Saturday, December 26, 2009

The Aftermath

My precious hubby has been working all day to put my IKEA bookcase up, install the ceiling fan in the guest/craft room and hang my new cross and avocado posters.

Me, you ask? Cleaning up THIS. The rest of the house is more of the same.

If the mess is any indication of the fun we had, you know ours was especially MERRY!



Now he's got his new Xbox 360 up and running and is happy as a clam. I've gotta start getting my books onto that bookcase now...

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Merry Christmas!!!

This is us this year. Drew and me at 32, Andrew at 4 and Ethan at 6 months. This was at Ethan's baby dedication in November.



So Merry Christmas!!

This is just a quick family update so you know our latest and greatest!

Drew is in his second year at Baker Commodities and enjoys his job very much. He only has a 30-minute commute and never brings his work home with him. It's a blessing when you enjoy your work! He still serves as an elder at our church and enjoys his video games, reading, watching football, keeping up with politics and playing with the boys. Drew and I are both planning to start running in 2010 and hope to encourage each other in our efforts!

Us in November.



And Drew and the boys recently.



My year has largely been occupied with Ethan. We call him our redemption baby because he came home from the hospital on May 13, a year to the day that I miscarried in '08. God is good! Ethan Ryan was 8 lbs. 6 oz. and 21" long and his birth was remarkably "easy."



He's still measuring very tall but because he's so active, he's never been as chubby as Andrew was. He is an incredibly easy-going and cheerful baby and brings so much joy into our lives.



Ethan adores his big brother! He just cut his first tooth, is crawling and cruising and loves to chew on everything! He's a "morning person," and brings a smile to my face every morning when we wake up next to each other! We just can't imagine our lives without him.

At our visit with Santa at my friend Chrissy's house.



I'm still serving at church on the women's ministry team, the prayer team and the teaching team. I'm taking a break to do some studies of my own and will do my "How to Study the Bible" class again in the fall. I just hit 100 sales in my Etsy shop and hope to get it fully stocked in time for Valentine's Day. Drew's sister, Sarah, moved out after six years into a nearby home of her own and her former room is now my craft room/guest room. I'm looking forward to doing a lot of crafting in 2010!





I love hosting events (like Christmas dinner for the family, pictured below) and have a big Peter Pan-themed Valentine's Day tea party in the works! I want to really embrace my "Domestic Goddess side" in 2010!



Andrew is a typical 4-year-old and still obsessed with all things Thomas the Train. He loves to play in his sand box, trips to "Popcorn Target," doing artwork at his easel, watching videos and crafting with me. He loves hearing and telling stories, singing and dancing and wrestling with Drew. He always makes me smile and he loves making his baby brother laugh.



We enjoyed getting together with Drew's family the week of Thanksgiving and took all the kiddos to the Phoenix Zoo.



Our family also took a trip on the Verde Canyon Railway in November. Andrew even got a birthday cake on the train and the entire train car sang to him! It was marvelous!







Here's the boys at our neighborhod's annual Christmas party. We take this picture in the snow every year!



Here's us at our nephew's Cardinal's birthday party!



Drew and I feel incredibly blessed this year and have so much to be thankful for. Besides our home and our boys, we are blessed with loving families, wonderful friends, a terrific church home and so many other things. To God be the glory!

May you embrace the peace and love that only Jesus can bring during this Christmas season. Wishing you a prosperous and joyful 2010!

Lastly, Drew and I are both on Facebook so that's the best way to keep up with us and to see our latest pictures.

E-mail me if you need our address or phone numbers--please keep in touch!
tabandrew@hotmail.com