Trains

Luke can make up his own Thomas stories now:

A Month in a Minute

We have now been in California for 27 days! As our CA trip draws to an end, I'd like to share some of the highlights:

• Rebekah meets Gus and we all get to spend 5 precious days with him
• This trip, more than any other, I had some amazing talks with my brother and sister. They are both younger than me and are growing into wonderful adults. I am excited to see where life takes them.
• I had the chance to see my cousins- now in CO, TN, and NC
• My dad drove us down to San Diego for the second half of our trip. That was 7 hrs in the car with a wiggly little boy and a baby- they were great!
• We saw some great friends from our old Church in San Diego and Orange County
• We all attended a special party for Nathan's Aunt Susie- it was her 60th birthday, and a celebration of her victory over stage 4 melanoma. Praise God!
• Rebekah got her first tooth 1/6/12, and is now working on #2 (I'll be glad when I get a break fromt he night wakings again)
• Rebekah began to clap her hands all by herself! (See video below)
• I became an auntie once again- Baby Emma Grace Jones born on 1/7/12 weighing 9lbs 13oz, and as Luke would say, a "cutie patootie!"

We fly out tomorrow on a non-stop to Houston. I had a great time, but am certainly looking forward to sleeping in my own bed, cooking in my own kitchen, and opening all of our Christmas cards! Also, stay tuned- we are going to be doing some big work in our yard in the next couple of months- fruit trees, tomatoes, onions, etc... It is going to be a great year!

Playing with Paper

A favorite pastime of Rebekah Ruth:

Christmas in Stockton

Today we (the kids and I) celebrated Christmas in Stockton with my extended family. It was a last minute trip and Nathan had to stay behind to tie up some loose ends at home. We will get to see him again in San Diego-probably on Christmas.

We flew up here especially to see my great-grandpa who was just placed on hospice care. He is 94 years old and is a great man. Time with him and all my family has been precious. I am trying to savor the moments.



We enjoyed a very good meal featuring pork tenderloin:

Rebekah enjoyed her spatula (she really hasn't taken to solid food yet):Oh and Rebekah sits up really well now! She can sit nice and tall and play for a long time.

Here is a picture of my sister Kelsey and her husband Erik. Aren't they cute?

Here is a picture of the boys. I forgot my camera for the one of the girls :(

Dressing up for St. Nicholas Day

The kids and I went to church yesterday for St. Nicholas Day. Rebekah wore her pretty red dress:

Sitting Up

Here she is:

Adventing

Last year, my Advent efforts mainly consisted of making an Advent wreath (late) and packing a few boxes for Operation Christmas drop. This year Luke is much more aware of what is going on, so I really tried to get my act together.

Orthodox Advent begins 40 days before Christmas, so we have been at it since the 15th. It kind of snuck up on me again, but not entirely.

I wanted to make a traditional advent wreath that included activities that Luke could understand and enjoy, and that could be transported. This year, like we have done for all our Texas years, are traveling to see family at Christmas. Moving right into Christmas is one of the problems that we usually run into when we travel. Who can resist with all the family around?

I took the boy and the girl (I call them by those names in an affectionate sort of way) to Hobby Lobby to see what we could find. I got the information for the wreath from my friend's blog and found all the supplies that I needed. I decided to make a felt wreath (so it could be folded up and taken on the plane with us to CA), and decorate it with pictures that helped us prepare for Christ's birth. We had all of the nativity characters, pictures of fasting foods, money (for almsgiving), and pictures that related to St. Nicholas. Here are a couple of pictures:

Felt wreath with the little girl next to it. She is happy if she can see me while I work.


Here are our candles and pictures. On the backs of the pictures I wrote a short explanation. Everyday, the plan is to let Luke pick out a picture and talk about what is represents. On Sundays we talk about the candles and what each one of them signifies. Luke has really enjoyed this! He asks me to sit with him, pick out a picture and "Glorify Him."