Press Conference

With Stefano and Ryan both in town, it seemed like a good idea to take the Safeco Field tour.  We’ve toured it before – back when Sarah was a tour guide – but it was still fun and informational.  David enjoyed calling the bullpen from the dugout… until the phone in the bullpen would not stop ringing and we thought our poor guide was going to have to go out there (in the rain) to lift it off the hook.

At the "beach"

What a busy December we have had!  Steve and Carrie got sick and had to cancel our plans for the “final” family Christmas gathering planned for the 26th.  Not to worry about boredom – we went to Zoolights at Point Defiance.  The lights were beautiful and the weather was a bit warmer than prior years (still very cold).  We especially enjoyed the aquarium as the sea life was quite active.  After Zoolights we had dinner at The Old Spaghetti Factory.  We took lots of pictures (surprise!).  Click the one above to see more.

In keeping with our tradition, we stayed home on Christmas Day.  Daniel, David, Sarah, Sara, Stefano and Chiara all spent the night at Margie’s house (thank you so much, Margie), but they got up early to come over and begin the festivities.  Janel and Ryan stayed with us.  As we always do, we started with a discussion about the true meaning of Christmas; they kids (all 4) recited the Christmas story from Luke 2.  Randy prepared a devotional from Matthew 2 about the gifts of the wise men being an act of worship – our tradition of giving gifts should also be done out of love and reverence for our Savior.  We then opened stockings and paused for breakfast (bagels & lox).

After breakfast, we spent several hours opening and enjoying gifts.  With so many people we took our time so we could savor each gift and the joy of giving and receiving.  Along the way we cooked a nice turkey for dinner.  Randy’s parents came over and visited for quite a while as well.  And, as you might imagine, we took a few pictures.  Click on the one shown to see more.

We continued our Christmas celebration with a great day spent at Margie & Ruli’s home.  The day included a breakfast feast, lots of gifts to open and enjoy, and great conversation.  Then we took a break to focus on the Lord in a worship service at Lighthouse, followed by a trip to see the “Fantasy Lights” in Spanaway.   After that, we returned for a dinner feast, more conversation, and opening of stockings.  What a great day of fun and fellowship!

On Friday, Janel & Ryan provided some music lessons to Daniel & David.  Since each boy chose an instrument already played by one of the Coughrans, it was great to see them making music together.

Then, Randy joined the four of them on a trip to Gameworks in Seattle. We didn’t do this while waiting for Santa pictures as we had done the last couple years.  Daniel & David always look forward to it, so we made an additional stop on the way to the family gathering at Julie & Cindy’s instead.  Daniel & Janel jammed together on the drum games; David & Ryan played the guitar-themed video games.  This was in keeping with the lessons that Ryan and Janel had given David & Daniel earlier.  And, as always, we had fun with the rest of the games.

After Gameworks, we all gathered at Julie & Cindy’s house for Christmas with Randy’s family.  We had a good turnout: Randy’s parents, all four of their kids, and almost all of their grand-kids and great-grand-kids.  We also had exchange students past and present!  We missed those who could not make it and we hope we catch them all next time.  The boys behaved especially well, and they had a great time playing with their cousins – the house is really a great place to have a large gathering.

Click on the picture to see more.

We really enjoy spending a day in Seattle – especially during the Christmas season.  This time we went with Sarah, Sara, Janel, Ryan, Stefano, and Chiara.  What a great day!  The weather was beautiful.  We started by putting in our name for Santa pictures at Nordstrom.  While we waited for the call (about 4 hours), we walked around town, shopped a little, went to Pike Place Market, rode the carousel downtown, and took lots of pictures.  After the Santa pictures we went to Lalibela for an Ethiopian dinner, then Janel & Ryan headed up to Donald’s pub to meet up with some friends.  The rest of us stopped by DQ for some dessert on the way home.

Click on the picture to see more.  We’ve got pictures from several cameras so there’s a lot to see.  Enjoy.

David was recognized at his school’s HEART Assembly for demonstrating empathy.  This award is very appropriate for David.  He is a very caring boy who goes out of his way to meet the needs of others.  It reminds me of the first time we saw video of him – he was on the stoop in the orphanage helping a younger boy (adorable) with his sandals.  Many of the other kids were already playing, but David was focused on Besufacad.  We’re so proud of him.