Mary and Doo-Doo

Kim has the most amazing friends named Mary and Deby, or more lovingly called Doo-Doo. We spent 2 nights at their house and had so much fun. I am so blessed to fall in love with a woman who has such wonderful friends. I love Mary and Doo-Doo for several reasons. One reason is Doo-Doo wakes up every morning with the same fabulous hair-do that I have every morning. The other reason I love them is because Mary let me beat her in bowling when I haven't played in 12-13 years. I am expecting a bowling bag with ball and shoes in the mail any day now. I believe my score was 119. Now, I guess I should mention that Deby technically won, but I beat Mary! It was awesome! I can hardly wait for the Rosie cruise in February when Deby, Mary, and their fabulous friends meet us in Miami for the cruise.

Christmas Model

We took Maddie to a Christmas Eve service at a reconciling Methodist church in Arlington Heights. The church was only a few minutes away from Grandma's and we are so glad we made the effort to find this church. It was an incredible service. We were very warmly welcomed. Maddie walked into the church asking, Where are the kids? She had a blast in the nursery and I think she looked just beautiful.

Rasmus Family Christmas

I can't say enough about our Christmas. This was, hands down, the best visit to Chicago! I am so blessed to have "married" into such a wonderful family. I thoroughly enjoyed being at Chris and Bill's house for Christmas. It was a very special day.

Christmas Day

We had a wonderful Christmas in Chicago at Grandma Rasmus's house! Madison left cookies and milk for Santa, which I am sure he enjoyed. She received a couple of Barbies and some Dora toys. Santa also brought a new game, Candyland, which Maddie loves to play. It was a great day. After opening lots of toys, we went over to Auntie Chris's house for Christmas dinner. Uncle Bill fried a turkey, which was incredible. Chris and Bill's children (BJ, Jackie and Amanda) are so grown up and we are so proud of them. I am overwhelmed with how generous and wonderful they are to their grandmother. It was great to spend time with the whole family. Joan and Joyce gave Maddie a Cabbage Patch new born baby and she named her Karly. More than likely, the name comes from Karly Fisch, daughter of Jenny and Tom, who Maddie saw in the hospital when she was born. What a memory!

The Best Playground in the World!

The greatest playground in the world is less than a block away from Grandma Rasmus's house. Even before we had kids, I loved this park. We took Maddie to the park on Christmas Eve when it was rather cold. We had an absolute blast! We played on the see-saw with Kim on one side and me and Maddie on the other. Believe it or not, Kim was able to get us airborn! Yes, my butt actually left the seat! We had so much fun!

Hot Tubbin' With Auntie Joan

While in Chicago for Christmas, Maddie discovered the hot tub on the porch at Auntie Joan and Joyce's house. To Maddie, it looked like a small pool or giant bathtub. Auntie Joan offered to get in the hot tub with Maddie. Fortunately, Joan had a bathing suit and Maddie could get away with not having one. It was a great night, loads of fun, and something neither Maddie or Joan will soon forget.

Mt. Sinai Christmas Pagent

Maddie made her debut in the school Christmas pagent this year. She was absolutely wonderful and I was so proud of her! The other children in her class seemed afraid of the microphone and/or the crowd. My girl grabbed that microphone like Tina Turner and showed her class what to do with it! It was a wonderful day and I nearly burst with pride on my way back to the office. Here are some pictures of her friends and classmates. Jaylene, best friend, played Mary and her "boyfriend", Gregory, played Joseph. Maddie was the CNN journalist who didn't make the original version of the story.

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Dress Up

Thanks to her great aunt Spence, Madison has plenty of fun things for dress up. Meet Girl 1 in the Harem!

Bethlehem Continued

Bethlehem, TX

After Maddie's dance recital, we were invited to go to Bethlehem with 2 good friends, Becki and Rebecca. During the hour long ride into the Texas Hill Country, Becki and Rebecca explained to us that the First Baptist Church of Burnett, TX creates the city of Bethlehem every year during the first 2 weeks of December. I have to be up front in saying that I had no idea what I was in for. When we arrived at the downtown square in Burnett, there was a line that seemed very long, but I had no idea the line was actually longer than my eyes could see. The line spanned at least 6 blocks. There were thousands of people from all over Texas waiting to see Bethlehem. We stood in line for over an hour and finally made our way through giant city gates to find Roman soilders walking around, camp fires burning, hundreds of people in period costumes selling their goods, and live animals.

At first, I was concerned this experience would be overwhelming to Madison. Literally, there were thousands of people trying to experience what Bethlehem must have been like when Jesus was born. It became apparent how overwhelming this experience was for me. I cannot adequately descibe the experience and the pictures I took do not adequately capture the experience either. We saw candle makers, rope makers, carpenters, visited the synagouge, toured the Inn, watched the bakers make the bread for the next day, saw the prison, a tavern, a typical home, and finally, the manger. In the manger were sheep and goats and donkeys. There was a powerful hush that came over this giant crowd as we drew near to the manger.

Maddie stood as still as a statue when we came face to face with Mary, Joseph, and the baby. I knelt down beside her. I explained how we park our car next to the hotel today, but long ago people staying at a hotel parked their animals in a stable. I explained a stable is like a parking lot. She wanted to hold the baby. I explained he was sleeping, like Hailey used to do all the time, and we just watched instead. I sang Away In A Manger to her and then we walked away. This was the most powerful experience of Christmas in my life and I shared it with the two people I love most in this world.

While Becki and Rebecca took Maddie inside the prison, I stood in the middle of Bethlehem, near the well, and realized that my faith grew out of a place just this primative. From this tiny city without mass communication, Christianity grew and circled the globe. Today, we have instant news from the other side of the world and yet we aren't any more peaceful than the people in Bethlehem. The early Christians spread the word of Christ without the postal service, e-mail, faxes, newspapers, or CNN. With so many "conveniences", it seems to me that we could do so much more than we are doing. With so many opportunites for communication, why do we still fight wars? With so many opportunities for healing, why are people still dying from disease? With so much of everything, why are there still people in the world who are hungry? I have been so blessed. I have so much. And I praise God for my family and my faith every single day. Jesus was the first miracle of the world. Madison was the first miracle in my world. Glory to God in the Highest!

I Was Born to Entertain

Last night was a very proud moment in the life of our family. Madison performed in her second dance recital. She was awesome! I was a nervous wreck during the first recital in June (just ask my mother) and to keep me calm last night, I brought my knitting. I jumped in at the last minute to take the place of a stage mom who was running late. I was talking to Maddie's class and addresses my child as Maddie. One of her dance buddies said, Her name is Madison. I explained I sometimes call her Maddie. The little girl said, Well her name is Madison. It was one of those moments where you step back from the situation and realize I am arguing with a 4 year old about the name I gave this child. Hello!

Here is the video of Maddie's recital with best dance buddy, Savvanah, to her right.

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