Santa came to Grandma and Grandpa’s house, Ezra, Noah, and Abby were very good babies this year.
Wow!
Noah is there something on your back?
Drums!
Which one should I open next?
Wrapping paper!
Taking time to read the card.
Poor boy just wanted to play the piano.
Checking out his see and say with Grandma
Ez was done with his shirt
Abby sitting in her new chair like a proper lady
High-Five!
I think we better feed this baby he is eating his arm!
Wahoo! We made it to the top.
Daddy putting together their kitchen from Nana and Papa
Noah and his wrench
Ezra watching the action
Checking out the new kitchen (after nap before church)
Getting ready to have dinner with Grandpa and Grandma
A Christmas Eve Tradition, Paper Crowns. (sorry Noah destroyed his very quickly)
Noah discovered the stairs and took off up them as soon as we tried to change him!
What is this blocking the stairs?
Mmmm pumpkin pie!
Presents!
Noah and Ezra (along with mom and dad) played baby Jesus this year in our church‘s Living Nativity. Poor Ez was a little fussy, but Noah loved it, the lights, animals, and music were a lot of fun.
In hindsight, Mary and Joseph shouldn’t have dressed Jesus in such cute pjs, something more plain would have been better, but they are silly first time parents and thought they could keep a 13 month old swaddled.
Cousin Abby was there to keep the understudy company.
I thought I should follow-up my last post with saying that we are not against gift giving/getting. We do love to give and get thoughtful gifts. I think one of the points of advent conspiracy is to give less and give better. Right after I posted my last post, I was thrilled to read Gretchen’s most recent post.
It isn’t about feeling guilty….or sticking it to “the man”…..but it IS exciting to think about how our Christmases might be transformed from empty gift-giving to a thoughtful exchange of gifts for not only our friends and family, but our brothers around the world!
Well put Gretchen!
I would also add if you cannot find a fair trade gift that is a thoughtful gift for someone you know, please shop local. Buying from a local artist, craft person, or store owner does so much more for you community than a big box store.
The season of Advent begins tomorrow. It is a season of anticipation of the Second Coming and celebration of the birth of Jesus. Advent Conspiracy has served as a good reminder to me about the focus of this season, about God’s love for us and the hope that He offers.
Matt and I are continuing to learn what we should focus on during this season and what changes we can make to teach Noah and Ezra what its really all about. We don’t have it all figured out just yet and maybe we never will, but I have hope that we can find more ways to show them what the season is about.
Last year I shared Advent Conspiracy’s video with you and linked to some charities that provide clean water to those who need it. I encourage you again this year to give clean water. If you would rather give locally then please do! You could do something as simple as forgo one side dish at your Christmas dinner (we know we all have more than enough) and give that portion to your local food bank.
I have started a campaign through charity water to raise just 10% of a new well in an area that desperately needs it. Please feel free to help us reach or better yet blow away our goal of $500. The campaign ends 12.27.09.
My little cuties
Sleepy Noah
Sleepy Ez
I love the wind in my face
Abby on the attack
Rock on
Thanksgiving is awesome!
No that is not stuffing mashed potatoes mushed onto my sippy
Drinking a bottle in the wagon is the way to go
Bagpipes are so awesome
we are such a blessed family. I am constantly thinking about how great things are. My world view has changed so much over the last few years and I can truly see that we are blessed.
Some things I know i am thankful for.
my amazing wife.
My super cute kids
The new family dynamic this year.
Lets not forget things like grace & hope, freedom of religion, this great country, clean water, food on the table, and that i get to own my own design firm. So many great things in life to be thankful for!
I must say it was so nice having a three day weekend. Having an extra day of daddy help was just what I needed! We had time for some fun activities plus plenty of relaxing and even a few chores.
We ran our first 5k as a family.
Daddy and the boys at the start
Sprinting at the finish
I finished my first 5k!
Then off to the Grandparents’ house for breakfast.
Our first wagon ride!
On Sunday we went back to Grandma and Grandpa’s for lunch and playing with Abby.
Swimming
Bubbles
After lunch was nap-time and chore time.
Carter helping Matt put together shelves for the playroom
Monday was full of playing, chores, and reading.
Wrestling!
Happy Independence Day! We didn’t not celebrate the 4th in a traditional sense today. The boys cannot stay up late enough for fireworks and all the people we normally would BBQ with are out of town (we weren’t ready to throw our own BBQ yet), but we still had a great day.
Our 4th started out checking out all the water left behind from last night’s storm. My rain gauge had 1.5 inches in it, which for the desert is a ton!
The baby pool is now disgusting and full! It was clean and only had about 2 inches of water in it before.
Lake Miramar is full! (Lake Miramar is our neighborhood name for the retention basin down the street, it has very deep dry wells at the bottom too, so it is impressive when it fills)
After that, it was time to go to the Farmers’ Market!
As you can see it was met with great excitement.
Our bounty from the market. Most of this is to make more baby food. Look at those giant sweet potatoes, Ezra will be so happy!
Then we took naps, okay the boys did, Matt and I did stuff around the house. When nap time was over cousin Abby came over and we went swimming.
This is fun!
Dad and Noah
Mom and Ezra
Auntie Michelle and Abby
Noah really likes to lick towels, blankets, pretty much anything
Thanks to our neighbors who lent us their pool in their absence! It was a great day for swimming.
Matt and I were recently discussing Valentine’s Day and I was saying I didn’t need a gift. In fact neither of us remembered if we exchanged gifts last year, so clearly it is a very sentimental day around here. Matt and I are more the types to just give gifts randomly at any time to show our love and thoughtfulness. So I said no gift, no card, nothing. Well honey I have changed my mind! Angel Mission and Charity Water have ways to show your love by providing clean water to people who currently do not have clean water. With Charity Water your recipient receives an e-card and is able to choose the country the clean water is going to. Angel Mission let’s you give as little as $5 to show your love, which means you can share love with more people if you are on a tight budget.
Here is a close up for you:
Adoption Update: We made it through week 41, how many more? There were 10 referrals this week, seven boys and three girls. Congratulations to all the happy families! Our agency is closed until January 5, so no more referrals until after the new year. We did not know about this closure until this month, so if anyone picked a referral date in that time period, please feel free to pick a new date. We were re-fingerprinted last Saturday and USCIS is not very busy right now. We were taken right back for our fingerprints, so much nicer than the last time. Everyone say a prayer that my prints don’t get kicked back by the FBI, I had really dry fingers and she had a difficult time getting a good print. I was obsessively putting on lotion last week to remedy the problem but to no avail and this week I didn’t obsess and no dry fingers.
Running Update: I finally started running again! I have to say it is so much nicer taking up running this time of year. I can already run further and longer than I could when I stopped. The temps being well below 90 sure make a difference! Now I just need to start doing those push-ups again.
Gardening: My garden is doing really well. The snow peas have finally started to bloom and I have plenty of lettuce for salads. I haven’t had to worry about a frost yet and Matt is helping me build a cover for the garden this weekend for that rare occasion we get below 32°.
Life: We made lots of cookies on Sunday with my family and have been busy handing them out to neighbors ever since. Michelle and I also made cookies on Tuesday. She did a great job decorating them:
I also was able to meet Paul B. today! He is a wonderful baby! I had a very nice time chatting with Sandi and Bill about Ethiopia and their trip. I cannot wait to travel!
What do you buy for the person that has everything, is impossible to buy for, is an eco-dork, or the consummate philanthropist? How about buying them gifts that keep on giving?
The World Wildlife Fund has tons of animals you can adopt and your recipient will receive a gift also. Some adorable examples are the frogs, giraffe, or penguins.
Sustainable Harvest has gift options that improves the standard of living for families and preserves the environment.
Heifer International has gifts to help families become more self-reliant. You can give goats, bees, ducks, and trees and many other items.
You could buy them shoes:
Or you can give the simple gift of water for Christmas.
Shopping for Fair Trade items is always a possibility. Check out Global Exchange or Serrv International.
Those are just a few of the gift ideas I have to share. Please feel free to share any you have.
