Christmas 2013: recap

Whoa.  What a ride it's been!

We like low-key Christmases.  I think I've mentioned that before.  We go big for birthdays, but Christmas is a time for reflection on the Greatest Gift, a time for family, a time to make memories, eat cookies, tell stories, and yes, also for stockings stuffed full of goodies and a few presents under the tree.

It's just what we do and we love it.

This year was very special because we didn't have to fly anywhere for Christmas.  We didn't even have to drive.  My folks, who we love dearly, drove up to us on Christmas eve.  We had our traditional, big, Christmas eve lunch and went to a special service at church.  We meant to watch "It's a Wonderful Life", but we got caught up telling stories and laughing too hard to even mind.  We went to bed tired and happy and woke up early (6:30am) the next morning with the boys.

The way we do Christmas morning is simple.  We do stockings, breakfast, presents, and then relaxing and resting while I whip around the kitchen putting together the delicious spread (seriously one of my favorite parts of the day!).  And then, of course, we eat.  A lot.  And then go for a long walk.  And because it's Colorado, we can do that -- in just a light coat.

A nice added bonus this year, and for years after since we liked it so well, is that we went down to my folks the day after Christmas for a few days and used it as our "vacation".  We went on lots of walks, ate tons of cookies, played games and put together puzzles.  We had a fire, watched movies, talked and laughed, and made lasting memories.

Here are a few pictures.

 A very sweet gift on Christmas Eve was meeting the boys' new cousin, Erik!  He's a cutie and we can't wait to watch him grow!

 Merry Christmas from us!

 Christmas Jammies especially picked out by grandude!

 Enjoying a new toy...

 Learning and playing backgammon. 

Beautiful days for walking, hiking, playing, and laughing!

Eskestrand Christmas Letter 2013

Eskestrand Escapades: 8^th Edition

A very merry Christmas to our family and friends!  With all the changes 2013 brought, no matter what they were, we hope the Lord has been working in your life and in your heart like He has in ours.  The biggest change for us this past year would have to be our move from Cleveland back to Denver.  It was bittersweet to move away from all we hold dear in Ohio – both people and special places – but it is simply wonderful to be home.  We are enjoying the outdoors, views of the mountains, tons of time with family, and sweet fellowship with friends, both new and old.   We feel so blessed – God is good.

Scot finished out his residency program top of his class and while the transition to “real” work has been tricky and not what we expected, he is beginning to enjoy his position as a board certified hospitalist.  He is working with great people and loves all the family time only fifteen 12-hr shifts per month affords.  Work days are long and hard, but he says it’s worth it.  As a family, we’ve enjoyed having him around for park days, hikes, and everyday normal life.   He is still figuring out what to do with all his free time, but he has started reading again and would like to get in on some pick-up hockey games and maybe even try his hand at rock-climbing.  He is attending the men’s Bible study when he’s able and is enjoying the fellowship and “sharpening”.

The boys are fantastic.  We no longer have toddlers in the house – they have grown into delightful little boys.  They are quite energetic and make good use of our large, fenced-in, backyard.  They love going to the zoo, visiting the library, and trips down to my folks’.  They have a major affection for all things Lego, trains, and cars.  They play well together (most of the time) and have vivid imaginations.  They gallop on stick horses in full costume, sword fight as pirates, or play “hunter” and kill bears to name just a few of their antics.  They enjoy a good wrestling match with Scot as much as they relish reading stories with me.  I have started to homeschool them both, Evan for Pre-K/K, and Drew for (pre)Pre-K.  It’s just three mornings a week and we all enjoy the structured time.  Their favorite “subjects” in school are reading/writing, art, and music.   Their highlights of the year, when asked, were: VBS, time spent with Grammy and Grandude at “Grandparent Camp”, and a surprise night out to the circus.

Evan (5.5) is sweet and fun to be around.  He’s dynamic and inquisitive, bursting with questions and insights we’d sometimes rather ignore.   He is a helper without being asked and loves to have Drew pal around with him. He loves to color as much as he does kick a ball or play with trucks in the dirt.  He is growing up to be a wise and independent little guy, and it’s wonderful to see the Lord continuing to work in his heart.   

Drew (3.75) has come into his own this past year.  He is our comedian.  He loves knock-knock jokes and imitating voices.  He sings silly songs and dances.  With all his energy, he can also be very sensitive and snuggly.  He loves his brother to a distraction and misses Scot to the point of tears when he’s away.   The Lord did a mighty work in Drew earlier this year, and it’s been amazing to see the transformation in his little life. 

Life is hard, but good.  I’m one for predictable schedules and consistency – two things that are scarce with Scot’s job.  We’re finding a new rhythm to what our daily lives look like and we’re making the best of it.  God’s grace and mercy are evident each and every day!  My highlight this past year is the blessing of friendships both near and far.  I was able to take a few trips and visit dear friends throughout the year -- I am so thankful for technology that keeps me connected when trips aren’t an option.  I love schooling the boys, being in sweet community with gals from church, all the day trips and overnights at my parents, and having Scot around for more family activities (and dates!).  For fun, I still love to be in the kitchen and I’m starting to read for pleasure when time allows.  We are plugged into a great church and benefitting from the solid preaching and healthy body-life.  We enjoy having people over, for a meal or an overnight, so please let us know if you’re ever in the area – we’d love to see you!

We hope you enjoy Christmas surrounded by family and friends – but most of all we hope you celebrate the true gift that came in the “package” of a babe, who grew up sinless to take our place on the cross so we might be able to share in His blessings and have eternal life.  We pray the joy of this knowledge is yours and fills the Christmas season.

Merry Christmas and a very happy New Year,

Scot, Sarah, Evan & Drew Eskestrand

It's almost Christmas...

Can you all believe it's so close to Christmas?!  I wanted to get in at least one more post before things started getting even crazier over here and I lost track of all the fun we're having.  I do really strive to make Christmas point to Christ.  I try to fight against the commercialism and materialism that attacks at every corner.  I can't tell you how many time people have [lovingly] asked the boys what they "put on their list" for Christmas this year -- and the blank stares they received since the boys still have no concept of making an "I Want" list.  It'll come. I know.  Right now, I'm enjoying the ease.

Scot was home for sporadic times the first half of the month and we made the most of our random days with him.  We're trying to get in as much friend-time as we can before everyone closes up their calendars (and rightly so) to spend time with family for a few weeks.  We've been baking up a storm (and trying not to eat them all!) and having fun with Christmas crafts and stories.  We're enjoying life.

Here are a few pictures to show you what we've been up to these past couple weeks.  

 We got a nice heavy snowfall right after we got our tree.  It was the coldest some say it's gotten in Colorado in quite a few years.  Single digits, people!  And I'll tell you what -- I was thankful for a full pantry, no where to go, and my husband at home.  Almost as soon as the first flake fell, the boys were begging to go out and shovel.  We made them wait a few hours until there was actually work to do.  They loved it.

 A new, and sweet, transition we started this year was the Jesse Tree advent.  With each ornament, you read a passage of scripture that takes you from creation all the way to the birth of Christ, and each passage points you to Christ.  It's a great way to keep the focus on Him!  I got the print outs here -- free!  I just colored them, put them on colored card stock, wrote the scripture reference on the back, and laminated them.

 Something else we want to do around this time of year, is instill in the boys the joy of giving to others.  Our church did a morning of Operation Christmas Child.  The boys had so much fun shopping for their little boy who is their age.  We packed those shoe boxes full and the boys were so cute with their Christmas cards they made.  We pray these boxes truly bless who ever receives them.  It's wonderful -- the boys still ask me if I think their little boy has gotten his box yet, and they will also occasionally pray for "my little boy".

 Scot worked a few days in a row last week and the boys and I headed down to the springs to visit with my folks and do fun Christmas-y things down there.  They made cookies with my mom.  Helped her dress the bottom third of her tree.  We all traipsed off and walked around in the cold to see the lights at the zoo.  The boys had countless Christmas stories read to them, and they watched an old-school Christmas movie every day there.  It was "Christmas at Grammy and Grandudes" full swing!

 A fun tradition we have is picking a night to get into our PJs, pour hot cider or cocoa (depending on your age and caffeine sensitivity) into to-go mugs, and pile into the car with treats to go driving around neighborhoods looking at lights.  This year was especially fun -- not only did we find a lot of pretty houses all lit up, but our time of singing Christmas carols was unforgettable.

Drew's favorite song, December or July, is Joy to the World.  The kid will sing it at the top of his lungs and e doesn't care if it's grossly out of season of not.  Well, it seemed fitting to start off our "car-caroling" with his favorite song.  What we didn't count on was his insistence to sing only that song.  So while Scot and I would start off on another carol -- be it Jingle Bells or O Come All Ye Faithful, Drew was faithfully belting out Joy to the World like there was no tomorrow.  Needless to say, we all ended up dissolving in giggles and singing along with him.

What is Christmas without a Christmas program at church where all the little kids try their best to sing the songs they've practiced and not be distracted by all. the. people. in the room?  Yeah.  It wouldn't be Christmas, right?  Well -- it's officially Christmas-time, then, because we had our program on Sunday and the boys did really well.

Christmas Tree 2013

Not each year is a complete adventure when it comes to getting our tree.  I doubt each year in our family will be one of those years.  Maybe.  Or maybe not.  All I know, is this year was adventure.

We had planned to get our tree tomorrow.  As in, hike into the forest and chop it down.  The weather forecast, though, said a high of 12 was expected.  With no sun.  Which meant we were not about to go and chop down our own tree in frigid windy conditions.  I'm a cold wimp.

Thankfully, Scot had Tuesday off.  It was supposed to be the last nice day for a while, and the night that would bring the storm with it.  So after lunch, we piled into the car and drove the hour down to the forest where you're allowed to cut a tree down for only $10.  Oh yes.

The trick to finding a really good tree is time.  Which we were short on.  In the 45 minutes we were outside our car, the temps dropped about 20 degrees, and the sun was starting to set and Scot and I both felt we needed to pick a tree sooner rather than later and not move too far from the car.  So we hopped from this tree cluster to the next, looking for the perfect little tree.

Finally, with about 10 minutes to spare on Scot's estimation of us needing to head back to the car, we spotted a tree that would work and the boys all helped saw it down. (Can I just say that seeing my 3 year old wrestle with a saw is quite possibly the cutest thing ever?!  And my goodness, did Evan feel like quite the man wielding a saw to cut down our tree!)

Once home, I was honestly a little disappointed at first.  The tee felt a little too Charlie Brown-ish for me, but I knew it was a good memory for the boys and I figured dressing it would fix the problem.

It did.

I love our little tree, and the boys do too!  Our tradition is that I dress the tree the night we get it after the boys are in bed and they have the surprise of seeing it all lit and gussied-up the next morning.

And that morning -- this morning -- I made pancakes.  And we had a picnic.

I think this may need to be a new tradition, too.

Novemeber Update

Life is busy.  We still haven't quite found a good flow of daily life trying to balance between the extremes of Scot being gone to work 5-7 days strait, and then home for as many.  It's a work in progress, for sure, and honestly, this little blog has taken a backseat.

We're good, though.   Here's a bullet-pointed list of some of the fun we've had this past month.

• Scot's uncle Dave's wife is from China and they had us over for a traditional hot-pot meal.  Think fondue with a big bowl of broth and a ton of different veggies/meats.  It took about 2 hours from start to finish and it was delightful.  We're so glad to have them close.

•   Short weekend down to Colorado Springs to see my folks.  We went to the zoo their (our favorite!), had a fire and roasted marshmallows, went for walks to the park, did crafts, and just enjoyed family time.

• Had a pre-Thanksgiving dinner for Scot since he worked the week of Thanksgiving.  I made a huge spread and invited Dave and Jenny over.  It was delicious and memorable.  I made placemats out of cut-down paper bags and wrote "I am Thankful For" on the side with space to write.  Evan, who is getting better each day with words and writing, wrote out his own list. When we went around the table to share he was very proud of reading what he wrote.  I think "My brother" was my favorite entry of his.

• I turned 29.  It wasn't a huge fanfare, but it was lovely and drawn out -- Scot is great at that.  Our tradition is birthday breakfast out, but since my day fell on a Sunday and I had to teach pre-K Sunday school, that wasn't an option.  So Saturday turned into more of my celebration day, but I got to open all my gifts on Sunday.  We're a low-key-Christmas-gift, but a go-big-on-birthdays kinda family.  I was a happy girl.  Favorite gifts: TOMS, started set to the Willow Tree nativity, and a cookbook I've been eyeing -- The Vegan Table.  I felt loved with all the texts, calls, emails, and cards, too!
• Scot passed boards -- and solidly!  We are praising the Lord for His grace and mercy.  

• Thanksgiving day was beautiful, and except that Scot wasn't there, it was perfect.  We drove down to my folks (bringing my great Aunt along with us!) and had a leisurely brunch before going for a nice walk and coming back to work in the kitchen.  After dinner and before pie, we all changed into play clothes and built and huge fire to roast marshmallows.  Even though I felt as though I couldn't eat another bit, I had a few.  It was a day of relaxation, family time, and memory making.  My cousin Calvin was there, too, and the boys just adore him.

• Other random happenings: Evan now rides a 2-wheeler without any help.  The days have been gorgeous and we've taken advantage and gone to the park.  A lot.  School is going well and the boys are both soaking up the teaching.

In short: we're alive!  Sorry there was so much time between posts, I'll try to be better.