It's been a long time...

Since I have blogged! I know. I apologize.

It's also been a long time since Rob and I have taken a break from "doing" Young Life... a really long time for Rob.

Rob became a leader for Young Life in Lubbock, TX in 1992. He has been a volunteer, on part time staff, an Area Director, and an Area Developer during that time - in Utah since 1997. I became a volunteer leader in Houston, TX in 1997 and went on full-time staff in 1999. After a little over 5 years on staff I married Rob and moved to Utah as a volunteer leader. I have been volunteering on and off since then (off due to having babies).

After 7 years of full-time staff, Young Life allows and encourages their staff to take a Sabbatical. After 8 years of full-time staff and almost half his life devoted to this ministry, Rob took his well deserved Sabbatical!

We are in our last week of his time away from ministry now and are spending our last few days in San Diego. It has been so great having dad around all the time, and we have LOVED the warm weather! All of us are feeling a little warmer, more relaxed, full (we have eaten some great food), and "full" (we have spent some great time reading books and reading God's Word), disconnected (which is good in so many ways as we have stayed away from the computer and our phones), and we are closer as a family. This has been a HUGE blessing for us!

Rob is ready to hit the ground running when we return home and ready to see what God has in store for him and this ministry in the years to come. I am ready to hit the ground running as we prepare for this sweet baby boy to arrive at the end of May or beginning of June. We have some room rearranging to do and we need to come up with a name for this sweet boy. Sawyer has some ideas - Parker, one of his best friend's names, and other suggestions that I can't pronounce, much less spell. Needless to say, we need to start thinking!

We love that Young Life is such a huge part of our lives. We are so blessed and so thankful!

Here are some photos from our time in sunny California!

NOvember

Last week I was the coop parent at Bean's preschool. This is always a pure delight as I get to be in on the action that takes place at school. We coop once a month, and this is always a treat. During Circle Time, I learned that there are NO birthdays during the month of November. No one in the class has a birthday. This means no parties, no cupcakes, no singing of "Happy Birthday" and no shared gifts with the class. The kids remember this every time they talk about the month of NOvember.

This got me to thinking...scary, I know.

NOvember

No more leaves on the trees or a warm, dry nose.

No more hummingbird feeder or exposed, flip flop toes.

No more grassy picnics or tank tops and shorts.

No more bees in the air or playgrounds and forts. 

No Farmer's Market tomatoes or slurpees to sip.

No more bike rides and hikes, no more swimming pool trips.

NOvember

In an effort to sound a little more positive...It's not all bad. Seriously. For what it lacks, November marks the beginning of a great (did I mention long) winter here in Park City. We get to ski, sled, snowshoe, and drink hot cocoa snuggled up next to a crisp,warm fire. The snow covered ground reflects the moonlight to light up the sky at night, and this remains one of my favorite things. True, the snow blowing and shoveling gets a little old, and the monotonous routine of bundling up the kids before each outing remains a pain; however, I wouldn't trade it for a trip to the pool for a second. We'll get plenty more of that this summer! 

Fabulous Fall Fun!

Here are a few photos of our little trick or treaters! Bean refused to be ANYTHING but Ironman since dad was Ironman this summer at Young Life Camp. He doesn't have a clue who that is, but he knows dad wore the costume on stage for a month and he wanted to be like dad. So sweet. Peanut didn't care too much for the costume but did enjoy taking on the character of a lion. She had a sweet raspy roar that we couldn't get enough of.

The Fall Festival at church. Peanut is finishing up her pizza as we head down the hall to the games.

Roar!

Cheese!

A quick family photo!

A fun trip to the zoo. This gorilla amazed us as he sat at stared at us through the glass.

One of our favorite zoo moments ever!

Raking leaves before the snow falls!

It doesn't get old! (Well, maybe the raking but not the playing!)

Fall has been so fun and surprisingly warm! Not anymore! It is crisp and cold outside today, and the snow continues to make it's way down the mountain. We are excited and ready for winter, and we look forward to Thanksgiving in a few weeks.

Peanut is ready!

Maybe...

Help me out here, folks. I am a little concerned and wondering who might be visiting the blog from Moscow, Lisboa (don't even know where that is), or Ankara. I leave my blog open to make it easy for friends and family to read, but I don't want creepers checking out pictures of my kids. It would be great if some of you would leave comments so I have an idea of who you are. Dad, I know you visit often! Thanks!

Life is good...

Our Little Man Is In Preschool!

If you read my post about preschool last spring, then you know that dad camped out overnight in a parking lot in order to get Bean into preschool. True story.

Thankfully, he got a spot for our little man. We are now the proud parents of a preschooler who actually attends preschool - and we love it! I had my first co-op day last week and got to be a part of the action. It is SO fun! It seems a bit surreal that we are here already, and yet I know Bean was ready and is better because of his time at school.

Here are some action shots from his first day. I know, I know...he's cute.

Before we got moving! Look at that smile - he was so excited.

Having a little trouble with the backpack...

Could use a little help here...

Why isn't this working...

Got it...finally!

SO excited!

And SO cute!

A special breakfast at Einstein's Bagels! Maybe that's why he was so excited - cinnamon bagel bites 

and chocolate milk. Good luck with the sugar high Ms. Patti and Ms. Linda...sorry.

I love him.

"Hurry up guys! I don't want to be late!"

Getting situated at one of the stations. (That's the amazing Ms. Patti across from Bean. 

We have known Patti for a long time and LOVE that she is one of the teachers!)

My last goodbye for the day. I think he's pulling away from me - I didn't 

think that would happen until Middle School. Tear...wipe...

AND, this girl is 14 months. 

What is happening to my babies?

That look...something else I didn't think I would see until middle school.