group which I think knocks us into the "gaggle of children" category. We also had the opportunity to spend our Christmas vacation with both sides of our family, and come home without having permanently damaged any familial relationships or set anything/anyone ablaze. Life is good. ;D

Hope this finds you all well and happy as the new year begins unfolding. Check here for updates as we move toward the next relocation, and drop me a note somewhere on here if you need/would like our email, etc. Wishing you all the best in 2007 from our family to yours!