Hannah at 9 months

Today was Hannah's 9 month well check-up and I was stunned to see that she was in the 75th percentile for height (28 inches) but only in the 25th percentile for weight (17 lbs. 5 oz.)! Christopher and Sarah have NEVER been below the 70th percentile in either category, with the exception of Christopher who was briefly in the 50th percentile for weight when he was 2 weeks old. He has more than compensated for that little dip ever since. For fun, here are the comparative weights and heights of all 3 kids at their 9 month check-ups:

Hannah - 17 lbs. 5 oz. (25%); 28 in. (75%)
Sarah - 21 lbs. 11 oz. (75%); 29 in. (90%)
Christopher - 21 lbs. 13 oz. (75%); 30 in. (94%)

After the doctor saw the shocked look on my face upon hearing "25th percentile", she assured me that it is normal to see a dip in the growth curve around this age due to increasing physical activity. I said, "Yes, but that just never happened with my other two!" I'm not worried at all because Hannah is as healthy as a horse and I must say that she is delightfully easy to carry around on my hip.

The next couple of videos will display her increasing physical activity. The first video is a cute one of her playing peek-a-boo with a blanket (endless entertainment) and the second video shows her moving around the floor with her newest abilities of pulling herself forward from sitting to semi-crawling and then scooting backwards until she is sitting upright again.

The second video is a bit longer and perhaps a bit boring for those of you who don't find the giddy excitement over a baby's milestones. Even though this is our 3rd child, we still gush over every little new ability of Hannah's as if we'd never seen it before.

Finally, more leg room!

You may remember this photo from the day we returned home from the hospital with our new baby Hannah way back in March. It was tight, but we managed to get all three kids in their bulky car seats to fit into the backseat of our Buick Century. Hannah has grown quite a bit since then and it has become increasingly difficult to lift her in and out of the middle of that back seat. Can you believe we drove from Texas to Pennsylvania and back like this? Yes, that's 2 VERY full days of reaching over the passenger seat to distribute snacks, books, games and whatnot that were inconveniently lodged in the floorboard of the backseat. Thankfully, our kids love car trips which made the drive very pleasant aside from the backbreaking work of being in the front passenger seat in taciturn.

Well, I am very happy to announce that we are now the proud owners of a minivan! John had been watching Craig's List for minivans in our price range and he found a GREAT deal on a 2004 Kia Sedona that we just couldn't pass up. John will now drive the Buick and we will hopefully be able to sell the Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight (or as our associate pastor, Patrick Poteet calls it, the "big shot pastor car")! As much as John was teased about driving around in the "land yacht" (as Paul Tripp has referred to it), we were very thankful to inherit the Oldsmobile from John's grandmother back when I totaled my Nissan in 2003. And when John's Camry died, we were very thankful to receive the Buick from my mom back in December of 2006. While we were grateful to have those provisions right when we needed them, John has been very eager to downsize while I have been very eager to upsize (see below)! Now, thanks to a very generous and unexpected gift from John's great aunt, we were able to pay for the van without financing it. So we've gone from NO car payments to NO car payments - yahoo!

I decided to put Christopher in the backseat and keep Sarah and Hannah together in the middle seat. Sarah is very helpful with Hannah (i.e. giving her toys, sippy cups and making her laugh) and it's just easier for her to get in and out of the middle seat than it would be in the back.

We took the van for a drive last night and asked Christopher how he liked having the big backseat all to himself. He responded, "Well, I don't like being all by myself." We were a little worried about that, but have since talked up the cool factor in getting to sit all the way in the back. I will say that he does seem pretty far away compared to being directly behind the driver's seat for pretty much all of his life up until now. Every time we've gotten in the van now, Sarah has said, "Christopher - you're so far away!"

So the van has so far been a hit with everyone in our family. The kids were SO excited to climb around inside it the day we brought it home and I have been so pleased driving it. John and I are thrilled to have a 'new' van without any car payments and we are both looking forward to driving it to Pennsylvania this year.

Happy New Year 2008!

Well, what would a visit from my mom be without some haircuts? Here we are with our new haircuts for the new year (with the exception of Hannah who doesn't have enough hair to cut just yet).


Sarah's hair was cut and repaired from the butchering job she got at Great Clips a few weeks ago. Needless to say, my mom was appalled and ordered us to never step foot into another Great Clips ever again.

Yesterday morning my mom was telling the kids that she was going to be leaving the next day. Christopher asked why not live here in Texas? She said that she had to go back to work, to which he said she could work here in our house. My mom laughed and said, "But I need to make some money and you guys don't pay me any money." So Christopher disappeared and came back with a piggy bank filled with spare change and said, "Here Paw Paw! I'm giving you money!" It was very sweet.

I'll be waking the kids up shortly so we can all take Paw Paw to the airport. It has been a great visit, but as always too short.

Christmas/New Year's with Paw Paw

My mom arrived Saturday evening - early enough to greet the kids, who were VERY excited to see her! Sarah seemed to find every excuse imaginable to come out of her room to say something to Paw Paw. After the kids were fast asleep, I made my mom a spinach omelette since she was still hungry after eating my lentil soup. You'd think that vacation time was the only time my mom ever got to eat...


Here she is with all 3 kids on Sunday afternoon.


Hannah's cousin, Elijah, is just a few weeks older than she is but is quite a bit bigger (I'm talkin' off-the-charts BIG). So my mom didn't think that Hannah grew that much since Labor Day. (I told her that her perspective was a bit skewed from being around Elijah).


My mom got Sarah this t-shirt, which I think is pretty funny...especially with Sarah's mischievous, playful face in this photo.


Paw Paw's presents to the kids were bicycles! What's funny is that Sarah (3 yrs old) is already pretty good at riding it while Christopher (4 1/2 yrs) still needs lots of instruction, prodding, and guidance. Believe me, we TRIED with the tricycle, and he was NOT interested. We are determined to get him interested in riding a bike, though. I'll let you know how things progress.


Look at her go! Yes, that's a Lightning McQueen helmet on her head. They didn't have any girly helmets in her size at Walmart, but she likes McQueen so it works.


While we may boast of Christopher's many talents, large motor skills are not one of them. He certainly got us laughing today while leaving Walmart, however. As we were loading the bikes into the trunk of the car, he declared, "I'm going to be a Mormon when I ride my bike." He was confused by our hysterical laughter because he wasn't intending to be funny. I guess he overheard me say, "Well, there go the Mormons..." as they passed us by on their bikes with their backpacks.


You'd also think that vacation time is the only time my mom gets to sleep. Peace and quiet are not required...all she needs is a couch.

Merry Christmas!

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us,

and we have seen his glory,

glory as of the only Son from the Father,

full of grace and truth.”

(John 1:14)

What Is Biblical Theology and Why Do I Like It So Much?

Pete Enns has started a blog and here he has a great post on "What is Biblical theology and why do I like it so much?"

Dallas Morning News endorsements

Our local paper, the Dallas Morning News, made two endorsements this morning, one for each party. The DMN endorsed Mike Huckabee for the Republican nomination and Barack Obama for the Democratic nomination. I think they are both good choices.

If you're a reader of this blog, you will know that I've been following the Huckabee campaign closely since last June. I personally like the fact that he is socially conservative but a bit more moderate when it comes to issues such as race, the environment, and education. This matches my own political philosophy well. I have to confess that I was disappointed with the incident of the cross in the background of the Christmas campaign ad. I don't want Christianity being used as a political tool by anyone under any circumstances. It's hard to believe that it was strictly an accident. I agree with Peggy Noonan on this one. But overall, I like Huckabee's gracious demeanor and sensible, practical approach to government. I do have a lot of respect for John McCain as well and I am actually grateful that he has been forthright about his reservations with the Christian right. At least the man talks straight. I respect his candor, experience and especially his strong stand against torture.

I'm also happy that the local paper went with Obama over Clinton for the Democratic nomination. I think Clinton is very smart and a hard worker and has done a good job as Senator from NY, though I disagree with many of her positions. But I don't trust her.

I think Obama is highly charismatic and a fantastic orator. I like his language about a purple America rather than a red or blue America. I don't buy the whole "he's a Muslim" thing. I researched it and it's just not true. I think he is a Christian in the liberal UCC tradition. I have no reason to think that he doesn't genuinely believe what he professes. I think he's very liberal on both social and economic issues, though he seems more moderate on national defense issues. He has had some people in his political past who have been connected with corruption and that concerns me. We don't know this guy all that well.

I find it ironic that people are giving Obama a pass when it comes to experience, but at the same time assert that Huckabee is inexperienced. I would just point out that when Barack Obama was in the state legislature in Springfield, Illinois, Mike Huckabee was already governor of Arkansas. (Though I do remember Ross Perot's line about Bill Clinton: going from Gov. of Arkansas to President of the USA is like going from manager of the local convenience store to CEO of Wal Mart.)

I do like the idea of an African-American President and I think that an Obama presidency would have a healing effect on race relations. But the curative effect might not be as much as some hope. I like the idea of having a woman President, but just not Hillary.

So at this point I'm still a Mike Huckabee supporter and John McCain is my second choice. I could see either guy getting the GOP nomination, which is pretty amazing given where we were 6 months ago. I am deeply committed to the pro-life cause and that is a top concern for me. I think it is the ultimate justice issue. Supreme Court nominees notwithstanding, I don't think the pro-life question is ultimately going to be decided by who we elect as our President. Our politics simply reflect our culture, and it's our culture that must ultimately be transformed. So I'll put my efforts in preaching the gospel. Our culture is ambivalent about abortion, and therefore our politicians are too.

Presidential elections are for me what Super Bowls are for other guys. So I'm having fun with this volatile race!

Immune Response-Mediated Protection of Adult but Not Neonatal Mice from Neuron-Restricted Measles Virus Infection and Central Nervous System Disease

Shame on me. All of these years and I've never given Mindy credit for being a published author (or at least, a contributor to a published article). She is published under her maiden name, Melinda M. Vaughn. If you want to see her work, look at the March 1999 issue of the "Journal of Virology". (And who doesn't remember that issue!? Wow!) Here it is. The titillating title of the article is "Immune Response-Mediated Protection of Adult but Not Neonatal Mice from Neuron-Restricted Measles Virus Infection and Central Nervous System Disease." Oh, baby.

Tune in to St. Olaf Choir's Christmas concert tonight!

You may remember reading before that Christopher's favorite choir is St. Olaf College's choir, and that this new love was ignited after watching a "St. Olaf Christmas in Norway" special on PBS last Christmas. Well, "Christmas at St. Olaf: Where Peace and Love and Hope Abide" is airing tonight on PBS at 9pm (CST)/10pm(EST). There has been much excitement and anticipation over this in our household...Christopher can hardly wait. We'll be recording it and playing it over and over and over again (I'm sure) in the year to come, but I actually haven't gotten sick of last year's program because the performance is so stellar and the music is just gorgeous. Hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

If you miss the performance, they'll be airing it again on PBS on Christmas day - click here for the times.

Chinese moms

Here is a picture of my mom holding Hannah after she dressed her in winter pajamas (this picture was taken in April...in Texas!)

Yesterday, John, the kids and I went to the library together after getting flu shots and then taking hundreds of Christmas cards to the post office (all I have to say is, thank goodness for self-adhesive stamps and address labels!). The morning started out rather chilly, but then got progressively bitter cold as the wind picked up. When we opened the doors to leave the library and the freezing wind hit our faces, I saw this Asian lady running toward us saying, "Oh! The baby! Cover the baby!" Now, Hannah was bundled up nice and snug and I had a blanket for her, but all this lady saw was two little bare hands sticking out of the stroller into the icy cold. So she picked up the blanket on Hannah's lap and pulled it over Hannah's hands. Even though our car was only a few more yards away, she was NOT about to let us keep moving until she thought Hannah was sufficiently covered for the remaining distance!

Now, most people would find this a bit intrusive or invasive of personal space, but I actually found it to be rather endearing. My mom, who has now lived in the States for a longer period of time than she lived in Hong Kong, is still VERY Chinese in her thinking and behavior. What I'm about to say obviously doesn't apply to every Asian individual, but I think it well describes the vast majority of Asian moms. Let me give you a few of my favorite examples...

The year after John and I got married, we went on a family vacation to Estes Park, CO. On this particular day hiking in the mountains, it was raining sporadically and my mom was making everyone put on these plastic ponchos that she got at the dollar store 'just in case'. Well, on our way up to Dream Lake, we passed by this couple with a baby in one of those hiking back packs and the baby did not have a hat on. What started as a whisper of disapproval: "Look at them. That baby should have a hat on..." embarrassingly turned into a confrontation by my Chinese mom to these perfect strangers: "You should put a hat on your baby...her head's getting wet and cold."

The winter after Christopher was born, John went with a group of people to China. While there, they traveled from city to city, much of it by train. According to John, it was standing room only for hours on the train and sweltering hot. So he was delighted to step off the train without his coat on in sub-zero temperatures. That is, until an elderly Chinese woman who spoke no English patted him on his bare arm several times and shook her finger at him!

After we got home from the library yesterday, John told me I should call my mom and tell her about the latest event that reminded us of her. (My mom knows that we get lots of laughs at her expense, but she secretly loves it!) I then began to imagine the conversation in my mind and realized that after a quick recognition of the humor in this story, she would move to justify this woman's actions and then ask me why I didn't have mittens on Hannah on such a cold day. I decided not to call, but I'll probably get a call after she reads this blog post...

This tightly swaddled baby just might pass my mom's inspection.