Thanksgiving and Christmas 2016!!

Oh my goodness! Thanksgiving was so, so sweet! We hosted it here in our home, for the first time ever, and it was everything I hoped and prayed it would be. It was such a sweet time of eating and fellowship and love and laughter and kiddos running around and heart to hearts. It was totally presh! We ended up having our immediate fam of 4, my parents, my brother Cade, the Kellers, the Wilkersons, Ruth's parents, and Israa and Assad and their precious kiddos. We had tons of food, enough to feed the whole neighborhood, and we greatly enjoyed eating the left overs for days afterward. It all, from start to finish, was such a joy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Brody is at such a precious stage these days! We're really enjoying him a lot! One of our favorite little antics of his is that he always says "thank you" (aka "mink oo") after anything you say to him that's even remotely upbeat. For exampls:

The other day, I was roasting brussel sprouts in the oven, and Brody asked what he was smelling. I replied that it was brussel sprouts. He goes, "Oh, I WUV bwussel spwouts!" and I said, "me too!" and he said, "Mink oo!!!"

And the other morning, I opened up the blinds in the house and remarked on what a beautiful morning it was, and brody said, "Mink oo!"

He has such an upbeat, joyful, spunky, thankful little heart. And we're oh so thankful for him!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jasper, also, is at such a precious stage in life. He's gotten older. Not in the logical sense, per se, but in maturity and knowledge. He's such a little man. He thinks deeply, asks very thoughtful questions, and ponders the answers.

For example, this afternoon, after church, we were driving to Subway for lunch, and he asked me why he can see the exhaust coming out of cars on cold days but he can't see the exhaust on warm days. He asked why the temperature made a difference on being able to see exhaust or not. And, my classic answer, was to try to make an educated guess, and then I ended with my favorite go-to answer when J stumps me with his questions, "but let's ask daddy when he gets home!"

He loves and he's tender. He's kind and generally patient. He's a good helper and a kind brother and a loyal friend. He's getting a bit quieter, I've found, than he used to be a year or so ago, but I think it's because he's so busy thinking about things. Which is just perfect. He's such a joy and we love him so much!

Christmas!!!

so sweet

oh my goodness! these days are so sweet! Jasper and Brody are such joys and they're delightful to listen to while they have their little conversations together.

For example, whenever Brody gets something special (like candy or caramel corn), he always goes up for 2nds and says, "I gotta get some for my's best fwiend." and I'll say, "who's your best friend, buddy?" to which he replies, "My bwudda." And he really will get some for Jasper and actually give it to him, too.

Oh my word. It melts my heart!!

And this afternoon, as we were walking to the workout room, Jasper and Brody were walking in front of me, and Jasper said, "Brody, will you be my helper?" and Brody said, "uh-huh", And Jasper said "thanks Brode. Cause when I'm a man, I'll have to work to provide for my family, and I'll have a lot of little kids. And I can't take care of them b/c I'll be at my job, and mommy can't take care of them b/c she'll be cooking. So can you be my helper and just take care of my kids for me and play with them all day?" and Brody said, "uh-huh." and J said, "Thanks Brode. Thanks for being my helper." and B said, "you're welcome, Dapper." And we continued on our way to the workout room.

Oh my goodness. It was so incredibly sweet!

Jasper is learning tons and tons in school. He's reading now and can write really well, also. His teacher does a fantastic job of teaching them lots and lots of things on Tuesdays. For example, last week, we were riding in the car and Jasper said, "It didn't rain today, but maybe it rained in South America. And mom. If you see any indians, be really, really nice to them because they give us food. Don't be mean to them. Be really nice to them." Ok, buddy! ;)

Tomorrow is a big USA day at school, and Brody and I are going in to be a teacher's helper. There's class, games, snacks, a banquet, a flag ceremony, etc. I'm really looking forward to it.

We love our home and our neighborhood. It's such a joy to live here. We walk to the playground and workout room and prayer garden and basketball courts almost every day. And as I walk, I'm constantly thanking God for giving us such a precious gift in this neighborhood and home.

We're busy getting ready for thanksgiving and my parents' arrival. It's so exciting!!

Brodybug

Brody is such a dear! He's such a special part of our family and keeps us smiling and laughing and entertained. :o) We love him dearly! This week, we transitioned him to undies! It wasn't quite on my radar yet, but he saw his superhero undies and was so excited to wear them, I couldn't resist. He's done really well with being in undies; we're proud of him. :o)

He runs around, calling Jasper "Dapper", and mimics every. single. thing. that Jasper does. We call Brody the little parrot. :o)

He is learning and growing so much, I can't believe it. Tonight, I watched him play a Lego game on my tablet and he completed the whole game all by himself, multiple times. I feel like he was just born yesterday, and here he is, counting in spanish and playing games on my tablet and wearing undies and sleeping in a big boy bed. I can't believe how fast it has gone! Gracious, I love the little guy so much!

jadip

Oh my goodness. This last month has just been paradise for us. The boys are at a really sweet stage, we're all settled in the house, Andrew's getting more and more comfortable in his job, our doggie is such a sweet treat, and the weather is cooling off. Last night, we had some country music playing softly on the patio in the backyard, the boys were digging in the dirt, Charley was running around in circles, and Andrew and I were throwing a frisbee together. The sun was setting and there was a soft breeze. And we literally stopped, looked at each other, and said, "This is paradise. This is seriously perfect. This is just another day in paradise."

(a pic from earlier in that same week)

Happy anniversary, dearest love!

Happy happy anniversary, babe!!! I LOVE YOU!!! God's so incredibly faithful to us!! I'm so thankful for you and our marriage!! God's grace is so abundant!

sweet day

While I have the laptop up and running (it's rare these days), I just wanted to record what a sweet day it's been! We've had the chance to spend lots of time with dear family and friends today, school is going well, Jasper has been so thankful and joyful (something we've been working on lots with him recently), our dog is such a joy to us, Brody is continuing to talk more and laugh lots, a sweet friend got a bible in her own language, Andrew got home in good time, our house is lovely, our marriage is precious and tender, etc. All of these are gifts from the good, good hand of God, and I'm so thankful.

sweet life

Life has been full speed ahead with so many wonderful changes for our family. Jasper started kindergarten, we took a trip to Ohio, and we got a dog! These sweet changes, added to the previous changes we went through this summer like buying a house and andrew starting a new career and moving and such, have made life feel like it's blazing by in super sonic speed. But all of these changes have been sweet, very sweet, and we're very thankful for everything! Our dog is the sweetest dog on planet earth, Jasper LOVES kindergarten, the trip to ohio was a blessing in every way imaginable, andrew's job continues to be a huge source of blessing for our family (both in provision and in sweet ways like the close proximity to home and such), Brody just keeps  blooming and developing into a fun-loving joyful little boy, and our home and our neighborhood are just so precious to us! It's been quite the crazy summer, but I wouldn't change a thing. :o)

 our new doggie

first family pic in a looong time

J made a birdfeeder in class today