Belated Blog: Rich's First Father's Day

This is so late... But we had such a wonderful father's day. We drove about 30 minutes to Pahi Beach, home of the largest fig tree in the southern hemisphere. Here are some pictures of our great day!

My friend Kayla and me hanging out in the tree

Rich and Isi way up in the tree...

So Kayla and I had to try

Perfect little family of three! 

Benjamin turns 1!!!

Benjamin is ONE!! 

What a great day we had as I spent the day with my mom getting ready for his party. He had his first cream cheese and apricot jelly sandwich. So fun to be back with family for his big day even if I was still a bit jetlagged! 


His birthday night we had a SPIDERMAN theme birthday! Spiderman masks, tshirt, plate and bowl, balloon, banner, table cloth.... you know the works( me and Grammy might have got a little carried away ;) 

The night was so fun since it was the first time my brothers and all our families were together since we got home from New Zealand. So wild to see our kids get to play together. 

Avery loves Benjamin!So sweet! 


He liked to opening presents... 

But not as much as the cupcake which he swiftly crammed straight into his mouth! 

A birthday well spent! 

My first Mother's Day!

So odd to have had mother's day not only away from my mom but then to have a little one to be a mom to! It was a very low key day. All the students were gone on their free weekend and so we have a quiet morning on base.  Benjamin was such a happy boy and gave me loves all day. Here are some pics from our little family playing in the field.

We Made It!!!

We made it with flying colors! The flights went fantastic! We left Portland at 1:17pm and flew to San Francisco. Benjamin did great on his first flight and seemed more enamored than afraid. The flight with Air New Zealand was probably the best flight I have ever been on. We got a baby bassinet for Benjamin to sleep in and we didn’t have to sit next to anyone, which meant an open seat for better sleeping! Amazing! The attendants were so friendly: we got free diapers, wipes, bottom cream and baby food for the flight…. can you believe that? We made friends with the other parents (they have all the bassinets together) and we even got invited to a birthday party at the end of this month here in New Zealand. We made it through customs without a hitch (mostly, we lost our turkey jerky).

Mary picked us up at the airport and then we were off to the base. We drove through Auckland and the countryside; let me tell you, the pictures don’t do it justice! It is breathtaking and you have to come visit! Once at the base we went straight to our new home. We found a sweet note, two cans of L&P and two Moro bars. I think Moro bars are my new favorite candy bar!  Our house is a two-story, two-bedroom house- such a blessing!! We have a living room and a small kitchen downstairs and then upstairs are the two bedrooms and the bathroom. It needs some love and some homeying up but I am up for the challenge! My favorite room is our bedroom- it is kind of loft like and has four windows overlooking the field and hillside! I will try to take pictures soon, but we are still settling in.

The people have been so warm and friendly. Robbie and Julia, some of the base leaders, have been so great about walking me through life on the base with a baby. They have three kids of their own. We laugh often since we find ourselves re-explaining phrases or words. Nappi= diaper. Trolley= shopping cart. It’s the little things J

 Benjamin has already stolen the hearts of everyone on base. He really is a character. He flirts with all the girls, which they love. We already have many offers for babysitting- woohoo!

The staff have been so understanding as we get settled and regain our footing. It looks like we will ease into our jobs next week, but we are still defining and talking about what exactly that will look like.

I feel like I could tell you all so many things, but for now I need to unpack some more and enjoy the sunshine!

Christmas

We had such a great Christmas! We went to my parents for Christmas eve! Here are some pictures!

Our Christmas morning was wonderful and low key! Then we went to the Lodges for dinner!

Thanksgiving

This year was such a blast! There is something about having a baby that makes each holiday seem more and more fun... Benjamin slept through the actual dinner but we had a great day at my parents! Food, wine, football, Wii bowling and the ELF! The perfect day!

 First family Thanksgiving

 So thankful for these handsome men in my life!
They bring incredible joy and both have the ability to light up my day! 

Thankful for God's amazing and constant provision of food into our lives! And my dad's ability to cook amazing things! 

 So glad I am married to Richard! He continues to love, serve and bless me!

Thankful for a family that loves and supports us!

Thankful for the cutest kid in the world! 

Playing with his Great Gram!

Jammie time with Avery! 

Benjamin Silas Flamm!!

After much waiting he is here! 

Born June 23rd 

1:56am

7 lbs. 2 oz. 

20 inches long

Our First Christmas!!

Last Christmas break reunited with Linda.

After much anticipation we finally got our Christmas together. Last year I spent the later half of Christmas in Seattle airport waiting for my plane to go to Alaska to reunite with Linda and this incredible man Richard. Little did I know what would come of that trip and the months that followed. Even then his sweet and loving heart shown through as he patiently talked on the phone with me while I waited three hours for my flight. He didn't want me to have to be alone on Christmas. So this Christmas was much celebrated. Our first ever Christmas together! And a joyous time it was! 


Christmas Eve day we hung out with some of our friends. Ian and Madde were a blast and being around kids reminds us to stay young and lighthearted! We made sugar cookies which ended up being quite the wonderful mess. We then headed home for a quiet evening of hot cocoa and reminiscing of Christmas growing up. By the light of the tree we remembered the past and dreamed together of what our little family will do. 


Christmas morning was so surreal. You really know you are married when you wake up with just the two of you on Christmas. It was so great! We opened stocking and our awesome handmade gifts for each other. I had found some Tim Tams ( a popular New Zealand cookie) for Rich and we together did the Tim Tam Slam. My first time- it is kinda of hard to explain. The cookie has a creme filling and you suck hot cocoa through the cookie like a straw and then plop the whole thing in your mouth where it instantly disintegrates into chocolatey goodness! We laughed so hard as I had chocolate all over my mouth. 

We then headed to my parents for family lunch. Nick and Andrea came with Avery and of course Mom and Dad were there. We had much laughter around a spread of food that was fantastic. After eating we got to skype with Rob, Corrie, Grace and Justice. It was so great to see there faces and get to share Christmas with them even with the distance. It made me realize just how much Rich and I will need to utilize Skype when we go to New Zealand! The rest of the day was low key with worship and naps and lots of laughter. 


Rich and I ended the night by watching Elf though I fell asleep part way through. I seriously couldn't have asked for a better Christmas!