christmas.

i guess it hasn't been a typical christmas for us this year. having dechen in our lives has changed the priorities of things, so no christmas decorating or christmas trees... rather long walks in the afternoons, diapers on the line and amazing december views of the mountains. and although we haven't taken the time to christmasize our place, others on the hillside have and it's been great to have numerous potlucks and gatherings and skype dates with our families to make it feel like christmas.

this is a view over mussoorie from the top of the ridge above our place.

our little bird...

the banderpunch range in evening light on christmas day.

one week.

it's been just over a week now with dechen in our lives. what a rush... the lack of sleep, poopy diapers, laughing, learning, and basically marvelling in this amazing being. i remember a long time ago someone told me that having a newborn around was like sitting by a bonfire... how you can just get mesmerized by the beauty and wonder of it all, time just passes by so easily... i definitly agree... here's a few glimpses from our first week at home.

dechen susan guenther.

it's been quite a last couple days... the little one first began showing signs that her time was approaching at around 3am on Friday, and at 5:45am Saturday, December 5th our beautiful little girl entered the world. it was a long labour but christina was amazing and both her and dechen have been recovering nicely. she weighed in at 8lbs which amazed the indian nurses (i guess the indian babies are generally quite small in comparison) and they all kept commenting on how strong and well mama did. she's got a lot of dark hair and long legs for climbing these mountains. dechen is a tibetan name that a few of our students here at woodstock have and it means happiness, good health, and peace... and susan after grandma unrau who recently passed away.