Everyday fight

This is an everyday occurrence. Hazel is constantly pulling Jude's hair. He grabs at her too, but she doesn't have nearly as much hair as he does, which makes it harder. Plus, she's stronger. Luckily, he doesn't seem to mind too much (though you can hear him whine in the video). They both pull out my hair by the handfuls. I now have to wear a ponytail everyday and pin my bangs back. They still manage to get a few handfuls out each day. Hopefully I still have some hair left in a few weeks!

Not your everyday

Noel came home from church the other day to tell me that there was a deer outside our house. Somehow the babies and mom got separated from each other by the metal fence bordering the neighbor's yard. The mom ran back and forth for a long time trying to figure out how to get back to her babies. I watched them for awhile, but have no idea how they ended up getting back together. I looked away for a minute and when I looked back, they were all gone.

Here are the babies on the other side of the fence.

Who knew we'd have deer sightings in our own yard?

Jude's tricks

When Jude learns how to do something new, he gets obsessed with it for a few days. He started doing funny things with his lips and tongue (blowing bubbles, sucking on his top lip, etc.) while we were traveling. He started doing these things about 90% of his waking time for a few days. He's over it now, but it still cracks me up when I think about it. He's a character.

He's getting a bit better at the army crawl, but still has a bit to work on with his coordination.

Hazel's big news

This video is over a week old, but we're just getting around to posting it now. Hazel is actually much faster now (when she chooses to be). She gets up on her hands and knees all the time, rocks back and forth, and then drops to her stomach to move. Yesterday, she was slowly going towards a cook book that was on the floor. When Noel saw her, he started walking towards the book to move it. She immediately sped up and beat him there. That little stinker.

In other news, Hazel has gotten 2 teeth since we moved! She now has her bottom 2 teeth. They came in 8 days apart. No more gnawing on my finger! It hurts now!

Before we left...baptism

This is old news, but still worth posting. Two days before we left Pasadena, Noel baptized Hazel and Jude (he was ordained the previous week, which worked out perfect!). It was a very special time and both kids did great.

"I'm not so sure about this!"

After church: Hazel was her hyper self and Jude was zonked.

My parents were able to witness the event as well. How special!

Paul and Marcia drove up from Temecula. It was so great to have them there!

What We've Been Up To

As you might imagine, our life is still in disarray: plenty of boxes still needing to be unpacked, nothing hung on the walls yet, stuff that's been unpacked but not put away. . . and then there are the incidental matters of starting a new pastoral position, meeting a bunch of new people, and caring for two special babies!

But never fear! We've still managed to snap a bunch of pictures with our cell phones. We thought we'd post some here to show you what we've been up to.

We'll start with what we're leaving behind.

Goodbye, SoCal. *tear* (If this picture is not iconic of life in LA, I don't know what is.)

We had Hazel in our car most of the way, so here are three photos of her in her car seat on the drive up to Washington. (We strapped the other car seat into a rental minivan, which Heidi's parents drove. That way, each baby could have someone with him/her in the back seat.)

Zonked.

Both Hazel and Jude did much better than we expected, sleeping decently well in their car seats and very well in hotels! They also were able to eat some bottles while we were on the road, so we made great time.

Our fourth or fifth day in Oak Harbor, we managed to get out and take a walk out on the waterfront. We live about a third of a mile away or something. (You're never too far from the water when you live on an island!)

Our seventh day here, we made it down to Coupeville, a nice little town about 10 miles south of Oak Harbor. We got some soup and sandwiches out at the end of the pier.

Hazel loved sitting in the high chair and playing with a soup spoon!

(Jude was sleeping on my chest at the time.)

Yum yum!

And here are the kiddos playing on their play mat this afternoon. We finally have enough room to put all the tiles out! Both Hazel and Jude are "crawling" now (more like slithering like snakes). Hazel's crawl is a bit more coordinated, so she's really getting around now.

The kids seem to really like their new house, and the return of some regularity. And of course we all love having our own space! The welcome committee did a beautiful job getting the house all ready for us and stocking the cupboards with goodies. We'll post pictures of the house as soon as we have a few more things in order.

So there's a bit of what we've been up to. Stay tuned--there's more to come!

We're alive!

Yes, we are alive. We're still pretty overwhelmed with unpacking and settling in, but we finally have internet again and will try to post some pictures/updates soon!

Dancing with Aunt Heidi and Uncle Brian

Noel's sister Heidi and her husband Brian have been in town since Wednesday. We don't know what we would have done without them, since they have packed half our apartment in the time they've been here!

This morning Hazel and Jude had a little dance party with their aunt and uncle before they left to go back home. Watch here.

Prayers during transition

There are lots of changes happening now and that will continue to happen over the next few weeks. Our apartment is about half packed. Okay, that's probably an exaggeration. Maybe 1/4 is more realistic, if that. We'll get there though! We'll be loading a truck Monday the 8th and leaving either the 9th or 10th. We hope to arrive in Oak Harbor the 12th or 13th. Please pray that our stuff is delivered by the moving company on the 12th. If it isn't, it won't come until at least the 15th, which could make for a few interesting days in our new home (especially for Hazel and Jude).

Hazel and Jude are quite beside themselves lately. They have recently transitioned to formula and it is not going well at all (especially for Hazel). They are not eating nearly as much and are in obvious discomfort (so much so that Hazel doesn't even want solids anymore). We keep trying new kinds and are praying that we find the right match for each of them soon. Their teething also seems to be bad again. They've been teething for months and still have nothing to show for it! On top of the physical pain they're experiencing, we're sure they can sense the chaos around here. Please pray that they handle the lengthy car rides each day well, that they are able to tolerate formula so that they start eating more and are not in pain, and that they start sleeping better (Hazel has been up crying multiple times the past few nights).

We are very excited to get moved, settled, and start this new phase of life and are so thankful for the continued prayers of so many as we try and survive this period of major transition.

Reverend Snyder

Here is a picture of me taking my ordination vows yesterday, standing before a commission composed of ministers and elders from San Marino Community Church and other congregations in our presbytery. I was so thankful to have Heidi, Jude, and Hazel there with me--the first time we have all been in church together. And I was also happy to celebrate my call in the midst of the saints at San Marino who have nurtured us these past five years.

For the three people reading this who might be interested, here are the vows:

a. Do you trust in Jesus Christ your Savior, acknowledge him Lord of all and Head of the Church, and through him believe in one God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit?

b. Do you accept the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be, by the Holy Spirit, the unique and authoritative witness to Jesus Christ in the Church universal, and God’s Word to you?

c. Do you sincerely receive and adopt the essential tenets of the Reformed faith as expressed in the confessions of our church as authentic and reliable expositions of what Scripture leads us to believe and do, and will you be instructed and led by those confessions as you lead the people of God?

d. Will you fulfill your office in obedience to Jesus Christ, under the authority of Scripture, and be continually guided by our confessions?

e. Will you be governed by our church’s polity, and will you abide by its discipline? Will you be a friend among your colleagues in ministry, working with them, subject to the ordering of God’s Word and Spirit?

f. Will you in your own life seek to follow the Lord Jesus Christ, love your neighbors, and work for the reconciliation of the world?

g. Do you promise to further the peace, unity, and purity of the church?

h. Will you seek to serve the people with energy, intelligence, imagination, and love?

i. Will you be a faithful minister, proclaiming the good news in Word and Sacrament, teaching faith and caring for people? Will you be active in government and discipline, serving in the governing bodies of the church; and in your ministry will you try to show the love and justice of Jesus Christ?

I answered them all in the affirmative.