O Holy Night!

 ACT ONE

-----------------

And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed.

(And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)

And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.

 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David)

         To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.

And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.

And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.          

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

    Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.

And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.

ACT TWO

----------------

Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,

Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.

And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.

THE END

Credits:

                                                     Joseph:                       Ezra

                                                     Mary:                         Annika

                                                     Donkey:                     Jonathan

                                                     Shepherds:                 Ezra & Annika

                                                     Three Wise Men:       Ezra & Jonathan & Christina      

It doesn't get better than this.

Scuba Santa

Today we took the kids to see Scuba Santa at the aquarium. They loved it.

Santa sure has a lot of time on his hands!

'Tis the Season

'Tis the season 

for

cozying up with Dad 

on the couch

with a book

by the fire

under the glow 

of the lights

from the 

Christmas tree.

Happy Holidays!

Here's a look at our Christmas card for this year. We hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday season! 
*The awesome photos are courtesy of Lisa Webb Photography

making new friends

The kids loved their friends so much in Indiana. We were a little worried about them missing their friends and not finding new ones when we moved. Luckily, just in the few months that we have been here, they have made lots of little friends. Here are most of their friends at Myra's birthday party awhile back. (Notice how protective Ezra is with his sister!):

And with their friend Miles (they decided pants were optional). Miles is ten days older than Annika and he loves to kiss her on the lips! He better watch it! ha ha:

And here is their other little friend Carter (who reminds me sooo much of Dylan!):

They sure have been lucky to find so many good friends! Although Ezra does miss his Indiana friends lots and asks about them from time to time.

life anniversary

Last year on December 9 I sat for three hours in Jonathan's dissertation defense completely in awe while Jonathan was made to answer mind numbing question after mind numbing question. He was quite brave and answered each question with confidence.

Then we waited. After each of the five committee members sufficiently grilled Jonathan they excused themselves to discuss his fate. Jonathan and I and a another friend waited in the hallway with uneasy anticipation.

If he didn't pass, he would not be able to accept the job offer he received earlier that week and have to completely redo his entire dissertation (years worth of work) or he could drop out and go find employment elsewhere.

After a few intense minutes (maybe about 15-- but felt way way longer) the door was opened and his advisor shook his hand and called him Dr! Imagine the relief and joy! After doing the polite thing with the committee members for a little bit and after we took a picture or two we walked down the hall to his office.

Once alone, we both let out a sigh of relief, followed by laughter and we jumped around and hugged and kissed like little kids. We did it! We did it! I think Jonathan was pumped full of adrenaline at this point and needed to get walking. Plus, we suddenly really needed to see our babies- so we walked home hand in hand- instead of catching the bus like we planned to earlier since it was freezing!

The walk home was magical and I will never forget it. It was just starting to get dark-about 5 o'clock. The air was crisp and cold and great big snowflakes just started to fall from the sky. We were giddy and in shock and so excited! The whole world suddenly opened up to us. He passed! He had a job! Could this moment finally have happened after all this time?? It was unbelievable.

We talked about the questions he answered and then about how we would now be gainfully employed and about how our lives would change and then over all those things again. No one but the two of us knew how hard it was to accomplish this goal and no one could be as excited about it as we were. It was a moment truly lived in.

When we got to our apartment, all the shades were up and all the lights were on. We could see the kids inside playing with their friends. They were happy and excited. When we opened the door Ezra called Jon "Dr. Dad!" and ran off laughing.

Happy happy memory.

The peacock and reading

The peacock by Ezra 

chalk on chalkboard 24" X 30"

So it's been a long time since I've posted anything. I guess I've had nothing to report. I still don't but I thought I would record the progress Ezra has been making since I think he's making some breakthroughs and I like to remember these things.

First interesting thing: Ezra drew the above picture on the chalkboard in his room. When I saw it I said "Ezra what did you draw?" (thinking it was a bunch of balloons) and he told me "It's a peacock, Mom!" I was way impressed.

The second thing about Ezra: We have been doing Hooked on Phonics with Ezra for the past few weeks. I was a little hesitant on using this at first for a couple of reasons. The first reason being that they have videos you can view after every lesson. We don't believe that watching shows is an effective way of learning so I was a bit hesitant on using the program when I saw that.

Also, there are a few books included that are specifically chosen to help enforce what the kids are learning... and they really bad! The graphics are horrible (computer animated stuff that usually makes me want to hurl) and the story lines are bad bad bad. I think they were written by seventh graders or maybe someone's 2nd cousin whom they owed a favor. Bad bad bad.

BUT...Ezra is starting to get it! The other day he saw an EXIT sign and sounded it out and read the word. I was so proud! He has also read the following words: zoo, Max, to and Dad. So... he's not reading yet but like I said I feel it's a milestone and I wanted to record it.

And so you know, this is not an endorsement for Hooked on Phonics because like I said, I'm not whole heartedly for it but Ezra and I have been consistently using the program and that's probably all that really matters.