Thursday, January 31, 2008

Puppy Love

Family Time



Todd's folks and brother Scott flew from Washington to meet up with us for Jake's wedding. We had a memorable time together and crammed some great times into a few days! Eleanor and WIll enjoyed their "Papa" and "Mimi" and Uncle "Donut Man" so much! William was full of smiles, as always, and Eleanor was full of personality, as always.! I am so thankful for my in-laws and enjoy the relationship we share. Eleanor and Will were superb travelers and really hung in there, even with Eleanor being sick.


Fox in Sox with Uncle Scott (Eleanor sure likes her uncle!)

Eleanor's first trip to In-N-Out..actually, her first THREE trips...that's our girl!

Yeah, Will saw a lot of San Francisco! :D


Golden Gate Bridge

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Old Friends

This past weekend we had the blessing of traveling to northern California (all four of us!) for the wedding of a dear friend from college. The trip was fantastic and really made me thankful for the way God sovereignly places people in our lives, and for the unique fellowship that exists between brothers ans sisters in Christ! We were able to spend time with people who have shared some different seasons of life with us; partnered with us and impacted us in one way or another.



Jacob Schwarze and his beautiful bride Olya!! Jake and Todd and I sang in Majesty together in college and made our first trips to Russia with one another. He was in our wedding, and it was exciting to be a part of his! Jake and Olya are a perfect match and I am so thankful for the way God brought them together. They will make their new home in Moscow.



Sergei Omelcheenko is a man Todd and I spent only a month with, but he had quite an impact on us and became a real friend. As our translator when we traveled to Ukraine and Russia in 2001, he was our lifeline! More than that, He demonstrated consistent Christlikeness and was a constant servant, showing preference for others and considering others as more important than himself. Sergei translated at Jake and Olya's wedding & reception, and Todd and I were thrilled to be able to catch up with him and introduce him to our children!



The wedding was a little bit of a reunion with several friends from college, like Marshall and Bekah Walters. It was neat to catch up and hear what God is doing in the lives of others!



We spent the day Sunday with some very special people, Kevin and Rebecca Boesler and their kids. Kevin and Todd were on staff together at our former church in California, and the Boeslers shared in our days of dating, engagement, and newlywed-ness! Their oldest son Caleb was my first piano student in Tehachapi...it was so fun to hear him play for me again! Eleanor enjoyed playing with 2-year-old Anna, as you can see. We had a day of sweet fellowship!

Monday, January 14, 2008

Toenails, Pigtails and Smiles




A Few More Minutes





....that's what I have, so here are more Christmas pictures! Please note the temperature in the top picture....20 BELOW zero!

Slow and Steady






I am learning that to get things done I just have to maximize small amounts of time instead of waiting for big chunks that will probably never come! I am a list maker, and lately have laughed at how my to-do lists have changed over the last couple of years. They used to be 20 items long and pretty well crossed off by the end of the day; now, they consist of about 3 items, perhaps 1 of which is crossed off by bed-time! :D But I have precious, precious time that I get to spend with Eleanor and Will, and that is far more worthwhile than accomplishing all the tasks I think of! Anyway, that explains my "slow and steady" thought regarding blogging. So, here are just a few pictures of Christmas in Lake City.

Thursday, January 10, 2008

My Munchkins on Christmas


I have a ton of photos, but here's a teaser for now!