Friendly and Faithful Farewell to 2015

It was a joy to wrap up 2015 with a handful of our favorite friends and also have some family join in the festivities.  Josh's dad came to town and it was a sweet treat to spend a couple days with him. It was also sweet for me to recall that we rang IN 2015 with my sister's family and rang OUT 2015 with Josh's. :)  And, of course, the dear peeps you see pictured here that we share many memories with every year - the Graffs, Williams, and Jeffs. We were so thankful to enjoy a FRIEND-filled farewell to 2015 with them especially!

While we may not have made it to midnight, I did almost stay up til midnight myself to wrap up my Hebrews journaling.  I was so near the end, my brain was committed to finishing it with the year that was also finishing in those same moments.  Hebrews is so heavy with Faith talk, we'll call this portion of the post the FAITH-filled farewell to 2015. :}

And this faith/faithfulness talk  lends itself so perfectly to my new wise word for the New Year.  That first post of 2016 will be up shortly. :)  It's gonna be a good New Year!

Journaling All the T Books

I have condensed several books that I recently wrapped up into this one journaling post ... and all those books, as the title suggests, just so happen to begin with a T: 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus. 

This "mystery of godliness" chunk of excellent text needs {something} but I can't quite figure out what ... leaving it for another time.

 

Who doesn't love an acrostic?  Kinda proud that I was able to pull each line's word from the passage about Scripture there at the top.  #WordNerd

Oh my stars, the goodness and meaty theology to chew on here! 

And then the poor red-headed stepchild of a book, Philemon, which I completed in the wave of T books, but didn't have any notes to show for it.  Sorry, Phil.

Working my way through Hebrews now...

Lasa at 5 Months

The Lasa baby is 5 months old today!  That sounds so long AND so short all at the same time.  We sure do love this sweet thing and all the new milestones she reaches in our care.  Some 5 month tidbits about our babylove are as follows ...

She continues to be an angel of a baby.  See what I mean?

She suffered through her first cold this month and we all suffered with her.  This happened shortly after her 4 month shots which she had a very moody reaction to.  One bright spot of relief during that week was how much fun she thought it was to have her nose aspirated.  She would flail her arms in shock while I did it, and then giggle about it right after.

She drools and chews all day long.  She still eats between 4-6 ounces at a time.  Per doctor's recommendation, she is just now coming off her Zantac prescription she has been on since 5 weeks old.  Fingers crossed she has outgrown the GERD and can hold steady without it. 

She is allllllmost rolling over back to front.  She can roll front to back with ease, but that doesn't happen much because she doesn't enjoy being on her belly for long.

She's taken in her first park visit.  She enjoyed the swings and tolerated the slides.

She LIGHTS UP THE ROOM with her smiles and grows her fan club with every new person to cross her path around town.

She can't get enough of Josh's beard.  And my hair.  Always has a fistful of it in her tight clutch.

And she has discovered her toes.  This makes diaper changes a bit more complicated now. :}  She naps twice a day in the crib and twice in her swing - yes, 4 naps a day, I know not why.  She still sleeps all night in her swing, but we happen to have just tried her in the crib last night for the first time and it went smoothly.  She slept in it from 9:45-4:00, after which Josh fed her and put her to finish the night in the swing.

This month Lasa stopped being swaddled at night. She hardly needs to be burped anymore as she ends up burping more gently on her own instead.  As a result, we don't seem to need burpcloths like we used to.  Those are nice to retire.  But as you can see, she has to, has to, has to wear a bib just about all the time.  Much, much drool.  Reminds us of Noah's baby/toddler days.

She can now almost sit up on her own, though not without our arms around her to catch her toppling.  She has much improved hand-eye coordination and uses it to get all things to her face, grabbing at toys she wants all the time, and fussing so hard when they won't cooperate and get in her mouth as she means them to. 

Something that does always bring a smile to her face is a very basic cartoon on Sprout called Boj. Don't judge us for letting the baby watch TV.  Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do to grab a moment of peace, especially on fussy days. :S

She is still in 6 mos clothes, just filling them out better, weighs 16 lbs now, and is just the most snuggly butterball of a lapful there is.  She has started rubbing at her eyes and face so roughly that she often has little scratch marks.  I have to stay on top of her fingernails as a result.  She also loves bathtime still, splashing like a crazy woman and soaking anything in reach of the sink.

She is almost weaned off her sensitive formula and fully onto regular.  And she has had fun trying new foods.  So far she has enjoyed applesauce, bananas, green beans, and sweet potatoes.

She got to spend a few hours with her momma this week after almost 2 months apart thanks to Josh making the trek with her across Nashville and into the boonies beyond while I stayed home with sick kiddos.  It was a precious and much-needed visit. I am hoping it was particularly timely as it relates to momma's treatment as well.

 Lasa came home with a handmade gift from Angelique ... a headband that is pretty adorable.  Momma said she made one for herself to match.

And, of course, Lasalove took in her first Christmas this week. Gifts included some outfits and precious kicks from Memaw, a toy phone and Sophie giraffe from us, and a playtable from Santa.

It is a certainty that Lasa will still be with us by 6 mos, so we'll report back here with all the fun changes she sees in the coming weeks. 

Happy 5 mos, Lasa girl!!  We love you!!

Christmas 2015

Josh has had this entire week off for Christmas, so we have thoroughly enjoyed the freedom and fun that goes with us all being together with nothing pressing on our schedule.  Before the big day came, we got the kids well while Josh did the visit with Lasa's mom.  Then, it was Star Wars time, baby!  My people were super pumped for this day to finally arrive.  I took one for the team and stayed home with Lasa, though I might have thrown myself a mental pity party all the while.

Noah was eager to keep me company the following day, however, when I went to see it myself. :)  He felt so powerful knowing the movie before me.  He {may have} made it hard to watch because he kept {helping} me understand what just happened and what was about to happen in every other scene.  HA!

We had a gingerbread house to make the kitchen festive this week.  Josh and I both agree this is the kids' best one to date.

We enjoyed finding a steal of a deal on Groupon for Christmas cards this year and are so pleased with our final product for 2015.

Even more, we enjoyed everyone else's Christmas cards that came rolling in.  This year, we started filling up a wall with them and they will probably be the last holiday decor we take down, we enjoy them so.

Midweek, we squeezed in an impromptu dinner at our house with our friends, the Mosleys, and their three boys. Between extra bodies, active boys, Christmas decor, and baby gear all over the place, it was a full house indeed, but the fellowship with their family was so relaxed and honest.  We were so glad things worked out to hang out during a week when we figured everyone would be busy with family visits! 

The night after, Christmas Eve, we met up with them and the rest of Redeemer Church for a Christmas Eve service we shared with another local church, Faith Presbyterian.  It was a fitting carol, scripture, and worship filled night.  And - bonus - the kids got to hold fire again!  Lasa tried to handle flame, too,  but I was ready for her antics. :}  I was not ready to get pics of the beautiful evening while holding baby AND a lit candle, so I have nothing to show from that night.  Trying not to think about it. :(

Also on Christmas Eve, the kids got to open a present of their choosing.  No surprise, they both picked boxes with the familiar jingle jangle of Legos. :}

Lasa opened up this gem of a toy, Sophie the Giraffe, and it was an instant hit.  Except for when it makes her scream because she can't get it in her mouth just right.

After the Christmas Eve service, we cruised the neighborhood for one last look at all the Christmas lights and then Josh and I settled in for that last minute scramble to set up Santa and wrap a few more things we forgot would be from us and not the Big Guy. :S  We might have been grumpy and sweaty before it was all accomplished.  The wild goose chase on tiptoe for boxes that fit right didn't help either.  HA! But in our defense, it is freaking 75 degrees this Christmas!  What in the world?!  And, as you can see, we virtually set up camp in the living room. No small feat.

Santa left Anna the stuffed-full-of-surprises stocking, the single-person tent she asked him for, bunk beds for her American Girl dolls, and a messload of brand new markers which she was desperately in need of.  

He surprised Noah with the kayak, the maze ball, and a Star Wars book he wanted plus the light saber in his stocking, which is the one item he asked for from Santa.  

Christmas morning found my kiddos squealing at all the goodies and scrambling to facetime Memaw and Papa John so they could watch them open the presents under the tree.  

I had a baby on my lap and all the gift opening was pointed at the iPad for our sweet virtual company, so my pics of the great unwrapping are somewhat limited.  But you know how these things go.  Fun, in a flash!

 

This Phineas and Ferb set was Noah's favorite thing from us, the new release movie Pan, 

and this hefty Lego set.

Lasa got these kicks and outfits from the sweetest Memaw there is.

 Anna's favorite gifts from us include the hair stylist chair for her dolls,

 this magnatiles set, and a Little Live Pet that parrots back your words to you. 

Lasa didn't know what all the fuss was about...

but she has enjoyed her new phone just the same. Maybe now she will stop grabbing for mine.

Lasa's intrigued by the play table Santa left for her, too.  She needs help to stay standing at it, but that's part of the thrill. :)

Josh got a new winter hat from Carhartt, some cologne, and a belt clip for his phone. I got a new, super duper dust buster (which I adore), a crock pot (which I am trading in for a massage), and my personal favorite ... a selfie stick!! We need practice at this, but, knowing me, it'll come.  Ha!

Tonight we wrapped up the last ornament/discussion on our Jesse Tree again.  I asked the kids to smile for the camera with the completed display.  They gave me some lackluster zombie smiles instead. :/

I attempted a retake asking for a little more life in their eyes.  Josh walked by and did a fake toot to liven the party up.  That did the trick.

Sigh. 

Faith, flatulence, festive fun, family - all in one shot.  Real life!

Merry Christmas, y'all!