Holidays & 2 Big One Year Olds

Ashley and I were talking the other day and I couldn't believe the last time I mowed the lawn was really three months ago. I know this is a weird way to tell time, but it caused me to think about how quickly the last three months have gone by. It is so easy as humans to waste our days and not enjoy the blessings we have. Ash and I know we are blessed to have our family and we enjoy each other and each child so much. We had a great Christmas and New Year, celebrating both with Ashley's family. It is crazy to celebrate birthdays on New Years Day (and bowl game day!), but it was our privilege to ring in a new year and birthday all together. Braden and Karsten are now one and it has been fun to watch them develop over the year. We realize we're in a unique position of being able to watch two side by side. They are just now taking their first steps! This last weekend we took a trip to Moscow, Idaho (my birthtown) and celebrated a Wick family wedding. My cousin, Morgan, was married in the same church my parents were married in 34 years ago! Crazy huh? It was fun to see the wedding, my Uncle Scott and Aunt Marianne, and Great Grandma and Grandpa Wick, among many other wonderful family on the bride's side. Once again I was reminded how God has blessed our family with an amazing heritage of godliness, and very thankful for it. This fact constantly challenges me in my leading and parenting, and also helps spur me on in the pursuit of holiness. It seems I could write forever, but I will leave you with some pics of the last few weeks.

A Wonderful Time of Year!

Since our last post (a LONG time ago) things have not slowed down one bit. Ashley celebrated her birthday on November 17th, Thanksgiving was next, Mikaela is now officially four, Christmas is in less than a week, and the boys will turn one in less than two weeks. In between all of that has been continued detective work for Chris, continued teaching work for Ash, holiday parties left and right, and wonderful fellowship at church. We have loved every minute of it, but there have been a few nights where we just crash after the last kiddo is tucked into bed. Braden and Karsten are getting closer to walking, but remain fairly content with the high speed crawl. As we look back on this year we cannot believe how God has chosen to bestow on us so many wonderful blessings. We are so grateful for the family we have and the friends which encourage us daily. As the 25th draws near we give glory to God for sending us Jesus. There would be no cause for celebration if Christ was not born, and yet God bestowed His grace on us through the perfect life (and eventual death & resurrection) of our Savior. Merry Christmas to all of our friends and family and have a wonderful new year!

Our Crazy Life & The Pig Flu's Twin

I look at our blog and I'm blown away at how quickly time passes. Our fall has been CRAZY and the swine flu or whatever our family caught doesn't help! So here is our moments of note for the last month. Tahlia finished another soccer season and played amazing, especially considering most of the girls were older than her. School is trucking right along, and Tahlia continues to do well, but it is Mikaela that has blown our minds. She has put much together in the last month and it is fun to watch. The boys are moving right along - literally. Braden I think will walk before Christmas ,and Karsten, well who knows he is a little behind. Although they are twins, they are very unique. More personality shows each day in both of them. Ash and I are doing well. Detective work has been very busy, but not as busy as homemaker work with 4 kiddos. Below are some pictures of the boys at 9-10 months, Mikaela our climber, and Halloween pumpkins. I was not a part of Halloween this year, instead I chose to watch my beloved Trojans get massacred by the Ducks at Autzen stadium! Stay tuned to our blog for some exciting news in the near future; & no it is not the announcement of another pregnancy (at least we hope not)!

Some of This and Some of That

Wow a month has flown by, and although there were multiple things to post we just didn't. Here is a quick run down of some Wick household activities in September. School began and both Tahlia and Mikaela are hard at work, and since we decided on at least one more year of homeschooling that means Ashley is the one who is totally slammed. September also saw us enter the world of Mac computers as well as enjoy Tahlia's first competitive soccer game, her 6th birthday, and her first lost tooth! Mikaela is still a little pinball which means she is a walking wound - the girl can't avoid hitting her head on things! The boys are moving around and pulling themselves into standing positions; next up is tree climbing! One highlight for us was a quick trip up to Seattle. We were able to see Great Grandma and Grandpa Wick and also Aunt Sandy. Those are truly memories for a lifetime! Lastly, we have just enjoyed our first snow (seriously!) and that means goodbye flowers and lawn-mowing and hello winterizing and blowing out sprinklers; the work never ends, it just changes! Here are a few photos for your enjoyment.

Another California Vacation

For the second time this summer we went to California for a week away with family. Several months ago we saw Kara and Matt in Northern Cali and this time we went to Grandpa and Grandma Wick's house in Southern Cali. We mostly hit the pools, lagoons, and beach. We also saw Kevin and Danielle and cousin Brooklyn. We enjoyed friends in Santa Clarita and at Placerita Baptist Church. We heard Scott Ardavanis preach twice on marriage and wordliness. We ate at some of our favorite spots. Chris had the opportunity to preach at Legacy Academy's chapel. We enjoyed an evening with our good friends the Sojka family, and also the Burns family! We stayed in two different hotels along the way, had plenty of car time, ate at In-N-Out, and enjoyed one another's company for over a week! Here are a few pics along the way.

Seeing Double

Here are some recent shots from the boys. They are growing! You can already see the different personalities. I guess we could adverstise an extra bathtub when we sell this place!

VBS & Summer Fun

The girls (especially Ashley) have been busy the last few weeks. Here are some pictures from VBS and some backyard fun. I added a bonus shot of Tahlia picking weeds for us on her own initiative. Sorry, no pics from swim lessons, and we decided not to go to the County Fair this year (too hot and major lightning storms). Enjoy!