Catching up.

I’m a couple of posts behind in the December Photo Project, which is really stressing Emily out because she is counting on me to post daily.  She actually wishes I would post multiple times a day, but I told her that I just can’t do it.  I just cant keep up with that kind of pressure.  Sorry, Emily.

Anyway. Here are a few pictures from the past few days…

Rainy/cold/fussy days always result in forts being built all over the house.  Their newest fort creation is a pack-n-play on its side with a blanket.  Genius.  They loved it.  They are in there, but its too dark to see them.

As you can see from this next batch, Barrett has figured out what it means when I tell him, “say cheese!”  I have very few pictures of me with the boys, so I took a few the other night…although I probably should have waited until the next day when I wasn’t in glasses, crazy hair, and pajamas.  Oh well.  But at least now I have a few updated pictures of these silly boys with their mama.

And this is what every morning in our house looks like…little helpers who want to be involved in every aspect of getting ready.

I love having helpers. I bet I could fit a few more babies on that countertop.

(I’m liking black and white photos these days, in case you didn’t notice.)

This afternoon we’re heading over to see Baby Griffin, so I’ll be sure to take about 400 pictures of him for you, and I’ll hook you up with another photo-heavy post.  You’re welcome.

Christmas Card 2011

We haven’t sent out Christmas cards in years, so this year we decided to give it a shot.  We didn’t have the budget or the time to address a million of them, but we figured we could probably do a few.  And when Nate tasked me with the job of getting a decent picture, I doubted it would be possible to get a posed picture of the boys, both looking at the camera and smiling.

So of course I called for backup.  My mom and I pulled out some fun decorations, bribed the boys with jingle bells and candy canes, and had a mini photo shoot.  Although it ended abruptly when Noah picked up a glass Christmas ornament, bit into it, and had the entire thing shatter INSIDE HIS MOUTH.

(Sidenote: This is why I now have shatter-proof ornaments. Because who knew that babies could BITE them?)

After I stripped him down, scooped the tiny ornament pieces out of his mouth, cleaned up the blood, wiped the tears, and gave him a popsicle to make it all better, I sat down and clicked through the pictures to see if we had any good ones.  Here are a few that we didn’t use, but still make me smile:

Once we put them into the rocking chairs, we got lots of serious faces. That is, until my mom started saying, “I’m gunna get your toes!” … at which point, unstoppable squealing and giggling fits ensued.  So we ended up with alot of pictures that look like this:

Silly, laughing boys.  But in the end, this shot was the winner:

You’ll notice they are holding up their toes so that Nanny can get them.  And the bright red ornament in between their rocking chairs is the one that Noah scooped up and mistook for an apple.

So that’s the one that went out, along with a short Christmas letter giving some updates about what 2011 had in store for us.

In case you are interested in seeing it, here ya go.    Merry Christmas from the Bonhams (:

Text from Christmas Letter:

Dear Family and Friends,

We aren’t normally ones to write a Christmas letter, but this year has certainly proven to be quite eventful for the Bonham household! We’ve had a lot going on that has been exciting, scary, and joyful— but we wouldn’t trade it for the world.

 As many of you know, this year our family accepted a call to the mission field. Missions is something that has been on our hearts for years, but the Lord has finally opened the doors for us to go. We will be serving and training in Costa Rica for two years, then going to start churches in a to-be-determined country in Latin America. We are currently in the process of raising monthly support to be able to go. We hope to leave in August of 2012.

 Noah and Barrett continue to light up our lives. In June, they celebrated their 1st birthday (already!). They are running around and being typical 18-month-olds—getting into everything, eating everything, and saying everything (or nothing, not sure which). They keep us on our feet but are so much fun. We just can’t believe how big they are already!

 Nikki has had the blessing of being able to stay at home with the boys. They make her earn her paycheck all day long! And since this is our last stretch of time living here, she’s trying to make the most of it by spending lots of time with friends and family while trying to prepare for moving our household to Costa Rica in a few months.

 It’s been quite an eventful year for Nate. In May, he graduated from Reformed Theological Seminary after 4 years of studying. In November, he was ordained as a missionary pastor into the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). He continues to be on staff at Madison Heights Church as a pastoral assistant and youth director for the next several months.

Finally, the twins will be big brothers… little brothers… who knows? We are thrilled that the Lord has called us to adopt! Over the summer, we began the long process of adoption from Costa Rica. It will take 2-3 years, which would mean we will finalize the process during our time living in Costa Rica, Lord-willing. At this point, we still don’t know if it will be 1 child or 2 siblings, and if they will be older or younger than our boys, or both—whatever the Lord provides. Either way, we are excited about growing our family and can’t wait to meet the newest Bonham(s)!

All the events of 2011 certainly carry aspects of excitement, scariness, and joy, but we are thankful for God’s grace and supportive family and friends. We are thankful for all of you and hope you are blessed during this CHRISTmas season!

Love, Nate, Nikki, Noah, & Barrett

Still fresh.

3 years ago tonight, I stepped off an airplane fresh from the Philippines.  I landed at Jackson International Airport, and my first thought was, “I don’t want to be here.”

One day I was sitting in a squatter village, sharing the truth of Jesus with about 30 women and their children (through a Tagalog translator), feeding hungry children on the railroad tracks, and pulling orphans into my lap for hugs.  The next day I boarded a plane, flew for 24 hours, and stepped back into the American hustle-and-bustle of Christmas.

I didn’t have the time to decompress, debrief, or process anything.  I just catapulted myself from one world to the other, with no transition in between other than a jet-lagged plane ride.

That was the hardest Christmas I’ve ever had.  It was too fresh.  I woke up Christmas morning and ate a big breakfast, wondering if those kids would eat at all that day.  I opened gifts with my family, wondering if those kids even knew it was Christmas day.  I was distracted, a little depressed, and frustrated with myself for not balancing my emotions well enough to enjoy the holiday and still reflect on the trip, all at the same time.

My little sister gave me an envelope, and inside was a receipt for a donation made in my name to feed starving orphans.  I burst into tears.

It’s been 3 years since I stepped off that plane, and it still seems fresh.

Maybe it’s because it was our first “vision trip.”  The first field that we felt a specific and direct attachment to and a longing to join.  The first taste of missions from the perspective of a potential team-member rather than a short-term visitor.

But I think it’s because in each of those moments– sharing Jesus with lonely women, sharing food with hungry kids, sharing hugs with orphaned children –I had the distinct feeling that I was there. Present. Right where I needed to be. That God was saying YES…this is what I have called you to.

And maybe not the Philippines, specifically (as we now know).  But ministry.  Tangible, hands-on, gospel-soaked ministry that does those very things– shares Jesus, meets physical needs, and loves deeply.

In the three years since that trip, we’ve visited a few more locations, accepted a call to the field, and started raising money to be able to go to Latin America.  We’ll learn the language, train under some amazing veteran missionaries, and begin planting Bible-preaching churches alongside local leaders in areas where there aren’t any.  And we’ll do it by sharing Jesus, meeting physical needs, and loving people.

The Philippines has been on my mind alot this past week.  My time there, the people there, the way God used that experience (and the disappointment I felt when we didn’t ultimately end up there) to prune my heart.

Three whole years, and it’s still fresh.

Distracted. (dpp18)

This is what happens when you try to bake cookies for the Christmas program on a Sunday morning when you’re already running behind and chasing bobbleheads all over the house.

They’re a little crispier than I had planned.  Oops.

This is why I don’t bake. My little sister got that gene.  

Little Drummer Boy (dpp17)

Today Nate and I decided to divide and conquer – each of us took a kid for the afternoon.  I had errands to run, so I loaded up Barrett and took him with me.  Nate was getting some work done at home, so Noah bobbled behind him as his helper.  It’s so much easier to get things done with only one toddler in tow, so on busy days, this is an easy solution.

One of the things on my list of errands was to stop by OEC (Japanese restaurant) and pick up another batch of their salad dressing, which Nate is absolutely addicted to (and per Nate’s request, “maybe a spicy crawfish sushi roll if you have time.)

So the Bear and I waited on the order, and he took it upon himself to entertain the place.  I gave him a set of chopsticks, which he immediately thought were drum sticks, and he went to town.

He played the drums on the floor, my purse, the chair legs, the chair seats, the table tops, his shoes…whatever would make a beat.  And he danced.  And sang.  And asked what everything was (“whats this? what’s this? what’s this?”)

And asked where Noah was about 100 times. (“Nonah? Nonah?”)

Thankfully it was 3:30 in the afternoon and the place was practically empty, so I wasn’t too concerned.  Plus he was being hilarious, so I just laughed and went along with it.    I think he had fun being on an errand date with his mama, even if it only consisted of the post office, cvs, the grocery store, and OEC.

Me too, bud.  Me too.

drum solo

Hands. (dpp16)

Yesterday I was cleaning out the diaper bag from the boys’ previous day at Mothers Morning Out. At the bottom of the bag, I found two little red packages, with tags that said “love, Barrett” and “love, Noah.”    I had no clue what they were, but I opened them up to find these:

What a fun little Christmas surprise from their MMO teachers!  I love them.

Nate and I had a laugh over how much bigger Noah’s hand is than Barrett’s. And I can only imagine the time that they had getting Noah to cooperate, considering whenever I put paint on his hand at home, he completely loses his mind.  That kid doesn’t like his hands to be dirty….which in itself is surprising since Barrett is the OCD clean freak around here.

But they sure are cute. Thanks, MMO ladies. Y’all rock (:

Here comes Santa Clause… (dpp15)

We have alot of Christmas traditions in our family, and one tradition I can always count on is the fact that my dad is going to show up multiple times, in multiple places, dressed as Santa.  He might even have been known to make the rounds in Cracker Barrel as jolly ol’ St. Nick.  Just because he loves it.

(And actually, this isn’t limited to only the Christmas season.  I remember thinking in high school that I was probably the only kid at my school who had breakfast with santa on random days in September.  Or April.  Or whenever he got the urge to try on the Santa suit.)

He also has an Easter Bunny costume and an assortment of masks, hats, crazy slippers, etc. It’s fun growing up with a dad who loves to dress up for his kids.  And the only thing better than that is having a GRANDFATHER who loves to dress up for his grandkids…The boys (and their cousins) are blessed indeed (:

So it was no surprise to find out that dad had agreed to be Santa at the boys’ (and Clark’s) Mothers Morning Out class for their Christmas Party.  Several classes of kids from 6months — 3 years, and he was going to visit each one.

The only problem was that the boys had never seen their Granddaddy dressed as Santa.  We should have prepped them for that.  Oops.

It wasn’t a hit. Thankfully they didn’t cry for the whole party… just the Santa part. But they were definitely a little wary of what was going on.

So hopefully Noah, Barrett, and Clark (and all the other 1-year-olds) weren’t scarred for life.  Turns out 1 year olds are a tough crowd for Santa.  Maybe next year we’ll try again if Santa can make a trip to Costa Rica!

taking {advantage of} what I can get. (dpp14)

The boys are recently a little obsessed with learning the names of things, sorting things, matching things, and closing drawers. They clap for themselves every time they do any of those things.  It’s like their own little party.

I have decided to cash in on this.

a plastic drawer bin, a few labels on the computer, and voila! new game!

I wonder how long it will take them to realize that the “match the toys and close the drawers” game is actually child labor  guided chores?

I dont know.  But for now I’m going to make up a song about it, smile really big, pretend that this game is awesome, and take advantage of my children’s newest developmental milestone.

 

You know they’re tired when…(dpp13)

…this happens at 5:45pm.

 

 

Half way and waiting… (dpp12)

(I’m skipping day 11, but I’ll come back to it.)

Today we are half way through our bag of Jesse Tree advent ornaments, and I am still loving it.  I’ve been focusing alot more on advent this year than I have any other Christmas, and it has totally changed the Christmas season for me.  Well, that and having curious 18-month-olds who point out every Christmas decoration every where we go.  Every. Single. One.

To say I see Christmas a little differently this year is an understatement.

But I do think that most of it is a result of a more finely tuned focus, a more purposeful and intentional mindset on anticipation.  

waiting.

longing.

We sang Come Thou Long Expected Jesus in church on Sunday, and I’ve had it in my head (and mp3 player) ever since.  Good stuff.

Here’s how the mantle looks at the halfway mark: (on the mantle instead of the tree to keep curious hands and paws from grabbing them!)

{12 days in, but only 11 ornaments - one broke in the bag. Anyone have a sharp enough eye to tell me which one is missing?}

So we’ll continue waiting for Christmas, putting up each ornament, and celebrating the fulfillment of promises…and we’ll keep tuning our thoughts and hearts to wait and long for something even greater.  Come, Lord, come!