Portland

I had a great time in Portland last weekend. I went up Thursday to visit my friend Shana and to see her beautiful kids. She has a 3 yr old, Josiah, and she has a 7 week old Kaleb. They are both so adorable. Xander had lots of fun playing with Josiah. He tried very hard to keep up with him, though, which resulted in many bumps and bruises along the way. Josiah is such a sweet big brother and was such a nice friend to Xander. He would help him and play with him and check on him during his naps! ;) Xander sat at the big boy table with Josiah for all their meals, resulting in lots more table food than usual. It actually meant that I would feed Xander his regular breakfast, then when Josiah woke up Xander would eat second breakfast with him too! Not a problem for my little garbage disposal! He just eats and eats and eats! But it's no wonder with all that energy! He just never stops moving. They are living in a 3 story condo and the boys would run up and down those stairs all day long (Yes- we did have a big fall- although Xander is used to the stairs, he was trying to run and play with Josiah and did tumble head over heels down one flight until I caught him at the bottom...flipped him upright and saw the HUGE grin on his face! He thought it was so much fun!)
We even got a little snow while we were there, checked out some great coffee shops and a delicious dessert place! It was fabulous!

We also got to visit some of our good friends up in that area, Luke and Amber and got to see their 2 beautiful children, Emmitt and Ava. It is such a great city.I really can't wait to go back!

Now I am busily preparing for the big birthday this weekend! So much to do...and so little time with a little one under foot!

Fun times with Tiff & Matt

We are having a great time with Tiff & Matt. They flew in on Saturday and we have been relaxing with them these past few days as they prepare for the biggest adventure of their lives. They are moving to Australia on Monday! We are taking them to the airport on Monday night and we will be the last family they get to see before they move across the world! The best part about their adventurous spirit? NOW WE HAVE AN EXCUSE TO VISIT AUSTRALIA!!! (like we needed one!) ;) We will be sad to see them go but know that this is a great decision for them and cannot wait to hear about their journey.
In other thoughts, it has been nice to hear from a lot of our relatives lately- I love to see the new comments and know that you are enjoying hearing about what we are up to and seeing all the lovely pics of Xander. Speaking of- I am still waiting to hear from you, Linda Jost... ;) I don't pass up any opportunities to develop new friendships!

Do something with your life! I am making a difference.

Alright friends.
It's time to do something with your life.
Brandon was just telling me about a very sad story of a man he met while he was in Africa last summer. This man was a father of five children. He was a farmer and they had just had a very rough season that year and there just wasn't enough grain to feed his family. He crunched the numbers and racked his brain to figure out how he could make more money, how he could stretch their food to make it through the dry season. He knew that if they could just make it through the year to the next season they would be fine. So he created a plan and explained to his wife and children that they would only be able to eat every other day for the next months until they grew more food. As it was, they were already only eating ONE light meal a day, but he had to do something to make the food stretch. He told them that if they stuck to this plan there bodies would be able to sustain themselves well enough that they wouldn't completely starve, although they would be very hungry.

But then the rains never came. And never came. And this father started to worry. How was he going to grow grain without an rain? By the time the rains finally came, it was too late and they were running out of food. He was at a loss. What was he going to do now? He had to feed his family but there was just not enough food! He contemplated going without food himself, but knew that then his entire family would starve to death because there would be no-one left to provide for them. If they missed any more days in between meals their bodies would go into starvation mode and shut down, but if he continued to feed them on the plan they had created, they would ALL definitely die! So he made the hardest decision of his entire life. He had to choose one of his children to stop feeding for the sake of the rest of his family. If he took one child out of the equation they could make it to the next season. So he looked into the eyes of one of his own little babies and told them that they would no longer be receiving food. Ever. He did what he had to do in a horrible, horrible situation.
DO NOT JUDGE HIM! You have not walked in his shoes. And unless we experience poverty and pain like he has, we cannot understand what it is like. We think we are living in economic hardship?!

With all the heartache and sadness in the world it is easy to feel helpless and paralyzed into thinking "I am only one person...what can I really do to make a difference?"
Well- I will tell you what you can do:
SPONSOR A CHILD!
Yes, it is a "hard time" for us Americans to think of spending our money on anything but ourselves. But I can tell you it is well worth it! These children have nothing. And I know that we can all afford the $32 a month. Sure, I would rather spend that on dinner, or a new pair of shoes, or jamba Juice, or coffee- but the difference this makes in their lives is exponential compared to the few moments of happiness it brings us. 32 bucks gives them food, healthcare, education-which gives them a future and the potential of having a better job to provide for their families, and the LOVE of God! Do you really want to stand before God on Judgement Day and explain to him why you needed that money more than they did? To justify how you spent you money he blessed you with on yourself, instead of making an eternal difference in the lives of these children?
Please- Sign up Right now! Today- It will be the best thing you have ever done. Because if I was a mother in poverty, I would want someone as wealthy as we all are, helping my children! You can afford it, if you want to make a difference.

These children have been waiting over 6 months to get sponsored. It is the difference between life and death for them. Go to:
www.Compassion.com
Click Sponsor a Child
Choose Advanced Search in the box on the bottom left side of the screen
Scroll thru the options and choose Region:Africa-Country:Burkina Faso-Longest waiting:yes
I would love to see all 5 of these kids sponsored today...please help!
You can even sign-up for Direct pay and it will sponsor them every month & you don't have to remember
You can write letters to your child online
YOU WILL NEVER REGRET THIS! ONE DAY YOUR CHILD WILL BE AN ADULT & BE ABLE TO THANK YOU FOR SAVING HIS LIFE!

i am still thankful

we are a houseful of sickies. it started with xander on sunday, then bran on monday and now I have the flu too! this is no fun! i hate being sick. and this is the first time we have had to deal with both of us being sick and juggling a baby. xander has been pretty good. he is such a trooper, he just goes with the flow. we are dealing with a lot of different unrelated issues right now. kindof feeling like we are being hit in all directions. our new car needs to go the the shop, had some issues with the saturn that we sold, planning a mexico trip to a site we have never been to, new students, events & relationships, sickness & everything else that we routinely deal with in life. still can't believe our little baby is turning one! getting ready for my sister & brother in law to visit, then my parents & xander's birthday with all our friends & family that can make it down to celebrate with us! we are so excited...time is just moving so quickly!
although things are hard at times and our life certainly looks a lot different than we had anticipated a year ago, things are good. we are thankful for our many special relationships that we still have, while navigating a new community and trying to figure things out here as well. we are so blessed and so loved. so grateful for all the many special, loving people in our lives. you have made our transition here so much easier because we know our friendship will survive anything, even an unexpected move!

Another day in the life

Doesn't he totally look like a monkey?

Everyday life

He likes the bows & wrapping as much as the presents!

He is so excited to learn how to throw a ball- and so proud of himself every time he is successful! He usually looks to see who is watching & half the time it goes backwards!

priceless...

He does NOT like that food! And he knows this behavior gets laughs...

Just like daddy! oh I remember those days! hahaha!

More of Christmas morning

Xander's first Christmas

Good times in the city

We woke up on Thursday morning and thought to ourselves, "why dont we go into the city today? We live close enough to drop in for the afternoon now so let's take advantage of that." So we did! It was a very nice day with Joq and Laura. We walked around chinatown, enjoyed some delicious gelato in Little Italy and went window shopping in Union Square. It was a lot of fun. We were a little disappointed because a lot of the shops were either closed for the day, or closed early so we didn't stay as late as we had planned but it was fun nonetheless. Xander was such a great little boy. We carried him around in a backpack carrier and he loved it. He loved watching all the people and feeling like he had a little bit of freedom to kick his feet and play while we walked around. He loved wearing his mittens and beanie too- once we got them on him. He is so much fun. It was a great day and we can't wait to go back again!

Bloody lips & black eyes

Xander received a few bumps and bruises the other day as he practiced walking around the room. He would walk from one couch to the other, back and forth, faster and faster, with such pride every time he reached his goal. He always looks up to see who is watching him and beams with delight and pride! It is always funny to watch him quicken his speed as he approaches his goal. He starts at a pretty even pace but then as he gets closer to the couch it turns into a short sprint before his legs get tangled underneath him and he lunges torwards the couch/chair/barstool/ottoman... or whatever he is trying to get to before he falls. Hence the bumps and bruises, as he doesn't always make it to his destination before he crashes to the floor and catches his face on whatever item was supposed to bring him safety. But he is such a bruiser and a cruiser. He just jumps up and starts his laps again, barely giving me time to wipe off the blood!