Merry Christmas!

And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.
That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord's glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. "Don't be afraid!" he said, "I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior-yes, the Messiah, the Lord-has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger."
Suddenly, the angel was joined by vast host of others-the armies of heaven-praising God and saying,

"Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased."

(Luke 2:6-14)

It just keeps coming!

Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!

Snow day fun!

Snow Day!

Selah with her new baby cousin, Rylee.
Rylee was born on December 3. She is a
beautiful baby with olive complexion and a
full head of dark hair.

Selah and daddy in awe of the snow.

Since we are down in the valley here in Portland we don't see too much snow. Consequently when it does snow people forget how to drive and a lot of places close. We got two calls today from people at church letting us know services were canceled all day. So, we are all staying in our jammies and having a lazy snow day. Hopefully it will build up and we can go play outside. Yippy for snow!

no voice

Selah got up here all by herself, and was pretending to write.

Selah and her friend Caleb. I enjoyed
taking care of you little C! Come over anytime!

Selah likes to point out body parts. She is looking
at her belly button in this picture.

One of many attempts to find the perfect Christmas card picture.
This isn't the one we decided on, but I thought it was cute.

So, every year I seem to get a case of Laryngitis. My voice box swells after a cold and I lose my voice for a few days. We jokingly refer to it as Dan's peace and quiet time. This has been by far the most difficult time, because I cannot talk to Selah. Thankfully Dan stayed home yesterday to help with Selah. I didn't want her to be scared by me not talking to her. And she was a bit confused. She would come to me and say 'up', and then when I picked her up she would look at me with a confused look, pound my chest and say 'mama'. Dan just kept saying, "mama is ok." Selah is just learning to communicate herself. Because her vocabulary is limited to 15 or so words she often has to find other ways to communicate her wants and needs. That is what I had to learn to do as well. So all day long was basically one big game of charades.
I must say, though, that my stress level dropped infinately because I was not talking. I did not have to worry about telling Selah no or come here dozens of times. Also, Dan had fun poking fun at me and I haven't seen him that goofy in a long time. I simply sat back and observed my little family. God knew my heart was feeling overwhelmed with life's many responsibilities, and I think this time I have with no voice has been a learning experience. Every moment is a learning experience.
In other news, last weekend we cut down our Christmas tree out at Dan's aunt and uncle's in La Center, WA. We decorated it that night once our wee one went to bed. For the most part Selah has left the actual tree alone, but she likes to steal the ornaments. So, only the upper half of our tree is decorated. I also tried to put wrapped presents under the tree, just to see if she would leave them alone...I should have known. The moment she saw them she was stacking them and hauling them off into the kitchen. So, at least she is interested in the shiny paper and bows. It is going to be such a fun Christmas!

The day after...

This video was taken Thanksgiving Day morning. Selah got a hold of Dan's bathrobe tie and was dancing around singing! So, cute!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving! My aunt hosted it this year, so my mom, dad, grandpa, aunt (obviously), Nick, Dan, Selah and I all enjoyed the delicious food and hours of Wii entertainment, plus a little football along the way. Nick is a huge Dallas Cowboys fan, since he was a little boy, so he was thrilled they won! Selah got to eat some of the Thanksgiving dinner, because last year she was only 3 months old and basically slept the whole time. So, this year was filled with lots of activity on her part. Grandpa (my dad) got her a little toy car, and she loves cars so she was moving that thing all over the place. Even on Auntie Sonie's antique cabinet...oops. My aunt recently got a Wii system, so that basically took up most of our time. We each created our own players...mama sonja (that's me), Dan (hmm...I wonder who that is?), Joe Fish (Nick- his nickname since he was little), AICIRTAP (mom- family joke, but it's her name spelled backwards), Aunt Sonie (my aunt- her real name is Joanie, but when we were little we couldn't pronounce the J, so it stuck), and finally the funniest was my dad who we all helped create-$tMoney$. His character has a big afro, handlebar mustache, and aviator glasses. Anyways, we all had a blast!

Look for more Thanksgiving Day memories on our Shutterfly picture site.

Happy (early) Thanksgiving

Our little peanut!

I decided to post early for the Thanksgiving holiday, because I am not sure if time will allow me to do so tomorrow. So, for everyone who reads this I wish for you a joyful and food-filled Thanksgiving. Enjoy time with family, and most of all I pray that you remember the Lord's gracious giving. This past year for me has been so amazing! Our first full year with our beautiful daughter, Selah. God also provided a home of our own for us, and has allowed both of us to go back to school. He provides all of our needs faithfully and I am so blessed to be called a daughter of the King!
Also, Dan decided to contribute to the blog finally, and here is what he had to say,"I am excited to eat tons of food tomorrow, spend time with Selah and make her laugh." More deep thoughts from Dan to come...