A Christmas To Remember

Well, we got through another one! This Christmas was full of mixed emotions for our family. With the loss of Smiley and the entrance of Brody, alot of mixed tears have been shed. We can't seem to stop thinking about Mike and are totally enthralled with our new arrival. What a roller coaster! All that said, we have been jam-packed with acitivity. We went to Sheena and Pat's last night for Chili and presents. Everyone made out like bandits! We then returned home to prepare for Santa's arrival. Laynee was up at 4am to announce that Santa had been here. We then "encouraged" her to go back to bed:) A few shourt hours later, we all woke up to a cold and rainy morning. The kids got a new trampoline in hopes of tons of jumping fun. Laynee is our little cowgirl and got a new Furreal Pony named Butterscotch. Maycee was happy to get a new sewing machine so she can craft with mom. She also got a new stereo so she can dance with her friends. Clay got a Green Machine and was quick to be doing brodies in the street. Between the Underarmour and the Football garb, hes totally "covered". T got the long-awaited Ipod Touch and we havent seen him since:) Natalee and I got a few things we wanted and are happy to see all of our kids show their appreciation for this Christmas. After we got done opening presents, we gathered around the picture of Christ and discussed why we give gifts. We all understand that we have received the greatest gift of all in our Savior. How grateful we are to have the knowledge of the Plan of Salvation. We are so happy to be a family. May this season remind all of us why we celebrate Christmas. May you all be as blessed as we are to have you in our lives. We are fortunate to have you in our lives! Thanks for all you do for us and the joy you bring into our lives!

A Time for Growth

Finding time to blog these days is not easy. My hands are usually either holding a baby or washing something. We have had a really good last couple of weeks. It is that time of year again for cross country. Tyler decided a couple of years ago that he wanted to try it out. Come to find out he is a really good runner. He must take after his great uncle. Last week was the regional final meet for middle school. His school competed against 7 other schools with a total of over 150 boys. It was a great race. Tyler took second place and my heart was racing as they came around the final turn. The boy who took first and Tyler had been back and forth with who was leading the entire race. Tyler really wanted to beat him because the other boy had beaten Tyler in two races during the season. We(our family) refers to the other boy as a mountain goat because he is such a good runner and has great endurance. Tyler is more like the gazel with his long strides and speed. Cross country has turned out to be a great sport for Tyler. He has grown a lot during his seasons. In one race Tyler was in the lead and had lapped another boy who, about the time Tyler reached him, had tripped and fallen over something. Tyler stopped running, was passed by other boys who were close behind, and helped the fallen boy back to his feet. T then got back in the race and caught up to all the other boys and ended up taking first place. That was such a great win for him because it carried so much of a life lesson. Tyler was disappointed to not take first place in the final meet but had no bad feeling towards the mountain goat. They have actually struck up a friendship. He has a great story too. When Jerry was talking to his mom she said the boy had been hit in the head with a golf ball when he was young and was not supposed to even ever walk again. The two boys hugged on the winners stand and it was a really special event. Tyler is growing into a really great young man. We are so proud of him!

Brody is doing really well also. Here are a couple of his two month pics. His eyes look to be turning blue and he is smiling when we talk to him. The outfit he is wearing is his Blessing outfit. In our church the Dad's give a blessing to their children shortly after they are born. It is kind of like a dedication in other churches. It is usually done during a church service but we decided to do Brody's at our home. We had several friends come and join us for the occasion and it was a really nice day.

We are now trying to get ready for Christmas. Jerry is trying to get me in the mood but I am just not quite as enthusiastic about all the hoopla as I have been in the past. I really feel an importance to keep it simpe this year and remember the true reason we celebrate this merry holiday. As I look at this baby and think about all of our blessings, I have heart full of gratitude. This has been a really nice week!