Trimming the Tree

Brett and the boys suprised April by assembling the tree last week while she was out of the house. Madness ensued, and good times were had by all! Caden was displaying his trademark intense concentration...Corban is usually just glad to be there, no matter where there is...Caden was content until......Corban ran off with one of his tree pieces. Look closely and you can sort of make out Caden's look of desperation, and seconds after this he tried to tackle his little brother like he was playing linebacker for a Pee Wee football team...Once momma came home, the decorating got under way..."Which one should I pull off and destroy first..." So far his ornament death count is 5!

Family pics to follow soon, Merry Christmas!

How Am I Judged?

We hope and pray that it is by the company that we keep...

Here are some examples, and the list is far from exhaustive, of what our friends are doing all over the world (you now who you are!):

- modeling Christ and His church in inner city LA
- bringing life into the world
- bring TWIN lives into the world!
- enduring riots in Greece
- preparing to move from one side of Africa to the other
- adjusting to and thriving in a South American culture
- struggling along side us in Togo
- living in the States after years in Africa and trying to make sense of it all
- wading through American culture while finding ways to love those around them
- living and loving others in China
- flying under the radar in Muslim countries and making disciples of their neighbors
- dealing with the absence of loved ones serving God overseas
- healing wounds in American churches
- etc., etc., etc....

Thank you Lord for our friends, our brothers and sisters in Christ. May the bond we share be strong and last forever...

Sunday Morning Worship

Here's a photo essay of our Sunday worship time out in the village of N'Djei. It was wonderful, as always!Caden got kind of bored during service...they were studying the genealogy in Matthew 1 so we can't really blame him :) Corban presiding over the table He thinks he did a pretty good job! April was scheduled for the nursery this quarter :) Sweet, sleeping babies Corban makes friends pretty easily Communion Closing prayer, Corban being held by one of the elders The whole church after service posing with the bike that my nephew, Owen, bought for them to do evangelism Lunch in the car on the way home. It's hot out there and we worked up some serious appetites!
Here is a short video of some singing we did. Our hearts are full this morning :)

Corban is ONE!

Remember this little guy?Because he's one now!

I was reminded again today of what a special gift this little guy is to us. Brett was explaining Corban's name to one of the students that occasionally works for us. Instead of searching for other ways to explain his name, we pulled out our French Bible (Mark 7:11).

"Corban - offrande reservee a Dieu" an offering reserved for God.

Our little man is the the Lord's first and then ours. We thank God for the blessing he has been to our lives this past year.

Family Resemblance

While my parents were here, we noticed that Corban is definitely looking like an Emerson. Caden started out looking like me, but he has started to trend towards April (lucky for him!). I've always been told that I look like my dad, and it looks like Corban won't be too far behind. Lucky for him he's got a beautiful mother to take him to that next level :)

For those who keep track of these things, this is post #400 on our blog. We are seriously prolific!

Our Thanksgiving

I'm sure our Thanksgiving was a bit different than yours...but you might be surprised to hear that was probably very similar too. We celebrated with other Americans at the West African Conference Center down in Lome.
Here's the highlights:

• we at turkey, dressing, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, and other "traditional" dishes
• we had more pumpkin pies and fruit pies than could be eaten
• we celebrated with family - probably the thing that made it feel most "normal"!
• there were lots of kids
• we ate too much and were tired afterwards (thank you turkey)
• it was close to 100 degrees
• black Friday shopping...ok, it wasn't really black Friday here...but we did do a little shopping
  

Our black Friday shopping included 2 new bouncy balls....a big one for Caden, and a small one for Corban. (Thank you Gamma and Papa!)
Gamma's Thanksgiving was complete with her Diet Pepsi...who knew you could find Diet Pepsi in Togo, West Africa. ;)
The boys had cute matching "Happy Fall" shirts...unfortunately, they were white. If you can see the red dirt on Corban's feet, you can imagine what the shirts looked like when we took them off.


Yes, it was different....but it was still Thanksgiving. I'm thankful for all the people that helped make it just that...a day of thanks.

Look At Me!

Corban Walks
Uploaded by emersonstogo

Sorry for the quality. I'm not sure if I didn't have enough lights on, if we have a problem with our camera, or if you are witnessing Harmattan.

Where...what...how did he do that?

It's happening again...

What is it with boys and climbing?!

Tree Planting Photo Documentary

We have a small tree outside our gate that Brett decided to move to a new place in our yard.
Of course, Caden is his trusty sidekick.

Materials needed: big shovel AND little shovel
Task one accomplished. Big tree, little tree.
Tree...umbrella...what's the difference? It's still cool to carry it myself!
New home for big tree and little tree.
Add a little dirt...
...and a little water...

....and voila! Project completed.
Thanks guys!

Get Ready To Laugh

What parent hasn't done this with their kid's hair?!Corban wants to be in the middle of the fun but then sometime freaks out when he realizes where he is.

Caden: "Daddy, make a snowman!"
This is what happened...
Caden refers to anything that has been stacked up as a "snowman"....pillows, people, etc. And how does our child that lives in Africa know about a snowman??? From the classic video "Frosty", which he received from Nanna for Christmas last year!

And this last picture is just funny. You can title it yourself.

Love my boys!

More Presents

We got a special package in the mail this week from our sweet friends on our Mission Committee (Thanks Arlene!) So, Caden got to have a second party of opening up presents. There were three birthdays in this box: mine, Caden, and Corban's. Unfortunately, there are no pictures of me opening my presents (although I did enjoy the anticipation of what was beneath the wrapping) and Corban will have to wait until his birthday at the end of this month. On to the pictures....

Unwrapping presents is hard work and takes lots of muscles.


Pure joy and excitement over new blocks


Sweet! A new movie!


Yes, Caden built that all by himself.


And then little brother came and destroyed it and he had to start all over. These blocks continue to be a source of competition between the boys. Quite entertaining to watch.

Proverbs 15:1

One of the books Caden received for his birthday was My ABC Bible Verses. We started with "A" this week...

MOV02135
Uploaded by emersonstogo

Now...how do you teach him to actually do this? ;)

Phase One

... of the Big Boy Bed:


The pack'n'play was taking a beating with Corban sleeping in it every night so we decided he should have a real crib again. Since we gave our spare one away to friends who had twins, we needed to convert Caden's toddler bed back into a crib. This meant we had to put Caden into a "real" bed.
Without too much planning, we started the process and then realized Caden might not like the idea that we gave Corban his bed. So, I started thinking of ways to make his new bed "cool". Stuffed animals! What kid doesn't love them?...and we sure have plenty of them.
It worked! He was so excited about all his friends on his new bed he didn't seem to mind that Corban had a new crib (a.k.a. his old bed).

MOV02103
Uploaded by emersonstogo

Phase Two and Three will consist of adding the box springs, frame, and new sheets/blanket.

11 Months

This is Corban's last month before he turns one. So in honor of him being eleven months old, here are eleven things I want to be sure and remember about this stage in Corban Stewart's life.

1. approx. 22 lbs.
2. 7 teeth
3. walking while holding someone's hand
4. can squat from a standing position
5. attempts to sing
6. still nursing 3x / day
7. drinks like a mad-man from a sippy cup
8. has a unique "old man" sound he makes
9. smiles at anyone...and I mean anyone (this makes for an attraction of African's if we have to wait anywhere in the car)
10. seems to never stop moving unless buckled in a chair
11. still thinks his brother is the best thing!