Christmas Greetings!

We have been enjoying this month of preparing to celebrate our Savior's birth with our little man and family from out of town. This will be our first Christmas in our home (in five years). What a joy!

Here are some photos of our big Christmas tree-- 8.5 feet! A friend of ours helped us get it and we love it. After three weeks it still remains unscarred. Our toddler is probably more baffled and intimidated than he is mildly curious.

Becoming a Student Again

The second and third weeks of November brought us to California for Tony's first two intensives at Fuller Seminary for his Doctorate of Ministry Program.
In a previous blog I told of all of the reading Tony was to do prior to this trip. And ladies and gentleman, he pulled it off--17 books (I was mistaken with the 19) or 4500 pages in two months.
We had a great trip. Tony was in school all day and then went to Mexico for the High School Mission Trip pre-trip during the weekend between. He was busy and often exhausted from all of the thinking. He really enjoyed the class and was constantly sharing about interesting studies and other information he was learning. The 50 page paper he has due in April is a big undertaking, but I definitely think that God is the one that has it all worked out. He has Tony learning and growing already.

We stayed with Tony's brother David and family in Altadena in their new studio apartment. The digs were wonderful, but it was even better to see them daily (even if briefly) for two weeks. We had a few nice meals and hang out times with them too.
Gavin and I did a lot of running around visiting family and friends (as many as we could without going crazy). It was wonderful to catch up and spend times with people very special to us.
I snapped lots of photos, but as usual, I didn't catch every event/person. (I'm missing photos of our visits with Julie & Ashely and their kids, Tiffany, Robyn, Jenn & Ryann, Danny, Casey, Marie, and probably more. :( )

But here's a nice taste of our trip...

Perhaps the only family photo we took... leaving from Seattle Airport.

Fun times playing with Henry (and mom Jenny).

Lots of time with Cousin Oliver-- they adore each other.

Awwww.....

A visit to Santa Barbara with my sister Colleen, Philip and Oliver

With just a couple weeks of walking under his belt, Gavin loved the weather because it meant a lot of time spent walking. He couldn't help the big grin-- he's so proud!

Some quality time with Grampa.

The Arboreatum with Elitza, Ivan, Cyrus, Larissa and Aunt Kei.

Cousins!

More Cousins-- Rocco and Sicily (Warren & Nichole's kids)

Beautiful Larissa

More time with Grampa and Gramme.

Lots of extra energy to burn these days... tried to get it all out before the plane ride back home. Key word: TRIED.

Fall Fun

Here are some glimpses of the fun we've had enjoying fall in the Northwest.

Gavin had just started walking a few days before this. I think we were up to almost ten steps at a time by this picture, but still a little bit wobbly.

This was pre-Halloween dress up day at First Teacher.

Superman at our church Fall Family Festival.

I suggested Clark Kent for his costume, but this leisure suit was a lot easier to put together after running around to get the event ready.

Superbaby! Shortly after arriving at the gym, Gavin made big strides (literally) in his walking. Too much excitement to sit still.

Check out these Black Friday deals Mom!

Gavin's first real Thanksgiving Feast.

Thanksgiving potluck at church means no clean-up. :)

Why would we ever go tent camping?

I'm back tracking now to catch up... The second weekend in October we had the opportunity to take off for two nights and head out to the coast. We swore off tent camping several years ago after our first and only experience in the Northwest. It was wet, to say the least, and we spent more time in hotels than we did in a tent.

But camping in a trailer, now that is where it's at. Friends of ours loaned us their petite trailer and we enjoyed time out at La Push. Tony's parents were already coming for a visit so they got to join us for the second night.

Tony surfed and the rest of us did some beach walking and lots of relaxing. Gavin had a great time and even slept really well (the first night). The second night was a little rough because we were without an official bed for Gavin and quickly discovered that the trailer wasn't probably made for four adults. But, this kind of "roughing it" is okay with me-- we had a roof over our heads, a toilet and sink, heater, fridge and cooktop/oven. We were grateful for the generosity of our friends look forward to more trips borrowing this trailer in the future.

Official Footage

Here it is, as promised-- official footage of our "walker." We're up to about 10 steps and counting. Today Gavin "walked" over to me when I picked him up at the nursery and we practiced walking at home. All I had to say was "Gavin, stand and walk to mama" and we was getting started. This is fun, especially because he's not into things yet (as they all promise me he will be).

A Few Steps Forward

Yesterday will go down in history as the day that Gavin took his first "stroll" as Tony calls it. (Pictures/video will hopefully follow soon.)

Up until last night, Gavin was fairly content to get around the house by pushing his train. I could count on one hand the times that he had previously taken a step or two without support, and each of those occurences had happened several days apart. Last night's steps were definitely the beginning of walking and worth memorializing in the blog (mostly so that I don't forget).


Here's how it went down:
Tony had some high school students over for Bible study. Once they were done, Gavin and I joined the group to visit with the kids. Gavin was noticably hyper-- squealing, screaming and muscles tensing with excitement. As I look back now, I think he was actually psyching himself up for the big move.

Eventually he was standing and walking around one of our chairs and then balancing/standing without support. Soon after, he took five steps forward and well all celebrated. He was very hyped after this and worked to stand and took another five steps. More praise and more celebration on Gavin's part.

But, that was all of the walking for the evening. Gavin continued to stand and balance, but couldn't get quite the right balance to move forward with steps. In fact, we had missed getting the first two instances of walking on video, but we did get a few of the good spills that followed. The students who stood witness got a kick out of being a part of the big day.

Today, he took four steps, but that's it. Many times he stood holding on to a chair or something with one hand and I could see the wheels spinning. He is obviously excited to walk, and constantly contemplating it, but not quite ready for regular mobility.

I'll keep you posted...

Family Updates

As you've noticed, Gavin is the center of attention these days. Recently, however, it occured to me that you (or maybe one or two of you) may want to know what is going on with the rest of the family. So here are a couple quick updates:

TONY

"Back to School"

This year's back to school marks the beginning of Tony's 6th year of ministry here in Sequim. Can you believe it?! Time flies. Last weekend we had a retreat with the volunteer leaders and are excited for what this year will bring.

Tony himself is also going back to school this fall. He was recently accepted to a Doctor of Ministry program through Fuller Seminary. Focusing on "Youth, Family and Culture," the program operates in a cohort style.

Half of the year Tony will be reading, then meet for two weeks in Pasadena with his fellow classmates, then spend the other half working on papers and projects. After three years of this Tony will then work on and implement a project suited for his ministry.

This fall is a little bit intense because Tony didn't get his syllabus until the end of August and is required to read 4500 pages before November 9th. He's getting up early and off to work each morning to put in a couple of hours before the official day begins. So far he has two books completed. Only 17 more to go!

CLAIRE

Women's Ministry

This last weekend I had my first official "speaking engagement." I was invited (and paid a bit)to speak to a "moms on the run" group at it's first meeting. I shared my thoughts on contentment and really enjoyed the process and the event. It took me quite a bit to prepare but seems to really work with my passions and my giftings. Perhaps there will be more opportunities in the future.

In the meantime, I have taken on some leadership responsibilities with our young womens/mom ministry called "SHE." We start up on September 30th and I have been busy putting together our calendar or speakers and rallying a team of other women to share the load. God is putting all of the pieces together and I am very thankful.

GAVIN

Sure, you've had a lot of him lately, but I did forget to share his latest stats.

At his one-year check up:

Weight: 23lbs. 4oz 55th percentile

Height: 30 inches 55th percentile