See the Little Man Here

He's been learning some new tricks:



And practicing his consonants (and a few dirty looks too):

Red, White and Green

Here are a few snowy winter shots of our home, brought to you by special request from Verity and Em (two of our bestest friends from Holy Trinity church in Adelaide, Australia):

This is, obviously, the front of our house.



This is our front walkway, some of the neighbor's houses and, obviously, a lot of snow.



This is the pile of snow I created while shoveling our driveway.





And here are a few of my favorites so far from Christmas:

A couple from my immediate family celebration.





And one from my Mom's side. Look at those hoons!



Just click on the photos to bring up larger versions, and remember there are lots more where these came from here.

Merry Christmas!

Obviously this is a little late, but better said than not. We miss you all and wish we could give you a big hug. :) As for the Aussie's, keep your eyes peeled for pictures of our house enjoying a WHITE CHRISTMAS! I was very excited this year 'cause last year when we came back to the US for 2 weeks over Christmas there was NO snow. Very sad. But yes this year is great: at least 6 inches of pure white bliss.

Well Christmas was crazy this year since it was our first year living in town and that means we're able to go to all 7 Christmas gatherings. And Alex was not napping. I think it was because of a new medication he was taking. I stopped giving it to him yesterday to test out my theory. Christmas was great - a little too hectic for me but great none the less. Brian outdid himself again with my present. He bought me a craft table with a nice office chair and mat to slide on. I'm so excited to finally set up my sewing machine & to organize my letter writing stuff. Brian got a new flash for his camera - it's fancy so I'll let him tell you about it. Alex's gifts of course far exceed ours but that's the way we like it. Plus it's not about gifts - we haven't had any material needs in many years.

I was talking to my sister and was reminded of how much we need to rely on God for our strength and support in every situation. Both of our families have been going through moving & chaos across many miles with children and it's so amazing to see her continue to push forward despite the current struggles. So hey big sis, we miss you all and hope California treats you better in the next few weeks.

Alex would like to have some attention please. He's becoming quite vocal about what he likes and what he doesn't like. Don't worry he'll let you know. One of his favorites right now is the new found joys of a teething biscuit. Even though, it's way to big for him to eat it all, he refuses to let anyone take it away. He will demolish it! As you can see most of it ends up on his face or hands. I don't even bother with the rag I just take him straight to the sink for cleanup.


He just cut his 3rd tooth and the 4th is on the way. He had a 3 1/2mth break between his first 2 teeth & these. I thought maybe they were stuck in his jaw and wouldn't come down. But the doctor reassured me they would come, eventually.

So I'm (Sarah) feeling pretty good cause Alex was decent last night. He is 81/2mths old and he still gets up to feed in the middle of the night! Lets just say he's stubborn - we did the sleep training trust me, it didn't work for him. He just doesn't like to sleep. He's a great baby but it's just something about sleep.

Alex's thoughts on taking a nap - the progression to crying:
Wow it's kind of dark in here (He's saying this out loud). I know they are doing something without me. Why did they put me in this room all by myself. Come on, I'm soooo cute you know you want to play with me. Where's my entertainment? Now listen here, I am not tired (rubbing my eyes and yawning). I WILL NOT go to sleep. Da, ga, baba....ba....ba....................................

30mins later WAHHHHHHHHHHH! That's it I've taken a nap now get me up. Oh you're here, how wonderful!