Christmas 2009

Merry Christmas, indeed. It was a quiet day, as John was on call. But, the family feels "full" now that Mathias is here. Praise God!!

The boys still love their brother...and even got to hold him! And just below is Mathias (2weeks) and his cousin, Moses (3 1/2 months).

Mathias Pax

Psalm 127 "Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from him... Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are sons born in one's youth... blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them."














On December 12th, 2009, God's gracious hand swept over our family as we finally welcomed a healthy Mathias Pax into this world. He weighed 7lbs 2oz, and was 20inches long.

Mathias is Greek for "Gift of God." And happens to be an O'Brien family name -- John's brother, uncle, cousin, grandpa, and now son are all named Mathias. Pax is Latin for "Peace."

The boys are adjusting well so far. It seems it's taking John and me longer to adjust... But in the midst of the sleepless nights and days when I can't put him down without him crying, there truly is a deep joy.

John's smile at Mathias -- his laughter with Micah and Malachi -- his embrace around me -- there is a richer and deeper sense of gratitude and love.

My prayer is that God would always show me this side of the blessing and not fall into the moment of exhaustion, impatience, or frustration. I am thankful; I am humbled; and oh my goodness, I am tired. :)

'Tis (not yet) the season - but I'm practicing...

Call it "nesting" or whatever -- I'm feeling a little Betty Crocker these days. So I enlisted some moral support on my journey...

The boys liked cleaning out the pumpkin and playing with the insides... until Malachi actually tries a bite!! (He refused to eat any of the finished pie after that point.)

I love the boys' expressions and as I look at these pictures, I am comforted that God didn't hold out on me in giving me boys -- instead of girls. The boys enjoy the same aspects of cooking that I enjoy: the grossness of the raw ingredients and the sheer heaven of eating the finished product. :)

I must explain the naked toushie shot of malachi... He had brought in his own chair to the kitchen when I wasn't looking and snuck a taste of the left over apple batter for the apple pie! (we've been sort-of attempting some potty training, so he's very often in this form around the house these days.)

I love the coziness of snowy days... in December.

In the middle of October... a gift of snow for the boys.... perfect snowman making snow, according to John.



They were going for the tallest snowman ever -- not the best looking. clearly.




Micah could spend all day out in the snow! what a little heater. (I think he really just likes the father/son time.)

What is a vacation?

I've discovered that the meaning of "vacation" to a four-year-old is basically, going to a hotel.... with a pool. Sure, it's fun to watch Uncle Thomas play football, but the hotel is IMPARATIVE. So, here's the "vacation" part of our trip... complete with waterslide and all!










This is the way Malachi looks when he's tired... with Sam stuck to his face. Apparently, Sam must come swimming with us too.

SDSU vs. UNI !!!!

Thomas got to be the starting QB for the University of Northern Iowa game. It was a great win and an all-around great day! We love weekends with family...






Everyone looking at the jumbo-tron... :)



Jumbo-tron with final score! (Uncle Thomas, on the left)



the boys and cousin Alana playing on the field after the game.