Messiest playdate!

I will never leave a bag of flour unattended again - lol!

I told Sarah her hair was gray. She said, "Why thank you Mommy."

The yummiest Royal Icing.

Pure satisfaction!

Thanks Avi Joy, Nehemiah, and Natasha for coming over for Christmas baking.

Christmas Letter

Our Christmas Card photos with excerpts from our Christmas Letter, which finally went out in the mail today. (I am not sure how to correct all of the font variations going on in this post.)

Sarah celebrated her 4^th birthday in July and is our same sweet and sensitive little girl. Sarah is a very balanced little girl - one minute wearing a tutu and the next collecting bugs and worms. In July Sarah took swim lessons which turned out to be one of the highlights for her, as she turned into a little fish. Sarah also attended Vietnam Camp for the third year, where she had tremendous fun doing heritage activities and playing with dear friends. This fall Sarah started half day Pre-Kindergarten at a nearby school. She loves her teachers, friends, and the general routine of going to school. Pre-K has been such a positive experience for Sarah and we are impressed at how much she has learned already. Sarah continues to be Andrew’s best friend and mercifully they entertain each other for hours a day.

Andrew celebrated his 2^nd birthday in April and he is pretty much a textbook two year old boy – a curious child in constant motion. He is into climbing on/jumping off precarious things, trains, trucks, dolls, dress up, and imaginative play. He is my talker and joker and he doesn’t give me many quiet moments in a day. Andrew balances out his tantrums and hard-headed behavior with his charm, affection, humor, and winning smile.

Samuel is 2.5 month old and is a g-r-o-w-i-n-g boy. He currently loves to smile, coo, and show off his dimples. He is blessed with two siblings who could not possibly adore him more, and we are blessed to call him our son.

Michael continues to have broad responsibilities at First Presbyterian Church as the Pastor for Next Generation Ministries. His position encompasses all things birth through college-age students, as well as other pastoral duties (weddings, funerals, visitation, etc). He has a great team of directors and volunteers working with him. Michael plans to begin work on his Doctor of Ministry degree this summer through Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, CA. The degree is designed to be completed within the context of a local parish while traveling 1-2 times per year for intensive coursework, lectures, etc.

I continue to stay home with our children. Most of my days are filled with laundry, dishes, errands, sibling mediation/negotiation, and such. But, I do enjoy balancing that out with play dates with good friends, dates with my husband, and the occasional shopping outing without the kids in tow. In September I began a very part-time job as the nursery/toddler care coordinator at our church. Apart from Sunday morning, most of the work can be done from home. I’ve enjoyed getting to know more of the young families in our congregation. Shortly after the New Year, the committee to plan Vietnam Camp for Dillon International will begin meeting to prepare for June. It is a great group of women and something I really enjoy being a part of.

In 2010 we look forward to taking Sarah skiing for her first time while the boys stay with Michael's parents. We also plan to travel to Minnesota for Michael’s grandparents’ 70^th wedding anniversary, Michael and I look forward to celebrating our 10^th anniversary in July, and we look forward to having a less eventful year….if that is possible with three little ones!

May you sense the Joy and Hope that sits deep within the heart of the good news of our Savior’s birth. As He came so long ago, He promises to come again; ready with a blessing for whoever will welcome Him. Let every heart prepare Him room!

Again this year, the Christmas photo outtakes...

"What you are about to see isn't pretty."

"Andrew's not kidding. It really isn't."

"Andrew wouldn't stop making silly faces."

"And then he stepped on my hand."

"Baby Samuel couldn't stay sitting up to save his life."

"And mommy disregarded the crying Samuel was doing in hopes of a perfect group shot that never happened."

"I mean, just look at this face!"

May your Christmas photo shoot be merrier than ours!

Size Comparison

Andrew's 1st Christmas, 8 months old.

Wearing "big" brother's hand-me-down for 1st Christmas, 2 months old.

What is this all about?

The Good Stuff

A Charlie Brown Christmas

The Boys

Wow, pictures!

Can you believe it? Pictures finally! We actually lost our camera on the day that Samuel was born. We had a standard point and shoot camera. We couldn't decide if we should replace it with something similar or really splurge and get something more. So, after deliberating for 7 weeks, we pulled the trigger and got a DSLR. The only setting I know how to use so far is automatic, so I guess I am going to have to get the "For Dummies" book to learn all the great features. Anyway, here are some pictures taken from the day before Thanksgiving through yesterday. I'll have to do some backtracking later and add pictures from the summer through Halloween another time.

Here he is....Mr. Samuel!

He likes to sleep with his hand raised.

And, he's a really big boy. He's already outgrowing some of his 3-6 month clothes at 8 1/2 weeks old. He is just really long.

Watching the Macy's Parade.

First Thanksgiving. He was pretty happy about it.

It's hard to see, but he has dimples!

Michael and I have never had Thanksgiving at our house (or Christmas dinner, as a matter of fact). Neither one of us had ever cooked a Turkey. Our parents have always done that. Well, my parents went out of town to my brother's house and Michael's parents moved from Texas to New Mexico. With Samuel still being so young, we decided to stay home and see if we could make a proper holiday meal. I can't believe I am going to brag, but it was awesome! Michael brined the turkey and it was so delicious. All the sides turned out. And, so did the desserts. We were so tired by the end of Thursday, but it was a great feeling of accomplishment. Samuel's birthmom, her toddler son, and a university student from our church were our willing test subjects. I'm glad we got a trial run before Christmas, because we are hosting Michael's sister DeAnn and her family of six, as well as my parents.


A certain kitty cat also made her apperance at dinner. She is in a phase right now....

The kids helped get our house ready for Christmas on Friday.

Playing doctor. I ran into the playroom to see why Sarah was crying. She informed me that she was just pretending to be at the doctor's office.

Sweet.

Sassy.

A mess!

Advent traditions.

The new house decorated for Christmas (below).