Decorating the tree!!!

Fa la la la la la la la la

With Thankgiving celebrated and over, today was the day to cut our Christmas tree. We missed Joelle, Steven, and Bethany, but had Kimberly, Hannah and Sandi to enjoy the day with!

The back of the van on the way to the Tree Farm

Headed into the woods...
with a full load!

It was a tough tree but after MANY chopping attempts, we finally got it down!

Hannah cutting the tree

Isaiah and Elias cutting the tree

Will finally gets the job done!

A few pics

A fun and cold day at Bellewood Acres with Isaiah's preschool class. We learned alot and had a great time!

Mud Puddles!

I think that the pictures tell the story well enough. Mom was at work, dad was in charge of the boys. Mud was everywhere and they had fun!

Halloween Fun

Between a local Harvest Party and our church Trunk or Treat, Isaiah and Elias had great opportunity to try out their costumes. My gorilla and lion were both ready to party!

Train ride at Trunk or Treat

Boffing with friend Kurtis
Harvest Party with friends, the Kettman's

A winning find

Today at one of our routine stops to the local kids consignment store, we made a HUGE FIND! There stuck in between several very normal winter jackets was a Denver Broncos Jacket. Never mind that it is two sizes too big for Isaiah right now. Never mind that someone dared to get rid of a Broncos jacket when the team is 6-0 right now.

All that matters is that when Isaiah saw the Broncos logo on the front, his eyes lit up and he screamed (in the middle of the store) "Go Broncos!" All that matters is that Isaiah couldn't wait until Seth got home to show him the surprize!

Pumpkin Patch!

One of the best parts of the fall is a trip to the pumpkin patch! This year was exceptional because we didn't lose anyone in the corn maze and we had a professional photographer (Will)along to capture some great moments.

Isaiah's First Day of Preschool!

This fall Isaiah started going to preschool. He has Monday's with Teacher Daddy, Tuesday's with Teacher Danielle (a friend of ours who has a great preschool in her home!), Wednesday's with Teacher Grandma and Thursday's with Teacher Mommy. He LOVES to learn and really eats up everything we put in front of him. He's working on counting to 100, learning the sounds for each letter, doing basic addition, being a good big brother and having fun in life! He is really enjoying reading about the Parables from the Bible right now and is truly amazed at the miracles that Jesus did. It's great for Seth and I to read the stories from a 4 1/2 year old's perspective and to watch Isaiah process through the Word of God. It's great to be a parent!

Isaiah rides

Late this summer Isaiah learned to ride his bike without training wheels. He is CRAZY! Neither Seth or I can keep up with him on our bikes and his sole determination seems to be in finding a bigger hill to go down so he can go faster than he's ever gone before. This was supposed to be my calm, relaxed, controlled child. I'm fairly scared for what Elias will be like in three years.

Isaiah says...

Isaiah: I love you mom

Rachel: I love you too Isaiah

Isaiah: I love you more...because I love you as much as Jesus does

Pumpkin Spice Latte

Fall is in the air and today I had my first Pumpkin Spice Latte of the season!! It was a great treat and did wonders for giving a good kick to the work day! With the coming of a new season brings a reflection of that which is just past. We had a very full summer with all of my family living under one roof. Thanks to my parents for building a big enough house to hold us all! My sister Bethany was home for 6 weeks from Cairo, Egypt and my sister and brother in law, Joelle and Steven were back from Quy Nhon, Vietnam for about 2 1/2 months. My brother Will lives at home right now and works with my dad doing construction and remodeling. What a blessing it has been to be on the same continent for awhile.

Everyone is back in their respective countries now and we are getting ready for the transition back to school for Seth and back to preschool for Isaiah. Seth's mom comes next week from Colorado for a visit to help us kick off the new season and we are looking forward to that time! Here are a few pictures from the summer. More can be found on our Picasa Web Album-the link is on the right.

Camping trip to La Conner, WA

In the summer heat!

Hike up at Mt. Baker

Isaiah and Aunt Joelle on the Mt. Baker Glacier

Uncle Will, Isaiah and Aunt Joelle laughing...always laughing!

Boys day at Birch Bay

Needless to say, they had fun!

Antics from Isaiah

A little morbid perhaps, but a cute ending. While putting Isaiah to bed the other night we had this conversation:

Rachel: I love you

Isaiah: I love you too

Rachel: I love you three

Isaiah: I love you 'til you die

Rachel: I love you 'til I die

Isaiah: Will you die before me?

Rachel: Yes

Isaiah: Will dad die before me?

Rachel: Yes

Isaiah: Will grandma and grandpa die before me?

Rachel: Yes

Isaiah: Then who will make food for me?

Rachel (stifling a chuckle): I think by that time you will be grown up and married.

Isaiah: Who will I marry?

At this point it was time to pray and go to sleep...one more deep theological conversation with my four year old.

Isaiah's funny face

Isaiah's Birthday!!!!

Isaiah turned four on April 29th when we were in Colorado so we celebrated his birthday for a whole week. He had a Cars themed party in Colorado with Seth's side of the family and then we had a Music themed party in Washington with Rachel's side of the family and Isaiah's friends. Both parties were perfect for a four year old. Cars is absolutely Isaiah's favorite movie and since he sings and plays his air guitar almost non-stop, it was great to hit both elements of his life. The Cars pinata in Grandma Rhonda's garage and the lip sync portion of our music party were especially fun! Friends at the Music Party
Black Guitar Cake made specially by Grandma!

Opening gifts with cousin Aiden in Colorado

Elias and Great Grandma Peggy watching the Pinata bash

Cars Pinata

Colorado Trip

Garden of the Gods

What a trip we had to visit family and friends in Colorado! Flights went better than I expected with Elias sleeping a good chunk of both. We visited two zoos (Denver and Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs), the Denver Children's Museum, the Garden of the Gods, our old stomping grounds in Winter Park, and spent a lot of time with Seth's family. There was a lot of fun packed into a week's time and it was worth every minute. Isaiah's birthday and our anniversary landed during the trip and so we had a chance to celebrate the whole week too! For the picture tour of our time, visit here.

Feeding the giraffe's

Building with dad at the Children's Museum

Holding up Balancing Rock at the Garden of the Gods

Isaiah & dad at the Garden of the Gods

Isaiah and cousin Aiden, who are a month apart in age

Easter 2009

A blessed celebration of the death and LIFE of Jesus! We are so thankful for our families, near and far, and for precious friends who share this journey with us. Dyeing Easter Eggs

Opening Easter Baskets

Elias...

Isaiah's Creative Photography

Mom and Elias

Self-portrait

Reflection of the watch

Cars