Merry Christmas 2015!

Merry Christmas, 2015! As with every year, it hardly seems possible that Christmas is here (and now gone, because yes, I did at least start this post a few weeks ago!). Heavy on our hearts especially this year are the vulnerable people, who like Jesus himself as a young child, find themselves as refugees, fleeing those who would harm them. May we find places in our hearts this upcoming year to not only welcome Jesus, but to welcome the most vulnerable and hurting among us. 

Here are some updates on our family for you!

Brielle-

Reminds us that living with a 2-year-old is hilarious and (usually) an absolute joy. She is always making us laugh, smothering us with affectionate hugs and kisses, surprising us with new phrases and sentences and can often be heard singing. She loves her siblings, which is good since much of her day revolves around their activities. She slowly warmed up to her music class that we took together this fall. “No, Buh-lelle do it” is the most common phrase lately, and “No, Buh-lelle 2” if you mention the number two in any other context than her age.

 

 



Avdon-

Our sweet 5-year-old is excelling in his last year of preschool. He’s often coming home and teaching us new words in Spanish. While he enjoys school, he really enjoys playing with homemade light sabers, super heroes, Legos, Shiloh, and most importantly, his new nerf dart gun he got for Christmas. He was so amazed that we knew that he wanted one. We reminded him that he asked us for a dart gun every day since October. Avdon is highly motivated to earn time on the Wii and get screen time (or just sneak away with my phone and take selfies). Avdon loves helping Dad with projects around the house, climbing up the doorways so he can touch the ceiling, figuring out how things work and is the official battery-changer in the family. Avdon enjoys taking guitar lessons from Dad and volunteered to play a song for a big preschool event. He is doing really well in Hwa Rang Do (Korean for the order of flowering knights). It is a wholistic form of martial arts and he's working hard to earn his first belt. Snuggling with Avdon and seeing him grow in kindness and love for others are amazing blessings!

Shiloh-

How can we possibly have a first grader? Shiloh, now 7, much prefers speaking, reading and writing in Spanish over English. She continues to have a very spirited and creative personality, always very excited about her artwork. She’s been working very hard on violin this year and has shown much improvement. She retired from ballet and with the start of the school year began her career in Mexican Dance through a program at school. She loves Mexican Dance (and getting to wear the dresses for the performance), dressing up, and all things Elsa. Shiloh chose to join a LEGO robotics team at school and has been reported to be the most respectful student in her class. Shiloh is such a sweet big sister, allowing Brielle to have "sleepovers" in her bed almost every night lately. She is often in awe of the world around her, soaks up information faster than we can give it to her, and loves learning.

Chris-

Amazing fixer-upper, faithful at always taking out the garbage, compost and recycling (jobs no one else wants!), is a busy dad and caretaker of our home and family, helps get Shiloh out the door every morning (by 6:30!!), cares for our yard and bigger house, and manages to fit in his job as well. He continues his love for interesting beer, good coffee, recycling/composting, friends, and facial hair. Even Brielle now says "Daddy, beard!" to let him know when he needs to wipe off his beard.

Chris continues to love his work with Jacob’s Well. He is a passionate team leader and devoted team player and is surrounded by amazing co-workers and musicians. Chris also teaches guitar classes to students who get them for free at an organization called Urban Ventures, as well as lessons in our home.

And while it may seem that he has been crying wolf about an album being released soon, it actually will happen in 2016. That’s because it’s done!! Watch for a release date soon.

Erin-

My days are largely spent caring for our children, taking them back and forth to school and activities, caring for our home, and always, always preparing food. For some reason, everyone around here insists on eating every day and since I insist on them eating non-processed whole foods, I'm constantly cooking! On Mondays I also watch my cousin’s two kiddos, age 3 and 7 months. It’s a bit chaotic, but I love those days when cousins play together, I play with the kids, the food prep has been done in advance, and I’m the stay-at-home mom I imagined myself being because I’m not focused on anything except the kids. The rest of the week tends to be a bit more of a whirlwind as I’m likely over-involved with: 

+volunteering at and for both Shiloh and Avdon’s schools, 

+coordinating/attending of a small group for families, 

+attending another fabulous small group of mamas

+occasionally attending book club (thankfully I can check out audio versions of most books and listen while I work in the kitchen)

+volunteering for a variety of tasks with Jacob’s Well

+fostering community within our house and gathering weekly with housemates. 

+And in all my spare time I started a new business/career as a birth doula including education, requirements for certification, involvement in 2 agencies where I both serve the community and gain co-workers and clients, and this year helped with 9 births. The problem is that I love it all. But no wonder I never have time to update you all, sit down and breathe, or do something simple like watch tv. Does tv still even exist?!

The Mustard Seed Lodge-
The short of it is that we've done tons of remodeling, have wonderful housemates on each level, spend intentional time together on Tuesdays and are looking forward in the new year to mentoring a refugee family who has been relocated to our area. We're growing closer as people, wrestling with tough issues together, and looking forward to reaching out to others. We had a pretty good garden this summer and are the proudest on the block with the smallest trash can, one recycling and one organics compost bin.