This is for the grandparents.  Anna sings this song at least 10 times a day.  Thought I would share.  She actually does it much better than this shows, but whenever we get the camera out she gets a little shy.  If you listen closely the first time through, she makes a kissing sound instead of saying the word kiss.  Too cute.  Evan also loves to sing except he won’t ever do it for me.  I told him he is going to have to stop being so shy when it comes to singing since he has recently announced that he is going to be a singer when he grows up.

It’s finally official and I can publicly announce that Andrew has accepted the offer for the job of Academic Director for the Center for Youth Ministry Training (CYMT) in Nashville, Tennessee.  Actually CYMT is located in Brentwood, just outside Nashville and we will probably move even a little further out in a town called Spring Hill or Thompsons Station.  But nonetheless it’s the Nashville area.  We are super excited about this great opportunity for Andrew and are so looking forward to moving into a house.  We love the community we have here in Princeton but we are ready to get out of student housing and have a place to call our own.   Andrew will be teaching youth ministry courses through Memphis Theological Seminary in retreat based classes.  So he will only teach every so often.  This allows him time to develop curriculum for CYMT and to write his dissertation.  I have been addicted to looking at houses for sale online and am trying to not get attached to them since they will most likely sell before we are ready to buy.  Some of my favorites have already gotten offers.  But I’m sure there will be one just right for us when we are ready.   Andrew will do a little looking when he is down there the end of February and then in March the whole family is going.  We plan on moving sometime in early June.

This post is dedicated to Andrew and all that he has accomplished and the hard work that went into all of it.  This morning he had to go in a room in front of many of his professors and have his oral defense of the five comprehensive exams he took, three of which were in September and two in January.  It has been a long, hard 5+ months of preparation to get to this day today.  Not to mention the waiting and wondering.  But I am so proud to say that Andrew’s oral defense went really well and he passed all five comprehensive exams!  He has worked so hard and deserves all the joy in knowing he has made it this far and is done with exams and papers forever.  The next step is the dissertation proposal and then once that’s approved he can begin writing his dissertation.  That will be another amazing accomplishment but one that won’t come for a few years.  I love you Andrew.  Thanks for working so hard while also being a wonderful father to Evan and Anna.  We love you!

Evan and Anna have so much fun playing together.  They are almost 5 years apart but they still get along pretty well.  Here are a couple videos for the grandparents showing just that.

They started dancing after watching Alvin and the Chipmunks so I got the camera out and set it up somewhat inconspicuously so they would continue on.  So many times the funny or cute stuff stops when I get the camera out.

We got our first snowfall this past weekend and it was so much fun.  It snowed about a foot and was so beautiful.  The kids had a great time digging tunnels, building snowmen, and sledding.  Anna liked it more the first day and then she just didn’t like the cold.  But she still had fun.  Evan had a great time with his new snow shovel which was supposed to be a Christmas present but there was no way we could not let him have it early with all this snowfall.  Plus it’s supposed to rain on Christmas so all the snow will probably melt.

Then Monday night, drove to Shady Brook Farm to see the beautiful Christmas light display they have there.  I think Anna was mesmerized by all the lights.  It was nice to get out as a family and enjoy the beauty of the holiday.  We wish you all a very Merry Christmas!

I can’t believe my little girl turned 2 yesterday.  She has changed so much over the past two years and is such a delight.  It was so fun watching her open presents and get so excited about what was in them.  As soon as we asked if she wanted cake first or to open presents, she exclaimed in a high pitched loud voice, “open presents!”  It was fun to have my parents and sister on Skype watching her as well.  They haven’t seen Anna since this summer and it was fun for them to hear her talk and interact with them.  I made her an Elmo cake because she loves Elmo.  However, she refused to eat the Elmo cake.  She only wanted ice cream and nothing to do with the Elmo cake.  She ate her cupcakes at her little friend party the other day and it was the same kind of cake with red frosting even, but I guess she couldn’t handle the thought of eating one of her favorite furry friends.  We ended the day with a neighborhood Christmas party so it was a fun packed busy day.  Here are some pictures from today.

Today was toddler playgroup at my place so I decided to have a little party for Anna as part of that.  Her birthday is Saturday but we are going to celebrate as a family via skype so I thought today would be perfect for a little friend party.  The kids had a great time playing and eating cupcakes.  It was fun and I’m so excited to see her open presents on Saturday.  More pictures to come of the birthday celebration.

Since this is most likely going to be our last year living in Princeton, we decided to head to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade one more time.  We all went when Evan was three but the weather was miserable.  The next year I was almost nine months pregnant with Anna but the weather was amazing.  So I stayed home and cooked dinner while Andrew and Evan headed to the parade and they were home by 2pm to eat.  This year, the weather was looking good once again so we decided to go and let Anna experience the parade.  It was great fun.  This year we went with our neighbors who just moved here this year.  It was fun to hang out and enjoy the big balloons together.  One of our favorite parts of going is enjoying the empty streets after the parade.  We walked down the middle of 7th ave to Central Park and then walked around Times Square and took pictures right in the middle of the street.  Anyway, it was a fun day and it was great to share it with friends.

Anna is one month shy from turning two.  I can’t believe I almost have a two year old.  She is such a joy and so funny and silly she cracks me up every single day.  Her favorite thing right now is playing hide and seek.  Even when no one is around.  This morning she went into every room, found a corner, counted to 14 and then said, “ready or not here I come.”  And when she hides, she really hides.  She stays completely still and quiet until someone finds her.  She has even hid in a dark closet and not made a peep.  She is serious about this game.  Anna is still completely obsessed with Elmo and all of the Sesame Street characters and is also obsessed with the ABC’s.  Here is a video of her obsession.  Although it’s kind of dark so it’s not the best quality but this is what she does several times a day, everyday.