Monday, December 25, 2006

Christmas Letter 2006


The Stephens’ Third Annual Christmas Letter -2006

This year, Christmas came early for Brian and me. We welcomed Lily Ann Stephens into the world on September 18th @ 2:43 pm. The journey from the commencement of 2006 leading up to her birth was quite interesting...particularly for me. Therefore, I will start with Brian’s past year.

Upon finding out we were pregnant, Brian has had to deal specifically with hormones, not his but mine. He spent the next 9 months attempting to calm me down, keep me healthy and keep me sane. He is still working for Webb Builders doing construction, but is constantly looking to open his own organic restaurant. Last year, I wrote about Brian’s quarter life crisis– his lack of hair. This also came back to haunt him when Lily came out having more hair at birth then he does. He took it all in stride and continues to adore Lily anyway.

Me on the other hand, had a little more rocky 2006. My pregnancy started off with morning , noon and night sickness, and lasted all 9 months while only in the end dwindling into morning sickness. Aside from the morning sickness, the pregnancy and labor went very well,… oh yeah, except for a little nightmare called “heartburn.” I had never quite experienced heartburn before and would never encourage anyone to try it. I guess the old wives tale was right when they said , “ If you experience heartburn during pregnancy, your baby is going to have a lot of hair…” Couldn’t be more true for us!

In fact, that brings me to our best present yet, Lily. She was born 7lbs. 2 oz. and practically came out with a Mohawk (see picture enclosed) This Mohawk does not even want to settle down at bath time, it has the resiliency of a bouncy ball… I think it is waterproof. I also wonder about Lily’s musical career since the first thing she heard out of Brian’s mouth was the song, “ It’s Not Unusual” by Tom Jones...this alone scares me for the outcome of this child. Lily is learning many things as she explores her new world. One of my favorites are the body fluids she is learning to put into projectile motion, whether from her diaper or her mouth. I am getting very good at soaking our laundry. Her smiles are endearing, and her eyes a piercing blue. I couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful gift this year, and I look forward to more gifts just like her. Hopefully your year has been one filled with great gifts, and God bless you this coming New Year! -2 Corinthians 9:15