Saturday, January 26, 2013

Our Year

We had a great 2012.  It was busy and we had some unexpected turn of events, but overall we were very blessed.  I wanted to capture a little bit of our year so that I can remember it all someday!
 
                                             January
                                  Luke received 2nd place in his Cub Scout pinewood derby race.
 

 
                                                                        February:
    Luke turned 8 years old on February 5 and was able to celebrate with both family and friends.

                             We had very little snow last winter, so this was a rare treat for the kids.

                                                                             March:
                                    We had an open house to celebrate my grandpa's birthday. 
It was warm enough to go to the park with cousins and even play in the lake a little.
                 Grandpa made pinewood derby cars for the kids and they had fun at a local race.
                    We spent part of our spring break with Grandpa & Grandma in NW Iowa.

                                                                              April
                                                        In their Sunday best for Easter.
                       A group picture after hunting for Easter eggs at Grandpa & Grandma's house.

                                                                              May
                                                                          Tulip Time
                            Mother's Day with my blessings (and the hanging plant they gave me).
                       We got a trampoline this summer and surprisingly no one got injured.
                                                Reagan played softball again and loved it!
 
June
              We went camping with family.  It was HOT! The kids had fun playing and getting muddy.
                                                    We spent a fun day at Adventureland.
                                               Drew & Lauren celebrated their 4th birthday.
                                                          We took a fun trip to the cabin.
       We took another camping trip with friends.  Once again it was HOT, so we spent an afternoon  at                                                                            the beach.
 
This was a memorable but not super fun part of our summer.  After being gone for an extended weekend we came back to water all over our kitchen/main floor and pouring into our basement.  A valve on the main floor toilet broke and flooded our house.  We had to have our kitchen completely torn out along with lots of fans to dry carpets in the living room and play room.  Our basement had to be torn down to the studs and new ceilings, walls and flooring put in.  We lived on our top floor of our house for the entire summer.  The entire project did not get done until right before school began.  On the plus side, we have a brand new kitchen!

                                                                               July
                    Reagan had another surgery to correct her droopy eyelid.  This one was a success!
                                                    We celebrated the 4th with fireworks.
                                 We stayed cool having fun on the slip & slide with cousins.
                                                   The kids took swimming lessons again.
                           Ryan & Luke flew to OshKosh, Wisconsin with Mike to an air show.
 
August
              We went to the cabin again and spent time with friends on the way back through.
                                            Drew found the Iowa State Fair quite stinky.:)
                                                              Lucas started 3rd grade.
                                                              Reagan is a 1st Grader.
We attended a Cubs game.
 
September
Drew & Lauren began 4 year old preschool.
We also went camping with my extended family over Labor Day, but I must not have taken any pictures!

                                                                          October
          We enjoyed a beautiful fall.  The bigs started climbing the tree in the front yard a lot.


   We also went trick or treating, but that picture is on the i-pad and I'm not sure how to get it off.:(

                                                                          November
We celebrated the baptism of our new niece & cousin.  The kids had fun on this big swing at the luncheon.
   Luke & Ryan went on an overnight to the SAS museum in Omaha where he got to sleep in a plane
                                          We celebrated Thanksgiving with family in O.C.
 
December
Reagan turned 7.  We celebrated with a joint party with Jaren.
                   We had a huge blizzard which resulted in 13 inches of snow and 2 snow days!
     We had a wonderful time celebrating the birth of Jesus.  What a great way to end the year!
 
                                                                        Happy 2013!

Sunday, December 23, 2012

The True Reason



We were able to attend 3 Christmas programs put on by the 4 kids.  Luke & Reagan had their school ones the beginning of December.  They both did an excellent job and put everyone in the mood for Christmas.  The following weekend all the kids participated in our church Christmas program.  This past week, Drew & Lauren had a little program at school.  Lauren was an angel and Drew was a shepherd.  You can't beat a group of 3 & 4 year olds singing Christmas praises! What a blessing to be reminded of the real reason for the Christmas season, the birth of Jesus.





Wednesday, December 12, 2012

She's Golden

Reagan celebrated her 7th Birthday on December 7.  She continues to be a go-getter, and has a very sweet spirit.  She cares about others and is a great help to her younger brother and sister.  She loves school and it comes easy for her, which is such a blessing.  She is very social and loves art and music.  We are hoping to get her in piano lessons soon.  When she grows up she wants to be an art teacher, although this morning she asked me if girls could be President.  When I told her they could, but we had never had one, she said she was going to be the President someday.  I just wouldn't put it past her!  We are so thankful that Reagan is a part of our family and can't wait to see where God leads her.