No Room in the Inn (or Manger)

This Christmas season Sam was obsessed with Nativity scenes.  He played and played with his through the holiday and announced, "Manger" anytime he saw one during the holidays.  Sam was also very insistent that all of his toys "needed to see Baby Jesus", therefore, the manger was crowded this season.  Hopefully his joy to show Jesus to others will continue throughout his life.

Better Late Than Never

After a good, but hectic holiday season I am finally sitting down to update the blog (and to end the pestering of grandparents:))  Even though its a bit late, here are our Thanksgiving pics.  We rented a cabin for a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend with Shawn, Shelva and kids.  It was a great time for the cousins to play together and for the adults to relax (as much as one can relax with four children under the age of 2 1/2).

Tub time was a little wild

Sam and Symeon loved playing together

This weekend was the first time Maya and Marin were old enough to play together.  Looks like trouble to me!

Our cabin was on the New River, so we spent a lot of time outside.  Our last evening there, we made a campfire and s'mores.

Maya was ready for the cold!

The obligatory cousins on the couch picture

My sweet little ones

Sam's first Hockey Game

Last Sunday night, Sam and I went to our first hockey game together. I made the mistake of telling Sam way to soon about it as he was asking for it all weekend, and every time that we went somewhere, he wanted to go to a hockey game.

He actually watched the entire first period before losing interest in what was going on in the game, but he had a great time. His highlights (based on what he tells everyone about the game) were: 1) seeing the big bird mascot 2) the mascot "getting" him 3) riding the train with Owen 4) and seeing Fire.

Here are a few pictures. And yes, we were wearing our eagles jersey. Partly because the Eagles played that Sunday night against the Cowboys, and partly because Sam does not have any Thrashers gear. There is a Christmas idea for him for anyone interested.

Evening on Thayer

Last night Sam, Maya, and I spent the evening out on our street and Sam met a new friend, Jeremiah. They enjoyed pushing their carts together and racing up and down the sidewalk. The fun intensified when I put Maya in the wagon that Sam was pushing. Sam really enjoyed it, but Maya REALLY enjoyed it. She especially enjoyed it when Sam almost tipped her a few times. She definitely has more of a daring personality than her brother.

This doesn't quite capture the smile that Maya had while Sam pushed her. To get that, I would have had to capture Sam at his fastest and my camera phone is not that good.

On another Maya note, she has started trying to stand up from an all fours position. It is pretty funny. She has tried it a couple of times and doesn't really get anywhere, but it is fun to watch.

Pride for Parents

For the past several months, I have been working with an organization called FCS Community Economic Development, primarily helping to run the Pride for Parents campaign. It has been wonderfully working there and has brought me great joy to help out with such a wonderful program that has been around for 26 years.

For those that do not know about it, it is a program that is designed to allow families in the neighborhood of South Atlanta (where we live) to purchase quality and affordable new and gently used Christmas gifts from a store here in the neighborhood. The premise is that allowing families to actually purchase their own gifts, rather than receive a handout, allows them to have a sense of pride about being able to provide for their family at Christmas.

Would you think about helping out this year? If in Atlanta, you could bring a toy by the store or volunteer? If elsewhere, you could help by donating to the campaign so we can provide more toys at the store that we do not receive through other donations. If you wish to donate, you can go to:

http://apps.facebook.com/causes/birthdays/214238

or

http://prideforparents.org/donate

If you want more information on the background of the sale and why it exists, please read Bob Lupton's newsletter about the start of the program here. Thanks so much for your support!

Weekend with Sam

This past weekend, Katie and Maya went to Texas to spend some time with her family because it was her father's ** birthday. That left Sam and I at home to hold down the fort and enjoy some one on one time together, something that has been rare since Maya has been born.

Of course, we did plenty of things that the two of us love to do: ride trains, eat at Five Guys, go swimming, and the highlight of the weekend for Sam, go to a hockey game. It was a lot of fun to spend so much time with Sam and I feel like we really bonded. After the hockey game, Sam held onto his new hockey stick from the time we left the arena until the next morning (yes he slept with it close to his chest!).

Perhaps the highlight of the weekend for me, was actually on Monday, after Katie and Maya came home. During the weekend, Sam and I began playing this game where I act as though I am sad (at Sam's request) and he comes and makes me feel better (sometimes that involves him bringing me a blanket!!). Sam gets a really soft cute voice and gently touches as though he is trying to comfort me, just like Katie and I do to him. When Maya came home, of course Sam had to try out his new comforting skills on her. After telling her about the Hockey game and swimming, Sam proceeded to talk to Maya in the comfort voice. What came out was a Sam version of a story that Grandpa told Sam on his latest visit to Atlanta. It went something like this: (in a high pitch Sam comfort voice)

"Maya, there are horses in Texas and they say...Neigh"

"Maya, there are cows in Texas and they say...Mooo"

"Maya, there are goats in Texas and they say...baaaa"

"Maya, there are sheep in Texas and they say...baaaa"

Now, I imagine that Randy's story had a few more things that filled in the gaps, making the story a little fuller. However, it was pretty funny to hear Sam try to tell a story!

While I was amazed at Sam and his ability to remember a story from several months ago and his desire to care for his sister, I was also thankful for all of the grandparents that Sam and Maya have in their lives and the relationships that they will have with them. Thanks for caring for them so well! And keep the stories coming Randy (just keep the guns out of the Texas stories :) )

Happy Halloween

We've had a fun week of Halloween festivities. Sam dressed up as The Man With the Yellow Hat and Maya was Curious George.

Sam had a fun party at school on Wednesday.

On Saturday we went to a Halloween party during the afternoon and did a little trick or treating with friends in the evening. Here is my attempt to take a cute picture of the two of them. The Man with the Yellow Hat was refusing to wear his yellow hat and Curious George was, well, curious.

This year was Sam's first time trick or treating. He figured it out quickly as he was shouting "trick or treat" all the way up the porch of our neighbors. It was a little rainy all evening, but we still managed to get plenty of candy!