Holiday In Review

 

I originally planned to share our Christmas family newsletter on here sometime around, oh, Christmas, but it is nearing the end of January now and I hope too much time hasn't passed. I have more to share, but first things first... We had so much fun with a full house of grandparents, aunties, uncle, and football. The girls had no shortage of attention and thankfully, everyone was healthy (I don't remember worrying so much about colds and flu at Christmas before we had kids).

I have more excitement to share but it can wait a little while so our special Christmas vacation can have its due time in the spotlight. :) To all of you family who were not with us, be sure that you were mentioned and missed. Noa was especially aware that her cousins were not around to open presents with her (Kelly, give the boys a hug for us!).  And since the photos from the newsletter did not transfer, I'll just swamp you with more recent Christmas pics instead. :)

The Fullers, 2012!

Thankfully, 2012 was a wonderful year full of ordinary joys – family and friends making the everyday life feel miraculous, and lovely little girls to remind us of how quickly time passes.

“Baby Bryn” is not so much a baby any more! She is growing into a beautiful little toddler who loves to play peek-a-boo and dress-up. Her favorite words right now are “dog!!!”, “uh ohhh”, “whis it?”, and “hi!”. She sucks her thumbs (sometimes both, at the same time), still sleeps long hours, and has to have a quick snuggle every time she walks by. Speaking of walking, little Miss finally decided that her tiny feet were up for the adventure, and took to the upright position at about 17 months old. It has been a delight to watch her try even harder to keep up with her big sister.

Noa began her second year of preschool and loves every single minute of it. She adores her friends, the school administrators, and teachers, and loves to stop by each office door to say hello when we arrive. She also makes sure to walk up to each friend in class and greet them personally as soon as she walks in. She ran in a Fall series race for the first time this year – what fun it was to watch her strut and gallop and giggle the whole course at each race! As soon as she crossed the finish line and picked up her ribbon, she would turn to us and ask, “Can I run it again???” She has also taken to leading our prayer time at dinner. We are always curious to hear what is on her heart, which is often “fwends, famwy, and my wace next week”. This first child of ours is constantly amazing us with her boundless energy so full of love, and her immediate delight with every person she meets. What an immeasurable blessing she has been to us.

Josh has spent the past year working hard at the office as well as at home. He took on another role with the same company, which included a little more travel. We have adjusted well as a family, and consider this a worthy season of investing of time and energy. In between home improvements and office work, he and three other friends joined efforts to train for the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon in early October. Many months and miles of training culminated on a cold, dreary day in Minneapolis, MN. Many of the men were drenched in freezing cold and illness, but they finished the race! His girls cheered him on from home and were so proud to watch his accomplishment come to fruition. Josh came home to recover and plan for the next round of torture… I mean, “big race”.

One more year of life with kids was filled with numbers and letters to learn, noses to wipe, music to sing and love to give… all in the life of a Mom. Thankfully, there will be one more little Fuller to share even more love with – baby #3 (a boy!) is due late February. Mandi believes this one is going to hit the ground running just like Noa did – he’s already practicing his jumping-jacks ‘round the clock!

 We are still enjoying Colorado Springs, our home, and the majestic backdrop of the Rockies. Early this summer we were given a sober reminder of the powerful effect of the rhythms of nature when we watched a terrifying wildfire engulf the mountains west of our city. The Waldo Canyon fire burned out of control for more than a week. Neighbors just a couple of miles north of us watched helplessly as their homes went up in flames. Several hundred structures were lost and our town paused in horror. It has been a steadfast effort of recovery since then, and the scars on our mountains and in our city give us yet another reason to be thankful for this Christmas season. We have many present comforts to warm our hearts, and a God who has risen from the dead and promised us salvation in due time and forever.  “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me [John], Write: for these words are true and faithful. “ (Revelation ch.21)

Merry Christmas and a happy New Year!

With love,Josh and Mandi, Noa (4), and Bryn (18mos)

L to R: Bryn, Noa, Josh, Mandi, Joe, Ashlee, Megan, George, Nancy, Nancy, Doug, Mandy

Showing off our Christmas socks!

Royal Gorge 2012! It was so windy, the bridge was swaying as we drove across. (Picture credit: Josh)

Crossing the Gorge on a cable... One of these is more nervous than the other. ;)

35 weeks (Due 3rd week of Feb!)

And that's it for now. More to come soon! With love, us.