For Christmas my mom had an 8×10 canvas of the picture of Nolin and I walking in Ireland made for me. This now hangs up in my office at work beside my “O’Brien Family Adventures” collages from 2007-2010 that Jenn makes me each Christmas. Unfortunately it is March and I have yet to see the 2011 adventures (hint, hint). This has also raised several questions in the office as people keep looking for the updated picture. Read more…
So the Christmas and New Years festivities are now officially over and we are looking forward to another exciting year in 2012. Besides being called on to assist the man from the North Pole and save Christmas we had a lot of fun over the break.
We spent Christmas Day at my family’s house. Nolin came down the stairs and we guided him over to a section of unwrapped gifts for him (don’t worry Ba & Pop* also had plenty of wrapped gifts for him too). It included several age inappropriate gifts like a new scooter (which Nolin kept calling a bike as he would sit on his knees trying to push himself forward and then exclaim So Fast), but the first toy he went to was a puzzle.
He bypassed everything else and sat down with a wooden puzzle. He would have been content with this, but we had to get the show on the road, so we began showing Nolin some of his other gifts. He didn’t tear through anything and move from toy to toy. Instead he sat down with each one and began exploring them as we would hand them to him. This meant Christmas morning would last a little bit longer than usual, which wasn’t a bad thing. Read more…
To say that Christmas is a big deal in my family is an understatement. See I never grew up waiting in line at the mall to meet Santa or wondering what it was like when he came to deliver presents because he would personally visit our house and check in on us every Christmas Eve. This tradition created a Christmas spirit that I would grow to appreciate as I got older.
My Dad has been helping the big man from the North Pole since he was 15. Each year he visits 15-20 houses with anywhere from 1-20 kids per house all before he reaches his final destination at my parent’s annual Christmas Eve party. Over the years, he has only missed one trip, and this year marked Santa’s 50th ride. Read more…
Amid Black Friday sales and stampedes happened to fall a little known holiday called Thanksgiving. At the core of the celebration is the idea that individuals should take a step back (and maybe not spend a week camped out in front of a store for a $200 TV) to spend time with their family and reflect on the things that they are thankful for.
I can easily say that there is no way that I can do justice for all of the many gifts that I am thankful for, but in keeping with the season, I tried to wrap it all up into 3 main blessings: Read more…
November is National Adoption Awareness Month and a time to celebrate all of the families whose lives have been changed by adoption as well as pray in anticipation for those who are still waiting to meet their child.
There has been a lot of talk in the news lately about adoption with several celebrity adoptions as well as the story of Steve Jobs’ and his childhood. If you have ever thought about or questioned adoption, I think this video says it all…
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