The Nutcracker

On Sunday, Max and I had a "date" and went to his first viewing of "The Nutcracker" at the Historic Elsinore Theatre in Salem. We saw our good friend and one of my former students dance. She was a mouse in Act I and a Chinese dancer in Act II. Max was enthralled with her performance and the entire experience. We were lucky enough to have some yummy Mexican food after the performance with our dancer and her family who are also our good friends, at La Margarita! I had Tacos de Cochinita Pibil, a traditional dish served in Mexico at Christmastime and a pear margarita. Max had fries and a bite of chicken strip. On our drive, Max even got to sit in the front seat on our date. It was super special from start to finish! I love my boy so much! He is already learning to be chivalrous. He wanted to have his hair gelled, he put on cologne, and he made sure to open the door for me whenever he could. I am thankful to be his mama and be his first date! :-) 

Mason turns 5 and Christmas festivities continue!

Last weekend our Mason got very sick with a super high fever, up to 105.2 which brought us into urgent care instead of having a birthday party. Fortunately, we made the best of the long wait in the pediatrician's office by playing Spider-Man!

    

Mason gets a birthday hot chocolate at Dutch Bros. and Rudy wishes him a Happy Birthday!

Mason's Sunday School teacher came over on his birthday and brought him a "get well" Spider-man themed gift including a Lego's set and paint set! What a nice surprise! He is a lucky boy to be loved by so many special people!

We baked his cake and he helped frost it. 

Our chocolate lover chose a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting!

Mason's other request was to have a race track with Lightening McQueen racing on it. 

This was our attempt at his request and he was quite pleased! 

Grandma and Grandpa dropped by Mason's gift on their way through town. He got a special Mickey Mouse hat called a "Flipper" and the ears flip up when the end of the tie is pumped. He loves it!

When Mason was feeling a bit better we went to Pietro's, AKA "Pizza Planet", ate pizza, played games, and ate the cake we made! 

Our week was SUPER busy and we are thankful Mason got to feeling better quick! Every Wednesday is AWANA for the boys and sometimes Lars and I go have a "mini-date" while they are there. This Wednesday we went to one of our favorite places and I had a Jalapeno Peach Lemon Drop. It was so pretty, I had to take a picture. Cheers! 

We had a special morning today because we were invited by Max's first grade teacher to have breakfast with Santa and listen to her choir sing. Max has always been fearful of visiting Santa Claus and this morning, he conquered his fear! I named this Santa the "Santa Whisperer" since Max really took to him. Max even requested my phone to take a "selfie" with Santa. 

After a Christmas gift and grocery shopping stop  . . . 

. . . we are finally home together! Max and I baked some banana bread. Mason and I played with some Lego's. Now . . . we are resting! Max likes to unwind by reading his Sparks book and listening to stories from the Bible. Max loves to learn about God, think about God, sing about God, and talk about God. For this, I am eternally grateful! 

Rudy is ready for Papa to come home and was letting us know by playing with his puzzle last night . . .

Stay turned for more Christmas fun! Tomorrow Max and I will be going to his first ever viewing of "The Nutcracker" and we will get to see some of his friends and my former students dance!

Ringing in Advent!

Over Thanksgiving vacation we did a great deal resting from our craziness. I have a terrible sinus infection, so I was lucky enough to get into the doctor and have some antibiotics prescribed. I take my final dose this morning and I am feeling much better.

On Thanksgiving day, we played a family game of LIFE and then headed over to my parents' house for dinner. As part of the day, my parents had a birthday celebration for Mason since they will be in Hawaii for his actual birthday. He received all things Spider-Man including a dress up pull-over shirt with built in muscles and mask. He was in heaven!

On Friday, I spent all day writing our Christmas letter and designing our yearly calendar while Lars put up the Christmas lights on the house in the POURING down rain! Now that's dedication!

On Saturday, we went Christmas tree hunting and found our family Christmas tree! It is perfectly imperfect for us! My favorite part is the trunk which curves like a bow. Lars likes the sparseness of the branches which made for easy decorating. It is a great match. Below are some photos of our adventures.

This year we are beginning a new tradition for Advent and decorating a Jesse Tree. We are reading a family Advent book called, "Unwrapping the Greatest Gift" by Ann Voskamp. It is all about the greatest Christmas gift of all, Jesus! http://www.amazon.com/Unwrapping-Greatest-Gift-Celebration-Christmas/dp/1414397542/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1417877234&sr=1-1&keywords=unwrapping+the+greatest+gift

Of course, no holiday season would be complete without a visit from our friend Rudy!

Sunday, we had an amazing experience! We went up to Portland at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall and listened to the Oregon Symphony perform Disney in Concert! While the symphony played, there was a big screen with video clips from the various movies that fit with the music as it was played. The boys LOVED it! What a wonderful first REAL concert experience! After the concert, we went to The Cheesecake Factory for dinner. It was a beautiful evening together! Below are some highlights of our fun musical journey.

The past week was very busy for us! I directed my first BIG musical at my new school. Though it is always stressful to prepare these musicals, they are SO worth it. My students were amazing and knocked my socks off! There was an incredible turn out of parents and students at the performance. I was well supported by the PTC and my colleagues to create a joyous and beautiful experience for our students. Below are a couple pictures of some celebratory items. :-) 

And finally, over the last couple weeks this was one of my favorite moments. 

Max is singing a hymn book to Mason. He is singing, "Rise and Shine." 

Rise and shine and give God your glory, glory, children of the Lord! 

Since the last time we talked . . .

Spring 2014

We traveled to Las Vegas to meet up with Lars after March Madness. It was a super fun time, we even brought a friend along to help and play with Max and Mason. Unfortunately, we caught a bug the night we departed and spent the entire drive home with vomiting children. When we made it home, Lars got it, but somehow I escaped the bug. Unfortunately, I haven't been so lucky with allergies and sinus infections; they have been a constant nemesis this year and only seem to be getting worse each year! 

In June, Max completed kindergarten and I accepted a new teaching job back in Salem-Keizer School District. I enjoyed my time working for North Santiam School District and learned a lot about myself, my gifts, my struggles, and ultimately, my heart. 

Summer 2014

We went on a LONG family road trip through Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, and California with my parents. We enjoyed our adventures! We spent time in La Pine where we stayed at my parents cabin and I ran the Pacific Crest 1/2 marathon. We navigated through Eastern Oregon and Washington to Sandpoint, Idaho where we did some bird watching on a cruise of Lake Pend Oreille. Lars traveled over to Montana to visit some high school buddies and golf at his favorite golf course, Buffalo Hills. Then we headed south first to Reno, then Las Vegas. We got to stay at a resort right next to South Point Hotel/Casino which as very convenient. Also, we were lucky enough to have my sister join us in Las Vegas; it's always fun to spend time with my sister. While in Las Vegas, we celebrated the 4th of July with some of our good friends. Half-way through our Las Vegas stay we headed over to Anaheim, California to do Disneyland! We left town right after the 4th of July weekend so we sat in a very long traffic jam; it took nearly 8 hours to make the 3 hour drive west. But... we made it and had a blast playing in the two parks for a couple days. After Disneyland, we headed back over to Vegas to stay a few more nights (we just can't get enough). Heading home, we stopped in Reno and then made it back to our home and cat, Abby. We had to get new tires and had one minor car sickness episode, but other than that, it was smooth sailing. 

The boys had fun going to several VBS (Vacation Bible School) camps and art classes through the summer. We also explored the Oregon coast to visit Grandma and Grandpa. Lars did a lot of fishing and driving his sports car. Of course, Oregon is gorgeous in the summer so we spent most of our summer enjoying our time off and exploring local beauty. I spent many hours running many miles training for my first full marathon. 

Fall 2014

In September, I began a new teaching job, which I LOVE to the moon and back. I am grateful to have the opportunity to teach music to children. I ran my first full marathon on September 13. I ran the Oregon Marathon in Mt. Angel, Oregon in just over five hours. It was an incredible experience. Shortly after running this marathon I incurred stress fractures in the neck of my right femoral head which have given me limited mobility the past few months. I am eager to begin exercising again. 

Max has begun first grade and is doing very well. He turned 7 years old on October 8^th! It is absolutely amazing how much Max has grown over the past year. Max is excellent at reading, writing, and spelling. He has a very creative mind, using it to build his own “systems” to play with. He enjoys writing and illustrating his own books, building electronic stations, and helping mom in the kitchen. He is extremely academic and excels at being a “student” which makes his teacher parents very proud! Max has a tender heart, sensitive conscience, and concern for justice. Max loves Jesus, is eager to learn more about God, and he is an expert at memorizing verses! Max’s favorite toys are his stuffed cat “Scaredy” and any bendy straw he can get ahold of. Max ran a 3K and made it through soccer season this fall, but definitely prefers the exercise of the mind.

Mason has transitioned from his first to second year of preschool this year. He turns 5 years old on December 8^th! Mason is an amazing little boy! Mason is an expert puzzle maker, putting together up to 150 piece puzzles by himself. In fact, we couldn't help him if we wanted to because he is fiercely independent! Mason loves to dress up, play with his favorite superheroes and Disney Pixar characters, race his toy vehicles, ride his bike, color, have Max read to him, and play with his friends. Mason is extremely empathetic with constant concern for the emotional state of those in his presence. He is a great friend to all and looks up to his big brother. Mason loves to roughhouse, wrestle, and throw balls with anyone who will play with him. Mason loves Disneyland, but the town park is just as fun in his opinion! 

Lars turned 41 in March! As it turns out, he is much like a fine wine or whiskey, only getting better with age. He enjoys driving his Nissan 350Z, traveling to Las Vegas, and being super dad!  He began his 17^th year teaching which is his 7^th year at Sublimity School this fall. Lars is also coaching middle school basketball which takes up much of his free time through the winter. Along with being an excellent husband, father, teacher, and coach, he is my best friend! He is my constant comic relief and reminds me to maintain perspective on what really matters in life. Lars is loyal, steadfast, and lovingly puts his family first each day. There are not many men as amazing as MY man, so I don’t mind taking a moment to brag on him. I am incredibly grateful for the person he is and the love he shares. He leads our family with integrity and inspires me to be a better person. We are looking forward to celebrating on 10^th wedding anniversary on December 27^th!