"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."
Luke 2:14
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."
John 3:16
Friday, December 25, 2009
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Our Christmas Trip Thus Far
Merry Christmas Eve, everyone!
I haven't posted anything in the last few days because we've been so busy! Of course, I'm sure all of you have, too.
On Monday, we flew to Houston to spend a few days with my parents. My brother, Ken, and his wife, Meredith, were there, too. One of the very first things we did (other than stopping on the way home to pick up fajitas at Los Cucos--YUM) was to swing on the new play set my dad built in the backyard. It was such a surprise that he did that! It was already dark when they went out to swing that first day, but I did get a picture the next morning:
Because of Noah's unabated love of trains, my parents thought it'd be a good idea to take him to ride the train at Hermann Park. It was more like a brilliant idea. He reacted the same way he did when he and I rode the train in Harvard Square in October--he acted as if it were no big thing, but he talked about it a lot afterward.
After we got off the train, we hung out for a bit and fed the ducks. See if you can spot the duck in this picture. :)
Later that evening, my mom arranged a "gingerbread" house building contest. We had 45 minutes to create something from graham crackers, icing, and candy, then Granny and Noah judged which house was the best. Here are the competitors:
We teased Mom and Dad a lot about their little village. Is it a cemetery? Did Noah actually make it? ;) Their strategy was to go small so that everything would stand up, but the graham crackers ended up being very hard to work with.
Nathan and I built a castle tower. Although it may look a little wobbly, we thought it turned out pretty well. We even added snowy grass, a moat, a candy corn cobblestone walk, some stained glass windows, . . .
. . . and a wreath on the back.
Ken and Meredith won, however, with their neat little abode (we're pretty sure it was modeled after the Brady Bunch house). It even looked good after Noah ate some of the "kale" growing in the front yard.
Last night, we all went to Saltgrass Steakhouse for dinner. They have Shiner Bock on tap, which is an awesome Texas beer. Too bad I can't have any in my condition. I am not a beer drinker by any standard, but their Shiner is really quite good.
Here's a picture of the whole family:
And for those of you who have not had the privilege of dining in a true Texas steakhouse, here is what one looks like. Lots of cedar and limestone. And in this case, stuffed animals. Oh, and we must not forget the Texas flag, which is necessary in any truly Texan establishment. Here we see it painted on a canoe.
Noah enjoyed his first corn dog at the restaurant. This is before he stuffed his mouth so full of it that Nathan had to turn him upside down to stop him from choking on it. At least we know he likes corn dogs. ;)
Ken and Meredith left this morning to go spend Christmas Eve & Day with Meredith's family in Atlanta, so we were sure to get a family picture before they left. Here we all are on the fort/slide/swing set my dad built.
The End. (So far.)
Hope your Christmas is very merry!
I haven't posted anything in the last few days because we've been so busy! Of course, I'm sure all of you have, too.
On Monday, we flew to Houston to spend a few days with my parents. My brother, Ken, and his wife, Meredith, were there, too. One of the very first things we did (other than stopping on the way home to pick up fajitas at Los Cucos--YUM) was to swing on the new play set my dad built in the backyard. It was such a surprise that he did that! It was already dark when they went out to swing that first day, but I did get a picture the next morning:
Because of Noah's unabated love of trains, my parents thought it'd be a good idea to take him to ride the train at Hermann Park. It was more like a brilliant idea. He reacted the same way he did when he and I rode the train in Harvard Square in October--he acted as if it were no big thing, but he talked about it a lot afterward.
After we got off the train, we hung out for a bit and fed the ducks. See if you can spot the duck in this picture. :)
Later that evening, my mom arranged a "gingerbread" house building contest. We had 45 minutes to create something from graham crackers, icing, and candy, then Granny and Noah judged which house was the best. Here are the competitors:
We teased Mom and Dad a lot about their little village. Is it a cemetery? Did Noah actually make it? ;) Their strategy was to go small so that everything would stand up, but the graham crackers ended up being very hard to work with.
Nathan and I built a castle tower. Although it may look a little wobbly, we thought it turned out pretty well. We even added snowy grass, a moat, a candy corn cobblestone walk, some stained glass windows, . . .
. . . and a wreath on the back.
Ken and Meredith won, however, with their neat little abode (we're pretty sure it was modeled after the Brady Bunch house). It even looked good after Noah ate some of the "kale" growing in the front yard.
Last night, we all went to Saltgrass Steakhouse for dinner. They have Shiner Bock on tap, which is an awesome Texas beer. Too bad I can't have any in my condition. I am not a beer drinker by any standard, but their Shiner is really quite good.
Here's a picture of the whole family:
And for those of you who have not had the privilege of dining in a true Texas steakhouse, here is what one looks like. Lots of cedar and limestone. And in this case, stuffed animals. Oh, and we must not forget the Texas flag, which is necessary in any truly Texan establishment. Here we see it painted on a canoe.
Noah enjoyed his first corn dog at the restaurant. This is before he stuffed his mouth so full of it that Nathan had to turn him upside down to stop him from choking on it. At least we know he likes corn dogs. ;)
Ken and Meredith left this morning to go spend Christmas Eve & Day with Meredith's family in Atlanta, so we were sure to get a family picture before they left. Here we all are on the fort/slide/swing set my dad built.
The End. (So far.)
Hope your Christmas is very merry!
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Snow Day!
It is snowing right now. It is snowing A LOT right now. We are supposed to get somewhere between 8 and 18 inches where we are, and Nathan estimates that we've gotten 10-12" so far. Ever since we've known that it was going to snow a lot today, Nathan has really been looking forward to taking Noah out on the sled. They've gotten to do it once this winter already, and Noah had such a good time. He had the rosiest cheeks and the biggest smile as Nathan pulled him around in the backyard, and it killed me that my camera battery died just as I went out to take pictures.
So Nathan took Noah out this morning on the sled, but it actually wasn't that enjoyable, because the snow was still falling and the wind was blowing a bit, which meant that some of the snow was getting driven into our faces. I did take a video of Nathan pulling Noah on the sled, but Noah actually didn't look that thrilled, because who would be happy about snow blowing in your face? They did stay out for a while, but I think we'll have more fun later, after the snow stops falling. We're hoping to go out again after his nap, when, hopefully, it will have stopped falling and it won't be dark yet. Stay tuned for some fun-in-the-snow pictures--I hope we get some!
Also, I made homemade biscuits for lunch. I think it might only be a small exaggeration to say that nothing warms a southerner's heart than a good biscuit.
Speaking of southerners:
I am cracking up, because I just heard Nathan explain to Noah that tomorrow we're going to get on an airplane and fly way up high in the sky and go to Texas, which is a lot like Heaven, only not actually up in the sky.
So Nathan took Noah out this morning on the sled, but it actually wasn't that enjoyable, because the snow was still falling and the wind was blowing a bit, which meant that some of the snow was getting driven into our faces. I did take a video of Nathan pulling Noah on the sled, but Noah actually didn't look that thrilled, because who would be happy about snow blowing in your face? They did stay out for a while, but I think we'll have more fun later, after the snow stops falling. We're hoping to go out again after his nap, when, hopefully, it will have stopped falling and it won't be dark yet. Stay tuned for some fun-in-the-snow pictures--I hope we get some!
Also, I made homemade biscuits for lunch. I think it might only be a small exaggeration to say that nothing warms a southerner's heart than a good biscuit.
Speaking of southerners:
I am cracking up, because I just heard Nathan explain to Noah that tomorrow we're going to get on an airplane and fly way up high in the sky and go to Texas, which is a lot like Heaven, only not actually up in the sky.
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Noah's Newest Words
Noah started saying two new words last night at dinner:
- bite (appropriate, since he was eating)
- sin (what?!)
The fact that my child is saying "sin" before he is two years old--not knowing what it is but engaging in it all the time--really makes me laugh. Does that make me neurotic or otherwise weird? I'm sorry, but it really does crack me up. I think that probably no one thinks it's as funny as I do, but there you go.
- bite (appropriate, since he was eating)
- sin (what?!)
The fact that my child is saying "sin" before he is two years old--not knowing what it is but engaging in it all the time--really makes me laugh. Does that make me neurotic or otherwise weird? I'm sorry, but it really does crack me up. I think that probably no one thinks it's as funny as I do, but there you go.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Christmas in Texas
Pretty soon, we'll board a plane and head to Texas for Christmas. Other than the obvious fact that we are excited about Christmas (my favorite holiday of the whole entire year), there are lots of reasons we're looking forward to this trip:
- Noah will get to ride on a real, live plane. He has become interested in airplanes lately, even making a swooshing sound effect when he is playing with one or when we hear one outside. Though we're hoping he'll nap for the flight, I did buy him a couple of new things to play with on the plane, including an airport book, which I think he'll like a lot. And we've been telling him that in a few days he'll get to ride on an airplane--when Nathan asks him if he's excited about it, Noah says, "Mmm hmm." It's cute.
- We think that our families will really enjoy playing with Noah. He is really a pretty funny kid, with a good sense of humor and a great sense of play and games. His favorite thing is just for someone to get down on the floor and play with him, and there will be plenty of people around to do just that.
- Tex-Mex. This is Texas, after all.
- I think Noah will really be awed by Christmas trees and Christmas lights. We haven't gotten a tree this year, something I have really missed, frankly. So whenever Noah sees a Christmas tree in a book or something, he thinks it's really neat. I'm sure that when he sees a real one, he'll be excited.
- I'm also sure that when he sees the presents under the tree, he'll be very excited.
- Buying presents for Noah has been more fun this year. I mean, what can you really buy for a one-year-old? Nothing exciting, that's what. But starting around two years old, the toys start getting more interesting and more fun.
- It won't be 10 degrees, which is the temperature outside right now.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
The Wall
Yesterday a wall of reality hit in the form of a wall of fatigue.
The reality that I had to face yesterday was that I am in my third trimester, which means I am getting tired again, and I simply cannot do everything I want to do every day. There were lots of things on my list yesterday, including making some Christmas cookies to give away. However, just as I was about to turn the mixer on, Noah fell out of a chair and bumped his head, and the rest of the morning was shot, because he was out of sorts for everything and just needed constant attention. When he finally went down for a nap, I was completely beat, but I had to get dinner in the crock pot before I laid down. By the time I finally got to shut my eyes, it was an hour into Noah's nap. And then he woke up early, and I had to drag myself out of bed to go get him--I haven't felt that kind of lethargy in my body since the first trimester. And from then until the end of the day, I was completely exhausted, the kind of exhausted I get only when I am pregnant. By the time we went to pick up Nathan, I was so tired I was almost in tears. And by bedtime, the exhaustion had evidently let the floodgates loose on the hormones, and I was in tears over things that do not normally bother me. Mostly, the thing that was bothering me was the thought of all the things I could not get to during that day, in addition to the reality that I was just not going to be able to get to those things at all.
Today was a better day, for sure. But yesterday did remind me that I am going to have to lower my expectations on what I can accomplish for a while. I had been able to ramp things back up a little bit during the second trimester, and I guess I was just living under the delusion that I was going to be able to keep that up for a while, but I think that I am now going to have to just take it day by day.
The reality that I had to face yesterday was that I am in my third trimester, which means I am getting tired again, and I simply cannot do everything I want to do every day. There were lots of things on my list yesterday, including making some Christmas cookies to give away. However, just as I was about to turn the mixer on, Noah fell out of a chair and bumped his head, and the rest of the morning was shot, because he was out of sorts for everything and just needed constant attention. When he finally went down for a nap, I was completely beat, but I had to get dinner in the crock pot before I laid down. By the time I finally got to shut my eyes, it was an hour into Noah's nap. And then he woke up early, and I had to drag myself out of bed to go get him--I haven't felt that kind of lethargy in my body since the first trimester. And from then until the end of the day, I was completely exhausted, the kind of exhausted I get only when I am pregnant. By the time we went to pick up Nathan, I was so tired I was almost in tears. And by bedtime, the exhaustion had evidently let the floodgates loose on the hormones, and I was in tears over things that do not normally bother me. Mostly, the thing that was bothering me was the thought of all the things I could not get to during that day, in addition to the reality that I was just not going to be able to get to those things at all.
Today was a better day, for sure. But yesterday did remind me that I am going to have to lower my expectations on what I can accomplish for a while. I had been able to ramp things back up a little bit during the second trimester, and I guess I was just living under the delusion that I was going to be able to keep that up for a while, but I think that I am now going to have to just take it day by day.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Weekend Festivities
We had a busy and fun weekend! Here's the update:
On Saturday, we had our small group over for our annual Christmas party and Yankee Swap (White Elephant exchange). Our group does a mix of gag gifts and nice gifts, so you never know what you're going to get. But there is always something that is the most talked-about item, and usually that item gets recycled back into the gift circulation year after year. For a while, it's been a shower stick--a thing that basically hangs down from your shower head and sprays water from holes in the tube. One of the things that makes this item so funny, other than the actual product itself, is that the pictures on the packaging are borderline censorable. There are all these half naked people showering, and it has always cracked us up. In fact, last year, Bryan and Sara actually cut out construction paper clothes and taped them on there before wrapping it up and putting it in the pile of gifts. Anyway, Nathan and I had thought that someone else ended up with the famed shower stick last year, but we found it in a closet THE DAY AFTER the party! I mean, COME ON! It had been there a year, and we found it the day after? Oh, the irony. And now we are stuck with it for at least another year. I don't know if that thing is going to make the move to Houston with us or what. Of course, the Benesh side might beware--there is a similar gift exchange on that side of the family at Christmastime, and there might just be an anonymously given shower stick this year. . . . Anyway, we had a nice brunch and gift exchange with our amigos. Then, Noah, Nathan, and I all took long naps (always the mark of a good day).
Sunday was our sixth anniversary, which was so sweetly announced on the blog by Nathan yesterday. :) (I still cannot get over how skinny I am in that picture.) Anyway, in the morning, we went to the early service at church, which begins at 8:30. Really, y'all, that is pretty early for our family. We usually aren't really ready to face the day until nearly 9:00. But we decided to go to the early service in order to do something else special yesterday, which was to go to a model train exhibit at the National Heritage Museum in Lexington. We had just heard about it the day before, and as soon as it was mentioned to us, Nathan and I looked at each other and said, "Noah would love that. We have to go." So we sacrificed our sleep and got to church early in order to be able to get ourselves out to see the trains before naptime. It was worth the outing; Noah really enjoyed checking out the trains:
That evening, Nathan and I went out to dinner at Mamma Maria, which is the same restaurant we went to last year. Now, the last time we went, my entreé was pretty much amazing. This time, we both enjoyed what we got, but really the standouts in the meal were the pesto that was served with the bread and the cappuccino at the end of the meal. They were truly outstanding. I ordered the rabbit dish, which was served with freshly made pasta, and Nathan was the adventurous eater of the night and got a trio of wild game raviolis: wild boar, oxtail, and lamb. Overall, the most fun thing was just getting to go on a date, get dressed up, go to a nice restaurant, and to go out to a part of town in Boston (the North End) we rarely visit anymore. Actually, we were kind of laughing when we got to our table, because our view from the second floor included the fire escape, the dark, narrow cobblestone streets, the gaslight street lamps, and the rain. Nathan pointed out that it totally looked like a scene out of a film noir movie.
Also, Noah said his first two-syllable word this weekend. It was "meatball."
Anywho, that was our weekend. It's a busy time of year for us, between Christmas and anniversary, but it's always fun.
On Saturday, we had our small group over for our annual Christmas party and Yankee Swap (White Elephant exchange). Our group does a mix of gag gifts and nice gifts, so you never know what you're going to get. But there is always something that is the most talked-about item, and usually that item gets recycled back into the gift circulation year after year. For a while, it's been a shower stick--a thing that basically hangs down from your shower head and sprays water from holes in the tube. One of the things that makes this item so funny, other than the actual product itself, is that the pictures on the packaging are borderline censorable. There are all these half naked people showering, and it has always cracked us up. In fact, last year, Bryan and Sara actually cut out construction paper clothes and taped them on there before wrapping it up and putting it in the pile of gifts. Anyway, Nathan and I had thought that someone else ended up with the famed shower stick last year, but we found it in a closet THE DAY AFTER the party! I mean, COME ON! It had been there a year, and we found it the day after? Oh, the irony. And now we are stuck with it for at least another year. I don't know if that thing is going to make the move to Houston with us or what. Of course, the Benesh side might beware--there is a similar gift exchange on that side of the family at Christmastime, and there might just be an anonymously given shower stick this year. . . . Anyway, we had a nice brunch and gift exchange with our amigos. Then, Noah, Nathan, and I all took long naps (always the mark of a good day).
Sunday was our sixth anniversary, which was so sweetly announced on the blog by Nathan yesterday. :) (I still cannot get over how skinny I am in that picture.) Anyway, in the morning, we went to the early service at church, which begins at 8:30. Really, y'all, that is pretty early for our family. We usually aren't really ready to face the day until nearly 9:00. But we decided to go to the early service in order to do something else special yesterday, which was to go to a model train exhibit at the National Heritage Museum in Lexington. We had just heard about it the day before, and as soon as it was mentioned to us, Nathan and I looked at each other and said, "Noah would love that. We have to go." So we sacrificed our sleep and got to church early in order to be able to get ourselves out to see the trains before naptime. It was worth the outing; Noah really enjoyed checking out the trains:
That evening, Nathan and I went out to dinner at Mamma Maria, which is the same restaurant we went to last year. Now, the last time we went, my entreé was pretty much amazing. This time, we both enjoyed what we got, but really the standouts in the meal were the pesto that was served with the bread and the cappuccino at the end of the meal. They were truly outstanding. I ordered the rabbit dish, which was served with freshly made pasta, and Nathan was the adventurous eater of the night and got a trio of wild game raviolis: wild boar, oxtail, and lamb. Overall, the most fun thing was just getting to go on a date, get dressed up, go to a nice restaurant, and to go out to a part of town in Boston (the North End) we rarely visit anymore. Actually, we were kind of laughing when we got to our table, because our view from the second floor included the fire escape, the dark, narrow cobblestone streets, the gaslight street lamps, and the rain. Nathan pointed out that it totally looked like a scene out of a film noir movie.
Also, Noah said his first two-syllable word this weekend. It was "meatball."
Anywho, that was our weekend. It's a busy time of year for us, between Christmas and anniversary, but it's always fun.
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