JESSE ..::*::.. TREE

 One of our newest Christmas Traditions:

A JESSE TREE

 Some of you may be familiar with this, but this was the first year we got to actually do it with Levi and I LOVED IT!

Each day we got to read a story about someone in the Bible and color a picture/ornament that went along with it...

and we slowly traveled from the Old Testament, learning so many fun stories about important people all the way up until Jesus' birth.

 

We would then "hang the ornament on our tree" :) 

and post the story along the window frame.

It was a great way to share new stories with friends that came by throughout the month as well!

 

 Where does the name "Jesse Tree" come from, you ask?

Isaiah 11:1

Speaking of our coming Savior

We got a surprise "tree" in the mail (Thanks Grammy & Grandpa), so we moved the ornaments onto it, and here was the end result:

What a fun way to learn and see the Lord's hand in it ALL from the very beginning and a fantastic way to celebrate our Savior's birth :)

Looking forward to doing it again next year when Levi will understand even more!

(Although I must admit- he had some great "moments" as we would read the story and he would repeat little parts of it as we told it to him... He melts my heart with his sweet little voice)

Hope you all had a WONDERFUL Christmas and we wish you a Happy New Year!

:: Sweet Spoiling- Geese & Trains & Coffee- Oh MY! ::

 Our "palace" crew decided to take a night out on the town one night-

You'll never guess the FUN we encountered...

Oh yes... GEESE- Honk Honk!!!

 

You could buy some popcorn and feed the geese- the kiddos had a BLAST:

 

I think Levi wasn't sure if his job was to feed them or chase them :)

Once we escaped the geese, we looked out at all the boats on the lake- anything from paddle boats and  sail boats, to trolley boats:

One of Levi's favorite surprises was this HUGE TRAIN that was by the waterside for us to look at:

 "WHOOOOOAAAA!"

 " Mama, do you think I can drive it?"

 Precious boy- couldn't take his eyes off of it!

 Good buds- Levi, Gus, & Joya

We LOVE that there are lakes in our city- its just refreshing to look out on the water & the colorful boats:

 Love spending my days with these two!

Then we climbed a hill behind the park by the lake to a coffee shop

Here is the view from the top:

"Come on in... Grab a seat... Get some coffee :)"

Who could resist such a sweet invitation?

It was a GREAT end to our evening ~ sipping on some yummy drinks, overlooking a beautiful lake, and talking with some good friends.

So grateful for times like these and great folks to spend them with!

 

Thanks Summit for spoiling us!

:: Sweet Spoiling- The Palace Retreat ::

 We LOVE our home fellowship from North Carolina :)

A while back, they sent some dear friends of ours to our city for a few days, and we gathered with some other folks/friends who are living here in South Asia to have some Retreat, Encouragement, & Awesome Fellowship.

What better place to be spoiled, than the PALACE!

Fun view from our balcony in our room:

 

 The view from our balcony:

 It was a great reminder of how BEAUTIFUL our city is- so grateful the Lord has us here:

 

We made Levi his own little luxury bed:

  

I think he was happy about it:

 "Mom- what I'm really happy about is... JUUUUIIICE!"

Of course this little guy came away with some battle wounds- he slipped on the steps @ dinner and caught the edge with his chin- poor guy...

He loves to point at it and say "BOOO BOOO"

 "Don't worry guys, I'm tough!"

 

Ahhhh- sweet rest!

(I love this man)

And one of the best parts...

There was a "POOOOOOL"

 So we all enjoyed time in both the big pool, as well as our "mini pool"- it was a HUGE hit for all the little kiddos.  Especially our "pool" toys... one of the favorites being an empty creamer container.

Gotta love a kid's imagination!

Joya, Levi, & Uncle Jesse

"Ok, ok guys- I am done swimming laps now, can someone get these goggles OFF!"

 "Nevermind, I'll do it myself :)"

 It seems as though Levi's motto for our time there- was go BIG or go home...

Because one "BOOO BOOO" was not enough- if you look closely at the left side of his face, you will see a nice black & blue line running down his face.

The story?

Well he was having a ball running down the hallway by our room, however, he failed to realize that when you are RUNNING, it is always a GREAT idea to look in FRONT of you- so that a pole doesn't sneak up on you and catch the side of your FACE.

Oh yes- such a bruiser this boy is!

More fun pictures and adventures to follow...

Merry CHRISTMAS Y'all!

Wishing every one of you a MERRY CHRISTMAS

from the Eggleton Crew:

"And a Happy New YEEEEEAR!"

Down for the Count... AGAIN!

Look familiar?

Guess this boy has been P-R-E-T-T-Y busy playing these days

:)

.Sweet Sights - Great Food - Fun Friends.

Gotta love fun little day trips with friends!

One day we hopped in the car and drove a couple hours out of our city to this fun spot:

 

Yep- my apple pie making pal and her hubby joined us:

 

Embarking on some historic sites was part of our adventures:

Best of all- we even got to PICNIC on the rocks before we explored more.

My friend made some yummy pulao (Rice w/ veggies & spices cooked in a pressure cooker)

as well as some fried potatoes and poori (basically a fried roti):

My two favorites:

 

You know we were reveling in the fact that our little guy LOVED the rocks as much as WE do!

There was some pretty awesome views:

Levi & DiiDii (Hindi for "older sister"- but commonly used for younger ladies here)

 

There was a train off in the distance- and you know Levi doesn't miss a TRAIN... EVER!

 

Ahhhh... a land to explore!

 

And what did Levi go for?....

the DIRT

Ooooooof Course :)

 

So many things to explore... 

This boy was BUSY- BUSY- BUSY!

 

Then Levi switched gears and was on the CHASE...

See the bottom right corner- this little chipmunk became his target!

 

I'm not sure who won the battle, because off Levi ran- and here stood  the chipmunk eating one of the Goldfish that Levi dropped from  his snack dish.

Well done little chipmunk, well done!

These Buddhist monks remained under this tree praying the entire time we were walking around up there:

While I was busy taking pictures, the guys got a head start on us!

Down the stairs and into what looks like a maze :)

 

This little guy LOVES his Papa:

So do I :)

Melts my heart every time!

Good Times.... Most Definitely!