4th of July

On 4th of July this year, we went down to a children's bike parade on the beach. 400 kids were there with their bikes jazzed up for the 4th! We went because an organization there had made it possible to get bikes donated for inner city kids who don't have bikes. 12 of our kids from Citylights were able to receive these. I wish you could have seen the joy on their faces. They got to ride in the parade along the beach and then take the bikes home with them. It was an exciting experience! While Luke wasn't old enough to ride in the parade, he was excited just to be there... and his day was made when the firefighters let him sit in the fire truck! AND we got to experience the glow on these kids faces as they rode their new bikes for the first time!

Best Friend Sleepover

Well, it's now Summer Break and I'm home for 2 wonderful months! Last week we watched Luke's best friend Lizzie for a few days while her parents went away to celebrate their 10th anniversary. They had a wonderful time playing together and cried on the 3rd day when she had to go back home!

Here are some fun shots of their summertime fun together:

Spring Break

The best thing about Tom working part-time is that when I'm on vacation, we're both on vacation! For Spring Break, Tom worked Mon and Tues and we spent the rest of the week relaxing- as much as you can with a crazy 2 year old! These pics are of Tom and I with Luke on our day trips- we went to the zoo, took a train ride, and found some new parks. Our idea of a relaxing Spring Break has definitely changed as we've gotten older! I think one of the best parts was coffee and a book during naptime! :)

Easter with Luke

This was the first year Luke got excited about Easter... since the whole idea of Christ dying on the cross is a little much for a 2 year old, we told him that on Easter we celebrate how God loves us.
Before church, we gave him a small Easter basket. Since he doesn't eat candy, we filled the eggs with some of his favorite things... raisins, cheerios, cracklin oat bran and the all-time favorite-- frozen peas. It was quite hilarious to watch his joy on opening plastic eggs to discover these tasty treats. He found an egg at church and handed me the candy inside, saying "I want cheerios". Aaahh, 2-year-olds!!

Easter at CityLights

Easter is usually a crazy day for us. At Citylights, we plan a community outreach event to celebrate Easter... what a better way to celebrate Christ redeeming us- the glory of Easter- than by serving the community alongside our church family! Since we don't have use of the community center on Easter, we planned a family outdoor service in the park and a huge BBQ and Easter egg hunt afterwards. It was an amazing time this year. We had lots of families together for the church service outdoors- probably 200 people- and another 200 joined us for the celebration afterwords. It was a crazy, crazy day but full of joy.
Here's a few shots of our outdoor service:

Grandpa's Little Boy

Luke loves his Grandpa. It helps that they are two peas in a pod. Since the time Luke was a newborn baby, Grandpa has been there full of energy and activity and cool toys attached to his belt. Luke is how I picture my dad as a little boy... nonstop motion!! It's no wonder they get along so well. Luke has a very special place in his heart for his grandpa.

Luke the Model

The other day Luke decided that he wanted to pose for some pictures (normally taking pictures interrupts his busy day of play). But this day he suddenly decided that he wanted me to take pictures of him on different pieces of furniture and in different poses. These are the result:

A Day in the Life

As you can see, I am not very good at updating this website. I have discovered that we don't take very many pictures. And when we do, I feel that many of them are not noteworthy. Or if they are, I then have to find the time and the motivation to write a new entry. But my family has reminded me that relatives and friends often like to see the non-noteworthy day-to-day pictures that comprise our busy life.

So here is a look into a day in the life of Luke:

Helping dad to wash the car (Luke's job is to wash the tires)

Luke hard at work doing "art"- this comprises of drawing ovals and coloring them in (every time we call them a circle, our very rational son corrects us by saying it's an oval- and let's be honest, his circles do look more like ovals! Also note that he is definitely a lefty!!)

Playing Luke the Fireman (this can go on for hours until mom and dad regret buying the fire engine with the real-sounding siren!)

Master Lego Tower Architect (He was keeping his lego creations in his room until we heard him banging around the other night. When asked, he told us that he was playing with the lego house in the night. So now, the legos live in the living room!)

Showing off his new backpack and insisting he's old enough to go to school:

Happy New Year...

From our family to yours! :)

The Wonder of Christmas

We had an amazing Christmas despite the crazy weather... it was cozy in the house with crackling fires, good books and wonderful family around us.
And we got to experience the wonder of Christmas through the eyes of a 2 year-old. Luke was enthralled with the lights, the Christmas trees, the music, the colorful gifts. But most importantly, he developed a love for the nativity scenes. For the first time, we got to explain the Christmas story to him and he delighted in retelling the story and searching for Mary, Joseph, and Baby Jesus everywhere he went. Of course, his favorite part was the fact that Jesus was born in a barn... To a 2-year old who loves farm animals, that seemed a bit like heaven to him!

And Luke loved opening presents... if only we could find a way to bottle that enjoyment of one gift before he gets older and starts to beg for more! :)

Luke enjoying Christmas Eve with his cousins:

We pray you all had a wonderful Christmas and discovered some of that 2-year-old wonder. And we hope that you were able to experience the true meaning of Christmas that even a 2-year-old can take joy in: Baby Jesus.

A White Christmas

This year we spent Christmas in Washington with Tom's family. We arrived in the midst of the biggest storm and coldest temperatures in Seattle in 20 years. Despite being housebound and battling icy roads, we were able to enjoy a white Christmas and Luke experienced his first snowfall (which grew to 18 inches by the time we left). Luke loved the snow, but had to battle temperatures in the teens to appreciate it.
Here's Luke enjoying the snow...

Luke building "snow piles" with cousin Jessica
Making Snow Angels

Sledding with cousin Tyler:

Fun in the Snow: