Update on Our Girl

Exuberant [ig-zoo-ber-uh nt] - adjective
1. effusively and almost uninhibitedly enthusiastic; lavishly abundant.
2. abounding in vitality; extremely joyful and vigorous.
3. See "Nora Tran"...

I can't think of a better word to describe our Nora. Our sweet, laid-back baby girl has grown into such an energetic, opinionated, brave, out-going, loving young lady. Everything she does, she does it with gusto, she gives it 110%, whether it's squealing with delight, jumping from great heights (much to Mommy's worry!) or giving a hug (or 3 or 4). We hear often these days, "Let me do it by my big girl self!" as she's growing more and more independent and testing her abilities (and boundaries).

She is still a bit of a tomboy (although I'm thinking I don't like that label), spending much of her time running, jumping, splashing in (very muddy) puddles, swinging, digging in the dirt, swimming in her pool, throwing balls, collecting rocks, wielding swords and battling invisible "bad guys". In fact, after seeing the movie Tangled, we've had to be careful about leaving frying pans anywhere Nora can get her hands on them.

Cinderella has also become a favorite around here and Nora has also started getting into princess play. Each morning she runs to her closet declaring she has to find "something suitable to wear" (a.k.a. a dress for the ball). Btw, I had NO idea the stress and drama over what clothes and shoes to wear would start this early! And, in preparation for the ball, she often asks "May I have this dance?"...tonight, I found her waltzing with her Baba in the living room, a precious memory.

Nora wearing "something suitable" ; )

With all her unbridled energy, we've had a few bumps and bruises around here lately....

...a bloody lip and yes, a broken finger. You can ask Nora about it, she likes to tell the story with every detail, but in short she "pinced it in da hide-a-bed!" : (

She is such a great big sister to Silas...

and what a helper. We recently caught her doing this...

We celebrated her birthday this year with a big kid, backyard birthday blowout. I can't tell you how fun it was to see all the neighborhood kids, cousins and friends from church swarm to our backyard to celebrate our little girl.

Nora and her pinata, pre-demolition.
Although you can't tell from these pics, Nora was having a ball!

With swimming and soccer, pinwheels and a pinata, coloring and cupcakes and most importantly being surrounded by those who love her dearly, Nora's love tank was totally filled.

As we cuddled and I rocked her to sleep that night, her face was covered in a contented grin. Thang and I have been discussing lately how important it is to teach our children how to celebrate - although I'm thinking it will be awhile before we have a celebration quite that large again!

Our little Nora is proving to be quite a handful but she makes us laugh every day and we couldn't be more thankful for her vibrant spirit. This year, I am praying John 10:10b for her...

"I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."

...that she would know the abundant life God offers her.

P.S. If any of you have some good book recommendations on the "spirited child", let me know!

A Light to light up the whole world...

‎"I've come to bring you happy news for everyone everywhere. Today, in David's town,in Bethlehem, God's Son has been born!. They had heard about this Promised Child and now he was here. Heaven's Son. This baby would be like that bright star shining in the sky that night. A Light to light up the whole world. Chasing away darkness. Helping people to see. And the darker the night got, the brighter the star would shine." - The Jesus Storybook Bible

We pray you experience a very joyful Christmas as we celebrate the birth of God's Own Son!

Love,

Thang, Katie, Nora and Silas

Birthday Cake Inspiration: Rejects

As I was trying to come up with Nora's birthday cake for this year, I did a couple quick Google searches to get some inspiration. Um, here were a couple of the results...

...think I'll save these for another year...

Celebrating Nora

Besides today being our nation's Independence Day, 2 years ago today we also brought our baby girl home from the hospital for the first time. Try getting a newborn to sleep anyway, let alone loud explosions outside your window all night!

Nora, snoozing after the hard work of being born

Yes, our baby turned 2 on Friday! And we've been celebrating like crazy. In Omaha...

Excited about her new sand and water table!

Nora being coy

Having fun splashing with her cousin, Teagan

Guess she didn't want to get her hands dirty!

And, fun with Thang's family in Pennsylvania...

Trip to the Children's Museum with her cousins.

Nora, you have been such a gift to us...we could not have asked for a more sweet and gentle spirit. We pray that you will continue to grow into a joyful, compassionate woman who seeks hard after the things of God. Your favorite phrase right now is "Come on , Mommy!", "Come on, Baba", "Come on, (fill in the blank)" as you love people and enjoy fun together. We know you will be such an amazing big sister and look forward to the day when we hear you say "Come on" and see your little bro or sis following behind you.

Happy Birthday, Nora!!!

...and Happy 4th of July!!!...

Happy Mother's Day!

A couple of videos for moms, prepare to laugh and cry...

Babies: The Movie is actually out this weekend! If you're in the Omaha area, it's playing at FilmStreams!

Happy Mother's Day!!!

The Greatest Love Story...

Let these words sink in deeply today...



...and everyday.

Christmas 2009 (Part 2) - Vietnamese-style

Despite the massive blizzard we received for Christmas, somehow, someway, Thang was still able to get us out of Omaha on a plane Saturday morning (our original flight was canceled). So at 5:00 am, we loaded up my dad's 300-horse power, four-wheel drive sleigh and made our way to the airport (thanks again, Dad!). 3 flights, 2 layovers and 8 hours later, we arrived in Erie, Pennsylvania to spend the week with Thang's family.

Time with Thang's family is always filled with lots of eating. I realized the most common phrase spoken in the Tran household is "Have you eaten yet?", no matter the time of day. Great for the tastebuds, not so great for my waistline. : ) Here is some video of our Christmas meal together. Included in the festivities are Thang's brothers, sister-in-law, sister, nephews, niece, aunts, uncles, cousins and various family friends - leaves little elbow room but makes for a cozy family gathering...

In case you're wondering, those are hot pots of boiling broth to cook beef, shrimp, fish or squid in - to be eaten with lettuce, noodles, mint, carrots and basil, wrapped in rice paper for spring rolls. And yes, for the most part, Vietnamese is spoken...learning at least SOME Vietnamese is on my list of goals for this 2010!

On another eating note - there is always plenty of seafood consumed at the Tran house and Nora has taken a liking to it. Seems the girl has expensive taste! "Num-num-num-num!"

And, although it was a balmy 32 degrees in Erie when we arrived with no snow to speak of, that didn't last long...

A few more pics from our week...

>

Thang with his brothers, aunts, mom (in red) and Nora

Helping make cookies - Nora did the sprinkles!

Scrabble - an annual Christmas tradition...with sister-in-law, Stephanie, Thang's sister, Thy and niece, Anne Shirley

Nora mooching some food from "Co Thy" (Auntie Thy) - she has become quite adept at this!

Christmas 2009 (Part 1)

If there was a theme song to our Christmas season this year, it was most definitely this one:

We were warned the storm was coming, so on Christmas Eve we packed up our station wagon, with Christmas gifts, suitcases (enough for being snowed-in for Christmas with my family plus 7 days with Thang's family), food, snow gear...no room for the kitchen sink. It was a good thing we left home prepared not to return as the blizzard hit full-force that night and all Christmas Day. After Thang and my dad went on a mission to rescue my sister's family from their snowed-in neighborhood, we were able to spend all of Christmas Day jammie-clad, my whole family under my parent's roof. It was a fun day of being together and slowing down, letting the kids play, working a puzzle, sipping hot tea and watching the snow pile up outside. Some pics...

Nora in her Christmas finest.

Nora with her cousins Teagan and Ruby....yes, the kids made out pretty good this Christmas!

Nora's got a new pair of shoes!

Nora enjoying her very special rocking horse from Oma and Opa.

My sis and brother-in-law in front of the drift that blocked their neighborhood. Yikes!

Holiday Traditions, Old and New

It is hard to believe Christmas is only 3 days away! It seems like I just packed away my swimsuit and flip-flops and now we're sitting in a foot of snow...the days do go by so fast!

In years past, the holiday season seems to have flown by us as well. With both of us working, Thang in school, plus church and family events, we left little time for us to start any family traditions. Since Nora joined the family, we are making traditions a priority around here. When I think back on my childhood, there are a few big events I remember, but the memories that come most easily to mind are the traditions and routines that our family repeated year after year.

Jesse Tree
I got this idea from a blog I follow. Using The Advent Jesse Tree, each day we read a passage of scripture, a devotion, recommended hymns/songs to sing (although we've only sung a couple of these) and a prayer. The readings recount God's story from Creation to the birth of Christ and how each event pointed to the coming of our King. Each day, we also hang an ornament which represents the reading for that day. For example, today's reading includes Matthew 2:10, "When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy", so the ornament we hang up today is a star. It is a great way to remember how God's had a plan from the very beginning to bring salvation to the world.

Santa Lucia Day

I am proudly 1/8th Swedish, and this was a holiday tradition we followed when I was growing up. You can find a brief history of the holiday here. For the ladies who are reading, you may recognize this holiday from the "American Girl" doll, Kirsten, who wore a wreath of candles and a white gown with a red, satin sash. Yes, my mom did make me one of these costumes, however, I believe it was only worn once for show-and-tell. As the eldest daughter, it was my responsibility to bake the traditional Santa Lucia rolls which were a special, once-a-year treat. Allegedly, I was also supposed to wake my family by singing Christmas carols down the hallway while serving them their breakfasts in bed - for their benefit, we skipped this one.

Santa Lucia Rolls
1 cup milk (scalded)
1/2 to 1 tsp. ground cardamom
1/2 cup butter (melted)
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 pkg. dry yeast (dissolve in 1/4 cup warm water)
3 eggs (beaten)
4 - 4 1/2 cups flour


Combine the milk, cardamom, butter and sugar and cool to lukewarm. Add eggs and yeast to milk mixture, stir in enough flour to make a soft dough. Knead until smooth. Place in a buttered bowl and let rise until double. Roll and form buns (this is done by making two long, logs of dough, then placing them in a cross and rolling up the ends). Let buns double, brush tops w/mixture of one egg yolk and 1 tbsp. water. Bake at 375 degrees for about 10 minutes or until golden brown.


Happy Birthday, Jesus
Because it is, after all, the reason for all this celebration! This one is still "under construction" as far as how we will be celebrating it from year-to-year. This year, our church small group had a birthday party for Jesus - complete with a birthday cake, singing and gifts for Jesus (Nora's gift was a few of her dance moves). Last year, I put birthday candles on our Christmas breakfast (stuffed French toast) and called it good. I will probably do this again this year and we'll sing "Happy Birthday to You!" to baby Jesus.

We've started a few other, small traditions and I'm sure as the years go on, we will add more. I am trying to cut down on my online time, so it's time to finish this post off.

We wish everyone a very, merry Christmas as we remember the day our Savior entered the world as a tiny baby boy!

A Christmas Meditation

Just a quick note to point you to this blogpost I happened upon tonight:


Why a Real Christmas May Hurt


Our church has recently been experiencing great spiritual renewal, however it has not come without pain and brokenness. But through that pain, we receive grace upon grace and the freedom that comes only through our Saviour who came to earth as a Babe in a manger.

Rooooaaaaarrrrr...

...was the sound our little lioness WOULDN'T make on Halloween. She's been growling since she was 6 months old, but got shy once the costume went on. Oh well, we think her adorableness makes up for authenticity.

She looks so thrilled in this pic.
We added the pink bows so Nora wouldn't get the "Aren't you a handsome fella!" comments - they're probably not zoologically (or gender) correct.

A few more pics from the past month...

At the pumpkin patch.

I call this her "stinker" face...pure orneriness!

And, here it is again. Look at those chompers!

And, pure sweetness!