Dad, did you drink the little cups of juice?

Zac took the two older kids with him this morning to the church he leads music at on Sundays. This evening we all went as a family to church at New Life. On our way home Aubriella asked Zac if he drank any juice from the little cups (at the church where he leads music, they have little sealed cups of juice for communion in a basket). Zac replied that he didn't, and she responded by telling us that she and Gavin each had about three or four of them. Uh, oh. Zac had to explain what those were for and that what they did was rather naughty. When he was done explaining, she had lots more questions on the blood of Jesus. How did Jesus make that blood? Well, how did the Holy Spirit, God, and Jesus make it dad?

Little Blessings

Micah:
I realized how far my little Micah has come in his speech. He is developing sentences now and demands to be heard. :) He is starting to become quite a little ham. At the dinner table when we asked him what his happy part of the day was, these are some responses we received:
1. No answer and just crossing his eyes because he knows Gavin will laugh hysterically.
2. "Poopy Butt"
3. As he is chomping on his food, "Food."
4. Hannie (The neighbor girl, Hannah)
Although the dinner responses aren't much for showing how far his speech has come, they still get a good chuckle out of all of us. I know we probably shouldn't be laughing at all of that.

He also has been so snuggly at night. Wanting to rub my hair, put his arm around me, say his prayers over this family.

Aubriella:
She has been a rockstar lately! She has been helping out in so many ways: keeping Micah occupied while I'm teaching Gavin, making her bed, doing laundry, dishes, etc.
Also, she has been sleeping in her own bunk bed instead of the cot in our bedroom!
I'm impressed by the maturity level she has been displaying lately. It has been such a treat to have her around.

Gavin:
Gavin is putting many Biblical connections together lately. Tonight he independently picked up and read a devotional about being thankful for all of your teachers. He has not been particularly fond of his swim instructor this past month; with large eyes staring at me he said, "Mom, this means even people like my swimming teacher!" Then he said a prayer to the Lord thanking him for his teacher. I appreciate that he is comprehending God's word and truly taking it to heart.

Pajama and Underwear Boy

Mr. Micah seems to really enjoy his nakedness similar to some other boy I recall. He has come to the realization I won't let him run around completely naked, so he usually decides on undies or pajamas. Every time we come home from somewhere, he immediately strips off his clothes and gets into pajamas or just stays in his undies. Are his clothes that uncomfortable? I know he doesn't care for jeans, so I purposely dress him in little sweats and such... and still they get taken off. He really seems to be enjoying that chapter book, huh?

Gavin's Birthday Party

For Gavin's birthday we went to the YMCA. He invited the neighbor kids along for his party. They played on the indoor playground equipment, took turns climbing the rock climbing wall, and went swimming.

After all the fun at the Y we returned to our house for pizza, cake, and ice cream. Zac made Gavin an Obi Wan Kenobi cake and the lightsaber was full of candles.

A Little Fishy

Aubriella made it clear to Zac and I from the beginning of August that she wanted to be enrolled in gymnastics. However, being that Zac is going to school full time there was no way we could afford to enroll her in that this year. We get a Y membership for very very cheap this year. Also, we are able to enroll our kids into lessons for about half of the normal cost of the class. Thank you YMCA for helping us out this year! As an alternative we offered to her to take up swimming lessons. She started lessons in November. She is all smiles during her entire lesson. Her teachers have been so kind in leaving comments like: Briel is just my favorite! She swims very well and learns very quickly. Beautiful and talented young lady. Keep up the good work. Great student to have.

I do not list the comments to boast about Aubri but rather just enjoy that she can shine in her own setting with others. Sometimes I think she falls into that typical middle child mold and it is such a blessing to see her enjoy herself and see others enjoy her outside of the home. Swimming has become a great outlet for her while she gains confidence in herself and works on a strength of hers. She has recently asked to take a month off because it's just too cold to go outside after she has been swimming!

We have currently enrolled her and Micah into Tumbling Tots on Tuesdays. She has her class from 9:00-9:45 and Micah has his from 10:00-10:45. Although she enjoys it I think it is not as challenging for her as swimming was. Aubri said she plans to return to swimming nextmonth. Being that she is not in preschool and Micah is not in anything, Tumbling Tots is a nice compromise to get them out of the house and interacting with people their own age in a structured setting.

Christmas in Minnesota and South Dakota

Christmas went well during our trip back to the cold land. It was actually pretty warm and we were welcomed by many loving friends and family members. We stayed with the Cornelius Family for the first part of the trip and then switched about every other night from my dad's, to Zac's mom's, to my mom's, then to Zac's grandparent's house. It was fun, but of course, somewhat exhausting at the same time. Sleeping habits are yet to return to normal since our return to Colorado. Sleeping with the entire family in one room and then transitioning back to individual bedrooms has proven difficult. Micah especially has come up with the genuine fear of a shark in his room.

During our visit we were able to visit our old neighborhood and be reminded again how good God has been to us by selling our house and business so quickly. Many of the same houses are still on the market from the time we put ours on. We were able to visit with all of our old neighbors at a neighborhood gathering which was such a delight. Especially when we were able to hold the six month old twin babies again!

In the beginning of the trip I wasn't feeling too well, resulting in me not bringing the camera around to take pictures. Unfortunately, it ended up to be a trend for the rest of the trip. We barely got any pictures but we enjoyed seeing so many relatives and friends.

We have included the few pictures we took. I'm so bummed we didn't get more, what was I thinking?