Our Snow Day


Baseball in the Park


Christmas Eve at Church



Luke enjoyed some mashed potatoes!


They had some stable animals at church. That donkey didn't move
the entire time we were there. I am pretty sure he was alive, though.

Well, this will probably be a long post, but it will catch you up on our December and our Christmas break. I have to say December was not as stressful as it usually is. I think I anticipated a sad, lonely Christmas here at home and was pleasantly surprised how relaxing and enjoyable it was. We began the month by doing Advent. It was a wonderful way to teach Aidan more about Christmas and why it is such a big deal. It was so funny on the day before Christmas eve because Jim and I realized that Aidan had no idea that he would wake up Christmas morning with presents under the tree. He was so excited to read each night's story and blow out the candle. Jim decided we needed to put a few gifts under the tree to build some anticipation. I enjoyed doing some things to get ready, too. I baked several things that I knew I'd be missing...Chex mix and peanut butter kiss cookies..Lisa always makes those. It was fun decorating the tree, too. The boys indulged me for a while as I reminisced over each ornament. Aidan was enthralled by the Star Wars ornaments, of course. When I packed up, they all now have their own box! Next year I'll be hunting for a small tree for the "boys".

We spent a day at the Wild Animal Park and since I always tell Aidan the Carousel is only for when Daddy joins us, which is usually once a year, this was his chance. Luke was asleep, so he didn't get to ride. Aidan was thrilled and had fun. It was nice to enjoy a day together without Jim stressing about the homework he wasn't doing. We had lots of that in our two weeks home. It was a taste of what life may be in 6 months. Yaaay.

We enjoyed a few movie nights with a fire, since it was fairly cool here. No snow of course, but we were glad it was at least cool enough to pretend it was winter. We did get one morning in the mountains. It had warmed up and melted a bit by the time we got there, but we missed the traffic and crowds by waiting a couple of days. Aidan and Luke had a good time tromping around the icy snow and sledding. Aidan was a trooper about not getting to throw snowballs and building a snowman. He said next time we could do that. I think next year his expectations will be higher, so we may have to brave the crowds for good snow. Again, it was a nice day together.

We also enjoyed a sunny day at the baseball field. Aidan got a real bat with real balls. But daddy's instruction when he opened it was that it was NOT to be used at home...only at the park. This kid can hit a ball! Jim pitched balls to Aidan for an hour and half and he could have gone on all day! Luke enjoyed the snacks in the "dugout". We had to go for a walk after a while, though. We then walked down to feed the ducks.

He's a Walker!

It's official, Luke is a walker! Two days ago he took about 4 or 5 steps. Then later that evening on two different occasions, he was in the middle of the floor and spotted a toy. He stood up without holding onto anything and just walked over to it. Like a pro! Of course I can't get a picture of him doing it, so the picture will have to wait. It is so fun! He is just beside himself with glee. He grins so big because he has figured out that it is a BIG deal. He has also figured out that he will be able to play with the big boys more if he can walk. Oh no! I'm in trouble.

He also has figured out it is cool to make the big boys laugh. I had Seth in the car with us yesterday. Luke started smacking his head and bopping around. Seth and Aidan cracked up and he ate it up! He kept doing it until he was giggling so hard, he could hardly keep his head up. What fun stuff!

Happy Veteran's Day!

Today as I do my normal Mommy stuff, checking some blogs, I came across the Steven Curtis Chapman website. In a year of loss for me, and a mother of two little ones, I was very moved by this family's loss of their 5 year old daughter adopted from China. I can't even imagine and it makes me teary to think about it. But what an amazing story they have! Their faith in God and His plan moves them daily to continue to serve Him and to get up each day.

Today is Veteran's Day. I must admit I don't give much thought to it. I don't give much thought to the fact that I can write on a website about my own faith. I don't give much thought to the fact that I can teach my boys about Jesus and not one fear crosses my mind. It is the bravery and service of these veterans that allows me to move through my day without any real fear. I am thankful, and often list these things in my prayers, but on such a miniscule level. I have grown to expect freedom and forget that it costs many people and families much more than I can imagine. I'm happy to sit in my safe world and take it all for granted. Today I pray for forgiveness and for the heart that is much more grateful.

Back to Steven Curtis Chapman...he wrote a new song while visiting the Bethesda Naval Hospital recently. He met a man who had just returned from Afghanistan a couple of weeks before and had just the day before Steven's visit, had part of his legs removed. You can hear the song on his website, after you sign up for the newsletter. It is called Thomas McBride. Sorry, I haven't figured out how to link stuff yet. It all just reminded me that if I do nothing else, I can have a grateful heart and look for ways (other than at Christmas) to minister to those serving us and protecting our freedom.

Our church is very active with the local military in San Diego and I have absolutely no excuse! One cool thing that they do is send a letter (via volunteers like, hmmmm, me?) to military men and women who have just accepted Jesus as their Savior. Just a note of encouragement and welcome. Ok, that's not that hard to do, but I'm sure it has a great impact. I've got to start small, huh?

So now you know how my heart really looks....is there someone you need to thank today? God bless!

Happy Halloween

We had a great time last night at our church's harvest party. Luke did very well with his lion costume....mane and all! He was in the stroller to start off, but we went inside to where they had things for smaller kids. He took off and wanted to "walk" around. He is so close to walking. The blog post will be coming soon, I am sure. Aidan loved being called superman. He got this cute grin whenever we'd say superman instead of Aidan. Our church has moved into a big new facility and they went all out! There must have been 10 different inflatable things. I had never seen a few, but the best was the foosball inflatable. There were ropes across the sides and kids were belted to the ropes. They could only move sidways, like foosball. Then of course the necessary bounce houses, an obstacle course and the slides. Aidan only played one game...fishing. He is too smart! They put the fishing rod over the wall and pulled out candy clipped to a clothes pin. Right away, he asks, "what's back there?" They were gracious and let him look over, although I'm not sure he saw the person because when I asked, he said there was candy back there. They told him to keep it a secret, so the person must not have hidden. There was also an animal show. They were just putting away the alligator when we walked in. That was all Aidan could talk about...until they pulled out the boa constrictor. They had 5 kids come up and hold it! I'm not into reptiles! On the way home, Aidan said he wanted to hold it. We told him he probably had to be 6.

We didn't come home with an obscene amount of candy, for which I am thankful. Although Aidan did have nerds and hot tamales for dessert after breakfast! Daddy told him he could pick two. He's so great! I would have told him one. I have made one thing of smarties last all week. They were in the goody bags from Luke's party. Aidan doesn't get much candy, so he had no idea most people eat the whole thing of smarties at once! I know, I'm so mean. I figure I better enjoy it while it lasts.

Happy Birthday Luke!

Luke,

I can't believe you are a year old already! Where did the time go? You are such a joy and a blessing to our family. A year ago with just three weeks to prepare, we learned you were to join our family. Those were the longest three weeks ever! God knew I couldn't stand a 9 month pregnancy! What fun it has been to have two boys in my life. You are becoming quite independent. You want to walk and are sooooo close. You have taken up to two steps at a time, for about two weeks now. You barely hold on when you walk along walls and furniture.
You have the greatest smile and a great belly laugh. You have almost all your teeth already. The last molar and eye tooth popped through yesterday.

We had a great time Sunday celebrating your birthday with all of our friends. You wore the traditional Hanbok and tolerated it quite well. We laid out many items on a blanket for you to choose from...to let us know what your future may hold. A Bible, book, paintbrush, string, money, tamborine and a computer mouse. You chose the mouse. Daddy says you'll be an engineer. We tried to get you to choose a second item, but you wanted to know where the mouse was. We ate bulgogi, ChopChae and some other Korean dishes. We sent everyone home with rice cakes and m&ms with your picture on them. It was a late night but you were a trooper and played and laughed for everyone.

You have a strong opinion and definite perseverance. Someday that is going to serve you well. Some days it frustrates me, but I trust that God is going to shape and mold that so He can use you for his purposes. Our prayer for you, as your name means, is that you will become a strong man of God who shines His light to all you meet. Luke, you were hand picked by God to join our family and you are a special boy. I can't wait to see all God has in store for you. You are much prayed for and a very loved boy. May you always know how much I love you! Happy birthday pumpkin.

So Big!

I haven't posted a recent picture of Luke lately. Here he is...so big. He is now standing up on the furniture, crawling more each day and climbing over stuff like a pro. I can't believe he is 9 months already. He and Aidan have such a great time together. I told Jim the other day while listening to them in the back seat of the car laughing hysterically, "this is why I wanted at least two kids." It is heart melting to hear them have such fun together. I know someday I'll wish they weren't so silly and loud, but for today, I love it!