Our BIG news!!

For those of you who haven't heard yet, our family will be expanding next July! Here's how we told our family last week:



So...Merry early Christmas to you all!

Ieva's first Christmas Performance

Yesterday our church, International Christian Fellowship, had it's first children's Christmas program (largely because it's the first year we've had more than 1 kid in the congregation)! We did a 'Living Nativity' with our co-pastor Becky narrating and different members of the congregation coming to the stage dressed as different characters of the nativity. The kids, of course, were the main event - and the only members of the cast who had any speaking parts or solos.

The first to go on stage were our 3 angels: 7 year-old Alexandra & Sarina and our Ieva. I had made her a white, fluffy tutu just for the event (if any of you want to know how to make them, I found the EASIEST idea online!!) and Becky found glittery halos & real feather wings that all 3 wore. Ieva was so excited to be an angel with the big girls! And she did a great job. All they had to do was stand up front for the 15 or 20 minutes of the program, but seeing as how Ieva is very much 2 and has never been on stage like this, we weren't sure how she'd do. She stood next to the big girls the entire time & aside from starting to flip her lip over & over with her finger (you know, making that "brrrub, brrrub, brrrub" sound), she did a great job. Anytime Alexandra took the program to read or sing something, Ieva had to pick one up & look at it, too. It was too cute!!

Our friends Andrew & Alene were Mary & Joseph with their 1 year-old daughter Charlotte as baby Jesus. At one point Ieva walked over to them and tried to put her halo first on Charlotte, then on Alene. It was hilarious. Sarina's 3 year-old brother Ezra was the only shepherd in the show. LCC's president Jim was (very appropriately) one of the wise men, along with 2 other faculty members Dan & John.

All in all it was a great time of telling the story of Jesus' birth in a way that made it come to life for the kids! And we think Ieva did a stunning job in her first on-stage performance.