Happy New Year, 2010!

We rang in the New Year more soggily than the past, for we recently bid goodbye to all of our Utah friends and moved to Tacoma, Washington, thereby completing Janet’s 19-year migratory effort at returning “home.”

Finn has continued to explore the world with the same enthused abandon he first exhibited signs of upon hoisting his head into the air all by himself at a wee one-hour old. Currently he enjoys actualizing his favorite phrase, “Finn climb that!”; catching “BIG!” air on his trampoline; and throwing rocks into the largest body of water he can possibly find. Upon first spying the Strait of Juan de Fuca, he concluded that he himself must be a rock, for he immediately dashed in over his head. He’s a keen negotiator as well. Upon returning from church recently and receiving the devastating news that Mom and Dad don’t go to McDonald’s on Sunday, Muffin briefly paused and then strongly suggested the following solution: “Mommy get out. Daddy get out. Finn drive!” Our boy’s deep empathy prompts him to kiss or hug anyone who even looks downcast—including stuffed animals or “sad trucks” in books. He’s the happy bonfire of our lives and, as our pediatrician once said to me, “Honey, while I know you wanted six kids, I think you got all six packed into just this one.” Certainly he’s as kind ad sweet as any ten kids we could have hoped for. He loves babies and we hope to adopt him a sibling sometime in the near future.

Dave spent last year in his First Official Real Doctor Job as a faculty member at the University of Utah. In July, he left for a position at St. Joseph’s Medical Center here in Tacoma. October brought a trip to Minneapolis for his oral boards. He passed and is now a board-certified anesthesiologist, but contracted Swine Flu in the process—and kindly shared with Janet. When he’s not professionally “passing gas,” Dave enjoys constructing elaborate “ball ramps” out of blocks for The Finnster, teaching him how to correctly throw over-hand, and having tickling wars until Mama fears they both might throw up. Dave also continues to defy gender stereotypes by baking far better bread than Janet.

A year and half ago, Janet became bionic. Really! I had a swanky medical doohickey implanted in my spine which helps control the pain from my Interstitial Cystitis, improves my quality of life dramatically, and allows me to bypass most airport security lines forevermore! Though health “stuff” remains, I enjoy life. I do bits of community outreach (aka, blogging) and teaching, continue to work on the “dino”-dissertation, present at a few conferences and publish the occasional bit of writing. Mostly, though, Mr. Finn keeps me quite busy. (Seriously: I went to the bathroom on my own once and he filled the toaster chock full of Kleenex. He had the lever half-depressed when I emerged.) I’m considering copyrighting “The Motherhood Weight-Loss Plan”—chasing after Finn slims me and makes life zestier in general. Having a kiddo provides an excellent excuse to skip rocks, swing swings, slide slides, and teeter on totters.

We wish we could see all of you rather than send (in our case very sporadic) letters. May God’s grace attend you, may the universe smile, may flowers smell pretty and not make you sneeze, may children adore you and little things make you laugh. May the sun shine upon your doorstep and may you know that you are always, at any time, welcome on ours. Inside the house, too.

Janet, David, and Finn.