Between Here and There

Camels, donkeys, goats, Mary and Joseph, Christmas Tree lighting, hot apple cider, cookies, Christmas songs, and lots of people.

I was just browsing our photos and saw this cute one of Lillian last November. So I continued going back to 2003 when we first bought the digital. We sure loved the beauty of Vancouver but you really can't compare with pics of your kid, especially one as cute as Lillian. 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Thanks to Uncle Kevin for a beautiful Christmas dress. It is a perfect fit. Here she is modeling.

We spent our Friday (after Thanksgiving) at Homestead Heritage enjoying their Craft and Children's Fair . We enjoyed hot cider and fresh kettle corn on a cold day. We all took advantage of the petting area with young puppies and very cute goats. If only we could have brought one home with us. I hope to make this a Thanksgiving tradition and avoid the stores and malls.

Wow, here we are already spending our second Thanksgiving in Waco. Kyle's parents arrived Monday to spend the week with us and brought an early Christmas as well. Lillian was very happily surprised.

Lilly and I had a picnic outside today. 70 and sunny.

Again, sorry for the delay in writing and posting pics. I've lost that initial excitement I had with blogging. We seem to be having a lot of fun these days. Lillian is talking more and enjoys making us laugh by making faces or dancing around. Some of that is evident in the video below. Lillian and the twins are learning a bit of sign language by watching these videos that are great. I'm learning lots too. Of course a lot of the signs she's learned, she can say as well. I really should have started it a year ago. We are currently working on please and thank you since she doesn't say these. Next is 'grandma' and 'grandpa' to get ready for Thanksgiving and Christmas visits. We are looking forward to visiting with Kyle's parents next week and then seeing my family (those not in Africa) and even some friends as we'll be driving from Texas to NC and also spend a week in the DC area to see more family and friends. Speaking of the Africa-base...

Sorry about the previous post. I've had a heck of a time trying to get photos to post. And what's a post without a shot of Lillian? Anyway, this one was taken today as she and Kyle read through the Sunday paper. I'm not sure what's she's thinking. Do you? I had a nice talk with Rachel yesterday and she was able to see us using Skype video. What different worlds we are in - but it was fun to hear her voice even if only for a short time.

Friday I made the rash decision to cut Lillian's hair, just her bangs though. She was in the habit of pulling her clips out and her hair completely covered her eyes. So using rounded nail clipping scissors I made three quick cuts as she squirmed. I think it looks very cute but it does seem to give her a different look. You can kinda tell in these two shots. Saturday we went to the Baylor vs Texas football game. It was a beautiful day and I was surprised at how close the players were and easy to watch even though we sat at the top to give Lillian some wiggle room. I think this was possibly my third football game ever. We all got a little sunburned otherwise it was a great time. Hopefully we'll get to go to another. Sunday was a church celebration at the Waco Suspension bridge. Lilly and I rode the trolley (about 6 blocks) and she was enthralled. I'm not sure if was the seatbelt-less voyage or all the people. Once we got there lunch was served on the bridge cros...

Congratulations to the new Moms out there! Our local zoo has two new squirrel monkeys that cling tightly to their mothers as they jump between branches. Our Vancouver friends Mike and Tracy are taking a more active role by holding tightly to their new daughter Emma, born Sunday morning. Both Mom and daughter came home from the hospital the same day and are doing great. Older brother Jake has already said "Hi Emma". I'm not really comparing the two newborns, it's just that I think these little monkeys are cute, at least from behind the fencing.

Why won't this girl eat fruit?! This is the way NOT to do it I realize. She does seem to eat mango at least.

It was cool enough on Thursday for Lillian and I to walk up to H.E.B (our local grocery store) to pick up some lunch and head over to Starbucks for a picnic lunch and visit Mandy. But it was warm enough to need to jump in the pool after naptime. I wrote this last week. I've had trouble uploading pics so I didn't post at that time. This week it did cool down and we've opened the windows finally and even needed a blanket last night. Kyle is away for today and tomorrow on a short retreat but we're going to pick him up at the Three Mountains Retreat Center when he's done. Unfortunately, there won't be even one mountain in view. Lillian's new thing is saying "up down up down" over and over while bouncing and touching the ground. Still not quite able to jump.

We've been garage sale-ing and visiting some thrift stores recently. We picked up the old Fisher Price barn and animals last week. Most of us probably remember playing with this. The barn doors still moo when opened. At a thrift store this week I was busy looking for good finds when Lillian walks up to me holding this life-sized Elmo. She wouldn't let go the whole time, even tripping over him since he's so big. So, he came home with us and I quickly decided he should probably get dressed. I have a feeling she's going to be bored with him soon. In the meantime, they are sharing a bed.

How do these things work anyway?

This is the closest we could get. We miss you Rachel! We miss you Julianna and Jim!

This is Kyle and I back in Spring of 2004 (I think). We owned the small motorcycle for about a year I think. It's not ideal with all the rain in Vancouver. We did go on one trip though about 45 min south to White Rock for a day at the beach. It was our fourth anniversary celebration. It was not the most comfortable ride but it's fun to remember. A couple days later we had these people come to visit us. Fortunately the ones in bronze didn't need a place to stay.