THE PETERSENS

I love the Leggetts!  They are one of the cutest couples I know, so I felt honored to be taking their maternity pictures.  Since I still am very much a beginning photographer and shaky on my feet, Kristin Cook offered to come and help me.  We had a lot of fun, despite the cold weather!  I’m starting to really fall in love with photography, but I need to practice more.  Hint, hint.  Anyone need a photo shoot?

Aren’t they sweet?

Elena Faith is in there!

Love her hat.

E for Elena.

Like Mama, like daughter already.  Lotsa shoes!

Gorgeous and glowing.

So endearing.

The baby belly.

The 3 Leggetts.

My fave.

While starting to take down our Christmas decorations today, I realized that I never took the time to blog about our Christmas here in the Petersen household.  So, let me fill you in.  We started off the month with Advent.  Over Thanksgiving, Ben and I sat down and made ornaments that symbolized parts of the “Creation to Consummation.”

Ben prepared a devotional for each day which served to point us to Christ and His birth, as well as to anticipate His Second Coming.  He really did an excellent job and I am so thankful for the passion God has given Him to disciple me and his boys.  Joshua Lee enjoyed seeing each new and different ornament and now that he is older, he is picking up more and more of what we teach him from the Bible.  God is working in his life and for this we are thankful.

We put up just a few Christmas decorations.  Space and finances didn’t allow us to purchase a Christmas tree this year, but we still managed to make our home feel “Christmas-y.”

JL and I made several crafts to go along with the holiday and he loved that.  We baked and decorated cookies with Kimberly and her girls one morning and did the same with some friends downtown.  Even without family in town, we managed to keep pretty busy.

My sister and her boyfriend were the only ones who were able to fly out and see us this year.

It was the first time meeting her boyfriend, but things went great.  We had so much fun with them and we laughed more than we can ever remember.  We played Nertz, Puerto Rico and DDR, went to Chuck E Cheese’s and Red Robin with the kiddos and stayed up until the wee hours of the morning every single day they were here.

Jonathan even gave JL a mohawk one day.

It went by way too fast.  On their last full day here, we had a big Christmas dinner.

Jonathan made the turkey and the rest of us made all kinds of sides.  We ate and ate.  They flew out Christmas morning and it was awfully sad to see them go.  Many tears were shed, especially from Jennifer and JL.  JL is so fond of his Mak Ming Jen!  We were so thankful to have even a little family around this year.  Though I know that Christmas is about Jesus Christ and His birth, it’s so heartwarming to celebrate that fact with family.

On Christmas Day evening, we hung out with the Jacksons from our church family…

…and Ravi from NCState.

We had turkey again and just fellowshipped.  It was wonderful and refreshing.  So, that was our Christmas!  My hope and prayer is that your Christmas was filled with the peace and joy that comes only from Jesus, the Savior of the world.

It’s hard to believe that it’s 2010.  Maybe because most of my 2009 was so sleep-deprived that I cannot remember much of what happened last year.  This really disturbed me, so in a spare moment yesterday, I quickly jotted down a few things that I didn’t think my 2009 would hold.  Here we go.

1.) Recycling.

For the longest time, the seminary campus did not provide recycling bins.  This really bothered me up until recently when the seminary decided to finally have some.  We are recycling again!  Yay.

2.) Baking.

In trying to cut down grocery costs even further, I moved to baking all of our breads.  I thought I would hate it, but I actually really enjoy it.  I make 2-3 loaves of fresh homemade wheat bread a week, among other things.  It saves us money and I think it’s better for our health, too.

3.) Sewing.

What a useful skill to have…at least that’s what I always thought of others when I heard they sewed.  I’m very much a beginning seamstress, but I’ve had fun with the few things I’ve made…nursing covers, headbands, garbage bag holders, cloth napkins, etc.

4.)  Calling North Carolina home.

I used to be homesick ALL THE TIME.  Every SECOND of every MINUTE of every HOUR of every DAY.  Though I still really miss family, I only struggle with being this homesick during the holidays.  North Carolina is home to me now.  We love our church family and they have truly loved us well back.

5.) Using cloth diapers.

As much as I dreaded switching over from disposable diapers, I actually really love it now!  $40 dollars a month that we don’t have to spend now on diapers.  They are definitely more economical.

6.) Having a cell phone.

We had one in MN, but didn’t have one here in NC for the longest time because of the cost.  We finally decided to hop onto my parent’s plan and wow, it is wonderful.  When I get lost somewhere now, I can CALL someone.  When I have a quick question, I can TEXT someone.  It’s great.

Courtesy of Kristin Cook Photography

7.) Adjusting to life with TWO kids.

No one ever warns you adequately enough about how tough transitions are in life.  Marriage and becoming a parent are some of those transitions.  Becoming a parent of TWO is another transition.  Two kids to take to the store.  Two kids to strap into the car seat.  Two kids vying for your attention.  Two kids with two mouths with two appetites.  Two little bodies to wash.  Two times as much laundry.  Two times as little sleep.  No one ever warned me!  But, I think we have finally adjusted.  We will forever be behind in our sleep, but that’s okay.  Joshua Lee and Caleb are totally worth it!

8.) Having the chance to buy a house.

Thank you, Builders of Hope, for giving us a shot at purchasing a home.  We hope to move in in April, if all goes according to plan.  My blog readers, I will be sure to post pictures.  We never, ever thought we would be homeowners.

9.) Going on a “vacation” with our little family.

For most, vacations are a regular, yearly thing.  For us, it is a luxury.  Our family has never gotten away just the four of us and enjoyed each other’s company.  We have usually spent all of our days off traveling to see family.  We love that, too, but there’s something about just our family, too.  This past summer, we went to the beach for a weekend and it was a wonderful time!  The kids had a blast and so did we.

10.) Getting a free car and anonymous money in the mail.

I often hear stories from others who were given a free car or how God sent them the perfect amount of money in the mail to cover a medical need.  That has never happened to us until this past year.  My generous aunt and uncle offered us their older vehicle for free.   What a blessing!  And, we received a grocery gift card in the mail just a few weeks ago.  This proves to me again that God perfectly provides for our needs, big and small.  He knows what we lack and what we desire even.  Our God is an amazing Father and He does not withhold good things from His children.  We have seen Him work in amazing ways to provide for us this past year and we are thankful.