Our Thanksgiving Brunch and Turkey Bowl

We had a nice Thanksgiving this year. Thursday we went to my mom's house for our annual Thanksgiving brunch (she makes brunch so we can have dinner with our in-laws later in the day) and foot ball game. Here we are waiting around for the brunch to begin... it was all so yummy, except for my sour cream coffee cake that I forgot to add baking powder too!
Here's Angie, Amy, and me looking our best right before the game started!
The boys got so tired of our huddle, but we had some really sweet plays because my dad is on our team and he comes up with great stuff!

Great action shot, Mommom!
I think this picture's hysterical... look at Stephen on the ground just missing my mom and Jeff about to tackle her!

This is after Jake tackled me and I still held onto the ball to get our first (and only) touch down! The boys were supposed to play two-hand touch (the girls only had to touch them with one hand), but somehow I ended up landing with the ball under my belly and grass stains on my knees!

Here are the men in their huddle... they were so cute!

I love this picture of Jake and my mom. He looks like he's afraid to break her, but he's determined to stop her!

That's my boy making a pretty sweet play... he almost got impaled by the fence!

Gotta love this action shot! Stephen tore up this game... the boys definitly wouldn't have won without him!

Here I am claiming pregnancy... it got really hard to run at the end so Jeff would just tell Jake to go long and I couldn't keep up so he'd catch the ball every time!

Being the perfect little girl that she is, she slept through our whole brunch and football game and woke up right when it was over. Here she is eating her Thanksgiving brunch with Daddy!

This year my dad asked us to say what we were thankful for about God. It was neat to think about how I've experience the power of God in a whole new way this year by being a mom. I've seen how God protects Mackenzie even when I make dumb mistakes. I've seen Him watch over her and care for her when I couldn't be with her. I've experienced the blessing of His wisdom in parenting decision... so many times I've been at an impass about what to do and God so gently speaks to my heart and leads me in the way I should lead Mackenzie. That verse in Isaiah about how He "gently leads those with young..." has been on the forfront of my mind recently because I feel like that is how I've been cared for by God. He does gently lead me when I cry to Him for wisdom!

Some Mackenzie updates: She is getting SO smart!! The other day I asked her where her cup was (more or less talking to myself, but I always talk outloud now a days!) and she ran to the pantry and started beating on the door. I went over and opened it and sure enough, there was her cup! I was blown away that not only did she know I was asking WHERE her cup was, but she also REMEMBERED where she had put it! So cool! She understands so much now... if I ask her to get me the ball or the book, she knows exactly what I mean. She communicates very clearly what she wants through sign language, pointing, and... let's face it... whining... and totally gets her point across! She's trying to say more words, but "at" means: up, on, off, eat, out, and that. She now takes naps and goes to bed without fussing... which is HUGE... I thought she'd never learn to fall asleep without tears! She'll sit in her little chair and look at books for 15 mins. at a time... she won't let me read to her more than a few pages, but she'll sit by herself and look through a family photo album that I made for her and point to all the pictures, then close it, open it, and start all over again. She adores her daddy... literally, he's the only one she talks about all day. If a car drives by she cries if it's not him. When he pulls up she runs to the front window to greet him, then the side window to see him walk by, then the front door. She now stands in front of you and puts her arms up when she wants to be picked up... it's so cute... esp. with her pig tails in! She's getting way attached to her silky blanket and she'll pull it out of her crib and snuggle with it, which is so cute too! She's learning to use a fork and a spoon. Usually I'll stab the food and hand it to her and she'll take her bite and hand the fork right back to me. I think that's it... I just feel like there's been a big jump from just 12 months to 14 months!

The Man I Love The Best!!

It's a good thing my mom is up on this blogging thing, because apparently Shannon Eder tagged me to do a tribute to my husband a month ago and it completely went over my head until my mom pointed it out to me... thanks mom! This is perfect timing too, in light of Thanksgiving! I think I'm supposed to highlight the 5 things I love the best about my husband, but I just went through my pictures and just seeing him in so many different contexts overwhelmed my heart with love for him! I'm just going to write a little bit about each picture!

First: He is a hunk... need I say more??

He is an awesome uncle to his niece Kayla and nephew Conor. When she was younger, he'd play hide and seek for ages with her, and then they moved on to more important games, like Connect Four. He is so sweet with his sister's kids!
Ever year he cuts down our Christmas tree. Usually in the dark and bitter cold...

He willingly participates in our annual cookie decorating night with the Finns. He's so cute in the kitchen!

I just think we look cute in this picture =)

When I was so fat and pregnant that I couldn't even bend over to paint my own toes, he painted them for me! What a guy!

Since we were running out of room in our house for all the blessings God has bestowed on us, he built me a shed before Mackenzie was born. It is now packed ceiling to floor with her stuff, I don't know what we'd do without it! He is so smart! He went to Loews and took pictures of the shed he wanted to make, came home and drew diagrams, bought the lumber, cut it to size, and nailed it all together! He even put on a shingled roof and painted it to match our house!

Here's our last picture as "just us!"

I remember his words when she was born, "Oh wow, oh wow, oh wow!" It was such an overwhelming feeling to have this little person placed in our arms, he is such a good dad!

He did diapers from Day One!!

He loves sharing the gospel with Mackenzie. Obviously they don't go through the "How Good Are You?" track every night, but every night he prays for her salvation and when he disciplines her he is so good at reminding her that this is why she needs a Savior! She's going to know from a young age that she desperately needs the Lord to save her from her sin, and most of that is because he is so good at speaking the gospel in our home!

He takes such good care of her... here they are all bundled up before the Dicken's Festival last year in Medford.
Here they are on Jake's first Father's Day at church!

This is just a cute picture of him. We had some friends over spur the moment on July 4th and he made this game called "Washers" to play in our backyard!

They love spending time together on the hammock!

Mackenzie and I took Daddy on a picnic dinner this summer... it was a nice, simple treat!

He is so sensitive with her. She really didn't like the pool at first, but through his gentle encouragement, she fell in love with it and wouldn't get out of it for the rest of the summer!

Here's one of their new favorite games... they love to "zoom" on the hammock!

Here she is "helping" daddy fix our house back up after he fixed the front windows for us!

So I know there are like no pictures of just the two of us from her birth on, but that's not because we don't spend any time together anymore... it's just that we have something much cuter to photograph now! Jake has kept me as his #1 priority through out Mackenzie's 14 months... he even took me on a date when she was just 8 days old! He continues to pursue me as his #1 girl and he always greets me with a kiss as soon as he walks in the door... although this little tradition is getting harder since Mackenzie tries to pry us apart by our knees. I remember HATING when my mom and dad kissed (it's still pretty gross, actually!), and we're cracking up that we already have a little one who hates to see affection that she's not a part of! Family hugs happen often around here, as well as family walks, and family dinners. I am so grateful that our little girl is growing up in a house where her mommy and daddy are happy to see one another... much like the homes we both grew up in too!

So apart from how much Jake loves me... hee, hee... it's always about me first, right? I want to appreciate how HARD he works to provide for us! A good example of that is this Friday, instead of keeping his day off, he's going to do side work for a client whose house he was installing granite in this week. It's a fine line between working TOO much and working HARD, and I think Jake is a perfect example that there can be a balance! I think the biggest thing is that I know he would rather be home than anywhere else, and that speaks to my heart and comforts me so much when I miss him. I know he'd rather be no where but here with "his girls", but He is diligent to the call God has given him as our provider!

So I love him because he loves me, I love him because he works hard, and I love him because he serves so much when he is home. There is very little "Jake time" in the week, usually it is Jake and Julie time or Daddy and Mackenzie time, and he's fine with that. He is quick to help me with Mackenzie whenever I ask and totally capable of taking care of her by himself. I still love that he'll call me when I'm out and say, "Ok, now what should I feed her?" It makes me feel useful, but I know he could handle it on his own! Besides just serving with Mackenzie, he is quick to fix things that need fixing, whether I bring it to his attention or not. Recently we did a huge house project (that I'll write about later) and it was all at his initiative. He also just fixed our leaking kitchen sink and cloudy front windows and broken heater! If acts of service are his love language, than I am a very loved woman!

This tribute wouldn't be complete without highlighting how he serves in the church. He serves on the book table and sound team, leads a growth group, and leads worship for caregroup. Recently we starting teaching Sunday School again and he has taken over teaching the lesson (usually that was my job) and doing the application questions with the kids. The kids love him and listen to him very well! Apart from the church stuff, he frequently gets calls from friends about how to fix things in their homes, and Jake will either walk them through it on the phone, or go over and help them himself.

And lastly, this wouldn't be complete unless I honored him for the way he honors the Lord with his energy, time, and money. His energy: he gets up early so he can do his devotions before going to work. He'll pray with me whenever I ask, even late and night when he's exhausted. His time: I think from the preceding 4 paragraphs it's easy to see that this is not a man who lives for himself, but willingly lays down his life to serve others. His money: I know that no matter how tight we get, he will always make a priority of tithing. On top of that, he is diligent to give to the mission fund at church. Even when I questioned whether we should or not, he reminded me that God clearly spoke the same amount to both of us and we can trust Him to provide even if we can't see how it will happen. He's not only wise with tithing and giving, but he's wise with our money too. I know I can trust him to pay every bill on time, he always has since we've been married. He doesn't go out and buy expensive things without asking for my input first. He regularly tries to save us money by having me pack him the same thing for lunch every day. He's quick to be generous with me and others, but slow to be generous towards himself.

I love this man so much and I am SO THANKFUL to be married to him for 3 1/2 years and to be expecting his second baby!!

And now I think I'm supposed to tag a few other ladies to honor thier husbands, so I tag: Shana, MB, Kathi, Julia, and Kzarin - GO!

Mackenzie's First Pigtails!!!

On Saturday night I practiced putting pigtails in my little girls hair, and it WORKED!! Finally!!! We have pig tails... here is the practice picture...
Here's Sunday Morning!

We ended up missing the first two songs of worship for these pigtails... hopefully we'll be able to cut down the time they take. Also, it seems they like to fall out in the carseat, so we'll have to learn a trick for that too. But she lets me do them and doesn't try to take them which is more than I thought she'd let me do! I'm really excited about this next step in her girliness!!!

She and Jake have been practicing her shapes. He sets her up with the right shape and hole and she puts it in and claps for herself! So cute!

Leaves, Leaves, Leaves!

My little leaf helper!

Jake and I have been on a game kick recently and we've been playing Monopoly or Yatzee when Mackenzie goes to bed at night. It's been really fun! Usually I beat Jake (cream is more like it!) at Monopoly, but the other night he crushed me and wanted a picture with all my properties mortgaged and all his hotels on the board! He's so cute...

We'd Like To Introduce Aubrey Ruth Moon!!

Yep... it's a GIRL!!! It was pretty clear last night that we've been blessed again with another little girl! God clearly gave me the name "Aubrey" when I was looking for names a while back. (We'll call her "Bree" for short, no "Aub" please...) We're pretty sure her middle name will be Ruth after my Nana. That's also Amy's middle name, so she's claiming Aubrey Ruth as her namesake! Aubrey means "Noble" and Ruth means "Helper"... so I'm praying God raises up in her heart a desire to be just that, a noble helper! Here are some pretty clear pictures! Her little hand... we could see all five fingers!

I love her little feet!

Her profile!

A 3D picture of her legs... look at those perfect little knees!

A 3D picture of her profile/face... kinda alien looking, but it's still cool!

Here's the big sister... who's completely clueless that's she's going to be a big sister in 5 months!

When I came home from Jamie's shower on Sunday I walked in and Mackenzie had this on her back. Stephen was over, so I just assumed he had done it to her, but she had actually figured it out herself. She's such a little girl and loves purses of all kinds!

Speaking of being a girl, she loves talking "her phone" (my old cell). It's never on her ear, usually it's somewhere on the back of her head. And she only talks to Daddy when she talks on the phone... "Dad, da, da, addy..." is all I hear her say!

She's also likes to help her daddy talk on the phone whenever she can!
Our growing bellies... Jamie's due the beginning of Jan. and I'm due the beginning of April! It's fun to take these pictures... I'm so excited we're going to get to raise our girls together! She already bought all three of the girls matching outfits before she even knew I was having a girl! So Mackenzie, Liv, and Aubrey will be matchy-matchy this summer... look out!