March Family Fun

Hi family! There isn't much to update about our family these dates, except that we have such wonderful girls we can hardly stand it. Bethany is almost completely potty trained and says so many words we can hardly keep up. She is currently in a phase of loving her baby dolls and wanting to do everything with her babies that Mommy does with Samantha. And Samantha is just growing so much! She is just now 5 months old and is already in her 6-9 months clothes. You might picture a really chubby baby with that information, but she is just pretty long. She is rolling from her tummy to back and back to tummy, so we are having to be extra careful these days with what is on the floor (or in Bethany's hands). We went to the park today, since it was such a lovely day here in Utah. Samantha is old enough to enjoy it, too, which is quite a lot of fun:

Sweet sisters

We finally got Bethany's porch swing up too!

Bethany loves to feed her baby when Mama is feeding Samantha...

And then we burp them together too!

Lots of love from Utah!

Benjer, Jennifer, Bethany and Samantha

Samantha's Dedication

Yesterday, we dedicated Samantha at church. It was a pretty meaningful day for us, especially since there was a day when we were not sure that we would be able to bring Samantha home, let alone to church.

The life verse we chose for Samantha is Jeremiah 29:11: "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Proud parents and the sweet girl

Samantha was one of twelve children who were dedicated at Washington Heights Sunday. It sure was a lot of fun!

Bethany's Birthday

Last weekend, we celebrated Bethany's Birthday with a great party!

Bethany chose a train cake for her birthday!

She turned two!

We weren't really sure about the hat, though...

Chad, on the other hand, was quite sure about his hat!

Bethany got a birthday piggy back ride from Makenna.


Everyone played fun games...
...everyone.

It was a great time with friends,

even Samantha had tons of fun,

and so did everyone else.

Happy birthday, Bethany!

Missionary Friends

We are blessed to have some wonderful friends who have been called to serve God in other cultures as missionaries. We pray for them regularly and are always encouraged by their willingness to go where God has called them, and we though we'd take a minute to introduce you to these friends of ours:

Jim, Heather, Faith, and Joel Frazier
I (Benjer) met Jim and Heather when I was in college. Jim and I were roommates for two years while I was young in the faith, and it has been fun for our growing families to continue our friendship even as the years have passed. They are a couple of years ahead of us in the adventure we call Marriage and Parenting, and we always have a great time when we get together. Heather was kind enough to come visit us for a few days while Samantha was in the hospital.

Jim and Heather have been called to serve in Kenya at a school for children of missionaries through African Inland Mission. They have been preparing for their move this past year by taking online Bible classes, meeting with other missionaries, preparing for their move, and raising prayer and financial support. They will depart for Kenya this July. Jim and Heather will provide valuable support and care for children of missionaries. Jim will teach high school biology, and both Jim and Heather will serve at the school in various capacities. You can read more about them at fourfaithfulfraziers.blogspot.com.


Clint and Missy Kirby
Jennifer and I met Clint and Missy in seminary. Clint and Missy moved to Gdansk, Poland this past September with a team of people through Avant Ministries. Their goal: to plant a fully functioning church there within five years. While many in Poland would check "Catholic" on a census form, few know much about who Jesus is or ever even attend a church. Clint and Missy and their co-workers in Christ hope to share about the Good News of Jesus with a culture that has long forgotten about who Jesus is and their rich Christian history. They arrived with no infrastructure in place and no permanent housing. However, they have confidence that they are part of something much bigger than they are and look forward to seeing what God does in Gdansk. You can find out more about them at http://www.lincolnberean.org/ministries/global-outreach/poland.


As you find out more about our friends by clicking on the links, please seriously consider whether God might be leading you to support them by committing to pray for them regularly, financially supporting them, or both. They both send out regular updates via email, so make sure you sign up for those as well. And if you have any specific questions about their ministries, just let us know, or contact contact them directly!

Visit to Colorado

Well, we just got back late Sunday night from a trip to Colorado. Jennifer drove out with her mom on December 28th, and I flew out on December 31st after work to join her. It was an action-packed couple of weeks, but it was wonderful to spend time with our families and see some friends we hadn't seen for a while. We still miss everyone, but it's a good reminder that we are fortunate to be only a half-day's drive away. We're still organizing our photos from the trip (my sister Nan has loaned me her digital Canon Rebel, and I go a bit overboard with all the photos I take). However, here are some highlights:


Granny got out Daddy's rocking horse he had when he was a kid and loved it!


Cousin Emma had fun feeding Samantha!


We visited many old friends, including James, Rebecca, and Anna, friends from our old church and nursery playmates. We really wanted a photo with Bethany in there, too, but it just wasn't gonna happen...


...because Bethany was being goofy!


Some good old fashioned Colorado snow. Yummy!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from Utah! Our first Christmas in Utah finds us enjoying time together, missing our family and traditions in Colorado, listening to the Chapel of King's College Nine Lessons and Carols, and going to our friends' house, the Holladays, this afternoon.

Last night was a great night. We had four candlelight services at church. It is fun to know that many people who may not know God were there singing His praises and hearing about the Gospel, perhaps for the first time. The music was beautiful, though I must admit I miss the incense. The girls dressed up in their beautiful matching Christmas dresses from Granny, and today, they get to dress up in their beautiful matching dresses from Nana!

This week, we visited the Christmas Village in downtown Ogden with Bethany and Samantha:

We enjoyed the lights and the hot chocolate!

Of course, what would Christmas be without baking with Mommy:

Bethany loves being on the counter helping.

Mmmm...cleaning the spoon is my favorite!


And then there was Christmas fun this morning:

Bethany's new play kitchen. She loves it and can cook just like Mommy!

Bethany helped Samantha by opening her presents, too!

Some Christmas cuddles!


So, wherever you are today, Merry Christmas! May it be a wonderful day of celebration of God's love. I believe the great theologian Linus put it best:




-Benjer

Christmas Time and Other Photos

It's been fantastic not to have anything to blog about recently. Samantha continues to do well, and hopefully her X-rays taken today will show that indeed no fluid has reaccumulated in her lungs. At her last check-up, she was 9 pounds even.

I know that the main reason you've come to this blog is for cute pictures, so here are some photos of a fun night we had Saturday with our friends the Holladays. We went on a hayride around Layton City Park, which was decked out with Christmas lights. Since my sister Nan is the pro photographer in the family and not me, I did not get any good shots of the lights, but we did get some good photos of us enjoying the ride (and the great hot chocolate the Holladays provided!):



Bethany, Bethany, and Leah getting ready for the ride



Yep. We're pretty cute all bundled up.



Chad, Leah, Bethany, and Tami



All of us before the ride


Today, Bethany, Samantha, Jennifer and I headed to the local mall in hopes of riding their train they have set up for the holidays. It wasn't running. And no hours were posted to find out when it would open. And the information desk and business office didn't know, nor did they have any way to find out. We really tried to get Bethany on that train. But we did have a good time:


Bethany ready to go with her cute pigtails



Bethany eating a hard-earned sucker after punching lots of rubber duckies at the mall arcade. Life is good. It was tough, but I was able to successfully communicate to my 22-month-old that we had to play a game and punch some duckies to earn tickets to turn in for her sucker.



Bethany rode a horse on the carousel. She takes her horse-riding very seriously. She didn't smile once, but she did really, really want to go again when it was over.


So, that's about it! Oh, and Jennifer and I celebrated our third anniversary this past Wednesday. We had a good time, and it was good to reflect on our three years of marriage and realize, once again, that I married way out of my league.

-Benjer