Sitting on snow...walking on snow...playing in snow...snow, snow, snow!

This past week, God gave us an amazing and beautiful display of beauty, as we got about 6 inches of snow and 2 inches of ice within days! The result was a gorgeous landscape, work and school cancelled and power outage (meaning no heat!). God graciously saw us through the inconveniencies and we were able to stay warm with some friends and their wood-burning stove. We thank God that we are now back with power and in a warm, cozy home. The landscape we got, however, was absolutely beautiful and, in spite of the cold temperatures, we couldn't keep our little JJ from seeing, feeling and walking on another beauty brought by the hand of God- snow!

Gracias a la familia en el Ecuador, quien nos mando este lindo sombrerito de lana para JJ. Thanks to our family in Ecuador, we had this cute little wool hat to put on JJ, which kept his head and ears nice and cozy. Here he is getting ready to head outside...

He wasn't too sure of the snow at first, so he ran to mama. It's a great feeling to know I can offer my little son some comfort! :)

He quickly gained his confidence, though...

And took off for his first walk on the glistening snow!

Snow is fun!!

Cute little footprints in the snow...

Together with some friends, we had fun showing JJ how to build a snowman. We went all out with buttons, scarf, hat, arms, eyes, nose and mouth!

JJ examining our finished snowman...

The sunset provided a beautiful landscape for our family shot...

Then, we ventured to take our little JJ on his first sledding experience...He really loved sitting and being pulled on the sled!

Then we found a small hill, and zoomed down with our little man...

Getting worn out from all the fun and laying with daddy in the snow...

We are predicted to get more snow tomorrow, but who knows if it will accumulate as well as this past snow blizzard. We enjoyed it, though, and would actually welcome some more! :)

Back inside, trying to get warm and showing off his matching-daddy-outfit. We have much to be thankful for having a warm home, clothes to bundle up in and a nice kitchen to cook a warm meal. We were reminded of these things, which we often take for granted. God is good to us!

JJ is walking...straight to the hoop!!!

A week ago, on January 7th, JJ took off walking for the very first time on his own! And to make it even better for daddy, his first walk was with basketball in hand, straight for the hoop for a dunk! :) Our little boy loves balls, and is now loving his new basketball hoop. He gets a huge smile on his face when he gets a ball in his hands and he immediately looks to the hoop and works to get there. He is such a sweet little boy and such a joy to us! We know that now the chasing begins!

Hace una semana, el 7 de Enero, JJ camino por primera vez solito! Y para darle aun mas gozo especialmente a daddy, su primera caminada fue con pelota de basket en mano, directo al aro! :) A nuestro chiquito le encantan las pelotas, y ahora le encanta su arito de basket. Cada vez que agarra una pelota, sonrie de oreja a oreja e imediatamente mira al aro y se dirije a el. JJ es un ninio tan dulce y nos llena de tanto gozo! Sabemos que ahora comienzan las correteadas, siguiendole por todos lados!

JJ is ONE!!!

"Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy...

The Lord has done great things for us; we are glad." Psalm 126:2,3

We are overwhelmed with humility and so much gratitude toward our good God for this special, special little boy He has entrusted to us. What a blessing it has been to enjoy a whole year laughing, crying, hugging, kissing, playing, talking, singing, praying, and loving on our little JJ. By the grace of God, he has hit the big 1-year mark, and we praise God for it. He has indeed done great things for us, as we look back on this journey from pregnancy to birth to now being one...and we are most definitely glad. We couldn't help but put together a little party with special friends and family (we did miss most of our family in North Carolina and New York) to praise God for what He has done in our family and in JJ by giving him life and health and growth. All praise be to God!

Just a couple, old-fashioned family pictures with the birthday boy. We didn't get as many smiles as usual out of JJ, probably because he was busy taking in all the commotion. :)

JJ's birthday cake, which I ventured to make on my own with the wonderful coaching of our sweet friend, Kristy! JJ had his own personal little turtle cake (below).

"Happy birthday to you...happy birthday to you...happy birthday, sweet JJ...

happy birthday to you!"

We had a special prayer for our son, who we pray God will raise into a man of God, who will treasure Christ above all and give of himself completely to Him and the expansion of His Kingdom here on earth. Join us in praying for our little JJ that God would keep him and save him soon.

JJ, introduced to his cake and loving the candle above all! :)

He touched and made a little bit of a mess...but had more fun digging into it with his spoon

He sure did like the icing, though! We had been pretty good at keeping him from sweets up until this special moment...

"Ok, where are my Cheerios, now!" :)

Just about done with the cake, and ready to move on to the presents...

What a blessing to have so much love and generosity lavished on our little one from such special people...our family away from 'home.' We thank you all for the gifts for our little one, several of which were bilingual and great to be used in our bilingual home! He doesn't look too happy, but he really did love his Red Sox hat from uncle Woody...he wears it all the time now!

As JJ loves to cruise, he was sooo happy to get this little walker that helped him move on his own around his party! Thank you Stivers girls!

Limbo time...fun for the other kids, and JJ, with friend Russell, getting a taste of future parties :)

We could not have a party for our little boy without a pinata! Cousin Patrick was a strong hitter and that poor turtle went through a lot...

JJ and friends: cousin Patrick and baby Aiden, who will be turning one this month, too!

Protesting having to have his little birthday hat on...nothing to do with fun friend Cat. :)

JJ with sweet little Lainey. He can't wait to be playing with her, too!

Another buddy, Russell, who will also be turning one this same month.

Partying with Josh Wamble and daddy

Playing with our great friend and babysitter, Kristy.

JJ with uncle Woody

JJ and friend John...enjoying the view from up high

The sweet and oh so helpful Dobson family. You are truly a blessing from God in our little JJ's life.

Little Hannah Kate... "I don't think she wants to leave my party!" :)

Oh so happy to have Uncle Vinnie and Aunt Ginger celebrating with me!

God is good and we pray that He would be gracious to give our little JJ many more years of life and birthdays, according to His good plan. Our little baby is growing! Please keep him and his parents in your prayers.

Visit from Uncle Vinnie, Aunt Ginger and Cousins Patrick and Lilly

JJ and his cousins, Patrick and Lilly. He had so much fun playing with them, and he misses them already!

Sweet kiss to baby Lilly...getting practice at having a baby around! :)

Uncle Vinnie, Aunt Ginger and cousins Patrick and Lilly were with us to celebrate JJ's actual birthday on Friday, January 2nd. We decided to take the kids to celebrate at Chuck E Cheese...and we all ended up having a fun, competitive night! :) Here is the sweet birthday boy with his birthday balloon.

JJ and Lilly...soon they will be having so much fun together!

JJ's favorite food at Chuck E Cheese- cucumbers!

Fun with mama on the slide

Getting ready for blast-off...

Mama showing JJ how to "whac"!

Loving and holding on with Bob the Builder

Our little cowboy...such intense focus! :)

We were all so busy having fun, we didn't take many pictures...especially together...but the memories remain! Thanks for the visit uncle Vinnie, aunt Ginger and cousins Patrick and Lilly!