Tent from Aunt Amy

One of the gifts that the kids got for Christmas was this cool tent from Aunt Amy- Chris's sister. The kids absolutely love it! The other day I put it up and we spent almost the entire day, and the two days after, in it. We read books, played with Mrs. Potato Head, read books, played with cars and read books.

Amy, this was a GREAT gift! Thank you for giving it to the kids. Know that we think about you whenever we use it!

Landon

On December 28, 2009 I became an aunt, again! My brother and his wife had their second son, Landon Arrington. I don't remember exact stats, but I think that he weighed in around 7lbs! He is so cute!!
Congratulations, Brent and Quinn! I hope that the transition to two kiddos is going as smooth as possible. Can't wait to see you all again soon.

Festival of Lights

One of the Christmas gifts that Jonathan and Catherine received was an annual pass to the Denver Zoo. (Thanks to Grammy and Granddaddy!!) Included in the pass were tickets to the Annual Festival of Lights at the Zoo- it takes place around Christmas up until a few days after the new year. So, on a very chilly (a mere 30 degrees) Sunday evening we headed down to see all the lights at the zoo. We had a grand time walking around AND riding on the carousal. On the way out we did get to see the hippo and elephants since they have an inside exhibit.

I think that this was Jonathan and Chris standing in front of the elephant... but obviously you can't see the animal behind them!! he he

Decorating the Christmas Tree

Well, we did have a Christmas tree last year (I know it's March and I am still posting Christmas pictures. he he)... and we did decorate it. I am not sure if we will do it again next year or not. Though, we had fun decorating it, but in the process the kids broke a number of them (and broke more throughout the Christmas season. :-) ) The decorations that we own are the decorations that my parents gave me every year growing up- so there are sentiments attached to them. Despite that, again, we all had a great time decorating the tree: Catherine was more interested at times in playing with my cell phone

Winter Festival

Right before Christmas, our church had a German winter festival. There were brats, beer, german hot spiced wine, vendors offering ideas for gifts and a petting "zoo." (It was advertised as a zoo, but it was more of a few animals in a small tent. ) Never the less, Jonathan LOVED it! We spent the evening with our friends Adam and Nicole and their kiddos. Father Matt (the only priest in the picture) joined us as well for part of the night.

Emma (Adam and Nicole's oldest daughter) and Sarah (their youngest daughter) petting the pony.


Here we are standing next to the donkey. Catherine wasn't so sure about the animals to start off with, but immediately after this picture the donkey picked Catherine up by her coat hood... she didn't want anything to do with the animals after that!

Jonathan LOVED the petting "zoo." He held a chicken and touched all the other animals: pony, donkey, sheep and goat. After about an hour we literally had to drag him out. (Honestly, in this picture he is just petting the goat.)

Thanksgiving Trip

Yes, you read the title correctly! I never posted pictures from Thanksgiving or Christmas!! So, here we go...

We decided that we would venture out to Illinois, where Chris's family resides, for Thanksgiving. Since we have our minivan and all, we thought it was a great time to make the trip! And, it was perfect. The weather was beautiful, having the extra space in the minivan was awesome... but was even better was the DVD player we have in the van. On the way out the kids did great. They had fun with all of their toys and books, but by the return trip they (and me) were ready to the be out of the car. To be honest, it was one video after another on the way home- it was a life saver!

We began our trip on a sunny Sunday morning after church. Jonathan happily dug through the box of books we brang and kept himself busy for quite some time.Catherine was great too. She wanted toys every once in awhile, but was content looking out the window and holding her little blanket.Before we ventured to Illinois, we made a stop in Kentucky- for about 24 hours- to see some of my extended family. My grandmother had yet to meet Catherine (her only granddaughter as of yet).We also got to spend time with my cousin and her two boys, Zachary and Blaine. The kids got along so well with each other!Then, we were in the car again for a four hour drive from Morganfield, KY to Savoy, IL. The kids were happy and looking foward to seeing Grandma Mary and Grandpa Dave!It was so great getting to spend time with Chris's parents. It is fun seeing how excited they get to play with the kids. Grandma Mary read lots and lots and lots of books to Jonathan! (Grandma Mary is a VERY VERY good children's book reader)We also got to celebrate Grandma Mary's birthdayJonathan and his cousin, Samantha, waiting to dig into Grandma's birthday cake. Chris's sister made a German chocolate cake... and it was delicious!!Jonathan and his cousin, Emily, reading books. Emily was so good to Jonathan. Again, all of the cousins played so well together during our 4 day stay. (Which was nice because there were 7 adults and 7 kiddos staying under one roof together for 3 days)Last but not least, we celebrated Thanksgiving while in Savoy. There were all the fixin's! The meal was scrumptious and dessert delicious. As you can see, Cole, Chris's nephew, is diving into his 4th piece of pumpkin pie. :-) The only little hiccup in the day was that Jonathan threw up on the table just as everyone had gotten their food. It happens... he he

Finally (though, no pictures unfortunately), on our way home we stopped in St. Louis. My sister and her husband (as of October) are currently living on Scott Air Force Base. We were able to stay there for a night and hangout with them on Sunday before we headed back to Denver.

Thank you to all of our wonderful family for welcoming us so warmly! It was great to see you all and spend so much time with you. We truly appreciate your love. We look forward to seeing you all again soon.

Sickness and Holiness: they really do go hand and hand

So, back at the beginning of January I caught a really bad (and fairly long) cold. And, this wasn't your normal "cold." This particular cold knocked me (and the rest of my family) out for days at a time! But, close to the end of my cold, Catherine and Jonathan caught the cold. At the end of those colds, Jonathan got a double ear infection- due to the cold. As he finished the 10 days dosage of antibiotics Catherine got the cold again! A couple of days after she got it, Chris got it (had to stay home from work for 3 days) and Jonathan got it AGAIN. I thought I was in the clear as I was drinking LOTS of o.j. and taking lots of vitamins, but I got it again. This past weekend Jonathan got his second ear infection. We spent a couple of hours in the Urgent care down the road on Sunday. Luckily, we got some new medication and he is on the mend. It appears that we are all on the mend and doing a lot better. WHEW!!

It has been 4 weeks of sickness in our household. Believe me when I say that I can't wait to get back into a normal routine, hangout with friends and clean my house. These past four weeks have been extremely trying with all the fussiness, all the medications, all the extremely early bedtimes and not sleeping well at nights. But, I was reminded by a friend of mine that this apart of my vocation- taking care of my family when it is not easy, or fun. It is ,most especially, in times like these God is offering me the opportunity to grow in holiness and experience His Peace and Love. I am just hoping that I took Him up on the opportunity and that I am a better person because of it.

Thanks for reading!