Christmas Blessings

Merry Christmas!  It's hard to believe it has already come and gone.  We enjoyed Christmas Eve with family at my mom's house and the kids had a great time opening presents and eating sugary treats.  This year was particularly fun watching the kids get excited over the little things.  Drew loved spotting the Christmas lights from his car seat and would LOUDLY announce the sighting to everyone in the car, over and over until we acknowledged him.  That boy has some lungs!  Cameron and Mia loved the advent bags my mom put together for them.  Our tradition was to open one bag each night after dinner and talk about the Christmas story.  They did a great job keeping most of the facts straight. 

Christmas morning, we work up early (of course) and built a fire (Cameron's highlight of the day) and opened presents before heading to Mimi and Grandpa's.  But before we left, all the grandparents came over for the big reveal of the "new" swing set.  Our back yard has basically just been rocks since we moved in so we are so thankful for something for the kids to do outside!

This year we were especially grateful to be spending Christmas with our sweet Nana.  As many of you know, she had a heart attack right around Thanksgiving.  It was a scary time for our family but we knew God was in control and He was watching over her.  After a double stint, she is doing much better but will need to keep a close eye on her kidneys.  We were also so thankful that our Mimi had a recent clean bill of health with her cancer!  Our family just wouldn't be the same without these strong women!

I have really enjoyed having some time off to spend with Michael and the kids.  It has been wonderful just being home together without much of an agenda for a time.  Of course, Cameron and Mia have their own agendas which has kept us busy....going to the park, family walks, games, movies, playing outside, painting, baking, etc.  Priceless!

I am relieved to be starting this next semester at AZVA wearing only one hat for a change.  I will no longer be teaching since I am moving to full time StARS Coordinator.  Basically, I work with a group of very at risk teens. They can be a challenge but I love this part of my job!  It is very rewarding when you see one of them succeed after overcoming huge obstacles in their personal life.  I also started my master's this month--I'm attending GCU Online to get my M.S. in Professional Counseling.  It will take a good 3 1/2 years if I stay full time, but the timing with graduation will work out great just as Drew is headed to Kindergarten.  Wow...just the thought makes me a little teary!

Speak of the little devil...he gave us our first big scare a few days ago.  He managed to fall over backwards while kneeling on one of our big heavy bar stools in our kitchen.  His foot was pinned and we thought it might be broken.  We took him to the ER but he suddenly wanted to get down and walk.  The next day he still didn't want to put weight on it so we took him to the doctor who said he just damaged the soft tissue.  Phew!  I have a feeling this won't be our last visit to the ER with this one....he has NO FEAR!

We are so thankful for all of you and your prayers and support over this past year.  It has been the most challenging year of our lives, but we are coming out the other side stronger, refined, and more centered on Christ!  He is our provider, comforter, protector, and strength!! 

We love you all and wish you a safe and happy new year!
On to 2011!!!

Family Service

Today we had the opportunity to take our entire family with a group called Feed the Hungry from our church, Pure Heart Christian Fellowship, to downtown Phoenix to pass out food and water. Over 200 hundred people came through the line.
Beck fit right in cutting up cucumbers for a salad that was made and I was stationed at the end of the line with my little helpers (see pics) keeping the ice chest stocked up and passing out water. Mia also chipped in to butter bread.
It was a great first experience for our entire family to serve together without Beck and I being the coordinators of the event. We had a great time!

I didn't do the best job of documenting with pics but here are a few.

2, 4, 6....and other fallish things!

"Fall" in AZ is unique, but none-the-less still fun!  It seems the kick-off every year is a trip to the State Fair.  It's a family tradition that we have carried on with our kids.  This year, our little dare devil (Mia) wanted to ride every ride...but she was too small.  She was able to ride some of the "big kid" rides with her daddy.  Cameron is starting to venture out a bit.  Of course, we shared the calorie laden deep fried candy bar....oh yeah! (missed you Hiatts)

Next came the BIG #6 for Cameron.  He wants to be a Police Officer OR a Shark Investigator...time will tell!  We started the day with breakfast at IHOP (nothing like candy for breakfast).  He got to take special treats to school to share with his buddies and then had his party in the park by our house.  It was a beautiful fall day and he and his friends had a great time.  The icing on the cake was when a REAL officer magically showed up in his REAL police car!!! (Thanks Andy and Chris)

The Party!!!

The Grandparents

Mad dash for presents!!!!   

SO exciting! 

Next came Halloween with Woody, Princess Belle, and Mickey Mouse...escorted by the lovely bride and her sweet little ballerina.  Such fun...mixed with boatloads of candy!!!

Anxious to get moving! 

Just enough time to steal a quick kiss 

Mickey lagged behind a little bit.  One of the best treats Drew got was an apple--he was more concerned with eating the goodies right then, than all the walking and ringing doorbells. 

Our dear sweet Papa and Michael built the boys bunk beds and they worked looong hours to finish in time for the family birthday party.  They look amazing!  Great job guys!!

Cam even got in on the staining--3 generations making memories = priceless! 

The boys were SO EXCITED to be in their new beds!  

For Drew this meant his 1st night in the "big boy bed".  For us, no more cribs, changing tables, etc.  Yep...we're done! 

The family party came next since all 3 kid's birthdays fall within 3 weeks.  Our sweet Mia turned 4 and Micah Drew turned 2.  Drew had a Mickey Mouse cake and Mia had her requested cupcake cake-balls.  For Mia's birthday we took a family trip to the Science Center (FUN), and for Drew's birthday we went to the McCormick train park and then Sugar Bowl in Scottsdale.  Sweet Aunt CeCe and Uncle Steve bought two little kitties (more on that one later) which were the hit of the night! Great memories we will cherish forever!

The BIG #4!

And the BIG #2! 

In Search of the Great Pumpkin

In light of this beautiful "fall" weather, we traveled to a farm in Scottsdale in search of the perfect pumpkin.  Nana and Papa joined us in the 105 degree heat to pick a pumpkin in the desert "patch".  The sun was as hot as ever, but we enjoyed the hayride and the laid back atmosphere of this real working horse farm.  Mia especially loved the horses (our little animal lover). 

Even Micah Drew got to ride his first horse.  He was NOT excited at first but that soon grew into a love-hate relationship with "blondie", his horse.

We all enjoyed a hay ride out to the pumpkin patch.  The kids even got a personal invitation to ride up front where the real cowboys ride! 

They had a petting zoo where Cam and Mia got to hold the sweetest little bunnies.  Mia of course was ready to bring them all home.  Cam enjoyed chasing the chickens around the pen and watching the goats climb up the ladder to their rooftop flat.

We carefully selected our pumpkins then headed back to the shade for a rest and a snack.  Nana always packs the best!

Lil' cowgirl (is she really this big??)

Gotta pick the best one...

Our sweet Nana and Papa

Papa keepin a close eye on the kids while they rode horses.  I love how his eyes smile!

Here we go!

Changes.  Too many to count lately it seems, but 3 in our most recent history. 

We are all settled into our new house back in our old neighborhood in Phoenix.  It feels good to be back in the city again, close to friends and family!  We are feeling settled, although the "to do" list is still quite large. 

The second exciting change for the Stines family was sending our oldest, Cameron, to Kindergarten this year.  Wow, it still feels strange to say that...we have a Kindergartner!!  He is loving his 1/2 day class of 18 friends and is doing well reading, writing, and following all the rules.  If you know Cameron, you know this is his specialty (mostly enforcing them for others). 

The third change was not at all expected.  In fact, it was quite the opposite.  We have been growing Mia's hair out since she was a baby.  I've always dreamed of having a little girl with long hair I could braid, curl, style, etc, etc, etc.  Well, Mia loves to work on little art projects while mommy is working.  You get where I'm going no doubt....so she gets the bright idea to cut her own hair since she is such a good "cutter girl".  She came into the room where I was working and didn't say a word about it--just pretended like all was well.  I noticed the bangs right away, then she slowly turned and a long lock of hair fell to the floor.  I was horrified to find she had cut one side about 1.5 away from her scalp.  Ya...so she now sports the "modern bang" and a much shorter do.  Enjoy the pictures!