Arranged Marriage and Thanksgiving

These days, when most Westerners talk about arranged marriage, they aren't very excited about the concept. And by "these days," I mean the last couple hundred years. But just because it isn't popular doesn't mean it's not a good idea. People haven't had much luck picking their own mates for a while now, so maybe it's time to bring arranged marriage back. Or not. In case arranged marriage is cool in a couple of decades, we have dibs on Riley Kaleo Nelson for Siena's main squeeze. He is in the 100th percentile in height and weight right now, so we are banking on good genetics. We are also very good friends with his parents (no in-law drama here!). Seriously though... Peter and Katy Nelson came for a visit the day before Thanksgiving. We partook in some delicious Dos Coyotes and talked about the following scintillating subjects:

- giving/watching birth (we are all still amazed)
- breast-feeding (also quite amazing)
- Irish twins (proceed with caution)
- diaper issues (bumGenius? disposable? diaper service?)
- Hooter Hiders (we wish we invented these)
- Bellybou' (shameless plug for the Ganyos' store... turns out that the Nelsons know the other two co-owners! Small world...)
- Babywise (we discovered that Sam and I do not follow the Babywise philosophy... does that make us Babyfools?)
- growth charts (Siena is a middle-of-the-roader, and Riley is what I call an outlier)
- predicting future growth (Riley's doctor told the Nelsons that he would be 6'5" and 200+ lbs. That may end up being accurate, but I still call shenanigans on such predictions after two months post-womb.)
- youth ministry (Peter is a youth pastor at a church in SoCal)
- teaching (Katy teaches high school Spanish)
- good books (I am reading Surprised by Hope, a book by N.T. Wright, at Peter's urging)

I would not have known the first thing about most of those subjects if Siena hadn't forced me to learn. It's amazing how fatherhood warps one's mind... Peter and I were more interested in talking about babies than fantasy sports!

Here is a video of Siena's first meeting with Riley...




For thanksgiving we killed two families with one bird... that is, we enjoyed a Thanksgiving feast with both of our families at the same time. We are very grateful that our wonderful families get along and live within a couple hours of each other. Splitting a holiday or neglecting one of our families during these times isn't ideal, so we are thrilled when the families can unite for joint ventures.

Also at the feast were (Cousin) Shanon Sorbello, the Pleaus, the Riddells, and Joe. It was a glorious time... and we continue to be very thankful for all of our family and friends!

I would post pictures of the festivities, but Sam's camera was mistakenly transported to San Jose in (Brother) Andy's car. Her phone, wallet, etc. is probably on a mail truck somewhere in between by now...

Happy Thanksgiving to all... and to all a Happy Thanksgiving! Oh... while I'm on the topic of giving thanks... we have somehow neglected to share some very encouraging information: Siena went for her two-month check-up with her pediatrician last week. At the appointment, the doctor listened to Siena's heart and could not detect a murmur. Either God has closed the holes in Siena's heart or the baby doctor needs to go to the ear doctor for a hearing check. We will learn which option is true at our next cardiology appointment.

Meanwhile, I'm enjoying some time off work, but I have to go back on Tuesday to start saving for a hefty dowry... just in case arranged marriage makes a comeback. :)