Hi-ya!

Today was Jacob's first day of Taekwondo and what an event it was! For over two weeks now Jacob has been running and jumping all over the yard and calling himself "Taekwondo Man"after visiting a Taekwondo class with Nona. I was a little concerned that he might be disappointed when he realized that it wouldn't just be jumping and shouting, but he actually did quite well.

He was unexpectedly shy and I could tell that he didn't know what to do with all of the individual attention. He almost seemed embarrassed and for a moment I actually worried that he might not like it.

After his one on one class we all went out to dinner and headed home. We put Abby to bed and immediately Jacob asked to put on his uniform and began doing all of the moves that the instructor had shown him. He even remembered to bow and say "yes, sir!" It was amazing. Even though he didn't interact much in his class, he retained all of the instructions and moves and impressed us all with his show tonight. Oh, and how adorable is he in his uniform!

Growing up...

On Saturday Abby woke up with a bunch of new-found confidence. She decided to take the whole walking thing seriously and began toddling everywhere instead of crawling. She also decided to use the babysign for "eat" and has been saying "Mama" like crazy (I have been waiting for this for so long it seems!). She even pointed to her nose when Mommy asked where Abby's was! So cute! Here are a few pictures from our eventful weekend.

The best $4 I've ever spent.

So this past weekend we went garage sale-ing with Erin and Will. We started at the community center since they were having a big, multi-family sale. It was there that we struck gold! For just $4 we got a Fisher Price Laugh and Learn house-thingy. Let me tell you--this toy had been a miracle. Jacob and Abby will sit and play TOGETHER for nearly 30-45 minutes every day! It's so wonderful and so satisfying to know that I got a great deal!

My Little Picasso

For Christmas Jacob received an art easel so today we ventured to Target to pick up some finger paints that I promised he could use during Abby's nap. Lately he's really been craving alone time, so it was nice to have a new activity that just he and I could do together.

He took the whole "finger paint" thing literally. I was totally expecting him to dive right in and get all messy, but instead he used just one finger to swirl around the paint. He was very deliberate about the colors he chose and was quite pleased with his finished piece.

Mighty to Save.

This past year has been the most challenging of my life so far. I've experienced every emotion possible--anger, joy, doubt, praise, despair. All directed at God. Brad has always told me that these are times when your faith shines. I didn't see it as that at first. I just kept asking, "Why?" and not believing the simple truths that I once embraced when I was an infant in the faith.

Recently, I've come around again. I KNOW that I serve an amazing and wonderful God. I tend to keep things bottled up with God and then something will hit me and I fall apart at His feet. At Lakeside we've recently starting singing a new worship song, "Mighty to Save." This song sums up everything I have been thinking and feeling over these past months. I love this because it communicates to God what I know to be true--"Savior, He can move the mountains. My God is mighty to save, He is mighty to save!"

The great outdoors.

Today was especially windy, but I just had to get Jacob out of the house to run off some energy and ensure that he would take his nap. He had been up since 5:45 am (two hours earlier than normal) because he knew that Daddy was coming home from Seattle and would get up with him in the morning. So since we had an extended pre-nap time, we ventured to a new park with Aunt Erin and Wilson so Jacob could slide, swing, and run around. A perfect morning by toddler standards.

Since spring is well on its way we've been spending the majority of the day either at the park or in our backyard. Here are a few pictures that I've taken during these outings.

These are a few of my favorite things...