Keeping it Real

I know, dear reader, that you may have missed my more reflective blog posts. There have been a lot of pictures and event reporting posts lately.  I still have a few events to catch up posting and then hopefully I'll write all my deep thoughts, but until then, here is the text of the Christmas letter that I wrote that Marc asked me not to send out this year (he said it was okay to blog about it). He thought it was too depressing for a Christmas card. "Really, love? I thought I made the year sound pretty good considering what reality was!"  I mean, I didn't even include so many things from this year like the time Joseph put his hand through the glass back door or when our transmission went out ($$$), and the car was in the shop when Marc needed to go to the ER so I drove him in a borrowed car!  Oh, and after the letter are some photos that keep it real, too.  These are from a photo shoot at Marc's parents house the day after Thanksgiving.  Thanks to Kim and Abraham for these pictures. Even though they didn't make the cut for a Christmas card, I do believe they might most accurately capture our reality!

The rejected letter:


This year, we’re happy to report we’re still alive and kicking…barely!


In February Joseph broke his leg riding his bicycle while on a weekend trip in the Outer Banks, North Carolina. He celebrated his 4th birthday in a full leg cast. The doctor said “no crutches” because there was such a risk for re-injury. This translates into requiring a highly active little boy to be sedentary for a very long winter. He learned to scoot pulling his leg behind him on flat surfaces, and I buffed up by carrying him up and down the stairs a million times a day, staying with him at preschool to lift as needed, and using the jogging stroller as a wheelchair for church and such. By May, Joseph was fully healed and back on that darn bicycle.


In the late summer, Marc suffered from an illness no one could quite figure out. It culminated in hospitalization for a couple days in September—three weeks before our BABY was expected. We tried to keep our sense of humor by joking that maybe Marc and I could have adjoining rooms at the hospital when I delivered the baby.


Little did we know that I wouldn’t need a delivery room at the hospital because our baby, Abigail Moore Oliphant, was born in the car a few minutes before we arrived at the hospital! Abigail was born on October 5, weighing in at 6 pounds and measuring 19 ¾ inches. Our miracle baby spent a week in the NICU, but is now perfectly healthy. After her dramatic entrance that may have traumatized us for life, Abigail has brought true joy to our house. She is an absolute delight. (I now understand how a mother can enjoy a newborn!)


We’ve been trying to keep our head above water in “regular” life, too. Marc has kept busy pursuing two careers. He is officially working for Navy Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) on transportation issues, but his real passion is his work on slugging—a form of casual carpooling. He was awarded a grant from the Federal Highway Administration to select and lead a group of researchers to study the slugging systems in DC, Houston, and San Francisco—which are the only three cities in the US with such systems.
 I have enjoyed staying home with Joseph during the day and continuing full time coursework in my social work PhD program in the evenings.


As we look back on 2010, we’re grateful we survived! We are looking forward to 2011 and hoping that it brings a little less excitement for our family.


May this New Year bring you peace and joy!