The day after

The 26th we headed to Big Bear for the weekend. We had loads of fun and were able to visit Lolo on our way up to Big Bear. We are a crazy family, and all of us being stuck together, was quite interesting :)

Christmas Day 2008

Christmas morning was time for opening those left over gifts from others and for each other. Rock and Key were very excited to open their gifts...and frankly so were we!

The Bratchers gave thoughtful gifts, they probably didn't think PJ was going to abuse them!






My sister's surprise gift from Bob :) Congrats again!!!

Christmas time can really be a time of reflecting:
What God did to reconcile man to himself.
How and why Jesus came to live a perfect life, die a sinners death, and be resurrected from the dead.
Death loosing its sting.
God accepting the blood sacrifice that the son gave.
As baby Jesus was crying and earning for milk, his destiny was to rule the world.

Christmas Eve rockin'

Every year the Tibayan's host a rockin' Christmas Eve party-- all we do is laugh and eat, so if you think that is rockin', then it's the place to be!

As usual my birthday falls on the same day but PJ, and I usually celebrate before the party begins. PJ totally surprised me with my very own SLR! Yay! For about a year I've been using Eric's and have loved the way SLR's work, so since Eric was finally getting his back, PJ surprised me with our very own. We were suppose to take some cool LA shots but the rain hindered us, but it's okay because our LA list is accumulating for brighter, sunnier days.

The Tibayans 2 MC'd (Dennis' fam). We had loads of fun!

There was...

amusement for all ages...

posing...
girls hanging out...
boys hanging out...kids hanging out...j/k Yek!
top performances...and lots of gift giving!
Merry Christmas 2008 from Tibayan 1,2,3,and 4

God is kind to give us family and friends that help sancify us more.

And so it continues...

Upon contemplating if I should continue in this blog-sphere, I have decided to continue. I was encouraged when one of my dear friends commented on a blog entry (I didn't even know she read up on us every now and then), and another comment from my husband pushed me over. Since I am so behind with this, I'll just be doing some recaps.

I forgot about this picture.

Singing in the Dark

I put Rock to sleep tonight and sang his hymn, "Come Thou Fount." What blessed me is that Frances taught him the song "Trust and Obey" and told him that when he gets scared at night in his room to sing "Trust and Obey." So when I left his room and started to leave the door I just closed, I heard him sing it for the first time on his own. I just heard the last 2 lines of the chorus, but I'm sure he sang the whole chorus.

Trust and Obey
For there's no other way
To be happy in Jesus,
But to trust and obey.

I thank God for letting Frances trust and obey God the way she passes on biblical truth through great Christian songs to our son. May Rock learn to trust and obey Christ and see it in our lives as parents.

1st bite

She's not too happy with her meals :(




Looks like she might be crawling soon too...Uh Oh!

Last week I was easily frustrated when it came to the kids. After I'd sin, I would ask Rock (and the Lord) to forgive me (we have him ask for forgiveness towards us when he disobeys), and of course he would happily extend the forgiveness. I once asked Rock, in front of PJ, just so he'd know what I was struggling with that day, since Rock, who easily forgave, wasn't a peer who'd keep me accountable. During these times, I was reminded of the necessity for this to continue in our home. PJ, and I will make plenty of sinful mistakes towards our children, and we will need to ask them for forgivness, and have them see our vulnerable side--the parts of our lives that are not sanctified--our stuggles. PJ and I, don't want our pride to be a cause for them to see hypocracy (although we will fail here too!) and see Christ as a joke, or less than what he really is. It's a challenge to follow Christ, but oh what joy!

What we're up to...

getting ready for Christmas!

Rock was playing with his play-dooh, and he told me this was his "snowman"...he's getting into the season too!