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Well it was a holly jolly Christmas. Libby and I returned to Toledo, OH to spend the holiday at the Saums. My mom met us there from AZ. She was surprised to experience temperatures consistently below zero with the wind-chill, but happy to have a beautiful white Christmas.

My sister, Kristin, and her fiance, Garret, spent the holiday with Dad in CO. She was also kind enough to set up a conference call so that much of our extended family could listen as we opened our magic envelope. When we had our last ultrasound, we had the doctor write down the sex of the baby and seal it in an envelope. We've been holding that envelope with some anticipation for a couple months!

We had about twenty relatives at Libby's grandmother's house in Defiance, OH and almost twenty more on the conference call. It was a bit tricky getting those on the conference call A) to stop yakking and 2) to hear us through the small speakerphone we were using. Both issues made for great comedy later.

We tried to encourage interactivity by getting everyone to vote on the sex of the baby. Prior to the call, nearly everyone on Libby's side of the family voted "Girl." It was about 20 - 2. Then my side of the family made it almost even. Libby's side has four male grandchildren. On my side, I am the only hope to passing on the Foster name (no pressure). Pretty easy to see how the votes were influenced.

Libby was thinking girl because they are supposed to be genetically stronger and develop quicker than boys are. She didn't think her body was "child-bearing" ready yet, and she felt the baby kick at fifteen weeks. I had a dream and some intuitive moments prior to us finding out that she was pregnant that involved a baby boy. Since my New Year's resolution was to listen more to my intuition, I voted boy all the way.

Initially, I had wanted to find out the baby's sex right away--because you can, but people made a big deal about it. "Oh! You HAVE to let it be a surprise! There will never be anything else like it." Libby did not want to find out initially so I went with her. After waiting a couple months with the secret in hand, I began to feel more like saving the surprise, but we had already told people about the Christmas opening. I don't think Libby could have waited any longer anyway.

When it came time to actually open the envelope, I was surprisingly nervous. We opened the envelope to see, "It's a boy! Merry Christmas." It's not quite the same as opening a present. Nor is it the same as actually having the baby, but I was pretty blown away by the knowledge. Immediately, you begin to develop/confirm your mental images and plans. What a great present! Merry Christmas to US J.