Adventures in a New Country

After a very long and tough year my father-in-law has a new job. This job is an answer to prayer. It is almost too good to be true. I say almost because the one drawback to the job is that he will be far away for an entire year. How far away? Half way across the world. That's right he will be in Abu Dhabi for the next year. He will be able to come home a couple times during the course of the year, but it will be tough for my mother-in-law and the rest of the family. The kids are use to seeing Grandpa everyday (they lived across the street from us, up until their recent move in Nov.). We are making great use of technology. Skype has become a new "friend" of ours.

They have only been in Abu Dhabi for a few days, but they are already recognizing what a blessing this job is from God. After hearing a few of their stories we are extremely excited to see how God will use them this year.

My father-in-law has started a blog to keep in touch with family and friends. If you would like to follow his journey here is his blog http://wakefulatmidnight.wordpress.com/ Please pray for the entire family as we all walk this new journey together!

Christmas and Birthday

We had a wonderful Christmas. We enjoyed spending time with family and the gifts were an extra special treat. The boys were so much fun this year. Keegan kept repeating "this is the best Christmas ever." Truitt loved each gift he got. He was so excited about each one that he actually cried when we tried to take it away so he could open the next one. He finally got into it though and had a blast. We consider ourselves very blessed!

We celebrated Truitt's 2nd birthday yesterday. It was a great party with family and friends. When Truitt woke up Sat. morning the first words out of his mouth were "happy." He was trying to tell us that it was Happy Birthday. He then showed Chris how to blow (blow out candles) and immediately pointed to his mouth. He was ready to blow out candles and eat cake.

Today was his actual birthday. We had a great day together as a family just taking it easy.

We love our little man. He is so opinionated. He definitely knows what he wants. Someday that will prove to be a huge asset for him. It is very obvious that he loves his family. I love the little kisses he gives and the big grunts he makes as he trys to squeeze us hard as he hugs us. Most days he asks for Keegan and Daddy first thing when he wakes up from his nap. He loves his cars and balls. He is definitely a little boy! Truitt, I think God for you and can't wait to see what he has in store for you this next year!!! Happy 2nd Birthday, Snugga!!!!!

A quick update...

I know it has been a long time since I have posted anything on my blog. Life just never seems to slow down. I went through a time where I couldn't think of anything worthy of a blog post and then when I could think of things to blog about I couldn't seem to find the time. So, I will just give a quick rundown on a few of the highlights of the last couple of months.



Chris and I were able to get away for a few days, on our first trip without kids. We traveled to Las Vegas with our friends Steve & Keren. It was great to have a little time away, but we sure missed the kids.



Keegan had his Pre-K graduation. We are very proud of him. He will be attending the same school again next year, God willing. He has learned so much this last year. He is learning to read and is almost at a 1st grade learning level.



There are many new developments in our family, but I don't have the time or energy to type them all out. My sister-in-law wrote a great post about our current situation. You can read it here.

Fun at the Zoo

After the boys got their haircut on Friday we went to the zoo. Our good friends, Weston, Susan, Thatcher and Ava met us there. It was a very beautiful Feb. day (those are rare around here). The kids enjoyed just hanging out.

Superbowl

We spent Superbowl Sunday (after church, of course) at our friends Steve & Keren's house. It was a nice day just visiting with a few friends. We wish the outcome of the game had been different, but there's not much we can do about that.

Keren got a new camera for her birthday and has been having fun playing around with it. Here are a few pictures she took of us.

Clams

We had a great time at the ocean last week! We hadn't been out to Chris' grandparent's house in way too long. The boys did amazing on the 2 hour drive, the weather was wonderful (dry and not too cold). We really needed that time away as a family. Here are a few pictures of us digging for clams and enjoying time with Chris' grandparents. I will spare you the pictures of us cleaning the clams. Wow! Those creatures are nasty. I had to keep reminding myself that God thinks they are beautiful :)

Cold Day

We don't usually get much snow around here, so when we do we have to cease the opportunity for a little fun outside. Chris and Keegan had fun playing in the snow.

Later in the day, Chris and Keegan baked cookies. Now, those of you who know my husband know that he doesn't cook. So, don't fall off your chairs. It was dough that we purchased at the store. All they had to do was roll it out and use cookie cutters to cut out the shapes. Then Keegan and I decorated them later in the evening.

Family

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with my family. We all ate too much food and then worked it off on the wii. The kids (and adults) enjoyed making gingerbread houses too.

Thankful!

Thank you God for my family! I am so blessed to have a husband that loves me and provides for our family. I couldn't have asked for a better husband and father. I love to watch Chris interact with our boys. He loves them so much and it shows in the way he cares for and plays with them. Both boys adore their daddy.

God has also blessed me with the cutest boys! It is so much fun to watch them grow and explore new things. My heart melts as I watch Keegan learn more about God and who He is. He is doing an amazing job with Bible memorization. He leans versus at school and at Awana. His memory blows me away. He hears a Bible story once and he retains everything he heard. I can't wait for Truitt to be a little older and watch as Keegan is able to pass some of his knowledge on to his little brother.

Thank you God for my family! You have blessed us beyond what we deserve. Help me to never take my family for granted.