Happy Birthday Jesus!

Greetings to you this Christmas! For many of you this may be the only communication we've had this year, and we hope this serves to update you on our goings-on. Hopefully in the New Year we'll be able to truly connect the old fashioned way (you know, in person!).

Nathaniel turned 2 back in February and one of his favorite things to do now is tell everyone what to do. He is extremely curious about how things work and is becoming quite independent. He loves helping Daddy fix things around the house and helps Mama cook in the kitchen. He has not mastered the art of the potty (arg...) but hopefully he'll have a change of heart about that soon. (Why bother taking the time to stop the fun things you're doing when you can just take it with you.) :) Nate is a very sensitive kid who loves being around people and watching over his brother. He loves to color and has recently taken up water painting. He has also begun to identify what letter starts a word by the sound it makes, and loves playing the ABC car game.

Jacob turned 1 in March and has definitely transitioned from a baby to a toddler. :( This makes Mama miss baby things! Jacob's favorite word now is, "no." Thankfully, he poses his answer in the form of a question so he sounds really cute when he responds negatively. Jake is our snugly lover. If Mama is around he still wants to come sit on her lap and then take off after his brother. Nana says he doesn't have enough sense for as smart as he is~ he'll try anything if Nate is doing it, regardless of his current abilities. Jacob is our courageous little man who loves getting dirty. The kid is built like a tank too. He weighs as much as Nate does and is almost as tall. When we take them out people always ask if they're twins. (Maybe that's because Mama dresses them alike?!) Jake has begun coloring, although he still finds eating the crayons more enjoyable than their intended purpose. He loves to run around the house and do "big jumps" off the couch like his brother. Jacob has the sweetest smile and cutest giggle (can we say that) when he's having a good time, but boy... you'll know if he's upset. Bapa has nicknamed him, "Howler Monkey!"

Amy had a fun 30th birthday back in September at the Palisade Restaurant. She loves being a full time mommy. Her favorite part of being a mom is seeing Nate and Jake learn new things whether it be intellectual or physical. It's amazing to watch them grow. She also enjoys getting out of the house every once in a while to work for the Highline School District.

John had his 30th birthday just a week & 1/2 ago. We held a birthday/Christmas party for friends and family. What a magical night... it snowed! He still works for Alaska Airlines as a Manager of Customer Operations and loves it. We are so thankful that his schedule will be more regular next year with predictable days off. Thank you, Lord!

We are involved in our church, Highline Christian, and love it. Pastor Tim Knight and his wife Jane have been such a blessing. Currently they lead a small group in our home for young married couples. It's been wonderful gleaning from their insights and wisdom. From the pulpit, Pastor Tim is truly gifted and a joy to sit under. Please come visit if you don't have a church home! :) Amy is teaching Nate's Sunday school class and is able to muster enough energy once a week to handle 10 toddlers (with help). She does need an afternoon nap on Sundays though!

Our hope this Christmas is that you will come to recognize the true meaning of Christmas and live for Him in this New Year. What a joy it is to be a servant of the King! Many blessings to you in 2009.

With love,

The Goodrich Family

Our trip to Paradise (Jake got car sick the way up... and down!)


Nate loves a good party! And blowing out candles (sorry Lukas)!


One of the few times we were all able to get together!
(No one called in sick for this gathering!) :)

Jacob walking against the wind in the snow

Nate and Daddy posing in the snow

Happy Birthday Amy!

Amy turned the big "three-oh" back on September 29th. We dined with some friends at the Palisade Restaurant down on the waterfront. Thanks to all who could celebrate with us! (and to those who couldn't make it) - John

Train Trip

The family just recently took a trip along the Mt. Rainier foothills on a scenic railroad trip. It was so much fun and the boys loved it (when they weren't sleeping). We also drove up to Paradise and had a picnic along the side of the road. A hungry wild fox came boldly to eat our scraps so we left in a hurry. :) One other note about this trip... Jacob threw up 3 times because he was car sick. Poor baby! I forgot how windy the road to Paradise was.

ALOHA!

OK, so John and I want to find a way to move permanently to paradise. It was so hard to leave Kauai. Oh, my gosh, Hawaii was incredible! We swam, hiked, kayaked, snorkeled, and most importantly... laid out in the sun. What was that? Oh, yeah. THE SUN!!!!!!! It's the big, orange warm thing up in the sky. (That was for those of you that have forgotten. I had!). Here are some pics. Mom and dad went with us and it was part business so we didn't get the full 7 days to play, but it was enough to make us want to go back. Kinda like those chocolate-covered Macadamia nuts, once you've eaten one you just mow down the whole box of yummy goodness. :) The kids stayed with Auntie Rachel. "Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

~Eme and Keoni

Cara, this one's for you!!! :)

Because we share an undying love of Easter candy, I had to blog about it for Cara.
Seriously, it's the best! It tragically only comes around once a year. But now's the time to enjoy. So go ahead...
Eat all you want because you won't see it again for another 12 months.

Hello!

Yeah, it's been a while again. I won't post pictures today, but I'll be back. I was too busy during nap time reading my other friends' blogs that I'm not going to have time to do anything fancy to mine and get any laundry done today. :) As an update, my part time job with the Highline School District is going really well. We are really thankful for that job just because of how incredibly flexible it is around the kids' and John's schedule.
We love our church, Highline Christian, and we're finishing up soccer season with them in the next few weeks. A young adults (25-35- Isn't that just adults? I don't consider myself young anymore!!!) group is starting up called WALK and we should be able to fellowship with people our age provided we can get babysitting for TUE Bible study, biweekly THUR night WALK Bible study, FRI soccer games, and then of course any other babysitting for Mommy Daddy dates.
Nate just had his second birthday on Saturday and I'll post pics when I get them off my camera. Jake turns 1 next month. And I'm getting gray hairs! :)
All right, time to figure out what's for dinner and fold laundry.

~Amy

New Year's Day Open House

We had a fun time hosting a New Year's Day open house. Here are a couple photos of the guys watching football while the girls are playing with all the kids. A bunch of us also played Apples to Apples which dad Cowden got for Christmas.