Merry Christmas 2013

Yesterday evening we returned home from a special Christmas in Texas that we shared with the Royces, and part of the Hanschen family too. Jered's mom and brother Ian flew down to Corpus Christi to share Christmas with my family this year. We made lots of good memories, and the kids were so excited to see everyone. We had a short trip this year, less than a week, but it was very full of activity. We had Christmas at our home in Virginia the weekend before our trip to Texas. The kids enjoyed telling everyone, including the pastor at children's church, that they had TWO Christmases!

That Christmas Sunday in Texas was one of the highlights of our trip for me. We went to the church my parents have been attending by their new house. Our kids kept the congregation entertained by candidly answering the pastor's questions about traveling, and then made us cry when he asked, "Why would Jesus come to earth?" Emma answered "Because he loves us!" - nice and loud for all the church to hear. Who could think of a better Christmas gift than to hear your children share the love of God with any who will listen? Amen, Emma! He does indeed love us!

Family Christmas Pictures

We did our family Christmas pictures yesterday morning. Homemade as usual. We thought about getting them done this year, but we ran out of time and money, so we did them ourselves. Got some cute shots, and once again family picture on the first try - yay! That's such a blessing with 2 little ones wiggling around.

Thanksgiving 2013

We had the pleasure of having Jered's mom (aka Grammy) and brother (Uncle Ian) at our house for Thanksgiving. The kids were so happy to see their Grammy and uncle. Ian was sick almost the whole time he was here in Virginia, but we were so happy to see him anyway (poor guy!). We had time to see Jered at work, eat lunch with Will at school, visit Emma's library, have a girls' shopping day, and a wonderful Thanksgiving meal. We also put up the tree and other Christmas decorations with Grammy the day after Thanksgiving. Grammy's birthday was December 1, so we were able to celebrate together. This Friday, December 5 after Ian flew out, we went to Will's school for "Cookies and Cocoa with Santa" - their school Christmas festival. It was very well done, with lots of crafts to make, cocoa and cookies, take home coloring books, a gift shop for the kids to buy family presents for $1, and a chance to get a picture with Santa. The kids had a blast with (Emma quote) "that Christmas man at Will's school." They each got a candy cane, and this morning Emma told us she "wants to buy another candy for her mouth," so I guess candy canes are on her Christmas wish list! Jered's Christmas leave was approved, so we are gearing up for our Texas road trip in about 10 days. It's been a busy holiday season!

Happy Halloween!

We just experienced our first Halloween in Virginia Beach. We had so much fun with the kids' fall activities. Last Thursday Emma's ballet and tap classes had a little Halloween recital in their costumes, which was adorable. The next day Will's school had a very fun fall carnival. They set up different games in the classrooms, passed out candy in the hallways, had crafts for sale, fair food, and Emma even won a cute pumpkin cake in the cake walk. Will's class had a party today, which we made cupcakes for, and tonight we took the kids around the neighborhood before the Trunk or Treat at church. Our housing community has a requirement of at least 2 children per household in order to live here - so there were LOTS of kids! Throngs and throngs of kids. We gave away 5 bags of candy, plus all the candy our kids had collected when they went trick or treating. Virginia Beach has an under 12 yrs old, lights out at 8pm rule for trick or treating, so that was nice too. We never got to trick or treat in the neighborhood we lived in the last 3 years. The first year we tried it, not one single person answered their door! So we usually went to a friend's neighborhood or our old neighborhood in San Diego. The kids had fun at the Trunk or Treat too - Jered took them while I stayed home and passed out candy. I'm so glad the children had fun and it was a great way to go around and meet all of our new neighbors.
It's been a beautiful fall season here. The trees are all sorts of lovely shades, the air is cool, but not too cold, and we love to see the leaves blowing in the wind. Until we got sick last week, the kids and I have enjoyed biking 1-3 miles almost every day around our neighborhood. The kids are better enough now to want to play outside, but my voice is still gone and I have a terrible cough. We hope to be back enjoying the outdoors again soon!
Jered had the opportunity this month to go on a men's retreat with our first church up in Washington DC. They went to Ocean City, MD, for a few days. He loved catching up with old friends and worshipping with them again. The only thing wrong with this is that he has now been up to see our friends and family up there twice, and the kids and I still haven't been able to go! Hopefully soon we can coordinate a school break with a short trip up there. It's so great to see people we thought we might never see again on this earth. Will had basketball try outs for Upward Basketball this month. They start practice in December and have games until March. Jered is going to be a coach for Will's team. They are excited to play together. It's a great program because they get the "official" feeling - uniforms, games, regular practices with 300 kids - but it's a Christian program that has team devotionals and facilitates team work and kindness above competition. Hopefully that's what Will gets out of it!

Week of Firsts

This week was Will's first at his new school, Shelton Park. The first day of school, Tuesday, was also his first time riding the school bus. Last year we lived too close to the school to qualify for the bus. He loves riding the bus, and the bus stop is right in front of our house! That is especially good because Will has never been an early bird and the bus comes at 7:40. Normally he doesn't wake up until after 8, so it's been early bedtime for him this week, and naps after school! He has been enjoying first grade. His favorite things to talk about are: music class, art class, PE, the playground, and his math work book. He has had nightly homework, but nowhere near as much as he did in California. Of course, it's only the first week, but I'm hoping they are not as homework crazy here!

Today was Emma's first dance class at her new studio, Encore Dance Center. It is within a mile of our house, so very convenient, with a good reputation in Hampton Roads. They do a big recital with costumes at the end of the spring semester, so that will be fun. Her class is a combined ballet/tap (30 minutes of each) for 3-4 year olds. I was happy to see that they use proper names for the ballet steps and did a lot of the same exercises she already learned. She was so happy there at her old studio, I'm glad this class is not too much different. Except for the tapping - which she thinks is great!

 Tonight was also supposed to be back to Awanas for Will and Emma's first night at Cubbies, but the church at which we were planning to attend didn't work out for us. We will try another nearby church for Awanas next Wednesday. I hope it works because both kids were so excited (and disappointed). We managed to salvage the evening anyway by playing at the neighborhood park before bed. Other firsts recently were getting into our new doctor (not so great - but so near to the house), and meeting 1 of Emma's new specialists, the pediatric orthopedist. She was great. We also decided to join our neighborhood church, Bayside Baptist, that we've been attending since July. It's a great place, and we're so glad to have found a church home so quickly, and so close to our house.

Our New Home in Virginia Beach

We moved into our new home about 10 days ago. We completed our fastest unpack in 10 years and our house is fully unpacked! We have boxes in the garage and in the under the stair closet to go through at our leisure. It is the first time that Jered was able to take leave to help unpack, so that's why it was so fast. Also being our fourth move in 10 years, we are getting more adept at what to unpack and where to put it. We are so excited about our new home. It's a great house, just perfect for our family. The neighborhood is so family friendly with tons of kids and a great playground just a few yards from our house. There is also a large pool and clubhouse for the residents of our community. The commissary is a mile away, and there are fun things to do on base like bowling, a library, a water park, fishing, and great parks by the lake. The civilian neighborhood has lots of shopping, restuarants, and nice public library close by, but it's still very residential and quiet. Our church is less than a mile away too, so that's a definite plus! We are enjoying our last week of summer vacation before school starts. After Labor Day, it's back to school, ballet lessons for Emma, basketball team for Will, and Awanas for both kids this year. We are very thankful to the Lord for providing more than we deserve and look forward to the next few years here.

Traveling - California to Virginia

We arrived in Virginia one month ago. We have been staying in the Navy Lodge at Norfolk while they are getting our house in Virginia Beach ready. We left San Diego on June 15, and spent 9 days driving across country, and about 3 weeks with friends and family. We stopped in Tucson and enjoyed the Pima Air Museum on Father's Day. After leaving Tuscon, we spent the night in Las Cruces and Fort Stockton.

In Texas, we spent a few days with Abby in San Antonio, touring her work at USAA, going to church, and visiting the Fort Sam Houston veterans cemetery where my grandparents are both buried now. We took a couple of day trips around the Austin area to see friends too. It was great to catch up with them, especially the Cozarts, some of our best and oldest friends that we miss so much! Abby and the four of us also went to Schlitterbaun water park, which was a blast.

After San Antonio we drove down to Corpus Christi. We spent a lot of time with all my aunts and uncles and cousin Phebe, and got together with my friend of 17 years, Lisa, and her husband. My grandmother is in the nursing home very close to my parents' new house, so I got to see her frequently. I didn't know if we'd ever see her again, so it made the visits very special. Baba and Meemaw have a beautiful new house, and we very much enjoyed it. Jered and Will especially liked the lake right out the back door, and caught a lot of bass and blue gill. On our way from Texas to Virginia, we stopped in Beaufort, Mobile (where Will lost his first tooth!), Atlanta, and Charlotte. In Atlanta we met up with a friend for dinner, and in Charlotte we spent the evening with Jered's cousins John and Stacie and their girls. Our kids are almost the same exact ages and they had so much fun together. Traveling across the country with 2 kids, 2 dogs, and 2 cars full of belongings was an adventure for sure! We were thankful that everything went well and we made lots of good memories.

Our First Camping Trip

This Memorial Day Weekend, our family took its first camping trip. For the kids and I, it was our first camping trip ever! Jered had not been in over 10 years. We went to Vallecito Stage Station County Park, about 2 hours northeast of San Diego, with our friends the Carpenters. We were able to borrow most of the supplies we didn't have, like a tent and lanterns, from our friends the Strouses. It was a giant tent - Jered could even stand up in the center! The Carpenters showed us lots of camping tricks and yummy outdoor cooking, and we had a great time relaxing in the evenings around the campfire. The kids had fun too - mostly playing in the sand and getting as dirty as I've ever seen them! They also had a blast with squirt guns. They slept very well in the tent; we were proud of them, especially Will, who had to sleep on the floor since we left his air bed at home. Sunday we drove to the mountain town of Julian, which Jered and I have many fond memories of, so we were happy to see it again before we leave San Diego in a couple weeks. We are so thankful for our good friends and a fun first experience camping.

California Coastal Cruise

We just returned from a week long California Coastal cruise onboard the Sapphire Princess. It was a great vacation! So relaxing and luxurious. We stopped at San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Catalina Island, San Diego, and Ensenada Mexico. Onboard we enjoyed the wonderful dining rooms, buffets, swimming pools, nighttime outdoor movies, and all the other amenities that make cruising so relaxing. Jered and I celebrated our 10th anniversary, and Auntie Abby watched the kids quite a bit so we could do things on our own. The kids and Abby stayed in one cabin and we had the one next to it. The ports were fun, and we got to see all the cities we had wanted to visit before we move in June. What a great way to say good-bye to California!

Easter 2013

So much has happened in the last few months, I have not updated our blog. It would be difficult to write about everything, and too hard emotionally right now, so I will just post some pictures and a blurb. Today was Easter Sunday. I am so thankful we have the hope of eternity in the midst of times that seem dark and weary. So thankful for Jesus and his victory over death. We sang an "I Will Rise" choral arrangment this morning. "I hear the voice of many angels sing, Worthy is the Lamb. I hear the cry of every longing heart, Worthy is the Lamb." It really touched both of us.

The children are doing well, and looking forward to several things in the next few months: our California coastal cruise in May, visiting family and friends in June and July during our cross country move, and exploring our new home. Emma started weekly ballet classes this year, and Will does Art Club at school as well as Awanas. We got free last minute tickets to Legoland in February. The kids also enjoyed their time in Colorado with Grandma and Uncle Ian, although it was not in good circumstances. We are still coming to terms with the loss of Grandpa Mike, Jered's dad. Tonight Will said in his prayers, "I am happy about heaven. I still love daddy's dad. When I get to heaven, I will run up to him and hug him." When I also finished praying, thanking God for Jesus and Easter, Will told me, "I have a little bit of tears in my eyes." He said he is thankful for salvation, but sad about Grandpa still. I told him that's ok. We have hope and a promise, but tears are normal and good evidence of his beautiful, sensitive heart. It's good to cry sometimes. That's about all I can write about that right now.

Here's some pictures!

Christmas 2012

This year we spent a week in Texas for Christmas. Before we left, we celebrated our little family Christmas in our home. We also did present opening at Abby's house before Christmas. We left Texas on the 26th and were home to celebrate New Years here. We had a great trip, although all four of us and our Texas family were sick over vacation. The kids were sick before we left, Jered got sick on the drive, and I got sick there in Texas. It was a really bad cold or the flu of some type. This is the first day I've felt "normal" for about 2 weeks. In Texas we were able to see all of my aunts and uncles, 3 of my cousins, our immediate family, and spend time with GG in the alzheimer's unit at the nursing home. She did not remember our names, but seemed happy to see us. We sang Christmas carols to her Christmas morning and Jered read her the Christmas story from the Bible. Christmas Eve we spend with our extended family at Aunt Dorothy's house, eating tamales, opening presents, and singing together. Christmas day my mom made a great meal after we went to see GG. It was a good last Christmas in the home I grew up in. We toured my parents' new home that is being built and will be finished sometime in February. It is beautiful, and so spacious. Throughout the week, Jered and I got to go out to some of our favorite haunts from when we were dating, and we saw The Hobbit twice in the theater.

The last week since we got home has been a blur since I was still sick, but we had some fun family time watching movies and playing Will's new Wii games. Over the last two days I've spent time cleaning out the children's toys; making room for the new ones, and cleaning out the babyish ones they don't play with anymore. Today I went through the drawers and closets finding any baby things we have left to give away. I also took down the baby gates. I can't believe Emma is older than Will was when we moved into this house. It's flying by. New Year's Day we watched movies, played board games, and enjoyed some yummy treats. Jered went back to work today and we miss him! Back to school work and cleaning for us, and thankfully back to feeling healthier. Will has independent study projects to complete, but doesn't go back to school until the 15th, so hopefully can do some more fun things before term starts again. Emma has been doing wonderfully with potty training. She stays completely dry most days. Some days she still has an accident or two, but she's so much younger than Will was when he potty trained, we're in shock it has gone so easily and early. She loves pull ups and actually uses them how they are meant to be used - like underwear! We had to use them with Will as diapers because he was so big normal diapers didn't fit him, lol. Emma has also been praying before meals with Will and wants to have "Emma's turn" to pray before bed. She says "Dear God, Mommy and Daddy and Will (babble babble)...princess and castles, sleepy good...Amen!" We're so proud of her, getting to be such a big girl. Next week when her stoplight alarm clock comes in we're going to try converting her crib to a toddler bed. She's not very good with colors yet, but we're sure going to be working on "red = stay in bed"!