The greatest gift- (more pictures added)

Spending time with family often encompasses the whole realm of emotions.  From aggravating and uncomfortable to enjoyable and entertaining, I wouldn't give it up for the world.  We attended Christmas Eve service with my parents and it was one of the best eve services we've been to.  The girls were great and we got to dress them up in their new Christmas dresses.  Christmas Day we had our own little family Christmas as soon as the girls were up which included singing Happy Birthday to Jesus, gifts, stockings, and allowing the dogs to open their gifts.  Morganne is now definitely old enough to enjoy opening presents and though there weren't the big surprise moments every parent hopes for, it was still fun to watch her get excited.  Her biggest reaction- a new Elmo toothbrush- go figure! :cP  After our time together we then headed to Nana and Grandad's for breakfast and opened their gifts.  Justin and I were blown away by some generous gifts and are very blessed by my parent's.  Justin, for years has asked my mom to make him a kilt.  Yes, a kilt.  It's Justin....  Anyhow, she never has gotten around to it and frankly never believed he was serious- even though I knew he was.  This year she came close and got him a kilt beach towel.  See picture below.  It was quite funny and he was pretty excited about it.  So, if you ever invite us to a swimming party or to the beach- watch out! :c)
Then it was time to head up north to Phil and Sue's house.  They are kind of like my Mom's cousins, though not technically related.  Long time family friends that are always involved in family get-togethers with Phil's mom, Wanda.  She's like a second grandmother to me.  After dinner we then headed back to my Grandfather's with my Uncle Ed, cousin Kacee, and Aunt Becky and Ken.  (We are so excited that we've gotten to see Becky and Ken twice in 3 months!!!  When it's usually only once a year.  I really wish they lived closer...) More presents were opened and then started the bitter-sweet part of this year's Christmas.  We stayed the night up at Grandpa's house along with my mom, Aunt Becky and Uncle Ken.  Since Becky and Ken were in town, it was a time that she and my mom could begin going through Grandma's things and begin the cleaning and sorting process that comes when someone passes.  It was truly a trip through memory lane for them.  Some moments were fun, like finding old toys that Grandpa had made.  Morganne loved playing with a table and chairs that he had made my mom for her Barbie dolls when she was young.  Some moments were exhausting, like cleaning all of the crap and numerous duplicate items out of closets and dressers.  (My grandparent's were children of the depression and anything that could be used again was kept or recycled.  Not true hoarders, but this is definitely where I get the "collecting" gene....)  Then there were moments of sadness as we found a few letters that Grandma had written.  Some were letters to people that were never sent, but some were letters to God.  My grandparents were never very close to us, they lived over an hour away and really kept their distance.  We saw them at all the big functions, and family dinners but they were definitely not part of our everyday life.  Consequently, I don't think we really got to know their inner selves.  But then again how often do we really get to "know" people's inner selves and they would never have shared these things with anyone.  I loved reading them because it gave be a better sense at who my grandmother was and what she thought about.  It was true encouragement to me to see her writing to God.  I know even more now that she is with Him and that is the greatest gift she could ever have given me.  One of the letters was also very special to me.  It was a letter that Grandma had apparently written to me about 15 years ago but never sent.  What a treasure.  It definitely made me step back and have a moment.  I've included the letter she wrote to me, it's a bit difficult to decipher her writing, but basically she is telling me how much she loved me and how special I was to her.  What a gift!  It was truly a great Christmas!

And now for some pictures....

Christmas morning...

The now infamous kilt.  Sometimes it's scary being with both of them in the same room... :cP

Ufkes and Bonneau dinner

more pictures....

Cousin Kacee entertaining Morganne

 Aunt Becky and Nana building Morganne's new toy...  and to think that Aunt Becky knows how big our house is- where exactly are we going to put this toy!!!!  :cP

 Daddy, promptly getting stuck in Morganne's new toy!

Great-Grandpa playing playdoh with Morganne

 Taking a moment for fun entertainment when a toy was found in all of the "stuff" that was being sorted.

More happenings of in the last few weeks for us:
During a Daddy day, Morganne and Justin built a gingerbread house!  Justin said that more candy went in her mouth than on the house but it still looked great when they were finished!

 After one of the last snow storms, a snowman was formed in our front yard by this adorable pair.  And thanks to secret Nana, it got decorated too!!  Suprise! 

 And lastly, an adorable Christmas picture of Kaelynn.  Oh, she makes me smile :c). 

Hug those you love and tell them what they mean to you.  Life is short and oh so fragile.  Make it mean something.

Kaelynn's 9 mos. wellness visit

Kaelynn had her 9 month wellness check last week and she is perfect!  She weighed in at 17lbs. 12oz (29%) and 28 inches (65%).  I believe she is actually down about a half pound do to being sick last week and not wanting to eat for about 3 days.  (Last week's illness visit she was just under 18.5 lbs. fully dressed.)  It's very hard to believe that Morganne at 6 months old weighed 18lbs already!  We haven't taken our Christmas pictures yet so here is another from Thanksgiving that I thought was cute.  She is a very happy little girl. Definitely a Mommy's girl and not as laid back as Morganne was, but very happy and flirts with everyone- as long as they don't try to take her from her Mom or Dad.  Which is ok with us! :cP  She gives high fives, is starting to sign "dogs" when she sees the dogs, and is beginning to say "dadada" and "mamama" though not reliably yet :c)  The other day we discovered that she is starting to try and mimic sounds, like when the dogs bark, she attempts to bark too!  It's too cute!  Still not crawling, but she is creeping and scooting around the living room.  (Morganne didn't crawl until she was 11 months old.)  She has 6 teeth already and just this week we began trying her with more table food.  So far, not going great, but she is still interested.  One of the funnier things she does (and if I remember right, Morganne did this too) is that when she's got a full belly after nursing or taking a bottle she bounces herself up and down to feel her belly slosh.  We obviously can only guess this is why she does it, but since it's the only time it ever happens and she is smiling and laughing the whole time it's our best conclusion. :c)  Morganne loves her little sister and really likes to make her laugh and smile.  She is very understanding for a 2 year old when Kaelynn needs more attention.  She does however, cover her ears anytime Kaelynn starts to cry or scream.  :cP
Anyhow, just wanted to give an update on our beautiful girl.  We are so blessed with both of our girls. 

Also, as a follow up to our last post, I want to stress that God has provided more than enough for our family and I am forever thankful for this.  We are far from "in need". We are truly blessed with amazing friends and family and God never ceases to amaze at his compassion and love for us.  A big thank you goes to that "someone" reading our blog.  It was not needed but truly appreciated.  We love you too.  Merry Christmas. 

When does life get easy?

"God is more interested in your character than your comfort."
This is a quote that I heard recently, read from an interview with Rick Warren.  I heard it at a time I was wallowing in self-pity looking at life as "glass half empty" I suppose.  It struck me hard, totally God talking to me at that moment.  Not many things in life get me more emotional than when it comes to dealing with money and taking care of my family.  With the season and the world's expectations pressed on us to give our family the "best Christmas ever", on top of trying to re-finance our mortgage, money issues have been a glaring reality for us recently.  Up until this last year I've always had a "light at the end of the tunnel" approach.  There was always hope for betterment.  This is a starter home- we will some day move on to bigger and better.  Someday I will have nicer clothes and we will be able to go on family vacations.  I will be able to provide the healthy, organic foods I want to feed my kids; the nicer clothes and better shoes, the nicer, reliable cars, and just have some "extra" money for those times when we just want to do something fun as a family.  Not to mention the ability to adopt when we want to and expand our family without the worry of how we are going to pay for it.
Recently, we've begun to realize how "stuck" we really feel.  It's a vicious cycle of needing money to make money, and I find myself hoping for handouts, though the thought of taking handouts is a blow to the ego and humility.  We are truly blessed and God has provided our every need and I am constantly reminding myself of that when I fall into one of my "glass half empty" mind frames.  I've got two beautiful, healthy girls and a fabulous husband.  Two amazing parents that have, and are continuing to, help us through so much, and an incredible extended family and church family.  Right now we are trying to figure out where life goes from here.  With the economy being the way it is I try to remain thankful for the jobs and house we do have, even though we constantly think of a different future.  
In this season, I am praying for myself to remain focused on the true reason for Christmas.  The Devil is really getting to me right now with bringing these feelings of inadequacy and constantly comparing myself to others, and wanting more. 
Sorry, for the rambling post.  I haven't posted my thoughts recently and sometimes it just feels good to get it off my chest and possibly, ask for prayers from you too.  Prayers for guidance for us as to what paths we are supposed to take in the next couple years, and also peace with where we are now.  I haven't felt God as close to me ever before, as I have in the past year.  As hard as it is to say it, I also know that our struggles are probably what has gotten me to know him that closely.  For that alone I wouldn't give them up, however, I am still eager for some financial peace to come sooner than later.  Forever I try to remember, God is good, all the time, God is good.


Also, as an added prayer request, please keep Justin's grandma in your prayers too.  She has been in the hospital all week and went in on Saturday to emergency surgery to repair a stomach perforation (hole).  She also has some unresolved heart issues going on making her chances of leaving the hospital touch and go.  We are so blessed to have gotten to see her at Thanksgiving and for her getting to meet the newest great-grandkids.  We wish we lived closer.

Happy Birthday Dad- 7 months late :cP

Last winter sitting at lunch with my Papo, my Dad mentioned, much to my surprise, that he was interested in Falconry.  Shocked as I was, it gave me a great idea for a memorable, and affordable, birthday/father's day gift.  So, I came home and contacted the Indiana Falconer's Association and a very nice man named Roger, promptly emailed me back and said that he would be more than happy to take us out Hawkin' sometime and introduce my Dad to the sport of Falconry.  The birthday/father's day gift would have to wait however, as falcon hunting season wasn't until winter. :cP I re-contacted Roger in November and we set a date and time to head out, this last Saturday.  It was very snowy this weekend but overall, with our coveralls on it was quite pleasant and we had a great time.  The hunt was unsuccessful, as in it didn't result in a rabbit dying (a bit of me was not disappointed) but it was a very successful day for new memories being made.  And, hopefully we can go again sometime soon....  Here are some pictures from the day.  Happy Birthday Dad!

We first met at Roger's house and saw his Mews (the place where he keeps his bird) and met his Cooper's hawk female.  I didn't get any pictures there unfortunately, but we got to see the tools of the trade and learn about how they trap the birds from the wild, train them, take care of them daily, hunt with them, and then release them when they are finished for the season or year.  It's really an incredible sport.  Unfortunately, his hawk was too fat to hunt that day so we headed out to see his friend, Vence, fly his Red tail hawk, Jake.  They have to fly them at lower weights, otherwise they risk the hawk being "fat and happy" and not willing to hunt or come back for reward.  Jake was on the border of being too fat, but they were willing to try him for our sake.  This was probably a large part of the reason the hunt was unsuccessful, but oh well.

Arriving at the field and listening to Roger explain some things and answer our many questions.

 Vence and Jake

 Vence heads out on one end of the field to "put Jake up into a tree" (this is where the "coming back" part is important!)

 We head out to the other side of the field and begin to try to flush game for Jake to see and catch.

 My camera wasn't powerful enough to get real close and Jake's camouflage was incredible.  We had to keep our eyes trained on him as best as we could because the instant he saw a rabbit move he would swoop down and we might miss it completely.  Here Jake sits perched in a tree, you can barely see his chest feathers.  The moment he turned side ways, he pretty much disappeared with his brown wings and camouflage.

 Roger beating the brush to try to scare rabbits out of hiding.

 After Jake decided he wasn't wanting to hunt for us we called it a day and thankfully he came back to Vence.  It got us interested enough that we'd like to see it again some day.

 As a reward Vence, throws Jake a rabbit head to snack on.  This is definitely not a sport for the weak of stomach.

Packing up for the trip home.

It was definitely an experience and one that not many people get to have.  It still amazes me that these are wild animals that are trapped, trained, and trusted to be turned loose and come back, all in matter of weeks.  It's an amazing sport with some really cool animals!

Thanksgiving continued....

Daddy and daughter...

 We found the girls sitting in bed reading books together :c)  Too cute.

 Happy Birthday Grandma Peg!!!  You look great for 88!

Thanksgiving

I know I don't post very often and then I will put out a huge post with tons of pictures.  Well, here we go again :cP  It was a very good weekend with the Grant family for Thanksgiving.  We haven't seen Grandma Peg in two years and it's been way too long.  We love spending time with family.  This year Morganne and her cousin Annabel were finally old enough to really play together and boy did they have fun.  They never stopped and it was so much fun watching them get along so well.  Here are some pictures from the weekend.

Before we left for Kentucky however, we were super excited and blessed to spend an evening with our good friends Wes and Melanie and their new son, Brennan.  We truly enjoyed the evening and miss hanging out with them so much.  Here is a quick shot of the three kiddos before bed.

At Thanksgiving, Grandpa and his grandson.

 SNOW!!!

Great-Grandma Peg "GG" meeting Kaelynn for the first time.  She couldn't get enough of her great-grand kids.

 Our handsome nephew, Asher.

Morganne's first time on a horse!!!!  She loved it!! I was so proud of her!

 Fun with Annabel

 and, Google is not allowing me any more space for pictures, so I will work on getting this remedied and I will post more later.

For now, goodnight!