California here we come--right back where we started from!

Yes, we just got word this week...Nate's been accepted into the Radiology residency program at Balboa Naval hospital in San Diego!!! Yeah! I feel a little sheepish announcing this as not everyone got their pick. For those people I truly am soooo sorry! But I am so happy to be moving back! Just hope we can find a place as wonderful to live as we did last time. If anyone knows of a rental opening up this summer, PLEASE let us know. We would love to be back in the same area in Encinitas. Our good neighbor Don used to say to us every morning, "another day in paradise" and it TRULY was!

I must say, I will miss it here, though. Nate and I feel like we're both just getting settled and starting to enjoy it here. We will definitely miss our friends here, the georgeous mountains, our great backyard, and well...for me...Macy's & Khols. Nate probably won't miss the latter two. The kids will especially miss their school, friends and neighbors. Every school they've attended in their lives to date has been "the bestest school EVER!" Hopefully, their new school will earn that title.

Everyone's doing well. Jake's latest obsession is school. He talks about his assignments constantly. Emmy has found a great talent in story-telling. She really brings what she reads to life. They both have found they love singing in choir. They both sing in their school and church choirs. Abigail is...well, Abigail. The other day she told someone, "I am 4 and I'm curious, but as an individual I'm smart".
Yesterday she told Emmy, "you just go with that idea, Freddy".
Emmy, "What did you say to me?".
Abby slowed her speech and repeated herself as if Emmy was stupid.
Emmy, "my names not Freddy!"
At 4 she seems to be running the world.
Vivian is full of delight. She is still trying to get speech down. She jibbers all day long, but it's difficult to understand what she's saying. I love looking at her smile!

The view out our bedroom window this morning

What a lovely thing to wake up to in our nice warm snuggly bed! We got about 8 inches overnight and plan on getting more mixed with rain today. Unfortunately, church was cancelled and so now our lovely Christmas program that I've worked months to prepare is a complete wash. I was so proud of our choir and had some wonderful pieces for them to sing :) Oh well, thus it goes in Washington. The kids & Nate had school/work off Thursday and Friday. All the stores--even the mall shut down because of the snow last week. I ventured out yesterday only to be stuck in the car for 30 minutes to drive 1/4 mile or less. I gave up on the small errand I was planning and drove home. Everyone wanted to try to get their shopping done before the storm came and the stores closed early...again. I don't know what people are going to do that need to shop this week, as it's supposed to be snowy/rainy all week.
As long as we don't have to go anywhere I love the snow. I love having everyone home and having easy days. Nate & I have gotten a ton of projects done. Hurrah!

"Writing on Stone" by Jake

Huge rocky monoliths rise up in the distance as I scramble out of the undergrowth and see for the first time the new world I have stepped into. I see my friends as they climb up towering sandstone spires, and I sprint toward them, racing through an infinite maze of sedimentary rock. Climbing past the coarse stone I notice miniscule specks of rustic fossil, relics of a bygone age. My friends leap from stone to stone, while I take a safer more traveled route, afraid to take the risk of falling. In the sky I see the brilliantly glowing sun, a sparkling gemstone, filling the world with radiant light. Suddenly I find myself at the top of the biggest boulder yet. Stretching out in all directions I see the prehistoric landscape, unchanged by the years. It is a retreat from life; a place where the past can enter the present.

"Books" by Jake

A universe of wisdom barely contained inside a minute cover, waiting to be read.
I eagerly delve into your surface, hungrily searching your deep reservoirs of knowledge.
I love that papery smell you bring and your vividly realistic plot,
you are a portal to distant worlds.
Ungoverned by reality,
your perfectly written lettering brings a message to all.
You tell of past times, preserving them forever in your carefully crafted pages.
Unstoppable,
neither time nor distance hold any power over you.
You are an escape from life itself, a way to forget earth's troubles for a short time.
You help bring color to my life,
Books.