Christmas Fun

The past days have been full of time spent with family.  I can't think of a more perfect way to end our time in the US.  First we stopped by CA where we stayed with Jeyson's brother and sister-in-law.  We got to meet their new sweet baby too.  Jeyson's parents and sister, brother-in-law and their son were also there so it was a full house!  We haven't all been together in over 4 years so it was fun to make memories together.  Who knows how long it will be till we're back together again so we had to soak it in.

The three cousins were mesmerized by a show on a laptop.  It's so special to see them all together!

After an early Christmas with the Brauns, we headed down to Arizona to spend actual Christmas and new years with my family.  It is just us in town so far, but my sister Christa will be coming to join us in a few days.  Here's a few pictures of the fun...

Elijah had a surprise Santa diaper put on him in the church nursery on Christmas eve haha!  

Who can resist this bum?

 Christmas morning 3/5 of us woke up feeling sick and spent most of the day moaning and groaning :(  We didn't even feel up for cooking (and much less eating!) a Christmas meal!  But at least we got over it fast and were all feeling good within 24 hours.  And fortunately Elijah didn't get it so he had fun opening a few gifts.

It cracks me up how this boy automatically knows to make car/truck noises with his lips.  We've got a mechanic in the making.

And look who is up and walking about 50% of the time!  He can take about 30 steps at a time, but still prefers crawling at times because it is faster.

 Then, to top off the fun, Jeyson and I left Elijah with my parents for an overnight so we could escape to beautiful Sedona, about 2 hours from Phoenix.  We did a lot of hiking and enjoyed some Mexican food.  The occasion?  5 years of marriage.  It's been quite an adventure and I can't imagine doing it with anyone else!  

 2 weeks and counting and we are on a plane back to Brazil.  This has been the perfect ending to our time here.  I'm not QUITE ready to return, but I will be in two weeks.  It's all been just wonderful but our hearts are starting to turn towards Brazil and become anxious to be back.