4 years ago...

...(yesterday--I'm a little late on this post) I married my best friend.

Merry Christmas!

A perfect reminder as we prepare to celebrate our Savior's birth.
Merry Christmas!


In the first light of a new day
No one knew He had arrived
Things continued as they had been
While a newborn softly cried

But the heavens rapt' in wonder
Knew the meaning of His birth
In the weakness of a baby
They knew God had come to earth

As His mother held Him closely
It was hard to understand
That her baby not yet speaking
Was the Word of God to man

He would tell them of His Kingdom
But their hearts would not believe
They would hate Him and in anger
They would nail Him to a Tree

But the sadness would be broken
As the Song of Life arose
And the Firstborn of Creation
Would ascend and take His Throne

He had left it to redeem us
But before His life began
He knew He'd come back
Not as a baby but as
The Lord of every man

Hear the Angels as they're singing
On the morning of His birth
But how much greater will their song be
When He comes again, when He comes again

Hear the Angels as they're singing
On the morning of His birth
But how much greater will their song be
When He comes again to Earth

When He comes, When He comes
When He comes to rule the earth

When He comes back
When He comes back
To Rule the earth

'In the First Light' -Glad

little tornado

Sometimes (thanks to the little blur on the left side of this photo) my house looks like this by the end of the day. Tonight, it just seemed picture worthy...

chipmunk christmas

Every now and then we run into some hiccups on skype. My dad humored us with his rendition of 'We Wish you a Merry Christmas' in his lowest and slowest voice...this is what we got (this post is mainly so he can see/hear his performance). Thanks for the laugh, Dad!

feels like...

...Iowa around here! Snowy, sunny, and frigid--just like winter should be:). Jonah had his first memorable interaction with the white stuff this morning. And LOVED it. Sub-freezing temps and too big of boots didn't deter him at all.

2032...

...TU graduate? All I know is Parents' Weekends are going to be a good time the four years before that!


(thanks for the shirt aunt jess!)

what's that?

This was one of Jonah's first words/phrases(???). We hear it all day long--and love it.

in review

Here's a potpourri of the past couple weeks. Life's been busy, so these are the ones that have made it off the camera...


Thanksgiving


It was a cold Christmas tree adventure


I don't think it was originally everyone's plan to look this ridiculous (well, maybe a little) but we do realize that we do.


our little Tour winner opening a birthday gift that came with my family


and loving it.


Does it get much better than this?


And...the only not blurry one (out of about fifty). It was alot easier to get good pictures when he was immobile...

bee

home

We're back after an amazing trip across the proverbial pond, and though there will probably be a more extensive blog--re:europe--forthcoming, a couple highlight photos will have to do for now. Thanks to Dr/Major Bird/Ryan/Smooth for excellent hospitality and a fantastic time! The Jmonster did awesome at home with his Grandmas (lacking no attention or affirmation...and loving that he was allowed to have his paci and blankie pretty much the whole time) and we're thankful we could have a wonderful Thanksgiving (minus the "I refuse to nap and will be exceedingly crabby Jonah") with both our families (we missed you P&J!).

au revoir, auf wiedersehen

We're off to Germany, France, and Switzerland tomorrow! I'm a little nervous about leaving Jonah (although, I'm sure he'll have a blast with the grandmas) but am excited to see Major Bird on his (current) home turf. And...I'm excited to have a much needed gettaway with my best. So until then, enjoy a couple photos of the little man (I realize they're a little blurry, but I just LOVE these faces). Where on earth does he get such an expressive personality?...

jonah

When we decided to name our little man Jonah, we not only liked them name, but came to love the Bible story in a new way. Though it is so familiar to many, we were reminded and challenged about obedience, repentance, forgiveness, and God's love in a whole new way. Now Jonah's name is a constant reminder of our desire to teach him and see him grow in a love of God and his amazing Word. And in case any of you forgot the story...(and even if you didn't, you'll probably want to watch this).

little lion

I realize it's a couple weeks post halloween and these are the first photos in circulation, but...here he is in all his glory (and by glory, I mean these are the couple photos I managed to snag prior to him crying and ripping his mane off).





And here are a couple more gems from the past few weeks...









I can't believe how grown up he looks in this one...



and a lovely a new trick he figured out all by himself.

west elm

...finally sent me my new bedding.



After deciding last Christmas I was going to order something new, it took me until August to find something Ben and I liked (no small feat). It was backordered until Septemeber. And then until October. And then they shipped it in November--with the wrong shams. So, it only took me 11 months to finally get something new on the bed. Ben said to me the other night that it was so crisp and fresh and made him feel like he was in a hotel. Which reminded me--we leave for Europe in less than a week?!?!

larry bird, his mullet, and the boston garden

Welcome!

I sat on the fence for a long time about whether or not I was going to start a blog. Well, actually, I've had this blog for awhile (notice the 3 month picture of Jonah--which I think I'll keep for since it reminds me of when my baby was a baby...) but have just now decide to post. I really didn't want another "thing" on my to do list, but this kiddo of mine has grandmas and grandpas and aunts and uncles that don't live close. And let's be honest, I'm quite sure there isn't anything I have to say that is too profound, so let's just stick to the reason why I'm posting and why you're probably here: