A Christmas Miracle

We're home!  We traveled half of yesterday and made it back to San Diego with tuckered out but well behaved kids.  It really couldn't have gone any better, which makes it so much easier and more motivating to travel in the future.  I was greeted with one of the best holiday gifts when we got back... I didn't gain any weight on vacation!  In fact, I *lost* weight.  Now, this might not seem like a Christmas Miracle to some, but anyone who was eating the same delicious meals we enjoyed up in Oregon would know that this is indeed a minor miracle.  Or, the benefits of a nursing an always hungry baby boy.  Have you seen the chunk on that kid?  Thank you, Thomas, for letting me indulge :)

It's nice to be home, but we sure do miss all the folks up in Oregon.

 

We had such a wonderful visit, and I'll enjoy sharing the pictures from the past two weeks over the next several days.

Back at home, I'm preparing for the Christmas.  Things here are quieter, slower, and smaller than they were up North.  The hustle and bustle of extended family is gone, and there is more time to sit and reflect on the birth of Christ.  We light the candles on our Advent wreath, and pray together as a little family.  At Michael's parent's home, the excitement of siblings and nephews and aunts and uncles and grandparents and grandkids reuniting was wonderful and loud and busy.  It is my joy to share my children, and my prayer and testament to life to let others enjoy them as well.  I'm so grateful to be able to do both this year - the quiet devotion and the active prayer.  

While I am glad to be in our home again, the beauty of Southern Coastal Oregon tugs at me.  The view from the house is a little glimpse into Heaven, and something we will surely miss.

Photo by Michael Ferry

Still here.

Michael is downstairs cranking out that dissertation on my computer and I'm upstairs on a borrowed laptop.  I have so, so, so many sweet pictures with you but I need my computer first!  But, dissertation is priority number one, so the blog is on the back burner for now.  Just you wait, though - soon you'll be flooded with more holiday pictures than you know what to do with.

Here's what you have to look forward to in pictures:
Dinosaur Christmas Tree
Jailhouse Gingerbread Awesomeness
Banana Slug Surprise
And more!

Doesn't that sound fun?  It is, I promise.  Stay tuned!

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas

  

The sun came out.  In fact, it came out a couple of times.

So we headed out, pajamas and all, to take advantage of this fleeting gift.

William frolicked.  Like for real.  Boys were never meant to stay inside.

So grateful for the sun, grateful to be around birds and trees and clouds instead of cars and sirens and smog, grateful to be here with distant family, and grateful for our little boys.

Here was the view from the Christmas before last:

Even though I have everything I want for Christmas already (my boys and my husband), if I really had to pick something, I might put a white Christmas on the list. 

Jail time

I sure am a San Diego girl.  Or really, just someone who enjoys sunshine at least on occasion.  Believe it or not, checking the So-Cal weather is fun and unpredictable, especially in the winter.  Party-cloudy and 62?  We'll have a day at the museum.  Sunny and 75?  Picnic at the park.  Chance of rain?  How exciting!

But this blogger mama is far far from home, and a bit of a prisoner at the moment.  Nope, my in-laws aren't holding me hostage (and they're pretty much the only people who read this, so I'd never say anything bad about them on here!), but the drizzle and dreariness of Oregon in December is downright depressing!  So much so that I'm alliterating.. stop me now!

It's a nice change of pace from no seasons at all, but I sure do miss that sun of ours.  Don't worry, San Diego, I'll be back soon.

In keeping with the jail theme for the day, here are a few pictures of a trapped Thomas:

And just to reiterate, I love my in-laws.  Just sayin'.

Home for the Holidays

We're spending two weeks up in Oregon visiting Michael's parents.  It's wonderful to have a new living room floor to spend the day upon. 

 There has been lots of rain compared to dry San Diego.  Perfect weather to bundle up in and... still stay inside.

Thomas is crawling and cruising and loving it.  William has new furniture to transform into streets and ramps.  He spends hours with this pick-up truck.

All play and no work makes some tired boys.  Tired parents, too.

After naps (and before, and pretty much every 20 minutes), we head into the kitchen for snacks.  Thomas is enjoying new foods, and watching him discover new tastes is a treat for us all.

A big thank you to DooDah and Amma for an amazing new camera to capture all of these moments with!  I hope I'll do you proud..

We'll continue in joyous waiting here for more than another whole week.  With little signs of Christmas coming all throughout the house, it's hard not to get excited for what lies ahead.  I hope all of you are enjoying a fruitful Advent season, too!

2nd Sunday of Advent

 

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