Hunter's Potential Babysitting Roster...

Hunter is a well-liked little boy...
He's got his pick of babysitters to come! Let's hope the novelty doesn't wear off!

Of course, Number One is Daddy!

Hunter's Here

Hunter Ambrose Daniel Clark
arrived on Friday, January 26th at about 3.45am!!!
He weighed 8.71 lbs (4kg) and is over 21 inches (52cm) long!!!

Hunter -

Tony's Granddad Clark's name was "Hunter"
Ambrose -
Jen's maiden name is "Ambrose" - which means "Immortal"
Daniel -
Biblical prophet known as a man of prayer in a foreign land. One of the Hebrew exiles who were "young men without physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand and qualified to serve int he king's palace" (Daniel 1:4)
It is our prayer that Hunter grows up with the characteristics of Daniel.

Here is our little blessing and the process by which he got here
(rest assured- I've left out the gory details)

We'd been expecting this little guy to come any time really since unofficial due date of Jan.23... so when things started happening on the official date - Thursday, Jan.25 - I was really relieved (I was feeling very ready). We labored at home from about 8am-10pm with every kind of distraction we could think of: I finished the cleaning, baked a cake, wrote some emails, made some phone calls...Tony set up the baby's bed and our room, massaged my back, gave me "counter pressure" to ease the pain... we watched TV, played cards, ate Subway sandwiches for lunch (not so good - came out later)... our friends Michael came by to bring the sandwiches and ate a piece of cake, Richard & Marlin came by to drop off food and pick up instructions for my mom... it was a long day by the time we finally got to the hospital - and no nap!

We checked into the hospital around 10pm... I wasn't feeling as fresh and lovely any longer... but I did have enough energy to unpack our bags and rearrange the room since we'd be staying there about 3 days!

The first meeting between me and my son! I think my face says it all...
3.46am Hunter is here!!! Thankfully he cleaned up nicely.

Daddy's first meeting with Hunter

Grandma Ambrose's first meeting with Hunter occured around 8.30am on Friday... just about 5 hours after he was born! Not bad considering she had to fly in from LA!!! How sweet it is to have my mom here. She stayed with us in the hospital for the whole time we were there! It was like our little "holiday home"!

Marise was the first visitor in the hospital... we had to save our strength for the next day!

Saturday afternoon we had a big party... starting with friends from Torch Church...
THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO STOPPED BY TO SEE US AT THE HOSPITAL... WE FEEL SO LOVED AND VALUED! HUNTER'S GOT SOME GREAT FRIENDS AND FAMILY HERE AND WE ARE REALLY EXCITED TO SHARE HIM WITH YOU!!!!

Big yawn... he's a cutie

Getting ready to go home on Monday, January 29

He is a cutie... thanks, Andy & Celia, for the sweet little coming home outfit. He looked like a giant lemon lime sorbet... we wanted to eat him up!

Happy family

Pregnancy Progress

A lot less glamourous now in the 39th week...

Seems the bump has expanded quite a bit just in thepast few days!!!
Dr. Li says Hunter's head is as far down as it can get before things start opening up (sorry, a bit graphic)... I like to think he's at the starting gate!!!
So this is it... anyday now!!! Good thing I've got Tony here to keep me mindful of what "rest" means... I'm still trying to fill my days with social visits and trips to the shops to gather all the final bits and pieces... but he's helped me see that I just can't cram it all in anymore! So since I stocked the freezer & pantry yesterday and picked up the sheets for the baby's crib today I think I'm done... feeling settled! And all the moms out there say "yeah, right"! We'll see...

Monday, January 15...
my mom & friends skyped me from my sister's house wanting to see Hunter...
here's what I showed them from the webcam...
I think they got their money's worth!

yes, the less glamourous look of "pudgy feet" and "cankles"... no, the pregnancy had nothing to do with my big toe looking that way - that's normal... it's the other toes that are pudgy!

Daddy holding baby

Happy 2007!!!

Being 9 months pregnant meant staying out late wasn't really an option... but hosting a New Year's Eve celebration was!?! We had a pretty good size group gather for an international potluck dinner/Yahtzee tournament followed up with fireworks from the roof of our apartment building! It was fun to be with so many of our friends celebrating the start to a brand new year!

Happy New Year!!!

Yes, and all these people managed to squeeze into our apartment for dinner and games!!!
Good times were had by all!

Welcome to the winner's table! We had 3 groups of 5-6 playing Yahtzee in different parts of the house! I happened to have the highest score on the night - though that was mostly in part to a 10-year old helper I had who rolled 3 Yahtzees for me!!! UNBELIEVABLE!!!

Taipei Tour Guide

Super fun... six former colleagues from ICS-Uijongbu (the school I worked at in Korea) decided to come to Taipei for a little holiday getaway! We haven't seen each other in about 5 years but it was great fun to catch up! Of course, I love showing people my new hometown, so thankfully the weather was clear enough for me to get out and about town with them for a couple of days. Then Tony returned, so it was fun for them to finally meet too.

After experiencing Taiwanese church culture, we took them out for a "family style" Chinese meal at one of our favorite local restaurants.


After lunch we sent them out exploring the local handicraft and flower markets near our house. Good thing we live so conveniently close... made for a somewhat relaxing Sunday out.

Christmas Celebrations...

Christmas celebrations were a bit different this year as Tony was on the mainland and I was here in Taipei. Christmas Eve was spent with my church family. The youth put on a fabulous Christmas production with a modern twist - pirates on search for the ultimate treasure... landed them at the birth of Christ! Sounds a bit of a stretch, but it was very fun and well done. Then my friend Peggy spent the night so we could wake up to say "Merry Christmas" before she headed out to work.

Christmas Day saw me hosting two meals - tradional Ambrose breakfast served for my Chinese class & a Christmas Dinner - while poor Tony was sick with food poisoning on the mainland. It was a great day reflecting, serving and sharing - kind of what Christmas should be about!

"Dinner at the Inn" was the theme for Christmas dinner...
each part of the meal followed part of the Christmas story. So we had "Ceasar salad" & "wraps" for starters, "Shepherd's pie" for the main, and "myrrh-engue" for dessert along with starfruit & star shaped cookies.
It was a fun evening with a small group of friends who are definitely part of our family here in Taipei.

Amber's Wedding - Finally Posted

Okay... before we get too far into the new year, I realized I'd neglected my sister's wedding post! So here we go... a few pics for those of you who wanted to see a bit more! On September 16, 2006 my sister, Amber Ambrose, married Jason Sides! It was a beautiful celebration of God's timing...
The ceremony was a blast, the church reception was beautiful and the beach party was a success! All in all, a wedding to remember!

Mr. and Mrs. Jason Sides

Amazing camera angle... I'm 5 months pregnant here!

Regardless of camera angles, my sister looked absolutely stunning!!!

Pre-ceremony "Ambrose Family"

Jason was much nicer to Amber than she was to him.

My parents were absolutely thrilled

Grandpa and Grandma's 12th wedding of a grandchild...
plenty more to come - 3 more in 2007!

The hot-dog cookout beach party was a blast! Great evening despite the wind...

Saying Good-bye...

Working for the government means we'll be doing a lot of this over the course of Tony's career. This time it's Jacinta and Stu - she's finished her language study and now it's time to put it into action in Beijing! Tony appreciated her encouragement and advice while studying Chinese this past year... and we both appreciated the fact they didn't wear hard-soled shoes in their house - they lived directly in the apartment above us!

I guess there are two benefits to "farewells" - 1) you always get to have a good meal or party to commemorate the event, and 2) it means you'll know someone living in another city or country with space for visitors (hopefully)!

So this event was marked by a delicious Chinese meal at "Wind" -
too bad it had a namely effect on us afterward.


It was a nice evening for the language officers especially since they'd finished exams that day! What a relief!

A Formidable Force

Tony's "recreational joy" during his studies here has been playing basketball with his classmates. Despite thumb injuries, a sore back and achy knees, he's been determined to mix it up with the local boys. It's fun to watch him play, but even more fun to hear the stories for the rest of the evening. Though he'll admit he's starting to feel his age, it's great that he's got such a fun stress-relieving activity to balance out his hardcore study routine.

How do you guard someone this much bigger than you?

Obviously, you don't.