Family Pictures

I am beyond thankful that we decided to take family pictures this year and to have our friend Shara take them. In the past, I've always felt like you find the one good one out of the pictures you get taken or at least one or two that will suffice. So not the case with this photo shoot. We loved so many of them.
And I'm so glad that we got them taken before my belly was this size :). It's so much cuter before 8 months.
You can check out Shara at: http://www.bachmanvillephotography.blogspot.com/

Christmas Carol - Noelle Style

Noelle made this up all on her own. It comes from that wonderful little brain of hers and she has her sweet sister to back her up. I was loving every second of this. Best Christmas present she could give me. Hope you enjoy it too!!!!

O Holy Night

I have always dearly loved these lyrics. I hear this song and I pause and experience Christmas afresh. It is far too easy to accept a commercialized adaptation of Christmas or to experience Christianity as the people or establishments that you have experienced.

There is nothing ordinary and nothing trite about God becoming a baby and in coming, offering Himself in the fulness of love and sacrifice.

Don't we all have weary souls that long to know the depths of love? The depths of this reality exceed a manger scene and every "good Christian's" attempts to adequately reflect Christ. The God that spoke the heavens and stars into being, came near. He came near to embrace His broken people. Draw near in return; Christ our Redeemer has come. Freedom He brings.

O holy night, the stars are brightly shining;
It is the night of the dear Savior’s birth!
Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope, the weary soul rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.

Fall on your knees, O hear the angel voices!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born!
O night, O holy night, O night divine!

Led by the light of faith serenely beaming,
With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.
So led by light of a star sweetly gleaming,
Here came the wise men from Orient land.
The King of kings lay thus in lowly manger,
In all our trials born to be our friend!

Fall on your knees, O hear the angel voices!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born!
O night, O holy night, O night divine!

Truly He taught us to love one another;
His law is love and His Gospel is peace.
Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother
And in His Name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
Let all within us praise His holy Name!

Fall on your knees, O hear the angel voices!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born!
O night, O holy night, O night divine

Our Anniversary Tour of California

Today is our 9 year anniversary.

Every year we have gone somewhere in California to celebrate. We almost didn't "go" somewhere specific this year and now that I've done all this reflecting, I'm so glad that we've set aside time once again to spend our anniversary. Excited to check out the little Bay town of Tiburon after Christmas.

This post is really more for the sake of documenting memories than anything else. Seems every year we stop and try and remember where all we've been as we decide what that year's destination will be. There are so many places that we'd love to go if it were summer but a December anniversary always has cold to factor in. Except last year in LA, we could've brought bathing suits, it was 80!


1 year: FISH CAMPWe are such babies in these pictures. I wish you could see them closer up. It's so wild. We stayed at this cute little place just outside of Yosemite. Ryan surprised me by picking the place and arranging the details. And that's been the tradition ever since... Oh wait, that was still back in the honeymoon phase. Not so many surprises anymore :). But honestly, the way that I know Ryan's love is so deep and constant for me, leaves little room for me to desire anything more.



Every year we pick out an ornament to represent the place that we visited on our anniversary. There have been several years that this task becomes a thorn in our side but we do enjoy pulling them out every year and thinking about our trips and what they represent. Monterey may or may not be salvageable for next year and who knows how many others we will lose in the years to come. So, I took a picture of each one so that we can at least have this for memory sake. And a note to self: Buy more durable ornaments, not pretty sand dollars.



2 year: MONTEREY
Ryan looks really thrilled in this one!
We did have a great time in Monterey. One memory I will never forget - lol.




3 year: SANTA BARBARA
I have my hand on my pregnant belly, which felt very large to me. In the mix of these pictures is one of me showing my belly that is non-existent. Now, this year, there is definitely a belly in the mix!
I was so excited to be pregnant though.


4 year: LAGUNA BEACH
Noelle was 9 months old and not a huge fan of being away from Mommy. So, our first anniversary as parents was spent in the desirable destination spot of Laguna Beach, that is fortunately only 10 minutes away.




5 year: BIG BEAR
Another pregnant anniversary. Fun to be in the snow. Not as fun to be sick and pregnant but we did have the most incredible meal at the Bed and Breakfast here. One of my all time favs. Poor Ryan kept thinking of fun things to do and I could not do any of them. But I could eat, so that becomes the focus.




6 year: DEL MAR
We have no pictures of Del Mar. We had an incredible time, took our bikes and got a great hotel deal and then upgrade. We took no pictures and I don't think we even cared too. We were just so happy to be on our own, the reason... see above. Now I look at them and I just melt at their sweetness but if you've been there you know how welcomed a break is.

Ryan had an idea in Del Mar that created a really great time for us. He had us pick up 6 rocks, and then we went back and reflected on the six years and what God had done, what we went through and how we grew. We still have the rocks in our bedroom. And we always make it a point to try and take a time-out and reflect on what happened over the last year. It has been such an important piece of our trips.

7 year: NAPA

Ryan's mom has lived in Napa for years but we've never done the whole Napa experience. I've either been pregnant or nursing, which makes it not seems so fun. This year was the perfect chance. Even though I was way more interested in the breads and olive oil dips at one winery than any of the wines. Ryan was on his way to becoming a connoisseur though. He loves getting all the info.



8 year: LOS ANGELES
We thought LA would be a fun place to go, since we live an hour away but never actually spend anytime there, except for quick airport stops. The highlights were an improv and then visiting the Getty Museum the next day.

9 year:TIBURON
Our next stop...

Share Your English

We've had a unique opportunity fall into our laps that has been such a fun fit as we desire to connect more in our neighborhood and also seek to meet the needs of our community.

Our life group, that began a little over a year ago, wanted to have an outreach element to our group. Our original idea was to become volunteers at a local group home. But when the process to become cleared as a volunteer took 8 months, another opportunity arose and I see now that it was the best fit.

We met Walter at a gathering of One Church for Our City (OC for OC). Walter works with MIKA, a community development organization in Costa Mesa. Walter partners with a strip of apartments just across the street from our neighborhood. As he has assessed the needs of the neighborhood, learning English has been one that he would love to address.

That's where we came in. We know English! This summer we gave it a whirl, hosting a monthly meeting at our house where we partnered English speakers from our group with a Spanish speaker and neighbor. We met some incredible new friends and had a great time learning more about their lives and sharing something so easy for us to share.

This Fall we partnered with some other church groups so that Share Your English could be a weekly gathering.

Last week, I got to partner with a couple who speaks very little English. We set aside the lesson and spent time writing out the English equivalents of questions they would love to ask on their job site and practicing pronouncing them. It was so great to offer such practical and valuable info. They totally soaked it up.

It's been fun that this is something that anyone can do. We just pair the non-Spanish speakers with someone who knows more English and vice versa. But even better, we are seeking to bridge the gap that language creates in our community through these interactions.

A large group of neighbors at the apartments host an annual Thanksgiving dinner. They invited us and treated us like honored guests. And boy was there food! Two of the kids in Noelle's class were there and although she didn't like the smell of the food (she's always been so sensitive to smell), she really enjoyed the multiple pinatas ;). We've met some really great new neighbors.

There were years waiting, wondering how we might get more involved and connected with our community and then at just the right timing, the perfect opportunity arose. It was worth keeping our eyes and ears open and our hearts willing, even if there was lots of waiting involved.

Mika posted an interview with one of our participants and friends. You can read it by clicking on the word interview.

Baby

Due February 18th, 2012

Thankful

Just wanted to take a minute to reflect. The Fall has flown by but it has been a sweet season and there are many things I'm thankful for.

NURTURE
I cannot believe that we have one meeting left of Nurture. At the end of the Spring I took on the position of Director of Nurture, the moms group at Rock Harbor. It has been such a wonderful journey. It had all the potential to be overwhelming but it has been the perfect fit for me in this season of life. I also think that God really had His had in the timing because it has been good for me to have something outside the home to focus on.

I so love the women of Rock Harbor and love the chance to deepen relationships with them. If you know me well, you know that deepening relationships is my most favorite thing.
This semester has been a gift. I've really loved it, including the challenging parts. It's good to be stretched by them.

My Nurture Table - (our table name is Chosen)


KINDERGARTEN
I felt so apprehensive sending my 5 year old to full day school, until 3:05 everyday. Now that we are in the swing of things it's working out quite well. Noelle is really thriving in Kindergarten. She has the most incredible teacher that loves, appreciates and challenges her. Her name is Ms. Villa. Noelle loves structure and knowing what to expect. She finds that everyday.
Our little rule follower is the only kid in class to never change her card (their discipline system). She's pretty proud. It's fun that Noelle is the 3rd generation at Killybrooke. I went to my first PTA meeting, in my new minivan no less, and as I pulled up I felt like a full fledged mom. Crazy.




PRESCHOOL
Natalie has Noelle's same preschool teacher and a really sweet class of 3 year olds. She just says the cutest things and I love that her teacher is capturing so many of them.
Natalie is such a little sweetie pie and I love all of the time we get together.
I had figured that come fall a new baby and I would have time together but when that timeline didn't work out, I realized that there would be a few hours to myself every week. I've been soaking it up. A great little gift before baby comes.

Natalie's Preschool Thankfulness Turkey


BABY
I cannot express how thankful I am for this baby girl and for this pregnancy. I experienced a lot of ups and downs with my previous pregnancies as well as a ton of anxiety. That has not been the case this time and this fall has been a wonderful season. God has met me in so many ways.
I fluctuate between wanting the baby to hurry up and come and wanting to slow down time and just enjoy this season.

I have some fun pictures that I will soon share of the belly. Stay tuned!

And of course I am incredibly thankful for Ryan, his hard work and his attentiveness to us, his girls. Wild to think that it will soon be him and 4 girls in the house!!

Locks of Love

Here is the before picture of Noelle's hair. Months ago she saw a blog post on my friend Katie's blog. Katie's daughter had cut her hair and donated it to Locks of Love. Noelle determined to do the same thing.
Ryan and I were commenting tonight on how decisive Noelle can be. Definitely not one of my strong traits. Noelle makes up her mind about something and doesn't ever go back or hesitate about her decisions. Since deciding months ago to donate her hair she continued to bring it up and it really was her thing. She was ready.
So today, my friend Cheri came over to cut our hair. We put Noelle's hair in a ponytail and measured out 10 inches. Cheri styled it and Noelle ran to the mirror, coming back with a big smile on her face.

I felt a little hesitant about chopping all her hair off. It's never been short. But I knew I couldn't say anything to sway her not to do it. Not the message I want to send - that somehow her hair is important and she should consider what it looks like. So we embraced it and she's lovin' it. So are we. Good job sweet girl!