New Post on the New York Times' Motherlode Blog

I've been noodling with this piece for a long time, ambivalent as my patient readers well know about whether to publish. This week, I went for it. We can discuss more about why in days to come, if anybody's interested.

In the meantime I'm visiting friends and preparing to relish all the end-of-the-decade music shows that are bound to be airing tomorrow.

Talk to y'all soon.

Fall Foliage Fun

Seriously, what has gotten into Houston these days? Sure, we had winter and fall out of order, but they did arrive nonetheless.

RJ is going to get spoiled and think we actually have four seasons around here...

"Put this on Your Mom Blog"

Just following the president's instructions....

Rosemary's First Christmas in Houston

It was one of those Houston winter days that make me so happy. Clear, cold and relentlessly sunny. The kids enjoyed their $6 wooden airplanes in the yard while the grownups struggled to reach full consciousness via large amounts of coffee in front of the fireplace.

She'd gone to bed on Christmas Eve a bit overwhelmed and out of sorts--we'd celebrated the traditional South Texas Christmas feast and exchanged gifts with my extended family that evening--but woke up happy, and fully embraced her first American Christmas. A good time was had by all.

A Star is Born

I can't believe I convinced all 3 kids to enact my role of choice in the annual Christmas pageant. Our church has the best star costumes.

Oh, and she tried roller skating for the first time and was charmed by it. So was I. Why haven't I done this in the last 25 years?

Holiday Craft Time

This is by far the weirdest thing that has happened since we adopted Rosemary:

I've become the type of person who volunteers to cook things. Sometimes it doesn't work out (user error doomed the sugar cookie dough I made for the cub scout outing; had to stop at Whole Foods on the way to the retirement center), but the point is that I have the inclination, and somehow manage to make the time.

Oh, I've had my DIY moments in the past, like that time I tried to learn the electric bass, or when I made that dress out of plaid fabric from Wal Mart (looks bad here but it fits nicely!),

but it seems my recent projects have taken on a more....domestic flavor.

Want proof? I am seriously considering doing this tomorrow:

Via Abbey Goes Design Scouting.

I'm scared.

If They Asked Me, I Could Write A Book

In fact, I have been asked. Not to write an entire book, but to contribute an essay to one, and to contribute to blogs that would disperse the story of our family far and wide across the Internets. And I have been writing, to the tune of thousands of words, but I just can't bring myself to hit the send button.

Because there is so much to tell, but most of it does not belong to me alone, but to my three fantastic kids. Once I put it out there it's part of their Google forever, you know?

Which sucks, honestly, because writing is what I do, and this is the story of a lifetime. But for the moment, I'm sitting on it.

Beijing Christmas

These super cool people are in Beijing this week. Their first daughter from China was adopted last year, and they will add their second and third daughters this Christmas season. They stayed at our Beijing Hotel, the Poly Plaza, so their blog is really bringing back a lot of memories....

Photo: Our guide telling Xi Juan her English name, Rosemary, for the first time in the Beijing Olympic village, while Joel looks on.

UPDATE: Looks like they've now left Beijing for Chongquing, so you have to click back a few days for all the Beijing photos. Which of course you'll want to do to read their whole awesome story.

All She Wants for Christmas

....is her two front teeth. And an Easy Bake Oven. Seriously.