Aiden was so excited about their new "kitchen!"

Wanted to see the book, but couldn't leave the new "beep beep"

Christmas morning- Abigail's favorite toy- her cell phone



The stockings were hung with care :)

Our first ever REAL Christmas Tree! I don't think I'll ever go back to artificial- it smelled wonderful and just brought such an organic feel to our home!




Thanksgiving we traveled to Kentucky to see my family

This year was the first time in nearly 8 years of marriage that we spent Christmas “just us.” Although we missed our family, it was WONDERFUL to not have to travel. We unpacked some more, got some things in order that got pushed to the side in the midst of a busy semester, and took care of sick babies  We made breakfast casserole and pumpkin pancakes which were fabulous! We had our first WHITE CHRISTMAS so we took the twins out to play! We spent over a half hour just getting all their snow gear on, and when we finally got out there they hated it :( Aiden just kept falling over face first and couldn’t get him and all those layers back up. It was absolutely hilarious! For dinner, we got invited over to our new pastor’s home along with several other families. It was so nice to slow down and truly be able to focus on Christ this Christmas season.

Some 18 mo pics

At this age they are so squirmy and active it is nearly impossible to get a good picture of them (especially together). Outside would be best, but it is far too cold (although we did try and you can tell from thier faces what they thought of that).

Blizzard!

We are in the midst of our first ever blizzard! Surprisingly enough, I have absolutely LOVED the snow here and I haven't minded the cold much at all! I am far too busy carrying two kids to even feel how cold it is outside (even when it was -16 with windchill). I've loved our first taste of this season called winter :) However, this massive storm has been very concerning. I would compare it to a Hurricane in the south- everything shuts down, power may go out, roads are impassable, everyone freaks out the few days before and storms the stores, ect. However, if the power goes out you don't sweat to death- you freeze! And though we hit many stores- we missed out on the little propane heaters you can buy. So we are praying the wind doesn't take down our ice laden power lines! On the positive side, we won't loose everything in our fridge this time- we'll just put it outside in the snow! :) Hope to post pics tommorrow.
Well, I didn't get too many pictures of the big winter storm mainly because it was much too cold! This morning when I got up it was 2 degrees. It took Ben two hours to dig us out this time and get all the ice off the car (and an additional day to be able to open the back doors which were frozen shut).


So what do you do with 20 month old stir crazy twins when you are stuck inside for 3 whole days and normally run at least two errands just to break up the day?
1- Watch the same Veggie Tales movie over and over (even though we have others-only one they want- i now have it memorized), while "sharing" our favorite chair


2- Take multiple baths a day because it's one of our favorite things

Reflections

Since we are completely "iced in", and under a blizzard warning, I thought I'd take this opportunity to reflect some. We still have power for now, and hopefully we won't lose it b/c I have no way to heat my home or keep my babies warm!
Last semester was filled with lots of newness. New beginnings, new people, a new place, a new home, a new city, and new church. The entire semester we were still getting our bearings from moving and from the stress of our last 1 ½. I think it will take us until the end of May to really feel “settled” again. Ben and I both loved being in school again and we really enjoyed the class we took together. It felt like we were dating again when we would spend evenings studying and quizzing each other. It is obvious the Lord has called us here and it breathes life to Ben to know the Lord more through a greater understanding of His word. We have also been surrounded by a great community. The professors are wonderful and really care about the students, and we have continued to build relationships with other students. Ben especially enjoys his Covenant Group (a required group that meets weekly for accountability, debriefing, connection, ect.). It is faculty led and has definitely been a highlight. I really enjoyed our women’s breakout session in our class where a guest speaker spoke every week on a different topic relating to ministry (finances, family, difficult people, ect.). We had a women’s brunch, several “ministry lunches”, and some great chapel services. Some of the biggest things I learned in my class were about the lives and sufferings of the heroes of the faith. All in all it was a great “first” semester and we are learning what it looks like to live the seminary life :)

Suggestions?

Last time I blogged was Thanksgiving. Really looking back it seems as though a whole semester has gone by (again) without me keeping up with this thing! I need help- practical suggestions for how to fit blogging into my life and when/how you guys do it!