Jackson scores six points today!

We ate lunch at my grandma's house before Jackson's game today. My brother Brian told Jackson to eat onions and blow his bad breath on the guy guarding him. So, Jackson ate some onions even though he hates them. Better yet, he was actually blowing on the kid guarding him. Who knows what that kid was thinking. It must have worked, though, because he scored three baskets today, the first baskets of the year. Here are a few game shots.

Air Hockey & Knights!

We were blessed by finding this $20 air hockey table. The kids are loving it, and we can't wait to share it with anyone who wants to come play!

When we lived with Grandma LeFevre, we realized that Jackson's favorite toys came from the recycling bin. He would often emerge with several new swords and doo-dads. If you look back at the swords he painted this summer, you might recognize the handguard on one. It looks suspiciously like a Clorox bottle.

Anyway, we have started recyling ourselves, and Jackson found these treasures in our pile. We marched out with Sydney to meet her bus, and all the kids on the bus felt safer knowing that Knight Jackson of the Square Box was protecting their lands.

A New Adventure

We are excited to "announce" that we are going to be adopting from Ethiopia. We applied to Christian World Adoption on December 24, 2008. Then, we sent our first packet of information/funds on January 6, 2009. We are now accepted as official clients and are starting the paper process.

We have seen several of our friends adopt, and as we have walked with them, God has put the desire in our hearts to be involved in a more hands-on way! Really, this journey started several years ago, but we are so excited to be at this point today.

After we moved in to our home this fall, we prayed intentionally that God would confirm this desire and that he would give us direction. He has done both, and again, we are so excited and thankful to serve such a personal God!

Good buddies

For New Years Eve, we had some friends over for some low-key fun. Here, Calvin and Jackson pose with their matching p.j.s. They are great buds who enjoy doing pretty much everything together.

Sleep-over night!

We had a sleep-over night Monday night. Chris bunked with Jackson, and I slept with the girls on their floor. It was fun to read books, make shadows with the flashlight and cuddle together.

I think this is actually a couple of days later. We could tell we had stayed up way too late too many times! :)

Settlers!

For my birthday, I finally got to learn a game called Settlers of Catan. I loved it, and we proceeded to play it probably 8-9 times! Fun!

Christmas Day

Making our glasses "sing".
The kid table.
Toby & Jackson making use of their hammers.

Tricky Bear!

Christmas Morning

Christmas morning was a fun time. We celebrated with the kids by finishing What God Wants for Christmas and then opening presents.

Here is Jackson opening his real hammer and real nails! He and Toby put these to use later in the day.

Christmas Eve

For Christmas Eve, we got all dressed up and went to River's Christmas Eve service. We loved singing lots of Christmas songs and getting our hearts right for Christmas.

Then, we ended the evening with What God Wants for Christmas. This is one of my favorite Christmas traditions. We open boxes/presents leading up to Christmas while also asking, "What does God want for Christmas?" The last box has a mirror in it, showing that God wants us for Christmas. We have a neat CD and story book that leads us through the songs/story. It is so powerful, and I love it!

Celebrating 12 Years!

Happy Anniversary!
To celebrate our twelfth anniversary, Chris and I went to a KU game (vs. Temple) and then on to Kansas City where we stayed at Crown Center. It is always a treat to go there during the Christmas season because of the beautiful decorations.

Here are the championship trophies in the KU trophy case.

Here were some of the lights. They were so pretty!

Decorating Christmas Cookies

The kids loved decorating the sugar cookies for Christmas.

Pieces of our Life

Mommy/Sydney night out at Cold Stone Creamery!
Jackson playing with Cambria. He's such a good cousin!
Licking the spoon!
Aunt Melli and Uncle Pat, I need new Alaska socks! I love these so much that I've worn them out!

New Hobby

Both of the kids started basketball this year. They have had fun learning all the rules. Jackson's games seem to be very entertaining as we watch some of the younger boys wander into the stands, run into the goal padding intentionally before falling down, etc. It's fun. :)

Decorating for Christmas

Here are some pics of decorating our house for Christmas.
Notice Raegan's use of the Christmas stockings!
Here is the tree in the basement.



The kids made themselves so busy in December making gifts for each other and others. It was so fun to see them get excited about this part of the holiday. Here, Jackson is placing his new present under the tree.