family christmas

We are in Oklahoma this year for Christmas so the 3 of us humans + one doggie celebrated our family's Christmas morning in Franklin before we left.  Our big surprise for Bo was a tent!  I got that thing in Chicago in October and carried it on the plane - the things we do for our kids.   It was a hit with Bo AND Moose loves it too! They take turns hanging out in there.  It folds down flat so when it loses its appeal, we can put it away for awhile. 

 

 Bo was getting over a stomach virus and was a little sleepy/overwhelmed.  

 The soccer ball and goal were a big hit, too.  

Finger Puppets.

getting ready for christmas

Ho Ho Ho

Our first Tennessee Christmas has been sweet.  

We've been making memories and sharing the time as a family.  Bo understands so much this year and is so much fun to share Christmas with.  He knows Santa says Ho Ho Ho! and loves his job of turning on and off the Christmas tree lights by stomping the floor switch.  He has a collection of Christmas stickers and believes that stickers belong on the face, and none of us have corrected him:

We've enjoyed making new traditions here in our new home.  It has been so warm thus far, which I think is pretty nice.  I can enjoy Christmas lights in 60 degree weather.  In fact, we might just get out of the car and leisurely wander around in the comfort of our t-shirts.  

Left: our back porch and Bo in short-sleeves.  Right: a house in Nashville decked in lights. 

 

Everyone around here said we had to go to Opryland Hotel to see the lights.  We finally made it out this week.  It was really crazy.  I don't really know how to explain it to my yankee friends - a giant hotel with an arboretum/greenhouse growing in the middle of it?  They really do Christmas well there.  There were lights everywhere, hanging from the lofted ceiling, engulfing the indoor Christmas tree, and stretching to every branch of the trees at the entrance of the hotel.  

Their children's section was sweet and fairly empty so we decided to see Santa without a line, even though Bo was not wearing his Santa shirt.  He wasn't a huge fan of the jolly old elf.

But he WAS a huge fan of the train exhibit.  He busted up laughing at the trolley that shuttled back and forth above the town.

A highlight was the Behold the Lamb concert at the Ryman - my first time at the Ryman but my 2nd time to see the concert.  It's been several years since and I was so excited to share the experience with Matt and our friends from community group. It is an awesome show and I highly recommend this fresh and Biblical perspective of Christmas. We will be making this a family tradition!

Currently Matt and I are on the road to OKC. Arkansas has been a long and boring state with an hour long stop on the highway. BUT... Bo flew from Cinci to OK with my parents and we are ever so glad he is enjoying a day with a train table at Coco and Boppy's instead of being stuck in here with us. Moose is a much more compliant traveler. :)

A Legacy

My grandfather, Robert Lowery, went to be with the Lord.

I can only describe it as a homecoming.  He is home with the One he dedicated his life to serving.  My grandpa served in WWII, married his hometown sweetheart, my grandma, and became a pastor.  He founded and pastored Faith Bible Church in Cincinnati, Ohio, for 30 years.  

Grandpa and Grandma with Ryan and Me

On Wednesday our family gathered in Cincinnati to be together and celebrate my grandpa.  His memorial service was so special.  Dear friends of my grandparents spoke about Grandpa's life and service, his humility, his honesty, his desire to serve the Lord.  They spoke about his prison ministry, his dedication to missions, and his ability to preach the Word of God.  One man told of a sermon Grandpa preached in Guatemala that brought a missionary to tears, so timely was the message to his tired soul.  

Grandpa and Me

I don't think I will ever know the extent of my grandfather's influence, or how his life has impacted mine.  I am richly blessed by my extended family's commitment to the Lord.  Because of my grandpa's commitment to missions, my mom and her sister both lived overseas as missionaries.  Because of my childhood exposure to missions and travel, I moved to Kenya.  Because of that move, Matt and I met.  

Grandpa, my cousins, and my sister

It was for these reasons and many more that we named Bo "Robert" after my grandpa.

Fifteen years ago, my grandpa was diagnosed with Alzheimer's.  After many years of caring for him at home, my grandma finally was forced to place him in a care facility.  Even there, God used the witness of my grandma to minister to the staff and other residents.

Grandma and most of her grandkids.

What a joy it is to know my grandpa is finally whole, that he is all that God intended him to be!

Below is a video from Faith Bible's 50th anniversary, celebrated this year.  It tells the story of the church my grandpa founded and the features some of his last sermon.


Faith Bible Church 50th Anniversary from Faithful Bull Productions on Vimeo.

real family pictures

Have you seen that picture on Pinterest of the three kids holding letters that spell J-O-Y, but all of them are screaming?  That's kind of how our family picture experience was.  

 One of these kids was feeling a little squirrely.

Attempting to get one of Gigi and Pop with their sweet grandsons:

And my personal favorite:


What do you think about this family resemblance?

Matt and his brothers with their grandpa:

Anyway, we somehow managed to get this crew all together over Thanksgiving for a picture of the growing family:

evolution of a table

I would like to blog a couple times a week but time just gets away from me!  We've had a lot happening but part of me wants to be chronological with my posting.  So, as Christmas approaches, here is a post from Thanksgiving: 

Over Thanksgiving, Matt and his brothers, Dad, and Grandpa collaborated to make a table out of barn wood.  The wood was taken from this old barn.  

This was a real from-the-source operation. 

 

The guys spent a lot of time down in the workshop.  There are lots of steps to building a table, especially when the wood is full of nails and warped with age.

They spent some late nights putting it together but it's all assembled now.  Over Christmas they will probably give it another sanding and stain and seal it.  It will be an outdoor table at Matt's parents' house.  If you've seen Parenthood, their outdoor family space was the inspiration for this project!

It's only 8 months late . . .

Click here to view this photo book larger

Turn your favorite photos into a photo book at Shutterfly.com.

I started making a book for Bo shortly after he turned one.  Obviously it has taken me a while!  I finally got inspired to crank it out so he could get it for Christmas. (That being said, it's already ordered, so please keep typos to yourself.)  I can hardly believe he used to be so tiny . . . I forget so much about what it was like to have a little baby.  Anyway, Shutterfly gave a surprise option at the end to share the book so for better or for worse, you all can see it too!  Enjoy! 

one and a half

Somehow our tiny little baby has grown up into a hilarious toddler-man.  

He loves to kick and throw a ball.  Every day he begs me to "kick, mommy, kick!" and will not stop until someone is kicking the ball with him.  He likes hitting at balls, too: 

We have spent many hours at the park down the street and in our own backyard.  Since daylight savings it's been getting dark at 4:45 so THAT is a bummer but it has still been warm enough to be out during the afternoon.  

 

We took Bo to a Titans game a few weeks ago . . . which now means he's been to a major league baseball game (in Boston as a baby) and an NFL game.  I'm not recommending you take your infants and wiggly toddlers to ball games, but if somebody is giving away tickets and you're up for an adventure (or your babysitter has plans), it is possible to go with an open mind and have a little fun.  

Bo actually did really well at the Titans game.  He was enthralled by the crowd and the game for a bit, and when he started going wild, the people in front of us took him for a little while.  Complete strangers, but they were grandparents and happier with our kid than we were at the moment. 

Bo has such a special bond with his Daddy.  He goes wild when Matt gets home.  He asks for Daddy first thing every morning and then "Moo, Moo, Moo?" for Moose.

 

 Bo L-O-V-E-S trucks.  It's a wonderful thing to love, because they are everywhere.  Road construction is Bo's favorite thing.  Here he's waiting for the garbage truck to come around the corner:

Bo loves books, too.  Our once-extensive board book collection now seems puny because we have read each one a thousand times.  

Poor Bo . . . that picture was taken one night after dinner when he was tired and I had JUST finished reading the truck book that he wanted me to turn around and read again . . . always on a quest to make sure mommy doesn't get anything done around the house . . . 

After dinner time is tricky for me if Matt isn't here.  Bo eats at 5:00 or 5:30 and when he's done it's dark outside but too early for bath.  One night I tried finger painting.  It was fun for a short amount of time, as you can see:

I hope I don't have a craft hater on my hands. 

Last week we finally cut the wispy duck hair off the top of Bo's head.  I was in favor of the trim until Matt moved toward his little blonde head with the big man trimmer and then there was some drama.  

He just cut a little and Bo really does look more like a big boy. :( 

Bo is getting more verbal and says a bunch of words, but also prattles on in gibberish saying things that no one can understand but him.  He's also become really aware of his surroundings- he'll yell "CHOO-CHOO" when we pull up to the library that has a train table.  He yells "guckins" when we get to his cousins' neighborhood.  It's so funny that he can see things around him and make connections.  

And by the end of the day, we're all pretty happy about bedtime.