2013

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the Jones Family!  We hope this finds your family doing well; it is hard to believe we are already through another year. We've decided to go "green" with our Christmas cards, and by green, I mean cheap (and lazy?). We figured since most everyone we know keeps tabs on us via Facebook, sending something that finds it way into your trash can with stories you already have heard, is, well, a bit of a waste. Gone are the good 'ol days of licking hundreds of envelopes and risking a paper cut on my tongue. We've seen your fridge... you don't have room for another picture anyways.

Here's our year end update: Avery is six years old (going on 17…) and in first grade. She loves drawing, painting, dancing, and doing girly stuff.  Luke is 4, and started preschool this year, along with his first season in t-ball and soccer.  Poppa Tim has brainwashed him into a 49er fan. He and little brother Beckett (turning 2 in March) love pestering their sister and deleting apps on our phones. Beckett is just starting to use “real” words as he cruises through the house like a tornado, leaving a path of destruction in his wake. Rudy (our firstborn) has returned to his old self -- sleep (by the fireplace in the winter or a sunny spot in the summer), snore, eat, sleep, snarfle, eat, sleep, repeat. Justice wants to have him stuffed when he dies. Ashley thinks he will never die. Time will tell...

Justice and Ashley celebrated 10 years of marriage this past October, and almost had their first ever disagreement when Justice tried to convince Ashley to drive cross country with three kids in the car.  We settled on a flight to Boston to visit Grandma Tina, and a 1800 mile east coast road trip visiting some really cool baseball stadiums, a really big waterfall, and our neighbors to the north, eh!  We mixed some serious water-parkage into the trip and had a blast between baseball games and drive-a-thons. We decided, on the return red-eye while Beckett was howling at the top of his lungs, we’ll probably wait another ten years before we all board a plane together as a family (Jet Blue's restraining order against us should be expired by then...).

On a more serious note, a bittersweet end to the year came just a few weeks ago as Justice’s grandmother, Thedalea, went home to be with our Lord Jesus.  It was nice to see family we don't get to see nearly often enough, and a heartwarming time of reflection of a life lived for the glory of our Savior. We are reminded in these times, especially when we find ourselves rushing from one commitment to the next without a moment to spare, where our true hope and joy are found: In that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  We pray you rest in the blessed assurance of Jesus and His unchanging promises through this and every year!                     

Almost Spring...

... and since the last blog update was, um, last summer, it's about time. So here's what's been happening in the last eight or so months...

Kids are growing up ... fast... Luke is almost 2, and has begun splitting wood for next winter. Poppa Messer, in the background, turned 100 back in September... pretty cool.

Avery is pushing 14. (-10). Here she is with buddy Taryn after attacking some Icee's after a long afternoon of shoe shopping.

Avery with Ashley at a snow trip with the PRBC Awana kids.

Luke looking to fix something that ain't broke... yet.

Tailgating in Oakhurst after visiting with the Mackinga's.

Still bath buddies...

Luke peeking at the zoo animals from his strategic vantage point.

"Uncle Steve" graduated from the academy and is working in LA. He made a special appearance with Justice at Foothill to visit some of his old students.

And you thought they only protected your hands...

So we're a happy little family, blessed beyond measure.

Yes, Rudy still calls the shots (but refuses to look at the camera).

Summertime!!!

"The days are long, but the years are short." Ashley brought this quote home from a moms and more group and it hits the nail on the head. Seems like every night we crash land into bed exhausted at the end of a seemingly endless day. But then we look back at pictures from just a few months ago and barely recognize the faces!

Luke turned 1 on May 5th, and Avery just turned 3 on July 26th. Yeah. Wow. We're getting old too, I suppose. With the weather being really hot, we have been spending lots of time in the pool -- hence Avery's green hair. Other than that, there's been some trips to the waterpark, library, zoo, and even a backyard camping trip. We did have a visit from Tina and Alexandria (Justice's mom and sister) in June, and we headed over to Yosemite for the day.

The rest of our days are spent cleaning up the house and picking up toys, only to repeat the process 20 minutes later.

Laundry time is always a hit with the kiddos. Who doesn't love a warm load of laundry dumped on top of them, knocking over a nicely stacked pile of clean clothes, and playing in the basket!


A little different celebratory style between 1 and 3 years old!



Swim Time!


Sleepy Time!


Exploring Time!


Mommy Time!


Patriotic Kiddos!

Well, it's about time!

So we've been a little busy since our last update - Christmas - so here's the most recent news... in reverse order. My (Justice) family came up to visit last week, including my mom - out from Boston, and my aunt Linda and uncle David (San Clemente). We jumped on the opportunity to have Luke dedicated while all the stars were aligned; and had a great time - thanks to our family and friends that came out and shared with us. For the rest of you that couldn't make it, we've posted the video on youtube. This is the picture that the church had up on the screens during the dedication. He's a little heart-breaker already.

Here's a picture of "Gramma TiTi" with Luke...

The little ones are growing like weeds, as usual. Avery has graduated into a "big girl bed" and her crib has been dismantled and stored. She spends much of her time rearranging the icons on our phones and computer. Luke is now fully mobile, having perfected his version of the army crawl/worm, and getting wherever he needs to go.

Avery is in the full-fleged "why?" stage, and still insists on a daily basis that she doesn't need a nap or to go to bed at night. Oddly enough, she is dead asleep within minutes. She has a tumbling class each week and enjoys exploring the property, especially feeding the neighbor's "horsies" ...

... and feeding ducks half naked in the frigid waters of Shaver Lake with her cousin Kinley ...

We just had a slew of birthdays, Ashley, Justice, and yes, Rudy turned 5. We were able to take a nice little vacation over to the Nystrom's "cabin" at Hume Lake back in the beginning of February, and had a great time with good friends. I use the term "cabin" loosely, it's more like the Ritz Carlton than a cabin. Here's Mommy teaching Avery how it's done...

We captured on the way in, from the side of the highway, just as the sun dipped behind the clouds. Really beautiful picture, absolutely majestic in person!

After Hume, we trekked over to the coast and spent a week in Avila Beach, hanging out and mooching meals from old friends and family! [thanks!] Here's Avery and Luke with Great-Grandma Theda...

Avery flying a kite with uncle Moe!

Clearly, Carey was more impressed with his skills than Avery...

And finally, a couple more beach-ish pics...

That's about all for now, I gotta go weed-whack. Expect our next blog update sometime this summer. Luke turns 1 on May 5th, Avery is 3 on July 26th... hmmm.

Christmas 2009

It’s hard to believe that we’re already at the end of another year, what a whirlwind it has been! We feel more blessed (and exhausted) every day. Here’s the short and sweet version, feel free to read past blog entries if you want more juicy details.

We were blessed with little Luke Grayson’s arrival on May 5^th, a month ahead of schedule. It really seems like the second child grows up a lot faster than the first! He’s just turned seven months and is in a really FUN stage of his development. He’s sleeping all night (WooHoo!), laughing and babbling a LOT, drooling everywhere, and eating lots of food (much sooner than Avery did), and has two bottom teeth coming in. He is very attentive to what Avery is doing, and learning quickly to defend himself from her pokes and choke-hold hugs (see below).

Avery turned two years old in July, and boy is she ever a two-year-old. She loves jumping on the trampoline, tumbling class, reading with mommy and daddy, playing with her babies, pestering Rudy, and smothering her little brother. She took a spill in the hallway in September and cracked her front tooth, so her first visit to the dentist resulted in a pulled tooth. The good news is that it will grow back – in seven years or so. She has finally nailed the potty training (another WooHoo!) and now we get to take her potty EVERYWHERE we go, about every half hour.

Ashley and I celebrated our sixth anniversary in October, we often laugh about not being able to remember what it was like without kids (or Rudy). What did we do with all our spare time back then? Ha! Not that we’re complaining – we do have more fun now than we ever did before. It’s amazing how much entertainment you can get from two toddlers, a pug, and a laser pointer! :)

We hope this season finds your family doing well this Christmas season. We pray for our family and friends often, some of whom are in the midst of very, very difficult times. It is in these times especially that we pray you find rest, comfort, and peace in the saving grace of Jesus Christ. May you and your family have a blessed New Year!

Here are a couple of pictures from our recent trip to Knott's Berry Farm. Avery and her cousin Kinley had a blast at Camp Snoopy!

Much to be thankful for

We spent the majority of the last week being sick, and are glad to be over the sickness. Avery is potty trained now, woo-hoo, and wants to go potty every twenty minutes. Luke is starting to get teeth and has taken a liking to eating cereal. He is really at a fun age where he's starting to make lots of happy faces and noises. He sleeps very well, but both of our kids like to get up early in the morning. Oh well, I guess that's the price we pay for having some quiet time in the evenings.

Here are a couple recent pictures:


Avery helping daddy put the laundry in the washer.





Avery and Rudy on the lawn (covered with fallen leaves).






Luke on the floor in his second favorite spot.







Luke on Ashley's lap (his most-favorite spot)








Avery took her first pony ride at a friend's birthday party a few weeks back.