Grandpa Tom Gives Atticus a Technology Tutorial?
Saturday evening we went over to the art show our church (Hannah Muonio) put on downtown in the warehouse district near Brad's work. The gallery is Artspace, a national property developer that builds apartments and studio spaces specifically for artists. This was Hannah's first time organizing and putting together a show and on a budget of zero. She and all who helped did a great job. I entered four pieces.
These are the wall hangings I finished for our church the night before I went into labor with Atticus. Since we meet in a elementary school gymnasium for our church services, these cover some pretty unsightly gym posters and equipment on the wall behind the front risers. I am so glad I was able to get these done before I became so much more limited in time. 
Dietrich decided to stand up un-aided from a sitting/crawling position here at the art show. It was a great place to practice walking -- big open spaces. He's been continuing to stand up with a ta-da expression on his face -- beeming and pleased.
Grandpa and the boys examining a post (?)
I don't know why...
Fabric, hand-sewnThe theme of the show was Proclamation -- to proclaim through various art forms (there was also music, poetry, ceramics, sculpture, photography, and other spoken performances during the show) how God has been revealing Himself to us. I have been wanting to do a series on how God has extended grace to me through my husband and children, this new part of my life that has proven to be so rich and deep and strange for me. So these are really studies for what I would like to eventually be making, crafting, painting, drawing.
Oil Pastel
A study for a larger piece I hope to work on next year...I did this one in 20 minutes because I was frustrated with the outcome of the small portrait above...
Overall, I give myself a B- on the three pieces I did this month specifically for the show (based off of what I wanted to achieve craftsmanship-wise), but I am thankful for the motivation to be making art from my husband and my church family. 
After we had been at the show for awhile, the grandparents took the boys home for supper. Tom & Nancy had bought us tickets to a Christmas concert and gave us a date night downtown. We ate at the Rock Bottom Brewery over in the theater district. The meal was delicious and we even had time to share a dessert and leisurely talk. Then walked a block over in the bracing cold to a beautiful old theater for the concert. 
That night I became really sick with a cold -- so much so that I couldn't go to church the next morning. Nancy and Tom stayed an extra few hours to basically do all my work for me -- got the kids dressed and fed, played with them and kept them alive and happy until Brad came home from teaching Sunday school. Nancy did the sheets and towel laundry, the dishes, and cleaned up the morning "kid debris". They left after lunch for Des Moines (in another snow storm). Brad was Mr. Mom the rest of the day -- I slept for most of it, waking for a few hours before bedtime -- and still I slept in a coma all night long until morning. I probably would have asked Brad to go into work late the next morning so I could recover a little more, but I had a OB appointment that was two weeks late and had already lined up a babysitter. I made it through the morning and at naptime I took a nap with both boys in our bed -- we slept a miraculous 3 hours together. Finally today (Tuesday) I am feeling better. Thank goodness for a wonderful visit with my in-laws, one of the best dates Brad and I have ever had (we've only had a handful since we had Atticus) and the gift of being able to actually convalesce when I am sick.
Dietrich "grrrrr-ing" out
Some of Atticus' coloring and glue-ing projects from this week. Here the robot-friends for baby Jesus were his idea.
Some of his drawings from this week. Today at Dietrich's party he drew a face and gave it arms (3 of them) and legs (4) -- this is a first for him. I was amazed how that is such a visual pattern in little kids and how he just blitzkrieged into it. 
One of his fish -- a new favorite theme.
Dietrich walks. He's had a solid week of well-executed walking and he continues to gain manueverability and balance. It is so very fun to watch him learn and grow and just delight himself in being able to do this.
A week ago Atticus started climbing into Dietrich's crib to play...The activity has been given the kabash since the jumping is too hard on the crib platform but it was awfully nice to see them being silly and playing together like this. (Dietrich doesn't look too happy in these photos but he was laughing and having a wonderful time -- I just didn't catch his glee.)
Saturday Brad and Atticus played outside in the snow. Atticus slid down the little side slope of our yard about 30 times grinning wide every time. Then they built this friendly snowman which later that day I unfortunately knocked his head off when I was trying to fix his licorice stick mouth. Now he is but a two-part guy with a strange ramshackle face. I am thankful they got to play since this week it is consistently below 0 degrees and too cold to venture out. (I am writing this with Atticus narrating in my lap -- "tell them the snowman had stick arms" "Daddy -- boots on" "head fell, face fell, all fall" -- and Dietrich is trying to grab the keyboard while I fend him off with my leg and keep Atticus' fingers away from the keys too...oh my...back to playing...)
This year my mom gave the boys a super neat advent calendar -- it's a three-dimensional, pop-up affair with the pictures under the doors actually telling the nativity story (last year the big scene was the nativity but the pictures under the doors were holly leaves and candy canes and elves and such -- how was my mom to know?). Every evening Brad has been singing "Happy Birthday, Jesus" with Atticus and going over the story piece by piece. Then Atticus gets to open the next door. A couple days ago Brad and I were talking about something at the dinner table and Bethlehem Baptist Church (the church we used to attend) came up and Atticus, wanting to join the conversation, jumped in, "Bethlehem? Baby Jesus born. Donkey. Mary." I am so excited that he's remembering things this year and thinking through and connecting so many of the conversations and stories and events happening around him.
Grandpa Tom Gives Atticus a Technology Tutorial?
Saturday evening we went over to the art show our church (Hannah Muonio) put on downtown in the warehouse district near Brad's work. The gallery is Artspace, a national property developer that builds apartments and studio spaces specifically for artists. This was Hannah's first time organizing and putting together a show and on a budget of zero. She and all who helped did a great job. I entered four pieces.
These are the wall hangings I finished for our church the night before I went into labor with Atticus. Since we meet in a elementary school gymnasium for our church services, these cover some pretty unsightly gym posters and equipment on the wall behind the front risers. I am so glad I was able to get these done before I became so much more limited in time. 
Dietrich decided to stand up un-aided from a sitting/crawling position here at the art show. It was a great place to practice walking -- big open spaces. He's been continuing to stand up with a ta-da expression on his face -- beeming and pleased.
Grandpa and the boys examining a post (?)
I don't know why...
Fabric, hand-sewn
Oil Pastel
A study for a larger piece I hope to work on next year...I did this one in 20 minutes because I was frustrated with the outcome of the small portrait above...
Overall, I give myself a B- on the three pieces I did this month specifically for the show (based off of what I wanted to achieve craftsmanship-wise), but I am thankful for the motivation to be making art from my husband and my church family. 
After we had been at the show for awhile, the grandparents took the boys home for supper. Tom & Nancy had bought us tickets to a Christmas concert and gave us a date night downtown. We ate at the Rock Bottom Brewery over in the theater district. The meal was delicious and we even had time to share a dessert and leisurely talk. Then walked a block over in the bracing cold to a beautiful old theater for the concert. 
That night I became really sick with a cold -- so much so that I couldn't go to church the next morning. Nancy and Tom stayed an extra few hours to basically do all my work for me -- got the kids dressed and fed, played with them and kept them alive and happy until Brad came home from teaching Sunday school. Nancy did the sheets and towel laundry, the dishes, and cleaned up the morning "kid debris". They left after lunch for Des Moines (in another snow storm). Brad was Mr. Mom the rest of the day -- I slept for most of it, waking for a few hours before bedtime -- and still I slept in a coma all night long until morning. I probably would have asked Brad to go into work late the next morning so I could recover a little more, but I had a OB appointment that was two weeks late and had already lined up a babysitter. I made it through the morning and at naptime I took a nap with both boys in our bed -- we slept a miraculous 3 hours together. Finally today (Tuesday) I am feeling better. Thank goodness for a wonderful visit with my in-laws, one of the best dates Brad and I have ever had (we've only had a handful since we had Atticus) and the gift of being able to actually convalesce when I am sick.
Dietrich "grrrrr-ing" out
Clark, our Nephew
Tree Trimming "Event"
Series of Unsuccessful Christmas Cousin Photos
Atticus is so helpful!
