Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

We are all safely in Seattle for the Holiday Season. We were sad to say goodbye to Chicago, but we're all excited to see what God has in store for San Diego.

All our Love,

Matt, Nicole & Jackson

P.S. Jackson wasn't having any of Santa this year- oh noooooo. It was pretty funny actually, but not for him. :)

Big Changes for the Rife's

This has been an amazing past couple of months for us. We have been tested and blessed so much. On October 18th, Matt decided to get baptized

up at the Great Lakes Church in Kenosha, WI. Our dear friend, Dave Nelson, was the person who baptized Matt and we were so blessed to be able to

have him do the honors. I got most of the baptism on video, but bear with me and the poor cinematography.

After prayer, discussion and weighing the pros and cons, Matt and I have decided to continue with our service in the US Navy. I say "our" service

, because I have been and will continue to be alongside Matt for each step of his journey in the Navy. We have taken orders to San Diego in

December and because of the last minute decision to continue with the military, we were not given much time between signing orders and moving. I

had to give my notice for the middle of the school year at the school that I have made my home for the past three years. I love teaching at Madison

School and I will miss it so much, but I know that the best decision is for Jackson and I to follow Matt wherever he goes. After Matt made Chief in

September, it was too much to walk away from, and we really had to look at how we could best provide for our family in the future. With the economy

the way it has been lately, we couldn't put our hopes in Matt getting a job in the civilian world. While the decision was a difficult one to make, and I am

so sad to leave my home of Chicago, we both are at peace and know that we are trusting in what the Lord has to offer for our lives. Please continue

to pray for us and all of the transitions we have in the next few months.

Following the Rife's on YouTube

Hello Again All- We continue to use our amazing digital camcorder and I want to give everyone the option of viewing them all or only a select few. Here is the link for my channel on youtube (copy and paste this into your browser):

http://www.youtube.com/user/nikahrife

You can "subscribe" to it, which will let you know when I upload new videos, therefor you don't have to check all the time. I hope this is helpful to some, or all.

We are uploading videos of playing with Jackson as I type. So glad to have a MacBook!! :)

Love to all,

Nicole, Matt & Jackson

Videos of the Rife Family

Here are a few videos of our life lately. Jackson has been a delight, learning to say more words and do more things on his own. Matt finished up the six-week long Season to be initiated into the Chief's Mess of the US Navy and I thought we would share some of these things with all of you.

My user name on youtube.com is 'nikahrife'. There are lots of videos on there as well.

As Promised...

Here are a few more pictures of our summer. I didn't have access to all of my pictures last night. A new hit at our place this summer has been the Snuggie. I used one at my mom and dad's house in Seattle and had to get one right away. It might be warm here in Chicago, but Matt keeps the house CHILLY so I've used it all summer. I've included a pic of Matt and I on the couch with my Snuggie on. It provides such versatility, as you can see, I'm able to change the channel on the TV, blog on my laptop and be near my Sweetie. Awesome.

:) Nicole

Busy Lives

Hello Everyone! We are back for a quick update. The Rife Family has been very busy this past couple of months. We all visited Sun River, OR for a week with G-Pa and G-Ma Dime, Uncle Josh and Aunt Nette and then Jackson and I stayed for another week in Seattle to see some more family. Grandma Binkley flew back to Chicago with us and stayed for three weeks, completing July for us. It was a WONDERFUL visit and we are still talking about "Gramma" (one of Jackson's many new words). I went back to meet Kindergartners at the end of July and fell full-time into the school year first week of August. Monday will be my first Institute Day with my colleagues and Wednesday will be the official first day of school. I am posting a link for my Snapfish.com album with a few pictures of my classroom for this Fall. I applied for a technology grant in May and was approved to have a SMART Board installed into my classroom. I've been hard at work creating interactive lessons that I can share with my Kindergartners this year. What a fabulous resource!

I can't believe how fast the summer goes with a toddler under your feet. Jackson learned to walk and now run in July, and he is learning new words each day.

As if we couldn't feel blessed enough, Matt made Chief at the end of July. We have been planning to exit from the Navy in November of this year, but with very few jobs available right now, and such a huge promotion... we are starting to think twice about that decision.

Enjoy a few pictures of our busy life and hopefully I'll be more diligent with keeping it updated in the future.

SNAPFISH ALBUM: http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=1844903009/a=58660421_58660421/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/All our love,

Nicole, Matt & Jackson

June with the Rife's

Next month we will be in Seattle and Sun River, Oregon.  I thought I would share a few of the videos of our life together here in Chicago.  They are rather uneventful, but full of joy, laughter and blessings.

We miss you all.

Jackson Turned 1!

I'm sorry it's taken me so long to get back on the blog, but my life pretty much stops from late May to early June as I wait for the end of the school year.  Now I am officially a "stay-at-home-mommy" for the next six weeks before I go back to work in August.  I am loving each day with my sweet Boo, but I'm also seeing WHY this is considered a full-time job of it's own! 

On May 9th we had Jackson's first birthday party.  It was a monumental event and Jackson loved the chance to play with some of the other kids.  We were so touched by the outpouring and love that everyone showed.  Mom and Dad made the trip out from Seattle, but even if they hadn't, we would have known how loved we are from all of our "Chicago Family".  Here are a couple of short videos of Jackson's first birthday.  One is of him eating his gluten-free eclaire, but he wasn't all that fond of it so we just gave him watermelon instead.  The other one is of Jackson opening some of his gifts and his friend Olivia giving him a hand.  Enjoy!

Visiting Seattle

Hello All! I have been extremely busy lately and haven't had time to sit down and update the blog since coming back from our visit to Seattle last month. Jackson and I traveled alone for the first time and it was quite an experience. We were blessed to have met Kathie on our flight to Seattle- she is truly our United Airlines Angel. She sat next to J and I and helped me tremendously with a fussy baby on the long flight. I was almost in tears but she helped calm everyone (including me) down. Here is a picture of J on Kathie's lap (unfortunately Kathie didn't get in the picture herself).
Jackson and I did the best we could to see everyone, but as always it seemed like the time was too short. I was able to surprise Bethus at her bridal shower- that was a treat!


Jackson really enjoyed his time with his new cousin, Boe. He was laughing and crawling all over the place at G-ma and G-pa's house. Boe is so gentle with Jackson and truly loves him. We visited Picnic Point to see some of my friends. It was so nice! Jackson got to read a story with Joy and of course he cuddled with Fiona. We visited with Matt's family as well and then left in as big a hurry as we had arrived. Jackson has been very sick this week with some sort of a virus. High fever, vomiting, a horrible cough and of all things... pink eye! :( It's been a long week. I hope to have a little more free time next week and hopefully a healthy baby. All our love,
Nicole, Matt & Jackson

Happy Easter! :)

Make a Smilebox greeting

The Ultimate Gift

This is the first Easter Sunday since I became a mother last May.  I see the holiday in a different light this year.  While I have always been emotionally touched by God the Father's gift of His son for our salvation, I now see the price that Jesus' mother Mary gave as well.  I look at my sweet Jackson and I cannot believe that some day he will be a man.  I cannot imagine the pain Mary felt as she watched her beloved boy go through his persecution and death.  I pray that you have a wonderful Easter and reflect on the ultimate gift we were given.  God bless.

Love,

Nicole

First Visit to the Park!

Today we took Jackson to the park for the first time! It was so much fun watching him giggle (and cry) with all of the new adventures experienced. We tried the swing and the slide. Jackson was talking and looking at everything on the way to the park. He used to sleep, but he is a little man now, and not an infant any longer.

Update from the Rife's

We've been very busy this past month at the Rife household. I'm getting ready to take Jackson home (Seattle) with me on March 21st for a week. It's my spring break from school and the airline tickets were too cheap to pass up. Then the two of us will be back in April for Bethany's wedding. Can't wait for that! Jackson is eating everything in sight (while still avoiding dairy, wheat and sugar) and he's eager to play with all of the toys that are quickly becoming our new home decor. We are loving being parents and can't wait for G-Ma and G-Pa Dime to come visit in May to see our life now. It has changed a lot in a year.

Jackson's Tantrum

Some people think that Jackson is always happy and never fussy- this is clearly not the case. Enjoy :)

Chad and Rian are visiting!

Our Lives Have Changed

This time two years ago I was posting pictures of a St. Patrick's Day party at an Irish pub here in Chicago. Now we are cheering and jumping up and down because Jackson is taking those first crawls (inching more like). Our lives have changed, and our reasons for joy have changed, but we are loving every second of it.
Here are two new videos of our life. The first one is Jackson crawling for the first time! We were so excited that I think we scared him- screaming and jumping up and down. The second one is just our life. Sitting around, playing and laughing. I love our life. It's also a peek at Matt's amazing filming skills.
Love to all of you!

Talking Up A Storm

Jackson is starting to talk- a lot. He calls anything and anyone "Da-Da", and will occassionally say "Ma-Ma" or "Ki-Ki" for Sox. He's becoming much more capable with his motor skills and is constantly trying to "figure out" his toys. He's a bright little boy and we are enjoying watching him develop so nicely.