We have thoroughly been enjoying our extended weekend together! I haven’t had to work since Wednesday and Mike had both Thursday and Friday off. It was amazing to have a few days to enjoy life as a family and to take in some holiday fun. Here’s a weekend recap.

Thursday morning we slept in, had a lazy morning, and caught a bit of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. I made my grandma’s pumpkin pie. I have vivid memories of sitting on a stool in my grandma’s kitchen Thanksgiving morning watching her make her super yummy pumpkin pie. So, it is so fun for me to be taking part in that tradition when we are away from family. Mine didn’t turn out quite as good as I remember her pie, but it still tasted yummy!

Later in the morning, we went over to our friends’ home. We enjoyed Thanksgiving together last year and had a repeat this year. We are so thankful for Christian fellowship and for the Lord’s hand in providing friends for us who are journeying through the same life events as we are. Mike and Shane are in seminary together, Brittany and I work together, and we have two sweet little boys who are just a few months apart in age. Our lunch was superb, although it would have been nice if the boys would have napped longer than 45 minutes! The rest of the afternoon was spent chatting and playing. The daddies even watched the boys for awhile so us mommies could talk without the extra responsibility of keeping our eyes on our little guys.

I love looking at these two pics and am amazed at all that has happened in the past year as these boys have grown before our eyes.

Jonah (3 weeks old) and Silas (almost 5 mos) at Thanksgiving 2008

Thanksgiving 2009

Thanksgiving evening, Mike and I set up our Christmas tree then watched While You Were Sleeping.

Friday morning, Mike got up very early to be in line at Target for an electronics item we were looking for. With much disappointment, the last one was taken just before he could put his hands on it. He was home by 5:30 with nothing to show for it. On a side note, my parents managed to find the item at a Target store in Minnesota at 1:00 in the afternoon! Mike so wonderfully agreed to go out so I could sleep in. I woke up at 7:40 to a quiet apartment. I startled awake when I saw what time it was as Jonah is usually awake by 7:15 or so. He ended up sleeping until 8:30 – over 12 1/2 hours! I can’t even remember the last time he slept that late. I guess his day with his friend wore him out.

Later in the morning, I “fluffed” the tree and got out a few other Christmas decorations. During Jonah’s nap, Mike and I decorated our tree. It was so fun to look at all of our ornaments and reminisce about the significance of some of them. And, we even discovered that we have matching ornaments with our names written on them from 1986! After Jonah woke up, we went to Olive Garden for their soup/salad/breadstick special. It was so enjoyable to be out together with nothing pressing us for time. We braved the mall after our mid-afternoon lunch/supper and managed to find a few good deals. I got a cute charcoal wool pea coat that retails for $200 for just $40! That evening, after getting Jonah in bed, we watched Sleepless in Seattle.

Today we got to sleep in again…only until about 7:30 though. We went to Walmart as a family to get a few necessity items. Then, Mike had to go to work. While he was gone, I was able to finish the decorating – the snowflake tree, the mini nativity scene, our nesting Holy family(!), and our new advent calendar complete with treats and Bible readings for each day. After Jonah’s nap, he and I once again braved the mall to finish our Christmas shopping. Thankfully, we were successful. Mike and I made supper together tonight – steak, mashed potatoes, and squash. Mmmm! Then, after Jonah’s bath and bedtime, we hung our stockings and watched Jingle All the Way (so cheesy, but fun to watch as it is set in the Twin Cities).

Stockings hung by the kitchen counter with care

Gloria has had a wonderful weekend as well. She has enjoyed sitting on the boxes of Christmas decorations and sleeping under the tree. And, to make it even better, there has been a little mouse friend on our balcony for the past few nights. So, she is being our watch kitty and has only left the door at night to eat and use her box. There has been lots of her laying on her back with her paws in the air – a true sign of her loving life.

This weekend has been so needed. We have loved our quality time together as a family, which is diffcult to come by in these busy days with school and work. There has been lots of play time with Jonah. We have read many, many books and cheered for J as he has taken up to 8 steps in a row a number of times. We are a bit bummed to have this weekend come to an end, but we are so thankful for each other and for all of the momens that the Lord has given us to be together.

Merry Christmas!

I’m a couple of weeks behind on Jonah’s 12 month blog, but here it finally is! A little snapshot of our boy at 1 year old:

- Jonah weighed in at 25 pounds and measured 30 1/2 inches long at his well-baby visit. He is in the 75th percentile for both! What a change from the 25%ile that he was in for so long after he was born!

- Jonah is eating all table food now. He loves bananas, chicken, bread, canned peas, cheese, and yogurt.

- Jonah isn’t walking yet. He cruises everywhere and can walk if you give him just one finger. He took two small steps yesterday, but he just hasn’t taken off on his own.

- Jonah has a handful of words that he uses regularly including “Daddy,” “bye bye,” “more,” “all done,” “kitty,” “doggie,” and “shoe.” He can also sign “all done,” “more,” “bath,” and “milk.” His latest trick is to blow kisses.

- Jonah loves to play! He enjoys his trucks and trains and has begun to push them along the floor and make their noises. He loves to read books. And, he loves to see school buses out our living room window. Jonah and Mike have a great time together. Jonah loves to be tossed and roughed around. He often gets into really goofy moods and just acts silly. If we call him a “crazy boy” he will flail his arms and kick his legs like crazy!

What a joy it is to be his parents!

Last weekend, Rachel Marshman so graciously gave of her time and talents to photograph Jonah at one year old. We went to Cherokee Park and had a wonderful time. Check out her awesome work here.

On Saturday morning, we invited some of Jonah’s friends over to our apartment to celebrate Jonah’s big milestone. We had a fabulous time! We thank God for all of the friends that Jonah has and pray that he will continue to be surrounded by children who are being raised in the Lord. Here are some pics of our special time.

Jonah's block cake

Ready for cake

After-cake sugar daze

Opening gifts

The party-goers but missing 3 friends

Grandma and Grandpa Rue were our special guests for the weekend. It was great to have them celebrate with us!

Jonah had a great day. He was sad to see his friends leave and even cried when a few of them left. The party wore him out – he ended up taking a nap that was over 3 hours long. It is such a blessing to be this little guy’s parents!

Jonah turned 1 year old yesterday! It was a great day with lots of celebration. Once I muster the energy and find the time, I will blog about his party and our visit from Mike’s parents. Until then, check out our little boy.

November 7, 2008

November 7, 2009

It has been a fun the last few days to reminisce about the days before Jonah was born, Jonah’s birth, and our first few days as a family of 3. We have been reminded of the Lord’s blessing and faithfulness in the safe and healthy delivery of Jonah and his continued faithfulness throughout Jonah’s first year of life. This weekend has helped us to renew our vision and passion for teaching him about Christ and communicating the Gospel to him in the everyday moments that we have together.

Yea for a one-year birthday!