MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Can you believe that Christmas has arrived already? We can't. It came so fast this year! We wanted to wish you all a Merry Christmas. We hope that you will find yourselves full of love and the spirit as we celebrate the birth of Christ. The birth of our Saviour Jesus Christ was one of the best gifts the human race could have received from our Heavenly Father. As we go throughout this holiday season and this next year, let our hearts be turned to God in thanks for ALL He has given us, especially the gift of our Savior. We love y'all. Have a great holiday!

Just thought I would throw this picture in for y'all. This is what we are wishing for Christmas. It just doesn't seem like Christmas sometimes without the snowfall. So as we celebrate tomorrow, we will imagine that our house looks like the picture on the right.

Botanic Gardens

While Brian's parents were in town, we went to the Botanic Gardens and KennaDee absolutely loved it. There was a really big and beautiful Christmas tree there and a train circled around the tree. This was KennaDee's favorite. If we went to a different part of the gardens, she would dart back to the tree and watch the train.

Here we are in the jungle. KennaDee was sitting on top of the railing of a bridge. She was a little scared of falling.

And here we are in front of the Lincoln Memorial. Aren't we a gorgeous family?

KennaDee and Jackson are here in front of the capital. All of these buildings are made out of natural wood. They are beautiful. Our little girl is such a ham!

We rode the metro from Brian's work to the Botanic Gardens and back. KennaDee LOVES the metro. She has so much fun riding on it. Here she is with Grandma Rust.

Blessing

Well, on the 16th of December, we blessed Jackson in church while Brian's parents were in town. For those of you who may not be aware of the procedure of blessings done in the LDS church, new born babies (usually about a month old) are given a blessing by the father which includes words of guidance, hope, faith, and love. Those blessings are promised to the child as he continues to grow. It is a beautiful experience and I'm so grateful to have experienced that with Jackson and KennaDee. Here are a few pictures of Jackson on that day. He was only 3 weeks old.

2 weeks old and growing

Well, we are finally pretty much adjusted to our new home and the new addition to our family. He turned 2 weeks on Friday the 7th and has gained one whole pound since he was born. I realized that a lot of the pictures we put up on the website were ones of him at the hospital.....naked. So, I thought we should include some pictures of him with clothes on. Right now, he pretty much just sleeps, eats, sleeps, eats, and "poos." - oh, and spits up. (As all newborns do) As you see on the far right, our little boy is already a poser, even in his sleep.

Before he was 2 weeks old, he was able to go to the White House. Every year, Brian's work and their families are invited to go to the White House to see the Christmas decorations. We are also able to invite friends or other family members. So, we went with some friends of ours from Gaithersburg. Brian, however, was unable to go this year because he had previous engagements in York, PA with work. Unfortunately I don't have a picture with Jackson at the White House, but here is KennaDee and I with Jackson in the stroller fast asleep. I wanted to take him out of the stroller to get a picture but I knew he would have woken up and I knew he was going to be hungry. (And there isn't anywhere to nurse at the White House.) The Christmas decorations were beautiful and they had people there singing Christmas songs which added so much to the tour.

This was one of the prettiest trees in the White House. It was sooo big and it even had dimension to it. It was beeeauutiful!!

KennaDee, however, was much more interested in the furniture than the decorations. We were in the "Red Room" and as I was trying to take a picture, KennaDee let her curiosity take the best of her and headed underneath the rope and started to climb on one of the chairs. When I noticed her, she was half way up the chair, I called her over and she came running, lost her balance and hit her head on one of the end tables in there. There was a lamp or something (I can't quite remember) on top and it started to topple. The security guard for that room saw her and started to come closer as she bumped the table. I grabbed the object to keep it from falling over and I had to reach under the rope to grab KennaDee. What excitement!

Here we are on our way back home from downtown. KennaDee and her friend, Carmen, LOVED the metro. They thought it was the coolest thing when we went in the tunnels because it got dark outside the windows. They would say "It's dark outside, what are we going to do?!" I said, "Close your eyes." So, then from that time on, everytime we went in a tunnel, they would squint their eyes, so they could still see out the window. It was really cute.

Well, in these last two weeks, my testimony on prayer and the power of the priesthood in the home have been strengthened. It is amazing how much our Heavenly Father loves us. In Sunday school class today we studied from 1st John about the love of God. There are a few things that impacted me and I thought I would share with y'all. The love of God is linked very closely to obedience. When we obey Gods commandments, our love for God will increase as well as love for our fellowman. I always knew this was true but after having a newborn and going through the recovery process, my prayers to Heavenly Father have been more sincere and thoughtful. There are times in our lives when I think our prayers become just words instead of meaningful expressions. He has heard our prayers and I have felt his love He has for us and in return realized how important it is to stay ever so close to our Heavenly Father so that in times of need or trials, He can assist us in the most powerful way. I am grateful for his love, for His Son, Jesus Christ, and for the blessings he gives us everyday. I hope that we can continue to recognize His hand in our daily lives and express our gratitude to Him.

We hope all is well with everyone.