I almost bit it.

This was sort of funny. We went to get the mail and the girls got to go down a small hill. There's a lot of ice and just a skiff of snow. Last year we had something like four feet on the ground at this time of year (crazy.) I'm glad there's less snow this year, but still enough to play a little in.

The "New Year's Letter"

We didn't even write or send a christmas letter last year (not because we didn't like you all!) because last year was a really hard year for us and we just didn't feel like re-living it.

But at the beginning of 2009 things started turning around. We finally unloaded the Triplex and all the tenant issues and stress associated with all of that disappeared, and our previously "good marriage" suddenly became easy and great and just amazingly better without that added stress on our lives.

Lily turned 3 January 4th 2009 and has not only grown a lot taller this last year, but has been talking more and more and expressing complicated ideas. She loves princess things and the Nutcracker, reading stories, and especially playing games with Daddy and doing projects (art and scrapbooking) with Mommy. Lily is quite energetic and loves to jump and run and tackle, but wants to wear dresses as much as possible. She loves to play with her "girls" as she calls her friends and is quite close to her cousin Evelyn. She is almost always in a good mood, looking to make the other people around her happy, and taking care of her little sister.




Renna turned one year old March 6, 2009. She is our little drama queen who doesn't want to be comforted when she cries but be understood. Renna is proving to be a bit more of a challenge to discipline. I maintain that they have to eat a bite of something healthy before eating a bite of dessert or chip or something for instance and often our meal times are filled with the sounds of dramatic screams because she can't get what she wants. She is learning however and after she tries to throw herself on the floor or screams like she's being tortured she'll finally take a bite of the thing (THAT SHE LIKES) and then will get the special food that she wants. She will now pick up the food that she's thrown on the floor in anger, sometimes even without me reminding her to. As difficult as she is one minute though, she will completely surprise me the next minute with her sweet little kisses, smiles, and cuddles.

Lynne' has been beautifying our home, as always, making fabulous homemade meals and bread each week, running around the house with the girls, and enjoying the time hanging out with her mom and grandma. This year seems to have been a time of renewal and direction. After three months of intense writing she's come back to the idea of writing books for children and working to get them published. With several works of art sold, illustrating those books in a unique way is really important to her as well. She continues to scrapbook, knit, spin, play the piano and harp, and read, but her favorite thing to do is play with the girls and talk to Youssef.







Youssef has spent most of this year as a small town reporter learning to be content and yet not be stagnant. In the last year he's worked on learning a computer language so that he can complete the games that he's designed. He's done market research and is working towards completing his ideas so that he can bring in an extra income with it all. The main thing that keeps him from working on his own projects is how often he helps Lynne' around the house and takes care of the girls when he's home. Soon, Lynne' will have to tell him to stop being so helpful and go do his own thing! He would like to get a masters in English, but as with everything else it seems, the cost factors in the most to how possible this plan is.

We've had a wonderful year as a couple, always learning to communicate better and love the other more through our mistakes and arguments. As a family we are still learning how to do things together and make time for one another. Our recently established activity is to read outloud to the girls each night (books without pictures) while rubbing them with lotion. Lily loves this time of day and insists on not only "more story" but rubbing lotion on us as well! They are both our greatest joys in our life, and no matter what we have gone through in these last 5 1/2 years of marriage we always come back to the same simple conclusion - "I'm always glad that I married you."


*Youssef, Lynne', LilyAnne, and Renna Sleiman December 2009*

The ski trip on my brother's 30 birthday! (Forgot to post these pictures before...)

Daniel is demonstrating his awesome ability to pose in a skiing position. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO HIM! :]
Oh, wait... Daniel you are going the wrong direction! (Just kidding.) ;]
Natalie- far left (my sister in law of course) Daniel (big bro) and Zack (Natalie's big bro)
The view, through the snow covered trees.
Off of my ski's to show the depth of the snow on the mountain (we were on 49) and there's not a whole lot up there yet.. but it was enough...


When we got as far up the mountain as we wanted to go Daniel pulled out his cook stove and made some cocoa for us! Fabulous.Another artistic shot by mwa. The cocoa had an interesting piney flavor as Daniel stirred it with a stick that had much red sap... none of us died or got close to ill though, so it was all good.
Me being artistic again... if I lightened this maybe it would make a nice poster...
Natalie was unzipping the *cough* vents *cough* on Daniel's coat because he was too hot. ;]

All of us together! Zack, Daniel, Natalie, and me (Lynne') it felt like old times (except that all of us were more out of shape!) Seriously though, I couldn't stop smiling the whole time. I'd been wanting to ski for SO long and have always been pregnant or otherwise unable to go when there was snow. WHOOP! I want to go again. Oh, there WILL be a free day on 49 on January 9 and 10 if anyone wants to go and spend absolutely nothing... maybe I could even talk Youssef into going then? (He's not so keen on winter sports.. the twerp.) ;]

The long awaited nutcracker performance.

Partly, this was long awaited because Lily knew she was getting a princess dress and partly because she LOVES the nutcracker.. of any kind or version of said show or performance.
This morning we let her open her dress which was on this dress form that my littlest is hugging (made out of duct tape.. totally awesome idea.) Then I let her open her nutcracker, she oohed and awwed at all the right moments as she unwrapped it.
Her dress was beyond puffy as you can kind of see in the above picture. I felt like a maid of honor as I helped her use the bathroom because I had to hold the gigantic poof of the dress up for her. Incidentally, her dress started out as a walmart $12 cookie cutter dress and I add the layers of pink organza with sparkles, tucked it here and there and added a pink ruffle and bow and altered the side of the original dress because it was too big and VOILA! The most princess of princess dresses. Every little girl that saw her walk by turned green with envy... such will be the life of my daughters since they have a seamstress for a mother. ;]
Out in the lobby there was a row of large nutcrackers and Lily was checking them out. (The show was the best that I'd seen by-the-way!)
Our little princess with her absurdly handsome daddy. ;]

This would be the last picture that I took when I was just told not to take any more pictures... I was being evil. Of course, they SAID no flash photography with the dancers and I didn't take pictures when the dancers were on stage! Lily always does this goofy smile when she sees a camera... it seems rare that I can capture her "real" smile. "Think of something funny." "Tickle tickle?" hmm... you get the idea.

Reflections of Christmas...

All today I was practicing the songs for the candle-light service on Sunday, figuring out cords, typing words, and looking up verses for the program. (A program is a pretty unusual thing for our open-meeting small church) And I got to thinking about how often I'm busy this time of year. How I don't stop and just think about why I'm getting everything ready to celebrate. This is a little long, but I hope you all will read the following thoughts and verses and reflect as well.

--In my heart I often visit the place of Jesus’ birth, with the cattle lowing, and the star shining down. In the midst of the whispering of angels, my thoughts gather round. My longings are at home here, and at rest; and my faith finds its treasure in this, a Christmas night blest. I could never forget the vision: the dark stable, filled with creation and Creator; this place is a foretaste of joy complete. I come here daily to roam, leaving behind the world’s mocking scorn and seeking for ways to sing and speak your glorious praise. How the memories linger of this ancient manger--a crib of wood and hay. The miracle within and beyond all this is God appearing here in a stable small and rude. He came, but was despised on this poor earth-- Him the eternal, honored Word. Yet I know I can offer Him a dwelling place forever, here in my heart.
Please come, sweet Jesus. Come to this heart that is your home. I know it’s no strange place I offer you; it is a place built and bought by you. Here, you can come back into your creation, and I will wrap you in my heart and soul. If I could, I would place palm branches all around your feet. For you, Lord, I will live, and for you I will die. I have found complete joy, as in my heart, Lord, you are born anew!--


Isaiah 7:14 “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.”
A prophecy fulfilled in Matthew 1: 18-23 “Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.’ So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: ‘Behold, the virgin will be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,’ which is translated, ‘God with us.’ Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name Jesus.”


Micah 5:2-5 “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting.”
A prophecy fulfilled in Luke 2:4 -7 “Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.”


Psalm 72: 10-11 “The kings of Tarshish and of the isles will bring presents; the kings of Sheba and Seba will offer gifts. Yes, all the kings shall fall down before Him; all nations shall serve Him.” Fulfilled in Matthew 2: 1-3 & 2: 7-11 “Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, ‘Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.’ ….. Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said. ‘Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also.’ When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.”

Gen 3: 14a & 15 “So the Lord said to the serpent: ….. ‘I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.”
Fulfilled in 1 John 3:8-9 “He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God appeared, that He might destroy the works of the devil. Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God……

1 John 3: 16-23 By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide with him? My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him. For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God. And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment.”

John 1: 1- 14 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. He was not the Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth."