Back to the usual!

Today was a depressing day in our house...we took all the Christmas decorations down...even the tree.  Daniel helped by taking all the ornaments off the tree and he kept telling me how sad he was that Christmas was over and that we wouldn't see these decorations for another year!  It is kind of sad when you think about it.  But, I guess that's what makes Christmas so special right?

We had a great Christmas season this year.  It's been fun to re-live those Christmas traditions through Daniel and we've even started some new traditions this year.  It's been fun.  We have had quite the year and it feels as though we are ending 2011 appropriately. 

Christmas Eve was spent running around town to every store imaginable getting those last minute food items for Christmas dinner, that roll of tape that you need for that one stinkin' present, and a few more stocking stuffers.  I thought that just maybe we could have a relaxing Christmas Eve...but, no.  It was spent running around like a mad woman trying to get everything done before the Christmas Eve service at church.  I guess that adds a little to the excitement of Christmas?!  The Christmas Eve service was nice at church.  My dad and I sang a song together, which was really special.  It was nice to do something just him and I.  We sang "When Love Was Born" by Mark Shultz.  I have to say, I was SO nervous.  Growing up singing in the church you would think I would be used to it by now, but nope...the nerves still kick in every time!  After the service, we came home, got into our jammies and got back into the car to go look at Christmas lights.  Of course, that HAD to include going the the Jack in the Box drive thru to get hot fries and a drink!  We drove around and looked at lights for a while then headed home to open packages that we had received in the mail.  That's always fun.  We feel so loved and blessed because our family always sends us the most thoughtful gifts.  I always look forward to that. :-)  Once we did that, Daniel went to bed and we stayed up to finish some "last minute" things.  I think we finally went to bed around midnight only to be awaken by a overly-excited 4 year old ready to dig in to what Santa brought him! 



After we spent the morning opening gifts and indulging in cinnamon roll goodness we lazed around and enjoyed spending time together before we headed to my parents' house for Christmas with the family.

All in all, Christmas was great this year.  Teaching Daniel the true meaning of the season we enjoy so much.  Rejoicing in our Savior's birth and being thankful for God's mercy and grace.  We have so much to celebrate around this time of year.

I hope Christmas was great for you all.  I thought I'd include some more pics for your enjoyment!

PJ spending some quality time with daddy.



Daniel and his light-bright masterpiece!

PJ working on a big burp Christmas morning...I think we're feeding him enough...just look at those chubby hands!

Daniel giving PJ his gift from him.  He was so excited to give it to him.  He knew exactly what he wanted to give him for Christmas.  Can you see how much PJ loves his big brother?!

I think PJ is going to have to warm up to the teddy bear...he's not to sure about it yet!

Our biggest and most special gift this year is our PJ

Grandma Marsha sent PJ this hat for Christmas...isn't he a stud in it?!

 Daniel and PJ. 

6 blissful years!

Today, 6 years ago, I married my soul mate, my best friend.  It's hard to believe that it's been 6 years!  There is a lot that has happened in the past six years!  We've had 2 kids, made a few trips to Minnesota, bought a house, bought a couple cars, and changed careers.  There are several other things that we have gone through, some hard, some extremely fun and memorable.  I wouldn't want to go through them with anyone else.  We were truly made for one another and I am SO thankful  that God brought us together back in college 9 years ago.  Happy Anniversary Pooks!

Christmas Time!

As I said in my last post, Daniel sang at the senior center.  My goodness, these kids couldn't get any cuter! I give the teachers tons of credit because these kids aren't always easy to wrangle up.  Daniel was initially standing next to his buddies, but had to be moved because he couldn't keep his hands to himself. :-\   That meant that I had to find a new spot to take pictures because he got moved, which wasn't easy.  I finally found a good spot to sit and take pictures and videos of Daniel, although I probably was in somebody's way. oops.   He sang really good, despite the girl next to him shouting the songs the whole time.  His face was priceless!  I really wanted to post a video of him singing, but it wasn't working.  The video captured him singing a song and yawning and stretching in the middle of it.  It was hilarious! 

Santa Claus surprised all the kids at the end and it was so fun to see their surprise and excitement.  He jingled bells and walked in saying the traditional , "HO! HO! HO!"...Daniel was so shocked!  As you can see in the picture below, Daniel didn't know what to do or say when he meant Santa Claus!

He made sure when it was his turn to meet Santa that he told him what he wanted for Christmas.  He asked me before he sat on his lap if he could ask him for 2 things.  I told him to go for it and give it a try...you never know!  He asked for a Cars 2 movie and Slinkey Dog...let's hope Santa can deliver!! ha! :-)

We've been busy with school, Cubbies, work, and the annual work Christmas parties for work.  It's been fun, but this time of year gets so busy!  Somehow, I'm trying to maintain some sense of routine.  Thankfully, we've been able to maintain our sanity to continue to enjoy this time of year.

Daniel finally was able to feed PJ.  He fed him the whole bottle and did very good!  He's a great big bro!

Since our sugar cookies from last week have lost their satisfaction in this house, we had to make chocolate covered pretzels.  Those have NOT lost their satisfaction! :-)  Daniel was a great helper!  As you can see in the picture, he was the sprinkle king!  I'm sure you can guess which ones he decorated!!

PJ is all smiles lately.  It's so FUN!  He absolutely loves the changing table.  I think it's partially because he loves loves loves to be out of his clothes.  He is one happy boy just hanging around in a diaper.  His smiles have progressed to full-faced, joy-filled smiles and they absolutely are worth the work in getting them sometimes!  He sure is growing and I am holding on tight to each bottle-feed, snuggle session, and diaper change that I can!  It is zipping by already!  Can you believe that he is 10 weeks already? I feel like saying 2 1/2 months is too much for me so I am still hanging on to the weeks!

The two pictures below show his relief and happiness being clothes-free!

I'm going over to my mom's today to make the very sinful Gobs that we make a couple times of year.  Picture this:  soft chocolate patties/cupcake tops filled with creamy white filling....mmmm....such a treat and I lose all will power when it comes to those!  It's an Amish recipe that we have been making for years!  Maybe one day, you can all be honored in having one! ha!

Jingle Bells!

Daniel has been singing Jingle Bells A LOT lately due to his constant practicing at school for their "performance" at the senior citizens center this morning.  It's so cute to hear this sweet voice in the back seat singing along with the Christmas music on the radio in the car.  He truly loves all things Christmas.  He's been daddy's helper hanging lights, trimming the tree, and even doing a little last minute yard work.

Daniel and I made Christmas sugar cookies the other day and let me tell you....Daniel almost needs no help!  He loves to help me bake and cook.  To be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if he turned out to be a chef when he gets older!  And if that means me not having to cook later, yay!

Please excuse the undies. :-\

He's even been a great helper to me. Helping me decorate inside the house. When we were unwrapping the ornaments he kept calling them presents because it was like a suprise was awaiting us every ornament we unwrapped. I have to tell you, he is a great helper and it makes the season even more enjoyable. 

 Here's an ornament we got when we first had Daniel.  Oh how I love Caribou coffee!

Just look at this picture!! This was Daniel's first Christmas!  Isn't he just to die for?!  Ornament courtesy of my amazing mother :-)

PJ has even gotten into the Christmas spirit with his Christmas jammies.  There might just be a slight smile there!

We've been enjoying this Christmas season so much this year.  There is just so much to celebrate and be thankful for!  We've been talking with Daniel a lot lately about what makes Christmas so special and why exactly we are celebrating.  He was so cute the other day.  He was playing with a nativity scene that Grandma Marsha sent us and he took the angel and faced it to Joseph and said, "you are going to have a baby"...I mean, my heart melted.  He didn't know that I was watching and I think he was a little embarrassed when I was like, "Daniel!  Tell Daddy what you just said...it's ok, tell him, tell him!"...haha...It's so neat (AND SCARY) how much he is soaking up and learning and home, school, and church.  It has definitely kept me on my toes, that's for sure! ha!

On a PJ note, we went to San Francisco last week for another Spina Bifida clinic.  He had an ultrasound on his ventricles, his bladder, kidneys, and his hip.  A HUGE PRAISE, his ventricles are remainging stable!! Not shunt so far!! YAY!!  We were so relieved.  As you can imagine, we are on the edge of our seats when it comes to that because we know 80-90% of kids with spina bifida get a shunt.  We are praying constantly that PJ can be that 10% that doesn't need one!  God has a plan for him and if that means getting a shunt, we are ok with that, but it's looking good so far!  His bladder looks great and we are getting all of his urine out when we cath him, which is good.  There is risk for UTI's and kidney damage if we don't empty him out all the way, so we were relieved to know that we are doing it correctly.  On a discouraging note...his left hip is dislocated.  We did have him in a harness for his hip for 4 weeks prior to this ultrasound, so we are very dissapointed about that.  So now he is in a meatier, more aggressive brace that he has to wear 12 hours a day.  He is getting adjusted to it, but it is hard on all of us.  We return to San Fran in 5 weeks to see if it's working and to check on his ventricles.

Please pray for his hip to be corrected with this brace.  If this doesn't work, the next step would be casting or surgery.  We don't want to do either.  We don't know what we would do with out everyone's prayers.  We know that we have tons of prayer warriors out there and there are no amount of words to express our appreciated and love for all of you.  God has been doing amazing things in our lives and we feel so blessed and honored that He would chose Mitch and I to be parent's to these 2 amazing boys.  The days aren't always easy and fun, but there are plenty of moments that make us melt and tear up because we just feel incredibly blessed.  Like I always say, God is GOOD!  I will try to post more frequently than I have been, but it is hard to find the time and also, the pictures take FOREVER to load!  We hope you are enjoying this beautiful time of year!!  God bless.