Andrew Family Christmas 2011

What a fun Christmas season we had this year! Isaac (4) and William (2.5) are at such fun ages! They enjoyed the magic of the season and understood the real meaning of Christmas. We actually did less holiday “stuff” this year and instead focused on spending more time together as a family and with other family and friends!

Our holiday season started with the annual Mount Vernon Christmas Parade… 

Then it was off to McLean’s to cut our own tree…

and this year the boys helped decorate…

We watched a lot of holiday movies (Frosty & Polar Express were their favorites). We made cookies for our neighbors, enjoyed lots of playdates and parties, went to Skagit Valley Gardens with Nana to look at the Christmas trees and of course drove around looking at lights. We did a lot of stuff with our church, Mount Vernon Christ the King and enjoyed a few neighborhood gatherings as well.

As for Christmas itself, we had it pretty quiet. Went to Christmas Eve service and then back home. Sonny and I finished wrapping the day before (first time done that far in advance and it was AWESOME! Plus we started a new tradition, wrap the boys presents TOGETHER while watching a Christmas movie and enjoying a nice bottle of wine!) In the morning, William was up at usual 6:45 time and we all ended up WAKING Isaac up a bit past 7! I guess that won’t be happening again.

Anyway, out of MANY pics, here are a few highlights from our Christmas…

This picture is to represent that EVERYTIME William opened new PJ’s (he got 5 or so) He HAD to try them on and this is what most of our morning consisted of!

This is the one time of year I get Sonny Steelers stuff (note the pants from a gift opened earlier)

For dinner it was off to Nana & Poppy’s…

We are looking forward to more celebrating this coming weekend with my brother flying in for a visit!

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas & will have a blessed New Year!

Love, The Andrew Family (William, Sonny, Carmen & Isaac)

3rd Annual Christmas Family Tradition…

Wow, third year already! Though this sometimes stresses me a bit, I DO love this family tradition of making cookies just for our neighbors at Chirstmas time! I look forward to the day where I get more help from the boys – though this year, Isaac was more than just a taste tester! Again, we were blessed with a clear night to deliver these goodies to 27 neighbors!!! Almost everyone was home too – a big plus!

If you’ve missed the past year’s posts or you want to know how this got started, you can see it here….
1st Year ;  2nd Year

So, per the usual, here is the step by step

1. Bake all the cookies with a helper…

 

2. Prep everything for photos (and to make bagging easier) :)

3. Yum…(but don’t touch!)

   

  

4. Evenly distribute into cute, festive bags and line them up…

 

5. Write out the cards, give an invite to church and make sure the message is centered on Jesus!

 

6. Get your Santa hats on and deliver them door to door. Then come home and enjoy hot cocoa & leftover cookies!

From our family to yours…”MERRY CHRISTMAS!”

My little soccer star…

Playing…

Playing in the puddles behind our house.

Playing at new parks.

Playing among the flowers.

  

Playing sports.

 

 

 

Playing at the beach.

S’ More Please…

The first s’mores of the season were on our new firepit in our backyard! Since we plan on NOT CAMPING with small children, we had to make our backyard suffice for a few years…

They were finger licking good…

and messy but oh so much fun!

We Call Him Boots…

and we wish he would get better soon! William’s been sick for almost a month now with a prolonged ear infection (first round of antibiotics didn’t work) AND two viral colds He’s just not himself and I am eager for the day where I get this grin again…

Welcome to the Family…

The family of Christ that is! Sonny and I professed our faith in Jesus Christ this morning by being baptized at our church with friends and family in attendance. It was absolutely wonderful and we were so moved at how the Holy Spirit spoke to us through our pastor! We praise God for everything He has blessed us with and for what He is currently doing in our individual lives, our marriage and for our family!

“Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ. When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of your, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off – for all whom the Lord our God will call.” – Acts 2:36-39

We both chose a verse to be prayed over us before our baptisms. Each verse is very unique to us in reference to where we’ve come from and what we hope God has in store for us in our future. Again, God gave us these verses specifically this week and they are so perfect.

Sonny’s verse: “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” – Isaiah 41:10

Carmen’s verse: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” – Proverbs 3:5

Thank you to all our friends and family for your support in our journey thus far. It was awesome to share this experience with each other. I know it has strengthened our faith and trust in God and our entire family will benefit.

God Bless – The Andrew Family

Sonny giving his reasons to be baptized…

 

Pastor Cliff getting the words from the Holy Spirit!

Praying over Sonny…

Dying to his old self to be brought up alive in Christ!

The Holy Spirit speaking through Cliff…

Praying over Carmen…

Dying to her old self to be brought up alive in Christ!

So Happy!!! Praise God!

We did it!!!

BAPTISM VIDEO – has a pretty funny start to it!   Also, you might need to turn up the volume to hear