to open or not to open?

i stink at self control these days.. (i need more of that fruit from the spirit!!) so, i received my first christmas package today from my sis and bro-in-law and i opened it, naturally, only to find this note:


while a normal person would practice some self gratification techniques, i chose to have a sneak peek (i'm a sinner), and then reason with myself about how it's okay to open it because after all- i could use/eat the things sooner, share the love, enjoy it now, wear it now (the outside of the box gave away the content haha), and afterall... isn't christmas a season that started and not just one day?! :)


so now i'm left with the choice: to open or not to open? i emailed my sis to ask her for persmission so i guess we'll see what she says haha..

three, two, one!

yep- those are the ages of the 3 youngest on the team!

the youngest, corbin, just celebrated his 1st birthday yesterday... man, at that age you don't even know it's your birthday and the world is so simple... and complex at the same time! you can say "uh oh", clap, look super cute, crawl FAST, sorta feed yourself, attempt to stand by yourself, walk only with the help of a wall/chair/hands, "jump", give blow kisses, scream, cry, laugh, and sleep for a good amount of time (depending on the day).

as tempting as it seems sometimes to wind back time and be one years old again- i'm glad that i'm able to cook and feed myself, have semi-intelligent conversations, play big kid bean games, sing, read good books, and even teach UNIVERSITY students in CHINA...!!

happy 1 year old corbin with a fun chocolate cake beard!

olivia showing corbin how it's done ;)

the kids seems to enjoy the box more than the toy haha

me and a few post grad students with bright-colored-coats ... don't mind my preggo looking shirt either! haha