We were incredibly blessed this year with our best Christmas present ever--our daughter, Sarah Elisabeth Draves. She is an angel, but of course we are biased! We are still in the honeymoon phase. We observe her every move and expression with wonder, awe, and thanksgiving. Our friends and family have been very generous in taking care of both Rich and me. We have been able to focus our energies on Sarah, recovering from delivery, and getting sufficient sleep. We are very fortunate that she is an easy baby--well, for at least the first 10 days!  It all seems natural and probably will be until we try to get her to sleep in her crib.
We enjoyed many pre-baby activities this year. I hung up my sweep oar after the San Diego Crew Classic in early April. I occasionally sculled and kayaked during the summer, albeit with a modified slide and stroke! Rich summitted several major peaks in Washington (including Mt. Rainier, Mt. Baker, and Mt. Shuksan) with the Mountaineers club and with friends.  We cross-country skied both locally and at Mt. Bachelor in Oregon. Rich had a guys weekend at Alta in Utah. We enjoyed several weekends away to Portland, Lake Crescent Lodge, Bainbridge Island, Chicago, and San Francisco. We also made two trips east--one to Richmond to see Martha's family and Florida to see Rich's sister Cheryl, husband Volodya, and daughter Betsy (Elizabeth Marie, born Jan 25, 1997) and another trip to Duck, North Carolina, to see Rich's mother's family and then on again to Richmond. I also visited my sister in Lansing, MI, where she just completed her veterinarian course work at MSU. She starts rotations this spring.   
We  indulged in a final pre-baby vacation to Provence with our friends Jeff and Kevin. The trip was a wonderful mix of cultures, language, relaxation, and sensory overload:  3-8 course olive and herb drenched meals, breakfasts on the terrace, swimming in the garden pool, colorful markets and regional fairs, warm fall sunlight, cold and damp old churches, haunting Roman ruins, and friendly people. We ended the trip with a special 24 hours in Paris. I took Rich to my favorite museum, the Rodin Museum, on a long walk past the Place de la Concorde, the Tuilieres, the Louvre, and Notre Dame, and out to dinner with a friend from my 1987 summer at Telecom. 
In the last few months, we finally began to prepare at least physically for Sarah's arrival. Doesn't  every baby need an updated kitchen with a black and white tile backsplash, a freshly painted house (blueberry with lemon chiffon trim; Rich says that it is blue with off-white trim), and a newly landscaped yard? We moved Rich's study to the basement, using his former study for her nursery. Her room is filled with yellows, blues, white, and green. We attended Lamaze class, but opted for the weekend version at a bed and breakfast. We found it ironic that the B&B doesn't allow guests under 16! I also attended pre-natal yoga, which was much more helpful in preparing for labor than the 3 types of breathing in Lamaze. All the preparations couldn't really prepare us for the miracle of Sarah, but they kept us busy while waiting!
We both have enjoyed new, challenging roles at work. Rich is now the manager of Microsoft's Operating Systems Research Group.  I am now one of two Lead Program Managers for Microsoft's Publisher product.
We wish for you all a peaceful and special holiday season. Best wishes for health and  love in the new year!