More Christmas pics

Noah helped decorate

Our dearest friend Annmarie came to visit! She lives in Michigan and is studying at the

New Tribes Bible Institute

There were way too many beautiful moments in our first Christmas as parents - so we'll keep sharing.

Side note - I added some additional blogs to the blogroll over there -->
I've been finding some really interesting, thoughtful blogs recently, particularly the last 6 on our list, so I hope you enjoy them.

Christmas Pictures

Here are some pictures of the Christmas weekend!

We were glad to have Matthew's girlfriend Kerry with us through Saturday (and Matthew too)

Uncle Matthew with Noah early Christmas morning

Santa brought a new dump truck....

...and a very silly dancing puppet. (Rockhouse guys do you remember this?)

He loves his new mini-maraca

More to come.....

Belated...

Merry Christmas!!
I (Michael) had dreams of some great blogs leading up to Christmas, with emotional outpourings about the holiday season, and then a simple but meaningful quote or verse on Christmas day. Alas, none of it happened. We hope your Christmas was beautiful and blessed, and that you could clearly see Christ above all.

Here's a brief rundown of our day....pictures will follow in the next post. We had a wonderful day with both families! We started at my parents' house, with traditional opening of stockings and some presents first thing in the morning. I don't know if I'll ever lose the excitement of Christmas morning, but it was increased many times over in sharing it with our son. He doesn't quite get the concept of opening presents yet, but his eyes were wide and he had a good time anyway. We then went to have lunch with my grandmother in her nursing home. It was truly special to be with her on Christmas, and seeing Noah always brightens her day! We went from there to Laura's sister Cindy's house, to have the Kunst/Erickson/Salvatierra Christmas celebration and dinner. What a job to host such a gathering. Noah loved seeing his cousins - they have such energy and joy!
Finally we returned to the Salvatierra home to put Noah to bed and finish opening presents.
It was quite a blur, but I do believe we experienced the love of Christ through our families. It is perhaps the last we will share with them in person for a couple years, so it was particularly sweet. Praise the Lord for his gift - "Hail the heaven-born Prince of Peace, hail the Sun of Righteousness....glory to the newborn King!"

Playgroup buddies, Ryan, Mella, Caleb, and Joey all sport their matching scarves. Thanks for hosting us yesterday, Jeanette!

I married a prince

Give me a chance to tell you a little about my husband. As his wife, I feel that I have the closest view of who he really is and so I want to share some of that knowledge with those who don't know him as well. It will be best illustrated in the form of a story...
Monday night, Michael's mom watched Noah giving us a date night. Those are such precious times for us. We went to dinner at this new Italian place in Crystal City called Bebo Trattoria. We were welcomed by observing an Italian cooking class that was underway - reminding us of the one we attended while on our honeymoon in Italy. We had a delicious meal, sharing our entrees, a glass of Chianti, and a hazelnut torte for dessert while we had the chance to catch up and discuss things that only this kind of intentional time set aside can bring up. Afterwards we walked around Old Town, Alexandria. It was a rather mild evening, nothing like what it was five years ago on New Year's Eve when Michael proposed to me there after our carriage ride through the streets, trees twinkling with little white lights. This night we walked through those same twinkling streets, out of one shop on King Street and were greeted by a homeless man selling roses. "Two for $5!," he said to Michael, as he complimented me, trying to convince him that a pretty lady needed some pretty flowers. These roses were clearly the last of the bunch, wilting, petals loosely hanging on, and without fragrance, but Michael saw their beauty as they would help a brother in need. As he pulled out his wallet, he found he only had a $20 and the man only had a $10 in change, so he said "Four for $10! Sorry, it's all I have," and Michael handed him the money. My heart was warmed as I took my roses, some of the most lovely I've ever received because of the beauty that they reveal about who my husband is, a loving, generous, and compassionate man. Once we brought them home and gave them a little TLC, they perked up. They are sitting on my desk today, fading, but still a sweet reminder of the prince that I married.

Our little boy

These are blessed times indeed. Noah is 11 months old today, yep, just one month from being a whole year old. Is it really possible that just one year ago, I was placed on bedrest for preterm labor? What a gift that actually was, that I no longer had to work and was forced to rest, to enjoy the holidays with family, and prepare with great anticipation for our little boy who would soon arrive! If you asked Michael, he would tell you that my "bedrest" was certainly "modified." Praise the Lord that Noah waited until he was full term at 37 and 5.
Now, a year later, Noah is full of life, curiosity, expression, and energy! Over this past month, he has cut his two top middle teeth, learned to point to things, transitioned to the BIG tub, smelled a "Scratch & Sniff" book, sipped from a cup, and walked behind a push toy! In this picture, Noah was "helping" to put up our tree. His favorite ornaments to remove and carry around the house are bells and nutcrackers. We put the tree up last week, when his Great Aunt Cristina was here, and that was the same night that it flurried the first snow of the season. It made the evening seem so magical. Noah, of course didn't understand why all the excitement, but he was just happy to stay up past bedtime and be with everyone while we danced around to celebrate the first snow.
We are happy to announce that he is sleeping through the night, thanks to some good advice from a teammate of ours in Peru! It took a couple nights of letting him cry a little (sometimes for an hour), but the last couple weeks have been so much better - for all of us. Thanks for the advice, Lori!
I'm still reading "And Then I Had Kids" - and I'm still loving it. It takes me longer to finish books since I'm a slow reader and the only times I have to read are usually while I'm nursing Noah or before I fall asleep (often, sleep wins). In the chapter on discipline, she points us to Colossians 3:1-17, and brings our attention to characteristics of the "New Self." Once being clothed by the righteousness of Christ, we are called to "put to death what is earthly in you" and to rather...

"Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindess, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has complaint against another, forgiving each other, as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these things put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." Colossians 3:12-17

It is my prayer that Michael and I, by the grace of God, will raise Noah to reflect these characteristics. I'm humbled at the thought of teaching these things to him, knowing that I must first learn them.

Two Things....

First, having just advertised for a concert on the 17th, I want to retract that and offer an invitation instead. On December 17th at 7:00, our church, Alexandria Presbyterian, is having the annual Christmas Candelight Service, this year entitled, "Open our Hearts in Wonder"
It is a beautiful evening of music and worship, with choirs, a brass ensemble and carols. Every year this service really ministers to me, so if you're in the area, I invite you to come! There will be a reception afterward, and you can find more information on the church's website (see "links")

Secondly, I have changed some of the links on the side, and fixed some that were incorrect. I especially encourage you to check out Covenant's new program where you can download entire seminary courses for free. It's pretty amazing. Have a great weekend!

Beautiful

As much as we love our son, it is nice to get a night out just the two of us. One such outing that didn't involve the munchkin was on the Sunday after Thanksgiving, when we attended a Messiah sing-along. If you've never been to one of these, I'll briefly explain. It's just like a regular concert of Georg Frideric Handel's masterpiece for chorus and orchestra, Messiah, from which the well-known "Hallelujah Chorus" is taken. The only difference is that the audience is the chorus! Everyone brings their score (or rents one), and does their best to follow the conductor. It is a blast! If you ever get a chance to go, it is worth it. They are usually free (this one was), and even if you don't know the piece, it's amazing to listen to a several-hundred voice chorus in surround sound. There is a big one that takes place at the Kennedy Center concert hall every year - this year it is on Dec. 17 at 8:00, but you have to get tickets this Saturday at 10:00am. Nothing like singing with 2000 other people. I am particularly emphatic about it all because the Messiah is to me one of the most incredible pieces of music ever created. It's beautiful texts about Christ from the Old and New Testaments, set to the most glorious music - it truly is worship, exalting the Savior from beginning to end.

Outings, etc.

Like we said, there have been many events since Thanksgiving - which means many Noah photo-ops. More blogs to follow....

Daddy giving an early piano lesson

All bundled up and ready for winter. Actually here he's about to go to....

...a parade! The annual Scottish Walk was this past Saturday in Old Town Alexandria

Noah liked the bagpipes, drums and puppies that marched through the streets.

Last friday we went to Union Station to celebrate Laura's heritage and see the Norwegian Christmas display. They had a big model train setup, which Noah followed intently.

One of his day-brightening smiles, in front of the Norwegian Christmas tree.

Back in Arlington...

....we enjoyed thanksgiving part two with the Salvatierra family. Really, if you've never tried to fry a turkey, you are missing out.
Of course one of the best parts of thanksgiving is the leftovers. There's nothing like watching college football on Saturday eating a turkey-stuffing-cranberry-gravy sandwich. If you had any really interesting leftover creations, please share them in the comments section. Our Latino roots have to come through, so we made turkey tacos one night.
It is such a blessing to have two families that we love to be with.

One 14-lb deep fried turkey - thanksgiving heaven

Dad and me getting dessert ready

Noah helped by taking all the pans out of the drawer and banging them together

Thanksgiving

Whoa, it's been a while since our last post, and we apologize. Much has happened since, so we should have a regular stream of posts for a while.
We'll start with thanksgiving.....

We spent a wonderful week with Laura's parents in Stokes, NC, near Greenville. It is so quiet and peaceful there - they have a farmhouse with a lot of land, far from the city. We came the Saturday before the holiday, so we got to spend some great time together getting ready for the big day and getting familiar with their town. We got to attend church with them, Christ Presbyterian (PCA) http://www.christpres.com/ and received word that they will be joining our support team as we go to Peru - a huge encouragement! We also had the chance to meet with a family from that church who is supporting us. We are continually amazed at how the Lord uses his Body, the Church, to provide for it's members.

Three generations reading together - what sweet times

Dad loves his tractor!

Noah did his best to help by unloading the spice rack

Mom and Dad made a delicious feast!

Aunt Cindy and Noah had great fun together

It was such a treat to be with most of Laura's family! Cindy & Cass and cousins, Marlea & Harmony came as well as Laura's Uncle John, Aunt Terri and cousins, Michael & Stephen. We haven't all been together like that in a long time. This year was also special because mom's birthday fell on Thanksgiving! So we had birthday cake along with the pumpkin pie. Noah enjoyed lots of firsts at the dinner table - Turkey, cranberry sauce, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, and even a little taste of vanilla ice cream.

We left the next morning after one of Dad's famous pancake breakfasts and headed home, just in time for Thanksgiving #2 with Michael's family. We fried the turkey this year with the help of good friend Daniel Harlan. Then we celebrated Michael's mom's birthday! (Yeah, it's weird, we know - both Moms, a day apart. It's even weirder that our dads are also a day apart, January 7th &8th). All and all, it was a delightful Thanksgiving holiday! We spent a lot of Saturday napping. (c: