Savoring...

We took these two little monkeys to the airport on Monday.
It was such a gift to have a couple of weeks with them.
We certainly miss their voices and giggles. Thank heavens for
skype!

We are savoring the last week of the year. It's so nice that
it feels like time just slows down after Christmas. Our beautiful
valley is covered in a snowy white blanket. The girls and Mark have
enjoyed some really sweet ski days...and Davis hopes to get up there
soon! He has been a hard working boy. We are thinking of the new
year just around the corner. Plans for trips and personal goals and projects are in the works. Life is good.

Christmas Magic Was in Our Home

Are families not the best?! They are certainly evolving and change is

a constant within them. But so is love. Last year little Liam was two years old and these adorable little girls weren't with us quite yet. It feels like we have had them all forever. We were blessed to be together for Christmas (missing Janell for the big day). As time passes and education and jobs call - you don't really get a repeat of sweet times like this. It was wonderful to have the magic in our home and see the joy and delight in the eyes of the little ones. The pitter-patter of their little feet is gone for a time, but we certainly made some wonderful memories with all of you.

Telestrations is a new family favorite game!
(thank you kindly Sir Benjamin)
We very much had our fill of Prime Rib and Clam Chowder...
Avacado-Orange dressing...homemade caramel and gingerbread men...
soaks in the hot tub...a wonderful day of creating art...great conversation and laughing,lots and lots of laughing.
Sipping hot cocoa...Surprises from Boston...Molly dancing on command
Late nights talking...Elsie singing at every opportunity
Listening to Davis make music...A party with Bingo and Cheese Fondue
Liam's hope of getting his Toy Story family back together
Christmas Pudding Cake in the mail...(thanks Uncle Len!)
and happy birthday Lindsey...
ahi tuna and avocado spring rolls @ Elements deemed perfection by Dani.
secret Santa duties...shhhhh! Tangled - a great movie!
But maybe not enough time in the snow...yet.
It has been a wonderful Christmas and such a blessing to have time to reflect on the birth of our Savior.

On their way back to Portland






Don't miss the photos of our collage night in the post below.
We will update them as they are completed.

Boston in December

Mark & I have made several pilgrimages to Boston. We love it back there. We love the American History, the quaint architecture, the amazing restaurants and my family roots from the New England area. My mom grew up about and hour south of Boston. This December Mark attended a conference there and we went with our dear friends the Harkers. It was their first trip to Boston and we had a blast seeing it with new excitement.

Months before the trip I was doing some poking around online to see what was going on while we would be back there. To my surprise and delight I discovered one of my favorite artisans, Sally Mavor, would have some of her work on exhibit at Danforth Museum near Boston and she would be there doing a book signing while we were there! What a treat that day was! Stacey & I got ourselves train tickets to Framingham and after one wrong turn and walk through a dicey neighborhood - we got ourselves turned around and enjoyed the sweetest afternoon. Photos do not do justice to her incredible work. Seeing it first hand was remarkable and I was even quoted in a local newspaper article!

Photos are coming!

Soaking Up Every Minute of This Month

This is Miss Elsie! We have had the best time bonding with the little princess!
She is the happiest little baby you will ever meet. She loves music and will sing along
every time. We were lucky enough to witness two milestones with her. She cut her first
tooth and crawled! She is seven months old and we have treasured every minute with her.
This has to be one of my favorite photos ever! It completely captures her joy for life and
her cute little first tooth! True love.

The many faces of Elsie...being sad just isn't on her menu...
even while cutting teeth.
I love the one where she goes in for the
kiss on her brothers cheek!

More photos to come....

Janell is playing with placement

Liam jumped right in and loved every minute!

Ben is working on this cool pinhole camera - a gift to Emily.

Lindsey & Jake have been developing the background.

Camber studies the egg...

Danielle's is complete! She even incorporated some photos of flowers
from her beautiful yard in Michigan.

Really nice texture, Janell!

The process of creating was wonderful to watch. It was a messy situation with so many of us working but really fascinating to watch it all come together. We all enjoyed the gallery show at the end of the night and talking about each piece. Time very well spent together!
Everyone didn't finish that night and Nana was helping with the little ones so she still
needs to finish hers. We will try to get pictures of the finished pieces. Next time we might have a theme or word that everyone will need to incorporate into their art.

The Bird Collage was by Emily - Mark found the real feathers in his fly tying drawer and they matched her bird perfectly! We think she did a wonderful job with the color and light in her painting. Double click on the picture for a better view Blogger isn't cooperating
tonight with regular photos.

Mark's is the biking one. We love how he used the two photos of his grand fathers. It was fascinating to see how the colors he chose to paint with ended up matching
the biker image so well!

And here is the Evolution of Life by Brady - nice use of the color red. Really interesting to study. Camber did the Bird Nest. The nest is out of a paper bag. She tried several layouts. We like how solid the nest it but also how fragile the branch is. it provokes many feelings of home and family.