Date Night!

After 5+ long months, B & I were able to get away for several hours on a date! Our church hosted a Christmas party that we dressed up for! Dinner was included. We had so much fun that we were the last ones to leave. Starved for time-away-from-the-kids, much? Yeah. I think so.

Cheers Hub! Thanks for a wonderful date!

Pilgrims and Indians

So here are some photos from our Thanksgiving feast. If there were ever a holiday analogous to the family I was raised in, it would be Thanksgiving. It is where two cultures with completely different ways of life meet and share a meal. They shared friendship. They opened their minds to embrace someone different than themselves. They instructed one another on life lessons and they shared what was most valuable. They stepped out of their comfort zone at risk of losing some of their cultural identity but in they end they gained a richer cultural heritage. I'm proud to say our Thanksgiving feast included turkey AND samosas, Pilgrims and Indians. (The dot, not the feather, to be exact.) Actually, to be exact... we had 3 pilgrims, 2 half-Indians, 3 quarter-Indians, and 2 full Indians in attendance. Ha! Ha!

1 Pilgrim and 1 quarter-Indian posing as a Pilgrim

2 half-Indians posing as a Pilgrim & Indian
(read: "I give you Samosa for some red sauce that go nice on turkey!")

& two quarter-Indians as Pilgrims:

Doesn't Sophie make a good Pilgrim with her rosy cheeks?

It was a fun time giving thanks for each other (thanks mom & dad, Nu-Nu & Bry, and hubby!) and most of all for God who brought these two cultures together!

Sophie is 6 months!

I can hardly believe our little Sophia Elizabeth is 6 months old!! Here's an update on our little girl:

-She is long and lean
-She just recently started chunking up only a little bit in her thighs and face
-She loves giving wet slobbery kisses and sucking on faces
-She definitely loves people and isn't that interested in objects as much as faces
-She loves women's voices and lights up when she hears any woman talk to her (Gonna be a girly girl!)
-She started solids a little before 6 months and likes her rice cereal. So far she's only tried squash that daddy made.
-She loves her big brother and watches him run around
-She goes after big kid toys like balls and Chase's car ramp and doesn't have much interest in rattles and little baby toys (Her favorite is the spiky ball that looks like a dog toy!)
-She isn't as great a sleeper as her brother and can range anywhere from sleeping through the whole night to waking up 4 times!
-She loves sucking on her fingers
-She weight 14 lb 11 oz
-She's got her momma's feet and they are too slender to keep socks or shoes on
-She likes her baths
-She has been scooching to get toys (at 5 months and 2 wks) and has rolled since the end of 3 months (she is definitely a mover and shaker like her brother)
-She gets up on her knees and also does the push-up position
-She not a huge fan of nursing or the bottle (mostly due to reflux) but seems to pack on her weight in those monster cheeks of hers
-She's been sleeping on her tummy since 4 months and she settles herself to sleep
-She travels well and often falls asleep in her carseat
-She likes grabbing for faces, teeth, hair, glasses, necklaces or all the above (Note: ideal babysitter should be bald, toothless, have perfect vision or wear contacts and leave jewelry at home. Any takers?)
-She loves the exersaucer and grabs, eats, and smacks every toy on it!

She looks so elated! Like she's just happy to exist!

playing with daddy's glasses

Don't you love her double chin?

First time eating solids (rice cereal) at 5.5 months

As if those round cheeks needed any more help...

yum, yum, eat 'em up!

"I saw momma kissin' Sophie-girl underneath the Christmas tree last night"

I love this girl! And she loves ME! Okay... And my sparkly necklace.

If only Christmas shopping was this inspiring...

Brian and I were brought to tears as we watched this clip. I personally felt like I witnessed a small piece of heaven. You know how heaven is often (unbiblically) portrayed as floating spirits singing all the church hymns that you find boring and monotonous and the thought of anything for an eternity almost seems overwhelmingly awful!? I mean, let's be honest. Who gets excited about a cherub? You know how if we are honest with ourselves we have to admit that our hearts can't fathom how being in God's presence and seeing His glory could fill every crevice of our body with excitement?! Well, watch this and tell me that worship isn't absolutely glorious!! It's not because of their voices (however beautiful, if I do say so myself). It's because the object of their worship is God Himself and they are celebrating in unison God becoming flesh to dwell among us! They are celebrating amidst the crazy shopping, the commercialism, the secular "happy holidays" posters, and the scoffers who look in dismay that their eating experience in the mall food court has been interrupted. They aren't shouting at people or forcing people to believe. They are unashamedly and joyously worshiping and people cannot but stop and think - why? I hope this blesses you as much as it did me. If Christmas shopping was actually this inspiring, I'd be making my dwelling outside Old Navy, planning every meal at the food court, and asking the flash mob if there were any voice requirements to join in this wondrous worship!