Christmas and Beyond

My, my it's been a while. It seems like I go in spurts with this blog thing. Sorry I'm so sporadic but here is a little of what has been going on in our lives. We had a wonderful Christmas. It was different being away from the extended family but our kids made it so much fun and we have lots of great friends here that made the sting of missing home a lot less painful. We had a fun little Christmas Eve party with all the traditional food from home and then watched the Nativity and a classic "Frosty the Snowman" before putting the kids to bed despite all the excitement for the next morning. We even read "The Night Before Christmas" and scattered some "reindeer food" on the back lawn so that they would have something to eat and keep them busy while Santa was working inside the house.

Christmas morning was truly exciting and we had a great breakfast, just like home, with some of our greatest friends.

This is one of those photos you keep in your stash to embarrass you kids later. In case you can't tell, Kamrie is curling Caden's hair and he is putting on lippy stuff.

Thanks for the rocking chair Grandma and Grandpa, we love it.

Breakfast

After Christmas we spent time just hanging out together and enjoyed a fantastic new year complete with sparkling cider, great food, and the best company.

The kids ringing in the new year (it was really only 9:00 but we did a fake countdown and everything just so they would feel like it was official.

Kamrie couldn't stay awake but she ended waking up later and celebrating.

Soon after the New Year began I had a short hospital stay which was no fun but proved to be no big deal really. I had a pain in my "baby belly", underneath my ribs, before going to bed one night. I hoped it would be better the next morning with some rest. I had the chills on and off all night so I assumed I had a fever, but I really just wanted to sleep. The next day things got worse...after talking to my Doctor and calling Brady home from school, I headed to the hospital. I was terrified that there was something wrong with the baby. After lots of tests, antibiotics, and a lot of support and prayers I came home 2 days later. The docs still aren't sure, but assume it was probably a gall bladder attack or some random infection somewhere else. They monitored the baby closely while I was there and she was doing just fine. I started having some contractions that were pretty consistent but they said that is normal when your body is fighting an infection. The contractions continued for a while after I came home but have since tapered off somewhat. We are so glad that our little one decided to stay put for a while longer and that she is healthy. Thanks to everyone for all the prayers, phone calls, magazines, visits, help with the kids, and everything else. We feel so blessed to be surrounded by such wonderful people.

Brady has been keeping busy taking little trips here and there to try and nail down some plans for what our future may hold. Graduation is creeping up faster and faster and we still have so much to do. Our lives will be pretty busy and exciting for the next few months. We are excited but a little nervous about all the changes. Caden has been praying for weeks now that we can drive safely on our trip to our new house. Each time he says it I laugh a little but I also feel like crying at the thought of leaving this place we have come to call home.

I will try to update a little more frequently but...well you know...no promises.