Spring traveling

Well, I did a draft several months ago and never wrote in this post. Just uploaded pics. Here goes the abbreviated version:

We took a working trip to Cville for my Virginia PT Leadership retreat. It's always a great time every year. We stopped at Pippin Hill vineyards per recommendation of our friend who is a photographer in Cville and knows all the hot spots. Lovely lovely afternoon with sunshine, fresh food, an amazing view, husband time and great wine of course. 

Then we went to Hatteras for our traditional spring get-away. We love how relaxed things are there. 

Feel the love

Here are some things we love:

The kids. How they love each other. When they snuggle and hug. The zoo. 

Rachel barefoot in skits. Doing balance beam climbing on every curb and ledge we can find. Church playground. Bright colors of summer. 

Goodbye hugs for daddy before he leaves for work. Giving him hug after hug after hug and then furiously waving bye bye. 

Date night. Conversation and laughter. 10 year anniversary next month. Bardo on 21st. 

Cass: co-worker, babysitter, friend and playmate for the kids. She gave us freshly-picked asparagus while JB was in India (I gobbled that right up), homemade cookies and fresh strawberry jam. She loves my kids and is such a good friend. 

Pony tails. Pig tails. Blonde hair blowing in the wind. 

Alexis. We were so sad when liz moved but Alexis is awesome and the kids love her. Rachel adores hugging her and J even gave her a hug last week too, which is HUGE! 

Being outside, Soccer. Long shorts and tall socks. Friends from school. Running. Being outside. Farmer tans. Birds. Breezes. 

Deep squat. Pig tails. Blonde hair, Head Tilt. 

Best friends. School. Ms Becca. Holiday crafts. Icing. 

Siblings. Buddies. Smiles. Laughter. Kindness. Protective big brother. Adoring little sister. 

This girl. Into everything, none of it being toys. 

Family days. Skinny Dip fro yo. Zoo afternoons. Time together.

Daddy. Porch swing. Cool afternoons. Sunshine. These two together. 

Thanksgiving and Christmas preparations!

Each year we have attempted to simplify more and more when the holidays roll around. It's been very evident this year as I have had time to enjoy my family (well...mostly the kids since Jonathan is working long hours to make up for the 5 days off at Christmas and New Years). We had a great dinner with our Community Group for Thanksgiving, celebrating our friendships and Jill and Stephen who moved to CA. Jill and I had grown quite close recently and I am so grateful for our short but meaningful friendship. And I'm so very grateful for this group of people who encourage and pray for one another, laugh together and care for each other, tangibly and intangibly. 

Who put this random Halloween picture in here? :) 

Beth did it again and hosted another lovely Thanksgiving dinner for us and the Speasmakers. The group seems to rotate every year based on JB's work schedule, us in Northern Virginia or the Speasmaker kids and grandkids in town or now very far away...sniff. We enjoyed a great dinner and conversation. The kids even cooperated and played/ate well for a period of time so we could all be hands-free of little ones! Matt was tasked with making these cute little place cards which were a hit. 

Rachel is a joy to be around. She is always smiling and up for a new adventure. She loves to bring you a book and then back up until she can plop into your lap. She gives big hugs, high fives and loves to say "tickle tickle" while she tickles her own belly. She still loves when I am in the house but she will snuggle with Jonathan like no one else. She will lay out on his chest, so deeply relaxed for 20 minutes without moving. Her favorite toys are my phone and anything from my purse. Current favorite books are: Brown Bear (slide-and-find) and Where's Spot (lift the flap book). She loves shoes, baths and hats that belong to other people.

I had a chance to practice with the camera in their house, which has good lighting for much of the day. This picture really sums up Jackson's last year...action figures and his imagination. He currently loves Ninja Turtles and Rescue Bots and will take them on great adventures with our Little People Farmhouse, in our garden, in the stroller, or even in an Amazon box. Playing with him is interesting, since he loves to dictate how you should play. "Mom, pretend that your guy says this. And then pretend that he goes here. No mom, your guy can't do that. He has to move like this". So, usually I sit with him and do as I am told and we have lots of quality time together. That is, when he actually wants to play with me. JB and I have taken back seat to his friends and TV if he's not on restriction (which is often, as of late).

We love having JB around for the holidays and lucked out. This year he was on call Wednesday which gave him Thanksgiving off! He magically got 3 holidays off this winter (but is working like crazy for the whole month of December). We're going to try to pack in a bunch of Christmas fun in the 5 days he's off! It will all start with watching Die Hard....yes, it's his choice :) We've already seen Love Actually, the Grinch, Mickey's Christmas and Frosty. 

I love that J still plays like he did when he was 15 months old...sprawled out on the floor, level with his trucks and equipment. He's such a sweet boy with both a tender spirit and a heart for adventure. 

Because of JB's wonky schedule, we decorated for Christmas on Wednesday before Thanksgiving. This is one of the many joys of having a FAKE TREE! We love our $50 Black Friday purchase from Lowes several years ago. Our pre-lit beauty is still going strong about 3 years in and I don't know that we will ever be convinced to get a real tree. Jackson loved decorating this year and continues to move ornaments around the tree (and play with them...and break some of them...)

We also hosted our 7th annual Elf and Cookies night! The group has rotated each year since we all have more kids and they are all old enough to help now, which makes it tricky to find enough space for everyone. This year I pre-baked the cookies and we ate pizza while we watched the first part of the movie. We took an intermission to decorate cookies and then ate while we finished the second half. Happy and with full bellies, the kids were all home by 7:30! 

Grand Illumination Parade in Norfolk 

1st annual Byrne Family Turkey Trot in Larchmont! 

Little Boo is 4

Dearest Jackson,

Happy 4th birthday to you. You are full of life and energy. Can you imagine we used to call you Silent J? Our days are full of chatter now. You are quite the conversationalist and have a memory like I have never seen before. You keep us on our toes with questions about little things like the names and ages of the Rescue Bots to bigger questions about death and heaven. 

Your days start around 6am (thank goodness it's not 4:30 or 5am anymore!). You hit the ground running, literally. I know you are awake when I hear a large THUD of your heels hitting the floor, you run to turn on your lights and start playing. We've resurrected the green light from the land of broken objects and we're back to staying in your room until 6am. The first thing you want to do each morning, and then every waking moment after that, is to play with friends. You love William, Luke and Katie, Sylvie and Iris, Charlotte and Caroline and Molly and they are all in very close proximity to our house. Now we just need to stop you from sneaking out of the house long before 7am to go knock on doors (sorry, friends). You have turned into a leader but you don't have too much of a bossy streak. If friends aren't available you will entertain yourself with your Rescue Bots and Ninja Turtles, making up stories of great adventures! Speaking of great adventures, your favorite stories in the Bible are the "bad ones". Hmmm...we'll have to clarify that later, but we know that you mean the ones like David and the giant, Goliath, and the crucifixion. At mealtimes, you were not very excited about praying by yourself so instead we go around and we each say something we are thankful for and all thank God for the food. You are usually thankful for the trees, sky and flowers, but occasionally you pray for something like safe travels for your friends or good health for someone who is sick. You also initiate prayers for Rachel when she hurts herself or is not feeling well. Sweet boy. 

Things you love:

School with Ms. Becca and your classmates

Running, scootering, climbing trees/anything

Playing make-believe with your action figures and cars

Bath time - floating

Being the first one to get Rachel out of her crib in the morning

Rescue Bots, OctoNauts and DinoTrux (Netflix)

Grandparents and friends

Books

Phonics (finally!), basic addition/subtraction

Goodbye kisses/hugs

laughing

Things you could do without:

Veggies, all of them

Bath time - getting washed

Immediate obedience/listening to parents

your green light/staying in your room until 6am!

Fine motor: writing, drawing

Recognizing letters

Dancing

We are so thankful to God that you are our son and that you are Rachel's big brother. We can't imagine our lives without you. Life must have been so quiet before you arrived! We love your sparkling blue eyes and long curly eyelashes. We love your brown hair and how are you are getting so tall. We love how you are strong but sensitive, a leader but also an observant follower. We love that you are learning integrity and repentance, forgiveness and love. We love you Jackson

And now some pictures of your sweet sister from your birthday party! 

Rachel and Pop Pop