it's christmas time in the city...almost.

Can you believe it? Malls are already decorated in wreaths, lights, and poinsettas...a little early perhaps, but I am a sucker for Christmas. I have already forced my dear husband to listen to "Silver Bells" while he studied, much to his chagrin. I am busily making our Christmas lists and doing a little brainstorming for those tough-to-buy-for relatives (you know who you are). I ordered some stockings to add to my pathetic Christmas decorations. I figured, Silas needs a stocking for his very first Christmas...

And for those of you who are trying to find the perfect gift for a highly fashionable friend/wife/sister/grandmother/cousin/mom...I have a fantastic recommendation. Check out these unique and stylin' purses...

So fun, right? And I've actually seen them in person (my sister-in-law just happens to be the designer); they're even better than they look. Find more at www.edelind.com. I know, I just made your shopping way easier, huh? :)

Moving on to less superficial things, I realized that with all the hustle and bustle of our trip to DC, I totally forgot to mention something very important. We've decided on a church! We're going to join Third Avenue Baptist Church. Such a sweet congregation, great preaching, about 150 members, good outreach opportunities...We are very excited to get plugged in! Thanks to all of you who have been praying for us during this time of decision-making. The Lord has been kind in answering our prayers.

What's Silas up to these days? Well, I'm sorry that I don't have any pictures tonight...but I can tell you a few of his new tricks. :)

• Splashing. Bath time is the new favorite activity.
• Posture. He's sitting up straighter every day; soon we won't have to watch him like a hawk to make sure he doesn't topple over.
• Gagging. For some reason, he's suddenly decided not to eat anything with texture of any kind. Foods that used to be fine now cause projectile vomiting. And carrot stains are hard to get out!
• Singing. This isn't really new, but I kept forgetting to post it...Sometimes when in church, he'll start going "Ahhhhhh" really loudly during the singing, to the point where it's just a wee bit embarrassing. But don't worry, as soon as the singing stops, so does he! This trick just confirms our suspicions that Si is going to be one musical kid.
• Jumping. In his jumparoo, that is. :) He just figured out how to kick his legs to bounce up and down, and he is absolutely delighted with himself.

Tomorrow evening the seminary is offering free babysitting for parents who need a date. We definitely fall into that category. Nathan has been hitting the books hard as the semester's end approaches. We are very pumped to spend some quality time together that doesn't involve poopy diapers or Greek paradigms.