Helping Kamryn

This was just too cute not to post... Lori and I have been working with Kamryn to help her crawl, and tonight Logan tried to help, too!

Dear Friends

It is a very exciting thing to think about: we are going to be in Hays two weeks from today! It is also sad to be saying good-bye to our friends and family here in Seattle. On Christmas Eve we attended two services: one at Valley View and one at Faith. At both churches we were greeted with warm hugs, kind words and well wishes for our ministry in Hays. It was very special for us to visit with many of you as you share in our excitement for Hays. It is good to be reminded that we are loved and cared for by so many here. It has truly been a great honor for us to serve at Valley View over these past years and the relationships that we have forged here will be with us for many years to come. We hope to attend Valley View next Sunday, our last Sunday in Kent, but we will see some of you on Saturday at 9 am when we load the moving truck!

The Perfect Christmas

Christmas this year was absolutely perfect! We woke up and gathered around our tree to open the presents, and Logan was very excited! He hadn't really understood what presents were until the moment when he opened his first one. Then he wanted to open ALL of the presents - regardless of who they belonged to! After we all opened our gifts Mommy and Logan made cinnamon rolls for us all and we played with Logan's new Disney Bingo game.

After Bingo, we got bundled up and played in the snow. Logan had a blast going down his slide into the snow, and of course, Daddy had to tackle Logan and Mommy into the snow! When all was done, we were wet, cold, and exhausted from all the playing. It was way fun!

Next we loaded up into the truck and drove over to Grandma & Grandpa's house for dinner (and more presents!) Grandma made ham, potatoes, jello salad, and had lots of olives for us. Brian and Heather were able to join us and it was a great day. We stayed all day and just played and spent time with each other. It truly was a perfect family Christmas.

Long Night

Last night was a doozy! Kamryn did not sleep most of the night and Daddy was up with her most of that time so that Mommy could sleep. Mommy took over at 7, and Daddy slept for a couple hours. Then it was on to packing and maintenance around the house. Grandpa came over and did a few projects and Grandma came to play with the kids. Lori had to drive over to the day care to make sure that no pipes burst, and tonight has had to call virtually every family to let them know they open at 9 tomorrow morning due to the snow. The forecast says we are to get another 3-6 inches overnight! Crazy, huh? Hope everyone is staying safe and staying warm! And by the way...nice Seahawks game today - good way to say good-bye to Holmgren.

Cookies for Breakfast??!!

I guess just about anything goes when Logan spends the night at Grandma & Grandpa's house! This was his first sleepover and boy did they have fun! It sounds like he got to do anything he wanted last night (and is finding it hard to adjust to having rules again - but that is what grandparents are for: spoiling!)

It was a lot of fun for Daddy and Logan to pack his suitcase yesterday, and as you can see, he just threw everything in there and was set to go! It was sort of weird for Daddy and Mommy to go to bed without Logan in his room, but we were excited about sleeping in. Unfortunately, we both still woke up at 7:15! That's even a little early for Logan! We're glad that he got to do this and Grandpa and Grandma sure made the most of it! (And yes, he had cookies for breakfast and popcorn for lunch!)

The snow is coming in pretty hard right now, and we are having high winds along with it. We may be snowed in come the morning hours, but we will see!

Hi All!
It seems that Logan has taken up a new hobby...taking photos! Here is just one of the many he has taken over these past few days. Surprisingly he has gotten rather good! Most are even in focus now, though who really wants another photo of the same wall?

Kamryn reached another milestone today - she has moved up to Stage 3 foods and had some Cheerios! Her baby teeth are right on the verge of coming in. She is growing up so quickly!

We are busily getting ready for the move to Kansas, and our packing seems never ending at this point - how did we get so much STUFF?? At least we are seeing progress... We aren't going to be selling our house, but instead we are going to rent. It seems that we bought the house in a good market and now...well, not so much. So renting is really our only viable option. If you know someone who needs a nice 3 bedroom place... :-)

Unfortunately, we regret to inform you, our friends and family, that Christmas cards will not be mailed this year. I know, that totally ruins Christmas for many of you, but alas, there will be a something coming to your real mail box in January! That's all for now!

Hello, Seabond!

"Hello, Seabond!" Has become a bit of a family joke. It started while watching Wheel of Fortune (part of Logan's nightly routine!), and the commercial for Seabond came on. When it was over, Logan and Daddy went to see Mommy and said, "Hello, Seabond!" Logan thought that was absolutely hilarious! But you can't say it to him - "I'm not Seabond! Mommy and Kamryn."

Another great Logan moment was tonight during our family devotions. Logan wanted to sing songs so we sang A LOT of them! He sang to us Zacheaus and Jesus Loves Me on his own. How precious it is to hear praises to the Lord from the mouth of a child! On a sillier note, we sang "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands," and we were trying to see if Logan understood the message behind that song. So I asked him who takes care of him, but he really didn't understand the question. Trying to help him get to the point, I asked him, "Who gets you dressed in the morning?" His answer: Jesus. Lori couldn't stop from laughing! She asked Logan what time Jesus came over to help him get dressed...of course, he didn't get the sarcasm.

On a Kamryn note, she is doing really well. She sits up most of the time now, but she is not able to sit up on her own. She has no interest in crawling - she hates to be on her tummy. Nor does she want to pull up on things or scoot anywhere. Her teeth are about to pop through, so she is in a bit of pain at times.

If you didn't already know, we are all moving to Kansas where I have accepted the position of senior pastor at Hays Christian Church. We are looking forward to this next step in our ministry journey and ask that you join us in prayer in regard to selling/renting our house, selling my car, getting Lori a job in Kansas, the logistics of the move, and the emotional toll of the transition.

That's all for now! I'll try to post more often - sorry!!