Mizzou Merry Christmas

Well, it is Christmas in Guam! Mark was able to sleep until 9 before waking for church on the beach. Before leaving for church, Christmas gifts were opened, and Mark (evidently) was a good boy this year. In celebration of Mizzou's excellent football season, he received all the necessary garb for sporting his MU spirit -- jersey, t-shirt, crocs, hat, and gum (where do you even find MU gum)! Now, he can sit in style as he watches his new Planet Earth DVDs!

I have talked to Courtney, and the stage is set for their Christmas tomorrow. Hopefully, she will get some good pictures. After Christmas morning at the Mitchells, Courtney and Olivia will head down to Grandma Donner's. So, lots of festivities planned!

Merry Christmas!

Blurb

Now that the gifts have been given, I can announce a great new site we found for creating memory books. We did a "first year" book at Shutterfly for Olivia, but the Blurb book is cool too. We did one for Katelee that can be checked out here: Katelee.

Rota Walk 2007

It is 9:00 p.m., and we just completed the 2007 Rota Walk. The Rota Walk consists of all the people on Rota Drive decorating their houses full tilt. Think National Lampoon Christmas:

This year, it was a little tougher for me. I didn't have Courtney saying "that's not enough lights." Also, with plans to move soon, it was hard to be motivated to decorate the house we'll be leaving. But alas, I was able to string some lights across the top of the house, run some lights down the sidewalk, and create a snoopy stand (Lucy's Psychiatrist Stand).

This year, I made the stand out of wood paneling with some reinforced 1x4 pine boards. Then, I secured it to my Craftsman tool chest. Unfortunately, weather was not in our favor tonight.

Tonight: Mostly cloudy and windy with showers developing after midnight. Low 77F. Winds ENE at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of rain 60%.

Translation: Mark will have to hold his Lucy Stand all night to keep the 30 mph winds from whipping it away.

But, most people seemed to like it, and many took the opportunity to get some good pictures with their kids in the window of the stand. That is, until about 7:50, when the last part of that forcast kicked in -- rain. Quick downpour, but enough to call it quits for the night as all the people ran for cover.

All in all, it was a good night though. And since the Walk was cut a bit short, that leaves me with 10 bags of Kit Kats and 4 bags of Hershey Kisses.

For a full history of Rota Walk, you can click here: Rota Walk History.

Elfin

For a good laugh, visit:

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1407337748

Not sure how long it will last, but it's funny.

Major Dad

Congratulations! Congratulations! Congratulations!!! Major Mark Taylor has a pretty nice ring to it, don't you think? And it is official! Mark was notified yesterday that he is indeed a major select! Depending on his line number, his promotion pin-on should come sometime within the year!

Seriously, I have the best husband and our girls have the best daddy ever. I am blessed.

Up, Up, Up

After 33 posts in November, we've slowed back down in December. Mark is back in Guam, and the girls are still in Missouri. So, it is up to Courtney to get new pictures for posts!


Katelee has continued to gain weight. She has gone from 4 lbs 6 oz. at discharge to 4.10 about one week later. A week later, she was up to 5.6, and she weighed 5.10 yesterday. She is gaining weight quickly, which is good!


They were able to get Katelee's passport photo taken yesterday, and it should only take about 2 weeks to get her passport back.


We did receive good news from our NICU neighbors who had triplets. They sent pictures, which can be seen here: http://web.mac.com/kevinennis/iWeb/Triplets/Triplets.html. We certainly wish them the best!