Advent Season

This Christmas season has been a little more exciting for us as we don’t have to travel to see family and we’ve started a new tradition of doing advent activities counting down the days to Jesus’ birth. Starting with December 1st, we try to do a small activity each day reminding us of Jesus birth and what it accomplished for us and also anticipating Jesus return to claim his kingdom. That’s been fun to do with Solomon even though he doesn’t quite get it, I am hoping as we keep with this tradition over the years, it will become a very special time of year.

It has been extremely wonderful to be with mine and Tim’s family on a daily basis, regularly eating dinner together and hanging out. Watching Solomon and his cousin Rhys grow and change together is probably the most rewarding. Being back here came after a lot of really big changes and difficult circumstances, but I look back and am amazed at God’s timing.

We’ve seen our nephew start walking and talking. My younger sister is getting married this Saturday and what a blessing to be here in CA rather than far away in Seattle. The warm weather and sunshine has helped me relax and get out more with Solomon. I have one friend from highschool whom I am still close with, and how special it was to be here last week to visit her in the hospital after she gave birth to her first child. To be there for her, hang out with them, encourage and love them has been awesome. We even got to spend Tim’s birthday here, as well as Thanksgiving, something we have only done once in the last 5 or 7 years! Most of all, we appreciate the encouragement from our families on a daily basis as Tim has relentlessly looked for work, treating it as a full time job. We even found a great church to get plugged into, where we have been well loved, and am sad to leave now!

Another great thing has been to see Solomon checking out the Christmas trees and lights. I think I can say, he’s obsessed! From morning to night, he reminds us of the “ki-ma-ti”. He loves to look at the lights in the dark and is regularly asking for “night walks”. I was just hoping to share all of this with you as today is the first day with our extended family in town for the holidays and I’m realizing how much happens day to day, not wanting to get too far behind. Here are some pictures, with more to come in the following days.

Big hugs, the Stiles.

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