Merry Christmas!

Warm Christmas wishes from the Dhyanchands in the Pacific Northwest to all of our family and friends! Sorry for the lag since our last post and photo update. I'm posting some new photo albums today, including shots of our kids digging into their stockings this morning. Oliver got the Giant Squid he has been wishing for ever since seeing the Giant Squid exhibit at the Burke Museum, and Natalie got an Island Princess Barbie which is singing in the background as I type. Also it just started snowing!

It has been an eventful and fun Christmas season for us. We have really enjoyed celebrating Christ's birth at St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral this year. We have gotten together new friends at my office Christmas party, and at the home of Rosa and Greg Waller in Kirkland. Rosa works at my office and they have a son, Ian, who is 4. Ian came over to our place yesterday to play, while Natalie and Karen were at the Pacific Northwest Ballet's performance of the Nutcracker. This Nutcracker featured set design of Maurice Sendak of "Where the Wild Things Are." We braved Seattle traffic last week to enjoy some of the downtown light and festivities, including an amazing gingerbread house display at the Sheraton.

Natalie has lost her first three teeth (so far) since we have been here, including one of top incisors two nights ago. So last night we had dual visitations from St. Nick and the Tooth Fairy. Natalie said that wouldn't be awkward because they probably know each other...

Merry Christmas!

And the Next Assignment Will Be...

We just learned today that our next assignment will be in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I am already practicing spelling it! I will be working at the Veterans Administration Medical Center. At the end of January we will be returning to Knoxville for two weeks, and then it's off to Albuquerque! We will be there from February 10 until the end of March. Looking forward to the change in the weather.

Volunteer Park and Natalie's Birthday

We've enjoyed Natalie Week here in Washington! I just posted the most recent pictures.

It started as a very wet week for us, even by Seattle standards. Unfortunately, many people south of Seattle have suffered greatly from the flooding. There were some traffic delays, but no major damage where we live.

On Thursday, Karen took the kids to Seattle to Volunteeer Park and the Asian Art Museum. I met them later with the bus at the Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI). The kids really enjoyed the interactive "salmon gutting and canning" exhibit, and I loved learning about the Great Seattle Fire of 1889.

Karen and Natalie enjoyed a birthday tea at "Taste the Moment," a Victorian tea room in Redmond on Friday. Saturday was gorgeous - still cold, but the mountains and sun were out in true splendor. At the Kirkland Art Center, we got to make holiday crafts, cards, and wrapping paper. After some time at the lakeside to watch the sunset, we had a special birthday dinner at Outback Steakhouse.

Today (Natalie's actual birthday) we awoke to snow. But by the time we got out of St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral, it was all gone. A special memory today - as we took the bridge across Lake Washington to Seattle, a bald eagle soared next to us.

We are still working out plans for our next location and will let you know more when we do.

Advent begins - Thankful for safety

We had a nice mellow Thanksgiving at home - watching the Macy's parade in NYC, cooking our meal, playing our homemade Thanksgiving Bingo game, etc. We enjoyed a date night out the next night, thanks to Emily, the wonderful 15 year old daughter of our landlords. Then we met up with some old college friends - Mike and Julie Straight and their daughters Maria and Eleanor & Mike and Donna Eisses and their children Seth, Olivia, and Meredith. There are some cute dress up pictures to the right under "First Snow and More." It was fun to reconnect with old friends and watch our kids play together. I (Karen) continue with Hot Yoga classes twice a week!

Last week we visited the Chittenden locks. It was amazing to see the largest lock completely empty for its annual cleaning and maintenance. We got to see a small yacht go through the small lock when we arrived. We especially enjoyed the fish ladders where we saw a few straggling salmon making the exhausting journey home to their spawning grounds. It was raining a lot so I didn't take my camera, but you can check out the link for great pictures.

I found a relexology path at Marymoor Park in Redmond last week. It was really amazing. Check it out.

We also visited the "Fremont Troll" under the Aurora Bridge. It is a giant sculpture holding a real VW Bug in it's grip. Check it out under the "First Snow" album.

Last night we enjoyed attending St. Marks for their annual "O" Antiphon service. It's a service of lessons and carols based on the verses of the hymn "O Come, O Come Emmanuel." It was a wonderful way to start the seasons of Advent.

As you may have heard in the news, western Washington received a large snowfall (see great pictures at right) this weekend followed by a huge rain. We are safe, warm, and dry despite scattered destruction around us - flooded streets, downed trees, mudslides. Here's a link to a newspaper article with details: link