First Christmas

 Two little Christmas angels came to visit Poppi and Nana!

Matching in red! 

 This little girl loves to sit way up high when she reads her books

 and she loves to eat "choco-bread!"

 Em--so busy playing

 On Christmas Day, we went to J&K's house to celebrate with them. Jayden was so excited to show everyone his new toys.

 matching in red!

 New toys

 

Jayden wanted to have his dog wrapped on, so he could carry him with him everywhere!

 

 Brady is starting to crawl!

 

 This little boy loves his food!

 Helping daddy cut a very tall cake!

 the whole family

 Jayden's biggest surprise came later on, when his uncle stopped by to see him.

 This was one very excited and happy little guy!

 It was the highlight of his Christmas!

 Later, we dropped by to see Bec and the girls (Kylie had not been feeling well, so they did not join us at J&K's house).

 This little girl was so excited to see us, she literally ran in circles!

 On Sunday, Bec and the girls came to stay overnight. Em is walking around things now and has hands that love to touch everything.

 Nana loves to have a lap full of girls...

 Yes, Em had to have the feeding tube put back in again yesterday afternoon. But, since then, she has had several good feedings, so we only hope that she will start to take the bottle on her own very soon.

 

 Reading books with mommy

Oh the wonder of shiney objects on the tree! Now we can hardly wait until Wednesday when we will have the whole family here for a celebration! Merry Christmas!

A year of Grace

 One year ago, our little grand-daughter entered this world. Even though her early arrival was a shock to all of us in the family, God was not surprised! "In the fullness of time, God sent forth his own Son to be born" and certainly God knew all about the timing of this little girl's arrival.

One year ago, when Emily Grace entered the world, she was the size of that doll...

 ...that was the size of her tiny, perfectedly formed hands.

 Today we celebrate her first year of life. It has not been an easy year. God has stretched her parents much more than they would ever desire. Yet God has also been teaching them (and the whole family) His deep and ever-lasting faithfulness and love.

 

 Today we rejoice in the miracle of Em's sight, in her ability to breathe on her own, to crawl and sit and walk. We delight in hearing her coo, and yes, even in hearing her cry! The miracle of her life has taught us to appreciate each day of health and strength, and the beauty of all the colors surrounding us. All of these things are blessings from God that we so often take for granted.

We treasure the lives of these two wonderful girls that God spared one year ago. You are both the strongest girls that we know, and we love the huge blessing and delight that you are to our family.

A Perfect Ending to the Week

 On Saturday, we had a visit from our grandsons (and their parents). We had lots of fun, both inside and outside.

 This little one has a huge appetite...

 ...and a huge smile! We love listening to his happy sounds; and we love seeing how he now enjoys playing with toys.

 It's so fun to see how J's imagination has developed, we have so much fun playing toys together!

 Why is it that older siblings can so easily make the younger one burst out with peals of laughter, with just the smallest movement???

 Having fun with Grandpa

 Showing off his bucket of goodies, and also his new "bomber" hat.

 The whole family

It's such fun to see this happy little face! Thanks so much for the visit J&K. It was the perfect ending to a busy and fun week. We love the visits from our grandkids!

Celebrating 50 years

 Last weekend our church celebrated "50 Years of Grace." The whole weekend had events for people to connect and re-kindle relationships. This couple (who pastored the church back in the 80's) drove thousands of miles to be with us.

In the background is our founding pastor and in the foreground his daughter played a lovely piano medley of songs with the theme of grace.

 We were so thankful that our forner visitation pastor and his wife could join us on Sunday morning. Pastor Henry is now 94, but still blessing us with his strong testimony of faith.

 former Pastor Dave and his family were able to come back...

 also Pastor Paul and his whole family.

 Lots of good memories!

 Our newest pastor and his wife

 Sunday afternoon we held a picnic in a nearby park. Lots of visiting and also tons of good food.

 There were plenty of games, including a soft ball game that young and old played...

 and a pie-eating contest!

 Everybody enjoyed the show!

 Yummy cherry pie!

 Every sticky face was a winner!

It was such a wonderful weekend of relationship building. We praise God for 50 years of grace!