A Little More Summertime Fun

Can you tell I'm starting to catch up? These were taken at the end of June (yes, June - I'm that far behind) when Elise was...

• about 18 months old
• just starting to get enough hair to hold lots of baubles and bows
• in love with her sassy pink sunglasses

Something to Warm You Up

And cool them down (on hot summer days gone by). Oh how the imagination soars when children (and perhaps some adults) are given a kiddie pool, a swingset and a hose. Most of the time the kids aren't allowed to turn on the hose while they're playing firemen, but this day was so hot we decided to let them go for it. They weren't putting out fires for long before they discovered that a little water on the plastic slide would make them go really fast. They just needed something to land in.

As you're bundled up this winter, enjoy this little reminder of what's to come in just a few short months.

Baby Fever

We had the privilege of meeting baby Eleanora on Saturday and the baby fever ensued. Not for me (okay...maybe a little for me), but for Elise. We know she loves her "babies" at home - pushing them around all day in their bosher (stroller for anyone that isn't fluent in Elise) and making sure they always have their blankies. But we had no idea what her reaction would be when she had the chance to meet a real baby. One, I might add, that is not much bigger than the dolls she sleeps with. She instantly fell in love! Her first request? "See dat baby?" To which her uncle Joel (my arms were full of "dat baby" at the time) obliged her request and picked her up to so she could see his new bundle of joy. Her second request? "Hode dat baby?" Next came, "Rock dat baby?" She would have hugged, kissed, rocked, loved and "mommy-ed" that baby all day I think.

Lorie & Joel, we are so happy for you and excited for you to venture down the road of parenthood. Thank you so much for letting us visit you and meet your new baby girl. We can't wait to see her again.

For Heidi

Because I don't know how to address the envelope...

It seems each year there is a song that stands out as our Christmas favorite. For the kids this year, it has been Away in a Manger. This is probably because of the actions that always accompany their sweet little voices as they sing the familiar carol. As Sean isn’t as much of a Christmas music fanatic as Beckie is (meaning he doesn’t start listening in early October or for a few weeks in July “just because”), he usually defaults to her song of choice, which has been Third Day’s Manger Throne this year.

What kind of King would leave His throne

In Heaven to make this earth His home?

While men seek fame and great renown

In loneliness our King comes down

Jesus, Jesus, precious One

How we thank You that You've come
Jesus, Jesus, precious One

A manger throne for God’s own Son

This year God has been impressing on our hearts the depth of His love, that He would humble Himself to be born in a stable in order to offer salvation for an undeserving people. When we think about the glory of heaven, the praise of angels, the majesty of the throne and then contrast that with the dirty, lowly stable in which Jesus was born, we are left speechless. What a testament to the vast character of God and His ability to relate to everyone in exactly the way they need Him to.

You left the sound of angels' praise

To come for men with unkind ways

And by this Baby's helplessness

The power of nations is laid to rest

What kind of King would come so small

From glory to a humble stall?

That dirty manger is my heart, too

I'll make it a royal throne for You

My heart is a throne for God's own Son

Our children often play with the nativity set they received one year as a gift. Each piece is precious, but baby Jesus in the manger is their favorite piece. Why has the food trough – an everyday sight in a farmer’s stable – become the favorite part of the nativity, not just for children, but for all who celebrate the birth of Christ? Perhaps it is because when Jesus was placed inside of it, it was transformed from something dirty and ordinary to something worthy of a King. So it is, as the song above suggests, with our hearts. Jesus is able to transform each person into something worthy of God. What an amazing gift God sent that night all those years ago. No wonder the angels exclaimed: “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests.” Favor indeed.

Updates for the adults in our family will be short and sweet this year. Jobs haven’t changed, something for which we are truly grateful given the uncertainty of our economy. We have spent the majority of the past year enjoying spending time with family and friends and watching our children grow up way too fast. We are also greatly anticipating celebrating our 10th wedding anniversary in 2011 with a trip to Kauai in February.

Jack is enjoying his new status in life as the 5-year-old in the house. He is eagerly waiting to start kindergarten in the fall. His mom and dad are not quite as eager for this next step. He still attends preschool two days each week and surprises us daily with the things he is learning. He has a special affinity for math, often reminding us that “two plus two is four, five plus five is ten, six plus six is twelve...” You get the idea. Jack loves to play with his siblings. He and Wesley can often be found catching bad guys or hunting for monsters. And as soon as the LEGOs come out, all three of them are huddled around the box working on their own masterpieces. Jack has great patience (most of the time) for his sister and brother and is eager to help them with whatever they need.

Wesley experienced a bit of the “terrible twos” this year as he was testing his limits, making his opinions known and reconfirming that he is our strong-willed child. Despite the trials 2 brought, he sailed on to 3 unscathed with a stronger identity of the little boy God created him to be. He is silly, always trying to make us laugh, especially Jack. “Bah-Boo-Bee” (you’d have to ask him because we have no idea) is often the center of his jokes. He has an enormous soft spot for his little sister, something we are thankful for and something she has learned to take full advantage of. Wesley is looking forward to starting preschool and Sunday school in the fall.

Elise is a loud, spirited, opinionated, independent, fearless, spunky almost-two-year-old. She comes in at a close second for being the most strong-willed child in our house. She learned at an early age (in utero, we think) to keep up with her brothers and she hasn’t slowed one single bit. Her interest in trucks, trains, cars, or anything else her brothers are doing, had us wondering if she’d ever pick up the dolls she’s been given. She did. And now prefers to sleep with not one, but two babies every night. Elise loves to talk, surprising us every day with her growing vocabulary and willingness to “try out” new words. She’s developed an appreciation for books (other than as a food source, I mean) and also really enjoys putting together puzzles. The digger puzzle is her favorite. Sigh…

We hope your family enjoys the many blessings the Christmas season brings; the gifts of family and friends, but most importantly, the gift of salvation that God sent so many years ago and still freely offers today.

Love,
Sean & Beckie

Jack, Wes & Elise

Sorry it's a little late. Sadly, this is not the last Christmas "card" I'll send this year...

Learning to Talk (and a Little About Bugs)

Warm sunny weather late in the year means lots and lots and LOTS of boxelder bugs on our house and even a few in our house (though not nearly as many as I remember being at my grandparents' house on the farm when I was little). Given the abundance, Elise has taken notice and shows absolutely no fear. In fact, yesterday evening she was ecstatic about the one crawling all over her arm. I have to admit that I'm thankful for the two bug-loving children in our house (Wesley isn't quite as keen as the other two) because it means I don't have to touch the bugs.

Because we see them a lot, we also talk about them a lot. Including Elise, who has an absolutely adorable way of talking about the ugly black and orange creepy crawlies. (The quality isn't great since I took this video with my iPhone and the sun was in the background, but you'll get the idea). Enjoy.

4th of July?

Am I really posting pictures from the 4th of July? Yep. Do I have more recent pictures I'd like to share? Yep. Am I particular about the order in which pictures appear on my blog? Yep. So now you know why you're seeing pictures from the 4th of July in October. I'll share the rest of the summer and fall eventually. Right now, you get the 4th of July.

Weird science experiment?

No, no, no. A root beer float!

The boys' first root beer floats.

They

were

a hit.

Elise couldn't understand why you'd put pop on perfectly good ice cream.

A delicious chocolate brownie (so discretely stuffed in her mouth here) goes much better with ice cream.

With brownies & ice cream everyone is happy.

What do root beer floats have to do with the 4th of July? Nothing really except that we had them that weekend when we were up at the cabin doing our other 4th of July things. Things like playing in the water, playing on the beach, going for buggy rides, swinging and basically just having a fantastic time.

Who's That Girl?