What we've been up to:

Downloading the Christmas pictures! Chris was off for the week, and we enjoyed many visits with family and friends, and some quality time with our own family. Here are some of my favorite holiday pictures:

And since Christmas, we've been...

Playing games:

Shopping online (it had to be a red track suit!):

Feeding Elwin:

Reading lots of books, new and old:

Skating in the backyard:

In true Josiah fashion, he insisted on going by himself on the second day he was on skates. I am so proud of him! I think he is like his dad that way...he picks up new athletic skills so easily a lot of the time. Although he had lots of tumbles, he managed to skate about 30 feet at a time! If anyone is in the area, please feel free to stop in and skate with us!

This Christmas...

...I hope for you who are hurting, that you will find the peace that can only be found in Jesus.

...I hope for you who do not know Him, that you will seek and find Him.

...I hope for you who are wanting more, that you will let go of a bit more so He can move.

...I hope for you who are busy, that you will find stillness and rest, if only inside!

...I hope for you who are with loved ones, that you will appreciate each moment for what it is.

...I hope for you who need love, that you will feel the embrace of the One who loved through the gift of His son.

...I hope for you who are starting over or saying good-bye, that you will feel His presence and know that you aren't alone.

...I hope for you who are not what or where you thought you'd be, that you will be able to move on with new hope.

...I hope for you who are truly joyful, that you will allow this to touch those who need it most.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from ours to yours, with love.

Josiah's First Christmas

We had a wonderful first Christmas with Josiah. Throughout the holiday, we found ourselves so thankful for all of the blessings that God has given to us this year, especially our new little family member! We wanted to share a few pictures with you.

A bath to start off Christmas Eve day, before going out for lunch with the Mealeys.

Christmas Eve service at our church- everybody was very tired!

Christmas Morning:

Josiah loved his toys! It is really the first time in his life that he has cared about toys for extended periods of time, which was very exciting for us to watch. He loved grabbing onto them and pulling them into his mouth- this new skill has changed things a bit at our house this week!

Christmas day was just too much to handle, so we needed a break...

...Before we started in on more presents!

Great Aunt Nancy knit some cute things!

Then another super long nap!

Chris surprised me with my very own Kitchen Aid on Christmas morning- best gift ever! So while Josiah slept, I played with my new toy!

The best thing about big families is getting to do Christmas more than once. On the 27th, we headed to NS to have Christmas with family, and had a fun gathering with extended family so Josiah could meet them. Despite telling both of our families not to spoil Josiah, they totally did! Besides all of the cute toys in the pictures, he got some adorable new outfits (which he will be modelling in future posts!).

That Aunt Andrea is just sooo funny!

(Notice the cute Christmas bib from Aunt Tami!)

Cool new hat!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Christmas 'Performance'

Baby Jesus

Josiah had his first acting role as baby Jesus in a song at church. Before we went on stage, he was grunting, sucking on my shirt, and then he puked all down my sleeve (you can see the splotches). I was very worried that he may have a melt down on stage! But as soon as we got out there, he fell into the role perfectly. He just stared around at everyone, and remained peaceful for the entire performance. Look out Uncle Scott! You may have some young competition! (Sorry for the poor quality picture! The lighting was really tricky in the sanctuary. If anyone got a better picture than we did, we'd love to have a copy!)