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| We did a smaller Christmas tree this year, but that didn't stop Santa from coming! |
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| My little Christmas Rabbid...love those two front teeth! |
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| These boys love this John Deere! |
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| Christmas stocking with goodies |
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| Our photogenic Chase |
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| Pop and Gabriel on Thanksgiving Day |
Happy 2014 to all of my family and friends! Time sure is not stalling as we’re already two
weeks into this new year. We ended 2013
with a peaceful Christmas spent with family.
When I say “peaceful,” I don’t mean that it wasn’t noisy and a little
hectic at times with the typical hustle and bustle you get with a 4 year-old
and 20 month-old. However, it was just
nice to spend time with family, to veg out a little, and to have some time away
from the daily grind of work (and school for Chase). Most of all, it was nice to reflect on all of
the blessings another year brought.
Chase and Gabe are by far two of the biggest blessings in my
life. Spending time with them is one of
the greatest gifts life has to offer.
Although I tried not to spoil them and shower them with too many toys
over Christmas, the rest of the family made up for whatever I didn’t get
them. They have more toys than I know
what to do with and they have no excuse to be bored. It still blows my mind how Gabe would rather
play with all of my Tupperware containers than the many toys he has scattered
throughout the house. I recall my
sisters and I doing the same when we were kids.
Now that we’re in the dead of winter, the days are too short and cold
most of the time for us to spend much time outdoors, so all of these toys (and
Tupperware) come in handy to break up the monotony of being indoors.
So far, this winter has been unpredictable with the fluctuating
weather. We’ve already had a 70 degree-day
in January with temperatures in the teens and 20’s less than a week prior to
that. We’ve all had minor colds, but no
major illnesses (praise God) in spite of the varying temperatures. Both boys are still healthy and growing. The only doctor visit we have scheduled for
the future is Gabriel’s 2-year check-up (not until April), and hopefully we can
steer clear of doctors otherwise.
Along those lines, I wish all of you a healthy conclusion to
this winter. The next time I type a blog
update, I hope we’ll be getting ready to kick off springtime! Chase is already planning his birthday
party. He doesn’t realize that April is
still a few months away. No sooner did
Christmas end did he begin asking about Easter and his birthday. He continues to do well in school and has the
best handwriting in his class. He’ll
soon enough grasp the concept of time. J
Some highlights from the holidays:
-
Chase’s school play at FOEC was amazing! Chase and his classmates dressed up as
Christmas toys (Chase was a Power Ranger), and the whole point of the play was
to emphasize that Christmas isn’t about anything materialistic—that it’s about
celebrating the birth of our Savior. The
music was so cute and the kids did a fantastic job.
-
Tim and I got to go to the range with my dad and try
out Tim’s new Christmas gift (a Beretta).
Afterwards, we had a few hours to ourselves at Wal-Mart and ChickFilA…yep,
we sure know how to have a romantic day to ourselves!
-
Gabriel is starting to say “Mom,” but the way he says
it is hilarious. He sounds like Cartman
from South Park
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Tim fixed Chase’s John Deere Gator that had been out of
order for quite some time.
-
Laurie and Ken got married on December 29th—Congrats
to the newlywed Stephens! Gabriel was a
total mess at their reception and kept running back into the kitchen area of
the restaurant.
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Chase and Bella had many fun outings, including
ChickFilA, Christmastown at Busch
Gardens
Of course, there will be more highlights in 2014 to share in
the future. In the meantime, whether
your new year has started out good or bad, make the most of the new beginnings
God gives you.
“Great is His faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each
morning.” –Lamentations 3:23
