Contributors

A Year in Review



It feels too simplified to write a short summary of our year when there's so many adventures and so much to celebrate. So, take a few moments and enjoy our year in review!!

Of course, our big news this year is that we added a new member to our family, Sophia Justice!! She is now 8 1/2 months old & growing quickly. She rolls from one side of the room to the other, but no crawling yet. She loves to spray with her tongue, but it makes quite a mess when she's eating. She & her sister have a special bond... and no one can make her laugh quite like her sister!!


Zoe will turn 5 next month-- where has time gone? This last year was a big one for her. She learned to write, started preschool, chopped off 8 inches of her hair and many more leaps and bounds. Spending a lot of time with her, we've tackled a lot of fun things together like learning to make oragami paper boats and tongue twisters. Love it!! Zoe is sweet and giving... and she's a really good friend.

Matt has had lots of adventures this year. He had a blast when he went to Comic-con for the first time in July. He continues to enjoy his radio work... especially when he can be creative & fun. He also celebrated one year of Level 6 radio in August. (I can brag on that. He really is brilliant in his creative ventures! I'm constantly amazed.) Matt started training in martial arts when we first moved here, and is now an assistant instructor. By the end of this month (December), he will have finished teaching his first class in Yakzir Maka.

I am extremely thankful for all the blessings in my life as well. I am really loving my job at Life Journey Christian Church. I love building creativity, community & communications at our church, but I'm also happy that it's flexible within our life. One of my favorite things I do is a bi-monthly coffee & music night where we encourage people to decompress by art, journaling & conversation. It's been a blast advocating for artists & helping people connect. This year I also started my own etsy store selling record clocks and I also worked awhile with Solorzano Photography doing promotions work (that's where my great photos come from!). I've become more and more of a committed scrapbooker. I love telling my family's story & knowing that we can look back on it in future years is very meaningful.

This has been a year to remember in many ways. We did some traveling-- to Michigan for my brother Andrew's wedding (on which we were able to go also to WI & MN), I traveled with the girls to ND, we made several trips to the coast & to the mountains near us, had the opportunity to see some of the cool stuff in L.A. We also loved that many of our family members made it out here to visit this year! We continue to grow closer and laugh as a family. We love seeing Zoe develop her humor and creativity (however, imagination also works for creative cover ups-- not as fun). It's so fun to see Sophia grow & learn. We are often singing or sparring at home or we snuggle up with our tv blanets watching a favorite family movie. We love taking walks around home or finding some way to discover together and adventure. And every year we grow more and more in love with tacos... and Jesus.

Happy new year everyone! Hope it is full of fresh eyes, hope & growth. Love you!!

Zoe's first Christmas program

Can you find her? Isn't she adorable?!
Of course we loved it, all those kids singing those songs... we couldn't get enough & could've watched all day. Our friends & fellow Zoe-fans, Dan & Erin, joined us to watch. It made Zoe feel very special to have an entourage.

It was so sweet & Zoe was so proud of herself. See her excited face after her program?!

Santa & a surprise horse drawn carriage ride


A few weeks ago, our friends Rhiannon & Alex Solorzano (Solorzano Photography) were doing some photos with Santa in downtown. We were excited to bring the girls to get their picture & to also have Zoe bring a letter to santa (see a few posts back).

It added a cherry to top of the night, when we found out there would be free horse-draw carriage rides in downtown!! We waited for the carriage for 45 minutes and finally got on with some friends that joined us. I have always wanted to ride on a carriage with Matt. It was a magical night!!

Popcorn Garland


In order to relax and enjoy the simple things of this season, I made a list a few weeks ago of some things i wanted to make sure to do including making popcorn garland.

Zoe and I spent the evening the other day making one!! It was fun & pretty!! Here are a few pictures of our experience.

We also took a peaceful family walk earlier this week to scope out the lights in the neighborhood. It was really neat to relax and explore. It's fun that so many people decorate for christmas. It makes you wonder how much the beauty is appreciated for all that effort of getting it ready. Fun times this season!


Christmas bonus time!

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Eating Soup with a Fork, one of many reasons to laugh

I'm sitting here eating my lunch- left-overs from last nights dinner. It was my attempt to make chicken noodle soup. I didn't use a recipe and think I did fairly well ... save for my most serious mistake of using the most inappropriate noodles: way too many, thick and long. . I call it noodles with water slop... and I have to eat it with a fork.
So many of these things happen in my daily life. For instance, the other day I was making jam thumbprint cookies. The recipe called for parchment paper beneath the cookies. Thinking it was the same as wax paper, I continued and the cookies we're looking beautiful... until I tried to remove them. I was only able to save 6 of the 2 dozen cookies.

I choose to laugh at these moments... or at least try. If I didn't, I would be losing time, energy, money & the joy of that moment.

Here are some of the things I plan to attack over the next few weeks will document as many as I can:
  1. String popcorn garland for the birds
  2. Cut paper snowflakes for the windows
  3. Drive around and look at the lights.
  4. Make colorful paper chains to hang
  5. Watch as many Christmas movies as we can-- already watched ELF & The Very 1st Noel
  6. Have the girls decorate the backs of our Christmas cards
  7. Make a dough ornament together to symbolize this year for your family.
  8. Celebrate the meaning behind the traditions
  9. Make sugar plums.
  10. Play holiday music nonSTOP
  11. Wear jingle bells while hanging around the house
  12. Play games together (board, WII, kids).
  13. Read the original Christmas story.
  14. Go outside and find the North Star and talk with the kids about what it must have been like way back then
  15. Take the kids to see Santa (we did last Friday. See Zoe's Santa letter in previous post. She was so adorable!!)

Zoe's letter to Santa

Our sweet Zoe seems to be so naturally giving. For Christmas this year, everything she was asking Santa for are things for others. She is asking for kitties so that Chart has other kitties to be with. She also is asking for a doll house to then give to her dear friend Sarah. I don't think she asked for one thing just for her!! Sweetheart. We took her to meet Santa and she was so sweet with him (she did want to show Santa her dance moves, that was humorous). She has heard some songs about Santa and is really concerned about being nice. We are not trying to promote the idea of Santa, but she is convinced so I'm not wanting to heartily pop her bubble either. It is cute to see her tender heart translate the season.

Dear Santa,

I'll want some kittens for Christmas. I really do! But I don't want Chart to be mad. But guess WHAT Santa. I want like FIFTY kittens or 12 even or whatever number you want! And when I see that sack I'll know there will be kittens in there-- if it's moving. And also, guess WHAT! I'm also giving YOU a present. And it's for some kids to bring home and it's carebears that are ornaments and it's for my friend Sarah.

Zoe

Thanksgiving with friends

I was grateful for the opportunity to spend Thanksgiving with friends this year. Being far away from family & most of our friends, we were happy to join some local friends for our Thanksgiving. We were given the task of cooking the turkey. Though we had never made a turkey for a large group, we'd found an incredible recipe which we kindly nicknamed BACON BIRD. The turkey was one of the highlights for sure... but even more so was enjoy a great meal & games with friends.