Christmas in Mexico

Well, it's taken a little while to get settled back into normal life after the holidays. Finally, I have sorted through the many photos from our time in Mexico and picked a few to share. Well, more than I few, but I tried not to go overboard.

So, here is our trip in pictures... We spent an afternoon/evening in Downtown San Luis Potosi. It's an old town, lots of cathedrals and neat historical buildings.
Pause for a photo at a fountain downtown. (It was actually a long pause as Tony and Scott played with the different settings on their cameras.)
Christmas Eve dinner at Tonia (Tony's sister) and Scott's house. Phenomenal Indian food-- way to go Tonia!
Spent time as a family and read the Christmas story from the Bible.

(Tonia, Mikael, Claire and Emma)
Couldn't pass up the typical pose in front of the Christmas tree.

The classic Christmas morning PJ photo. Not altogether flattering, but a great memory.

Nephews Nathan and Zack presented their production of "A Christmas Carol." Hollywood is definitely in their future.

And below, our All-American Christmas feast at Mimi and Boppa's. (Tony's parents) This would be the last big event in their San Luis Potosi home. As soon as we returned to the states they started packing and headed towards their new home in New Braunfels, Texas.

Tonia marked her 40th birthday on Christmas, but had a big celebration on the 27th.

(Scott scored big with 40 roses.)

We shared brunch at Mimi's favorite hotel, the Westin, on New Year's eve day.

Missing photos: The many trips to local taco stands and our wild New Year's eve celebration with crazy fireworks.

All in all we had a great time, got lots of rest, experienced some of Tony's "heritage" and enjoyed lots of time with family.

Feliz Navidad!

Hey Friends and Family. If this if your first time visiting our blog... Welcome!

We're leaving tomorrow for Central Mexico (where Tony's parents live) for Christmas and New Years.

Over the last couple weeks we've been to and hosted several Christmas parties. It's great to be with friends and enjoy the festivities, but even better are the reminders of our great cause for celebration. Who would have thought "The Simpsons" would be able to help us keep a clear perspective on Christ instead of how we sometimes see God-- as our "Cosmic Santa Claus?" (Yes, Tony did use that as an illustration for our high school and college parties. Isn't he creative?!)

I also recommend the following for great ways to experience the Christmas story-- a book by Max Lucado, One Incredible Moment, tells the story from the perspective of the different players in the story (my Bible Study girls loved it); and "The Nativity Story," a wide-release film following the story from Mary and Joseph to Jesus' birth. Seeing the movie helps make the scripture come alive.

We wish you a very Merry and Blessed Christmas!

Highlights of 2007

Hey Friends and Family. It's been six months since we started this blog, but don't let that deter you. I have goals... I figure that we'll probably have something "interesting" to share at least every three months. So don't get discouraged. Check in every now and again and we'll keep up our end of the bargain.


For now, here's the best of Tony and Claire's 2007. So far, at least. That doesn't yet include Christmas in Mexico with the Toth family.



Seahawks Shut-Out the 49ers

Right around Veteran's Day we snuck away to Seattle (even got a Sunday off) and did lots of walking. Seattle is a great city! Best of all, we were gifted tickets to the Seahawks Monday night football game and we got to watch them shut-out the 49ers.


Weddings, Babies and Friends

The first weekend in November, I (Claire) was off with her friend Melisa to California. Three days held visits with lots of girlfriends, meeting three new babies, Chad and Kelli's wedding, visit with my niece Sicily (so cute) and quick visit with the parents.

Family in Minnesota

Yet another trip out of town... My mom came to visit the first week in October (sorry, we forgot to take pictures) and then a week later in the middle of October, I met my mom, sister, and nephew in Minneapolis so that we could visit my great Aunt Vi and Uncle Phil. We had a great visiting with them (I hadn't been out there for 8 years). I also really enjoyed quality time with Oliver. He's quickly approaching 4 and such a cool little kid.

Hiking in the Olympics

Anyone remember how Tony took a 7 day backpacking trip in the Olympic mountains while we were dating? Well, ever since we moved and found them to be in our backyard, they've been backoning him. So, this August, he finally got to take another trip. The group included Bryan and Craig (two friends from church), Tony's Dad, Andy, and Uncle Joe. This trip was a little bit soggy, but needless to say they had a great time. While they were up in the mountains, Mom Toth and I enjoyed time together, in between work and other life stuff.

In addition to the highlights above, here are a few more for 2007... Our 2nd Anniversary (3rd is coming up in February)... Great Vacation in Mexico in June... Tony started his 4th school year at SCC... We have a great new Music Director (since Feb) and a great new Associate Pastor for Adult Life (since September)... One year at my job for McCrorie Carpet One... and Tony has taken up surfing again! The water here is so cold he now donns a hood, booties and gloves. Mosts days the headaches from the chill of the water go away quickly (as long as there is sunshine). The short (40 min) drives don't always produce waves, so he's been a couple times to the west coast (2 hours) so that he can find a few good rides.

Since I don't have photos from every occasion and don't want to completely bore you, I'll sign off now. And, as I've promised, will be back on before 3 months go by. Love to you all.

16 Baptized!

On Sunday, May 20th, Tony performed his first Baptism. After having a three week class, he baptized 15 middle and high school students and one grandmother (she wanted to be baptized with her 7th grader). The baptisms took place at Port Williams beach on the Strait of Juan de Fuca. And although warm weather would have been nice for the full immersion, you can't necessarily wait on the sunshine here in the Northwest. So, rain, low tide and really cold water were some of the memory makers for our students. But what a great celebration! Lots of folks joined us to celebrate. What a blessing.

Announcing: The newest member of our family

Yes. We took the plunge. We bought a new car! This last January, while staying at my friend Melisa's house in Tacoma, the most random thing happened. At 4 am we were awoken by a knock on the neighbor who said her car had rolled down the hill and hit mine. Turns out my car was totalled and two other cars damaged in addition to the neighbors car. The beauty of it all was that there were four cars, but no one was in the cars. What a blessing. It was such a freak sort of accident, I had to just laugh.

Although we had been enjoying the Jetta, particularly because it was paid off, I looked forward to getting something else. After borrowing cars from friends for 2 months, we finally settled on a Toyota RAV 4. I love it. It still has a lot of pep and is definitely practical. The gas mileage is great and we can actually fit 7 seven people in the car-- Junior High munchkins-- but 7 no less. And yes, it is a "family-oriented" car, but don't get your hopes up yet. No plans for a Tony Jr. just yet.

The car has also come in handy for my job at McCrorie's. Taking the carpet boards and other samples to people's homes takes up quite a bit of space. And, I've had no trouble putting miles on the car. The good news is that I've recently accepted a job at our Sequim location (to fill a spot for someone who is moving). It is a smaller, quainter Design Studio, located right in town. I'm looking forward to the change and should be up and running by the end of the month.

And by the way, I chopped my hair off. At least 8 inches. It was time for a change and I love it!

We'll try a blog... see if that helps our bad communication skils

Greetings Friends and Family. Welcome to our blog. I know what you might be thinking... a blog? Don't they have their own website? Yes, it's true. But being that the website hasn't been updated for nearly 18 months, I thought I'd try something new. Tony and I seem to be great slackers when it comes to keeping in touch, but I'm hoping that this is a way we can post stuff we think is cool to share with friends and family far far away. (And I suppose those close by if they're curious.)

Rather than trying to catch up on the last 18 months, I'll try to start from current. Next post coming soon...