Grandpa and Maya

My Grandpa has always given us the impression that he does not particularly like dogs, but I think this video tells a different story. And of all the dogs to cuddle with he picks Maya!

May you have a blessed New Year!

"Hi, Elmo! This is Selah!"

Thank You Mom for making Selah's Christmas stocking!
You did an amazing job!

Selah is coloring her first picture. Normally she
rips the paper or eats the crayon. We've graduated
to actually using the crayons and paper for their
intended purpose.

Selah loves it when her daddy plays guitar. And from
the looks of it she is a budding guitarist herself.
Rock out sweet girl!

Fun in the dirt! Thanks Aunt Jenny and
Uncle Dustin for the cute sweater!
____________________________________________________________________

I realized that I have not blogged since Christmas. I doubt anyone actually reads this, but just in case I'll give you an update. We had a wonderful Christmas with our families. Enjoyed good food, fun games, and great company! Now we have entered into a brand new year, and I look forward to what the Lord will bring us this year. I have had a couple people ask me if I had any new year's resolutions. Although the idea of setting goals sounds great I do not like the idea of marking a point each year to form a list of bad habits that we need to change. I believe that every day we should be disciplined, and ready and willing to change ourselves and be changed.

"Understand this: If a homeowner knew exactly when a burglar was coming, he would not permit his house to be broken into. You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected." Luke 12:39-40

We do not know when Jesus will return and take the faithful home. Until then, we must keep our eyes on God, and on a daily basis rid ourselves of bad habits. Eventually these things will be a memory, a time when we struggled but in the end were a better person for that struggle.

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!