Pictures On Our Mantle

Sorry for the delay in blogging, those of you who have been waiting! We have had a lot going on in the past several months! It is amazing as I look at the pictures we have up around our house. I recently updated the pictures in our frames and was just in awe of how richly God has blessed us!

Rachel is definitely a Daddy's girl!

Josiah got a bike for Christmas! Rachel got a doll! Sounds like a cliche American family, doesn't it?

Josiah's preschool put on a Nativity Christmas play and Josiah was a shepherd! Instead of singing during the program, he talked to his friend beside him and tried to talk to us in the audience!

Rachel and her cousin, Wendy, dressed up as Princesses and got to see Disney Princesses on Ice this past December!

Looking back: Ten years ago, I was student teaching and trying to figure out what I was going to do after graduating from UNC (and wondering if I could handle my sister being overseas since that was what she had planned for after graduating). Five years ago, I still couldn't believe that I was married to such a wonderful man (I have trouble believing it even now sometimes) . Scott and I had been married for over a year and were enjoying our time together, hardly thinking about having kids yet (especially since I was still working on getting my masters degree). Now we have two beautiful children who have cousins on both sides who are similar ages! It is so much fun to watch the cousins all play together (both in Virgina and in Greensboro when my sister's family is visiting from China) and remember what it was like to play with my cousins in the summers when they visited from Colorado! I can't believe how much Jenny's and my family are growing and changing and how similar it is to our family when we were kids. And my little brothers are all grown up too! Josiah and Rachel are looking forward to meeting their new cousin to arrive in June, as am I! My "big" little brother is having a baby!!! I am excited that I will actually be on vacation from school around that time too (so I'll be available if you need anything, Chris and Melissa)! And the cousins were all able to be a part of my "baby" (sorry, Mike) brother's beautiful wedding! We were all definitely sad to see Jenny and her family go back to China, as well as Michael and Lynn go back to Boston, but I know we'll be together again soon. Emailing, calling, blogging, Skyping, and "Facebooking" keep us closer than the distance between us!

Josiah was the ringbearer at the wedding!

Looking ahead: Josiah and Rachel have grown up so much lately, it seems. Josiah will be 4 soon and Rachel is already a year and a half, but tries to act almost 4! I am so excited about what God has planned for our family over the next 5, 10, 15 years, and more!

Josiah and Rachel danced at the wedding - they definitely have their sibling moments, but they usually get along so well and love each other very much!