Here's a Recap...

Well, we had an eventful holiday break! We flew with the boys to KC on the 13th of December, 2006. Then Justin and I left the next morning for TN to visit a parish in Knoxville. We had a blessed time and are waiting on the Lord to see if that is where we will end up. Right now it looks promising!

Then we had a great time with family and friends when we returned after our long weekend without the kiddos. It was almost like a vacation ... Almost!

We visited Justin's family while we stayed in KC, traveled up to Iowa to visit our good friends the Fjellmans, and even got to see my grandparents and parents. My parents made the long journey from CA after Christmas to stay in Laredo over New Year's! After we arrived home in NY on Jan. 3rd, we turned around the next day and left for NC to visit our friends the Foleys in Greensboro. We spent a lovely Theophany weekend with them and got to see their mission church in action. They are doing a fabulous job!

It is a strange thought to imagine that next year our Christmas will be celebrated in our own house, in our own town, and in our own way. Okay, so we don't really know how we will celebrate Christmas if we are in our own place. You see, in our eight years of marriage, Justin and I have never had Christmas in our own house! Now that he is a priest, our Christmases are taken from here until retirement. We so enjoyed our "last" Christmas in KC with family, but are hopeful that many of our loved ones will make the trek to see us over the holidays from time to time in the future.

So here are some pix from our journey. One is of Justin's Dad and the boys at breakfast. The others are from our road trip to NC. The boys are actually pretty great travelers. And, as you can see, we try and make it nice and comfy for them. And here we are: the Foleys and the Mathews (Evon wasn't home from school yet!).

Blessings to all!

Jodi

Back in NY ... Is it time to leave yet? ...

Well we have landed back on the HILL here at St. Vlads, and I must admit that we are anxious to see this term come to a close. Our sights are set on what is coming in the next few months: the birth of a thesis, the birth of our third son, and the birth of a life-long-living-out of this new clergy family.

We spent Christmas in KC with family. The theme for the year was knights and castles, and they received various accessories for both.

We got to hang out on the farm with Nana Hazel and Papa Virgil (and Nanny and Poppy were there too!), and it was unseasonably warm. The boys played outside without coats. Asher had fun tying his rope to the petrified wood in the front yard until that pesky cat wandered past (note the kitty creeping into the right side of the first "cat shot"). Then he just HAD to chase after it! He also had fun chasing the geese. Turns out he is quite "brave" according to his older brother. You see, the large gander took off after Elias and Eli bolted. Well, Asher wouldn't stand for his brother being threatened by the big bird so he decided to charge the old fellow. He chased after the gander yelling, "I'll save you Elias." To which Elias replied, "My brother Asher is very brave."

There will be more to come about our holiday adventures (I PROMISE!).

RIght now we are settling in after traveling to Kansas, North Missouri, Iowa, Tennessee and North Carolina ... WHEW!

Blessings!

Jodi