Projects

Since we're moving by the end of the summer, we really need to put our house up for sale as soon as possible. But first we have had to tackle the projects we've intended to do ever since we moved in but never got around to. Our (meaning Joshua) most recent project is turning these unappealing iron frames into some columns that will hopefully enhance the front of our house.
Here's Joshua at work--combining his brilliant engineering skills with carpentry expertise and sheer muscle--making our columns. He actually just constructed a wood frame around the existing iron. So far we haven't received any complaints from the neighbors yet, so I think they're a success!

When in Washington my mom and I picked up some fabric to make an upholstered headboard for our bed and some coordinating pillows. So below is the finished product--another of my ideas implemented by Joshua (pillows aren't in the picture). We're still looking for some decorative pins for the border.

Moving to New York!!!

GREAT NEWS! We found last week that we got matched for internships and are going to SUNY (see below) Medical School in Syracuse, New York! We are really excited but we don't really know much about the area and what to expect. Joshua starts September 1st, so some time before then we will have to figure out how to get all of us and our belongings up to NY. We hear it's beautiful and cold up there, and are looking forward to taking the opportunity to visit nearby sites, including Palmyra, NYC, and some others. We are also looking forward to hosting LOTS of you visitors who would like to join us in exploring this fascinating area! It looks like Syracuse is in Central/Upstate New York, and has a population of a few hundred thousand. One hour from Palmyra, four to NYC, five to Boston. I really want to know how close it is to Prince Edward Island, but I don't have an answer yet.

Movie Night

Last Friday Rebecca went to the temple with a couple of people from our ward, so we took the opportunity to have a movie night. We cooked up some popcorn (which both kids loved--Julia probably ate 7/8 of the bag by herself) and we watched Mulan (Julia's pick). It was a fun night for all of us!

Washington Trip Pictures

Here are some pictures from our trip to Washington in January kindly sent to us by Peggy and Mary-Anne--Thank you!

Julia with her cousin Tucker at the Swifts' home

Ethan and my cousin Juli who just entered the MTC to prepare to go to the Baltic States mission: Congratulations Sister Little--we are so proud of you!

Ethan and Julia enjoyed seeing lots of aunts and uncles. This is Aunt Jami, who's in her third trimester expecting a baby girl. We're excited for you Trenton and Jami!

My Uncle Dennis and family

Julia with Grandma Little at Bri's birthday dinner--Tokyo! It was a fun place, but the interactive fire was a little too hot for Julia.

Joshua's not the only one that has to play "horsey" for Julia

Ethan and his Great-Grandma Little share birthdays--they are exactly 80 years apart!

Some of the Little kids with Grandma Little at her place

How could you resist this?

Picture Catch-up

As promised, here are pictures that we took over the Christmas break. Unfortunately we forgot our camera batteries when we went to Washington, so we don't have any pictures from that trip. If anyone else has pictures of our kids during that time, can you send them to us?

Ethan ready to dive into his Christmas stocking. Rebecca made all four of these by hand. Isn't she great!

Ready to open presents

Ethan and Great Grandma Swift

Joshua with his Uncle Mark and Grandpa Swift

Joshua's uncle's and aunt's new home (still under construction)

Separation Anxiety

Our family has been having to cope with a long distance relationship for the past couple of weeks. Rebecca and the kids have been in Washington with the Littles (we visited the Swifts when Joshua was there too), while Joshua has been traveling around the country for internship interviews. It has been hard to be apart for so long. Prior to this experience we have never really been apart since our marriage (there was one night when Rebecca was away at young women's camp, but that was it). So it has been a big adjustment. Luckily we have been able to talk and see each other using our new webcam, which has really been a blessing. Unfortunately, we still have a little more than a week.

Here are some pictures from Joshua's end of the webcam

PS. Pictures of family from the Washington trip will be added when we get the camera problem worked out.

Christmas Celebrations

We had a wonderful Christmas. On Christmas Eve we reenacted the Christmas story as a Family. Julia played the role of Mary, Joshua played the role of the donkey, Rebecca played the role of everything else, and Ethan was the audience. After Julia rode the donkey around the house for a while, we all stopped and had a Christmas Eve dinner of fish, dates (we actually did prunes and apricots), pita bread, and juice. We were trying to imagine what Mary and Joseph may have eaten at the time. It ended up being a very reverent and spiritual way to celebrate our Christmas Eve, and a tradition that we plan to continue in the future.

On Christmas morning we opened presents early and enjoyed that time together. Julia and Ethan were definitely spoiled by grandparents, aunts, uncles, and even parents who just thought that they would enjoy every single toy in the store. Julia did most of the unwrapping while Ethan again played the role of the audience. They both had a blast! Thank you everyone for your generosity.

After that we had two older single ladies from our ward to come over and share a Christmas brunch with us. The brunch included ham, rolls, fruit, a potato dish, cranberry coffeecake, a quiche, and hot-chocolate. Joshua also wanted a frog-eye-salad, but we decided it was too much already. We ended up cooking way too much anyway and most of the meal ended up in our freezer.

Then we went over to Joshua's aunt and uncle's house in Tulsa. Joshua's grandparents were also there and we had a wonderful Christmas dinner together. And to Joshua's surprise they had made a frog-eye-salad. We had brought over a popcorn cake; which was one of his grandma's traditions. We all had a wonderful weekend together (they let us stay over-night next door in their cottage). Julia enjoyed playing with Penny (Kristen and Kent's new dog) and having Mark run around with her in the yard, Ethan enjoyed being held by everyone, and we enjoyed a little bit of a break.

In thinking about this past year we have truly been blessed. We have a wonderful family and extended family to share our love with and we couldn't be happier.

PS. Our camera is in Washington and our cord to plug it into the computer is in Oklahoma, so pictures of our Christmas break will follow in a subsequent post.