Merry Christmas and Happy 2008!

We had a nice Christmas with both of our parents who came out to visit us for 2 1/2 weeks. We do wish we could've seen our siblings and their children. Our boys are so blessed to have grandparents who are so involved and love them so much. Caleb's surgery went well on the 26th. He recovered very quickly. The Children's hospital was only 3 weeks old when he had the surgery. It is very nice. I took a picture of the lobby, but the security guard yelled at me. I know I am such a rebel. Don't tell I've got the picture on the blog or they'll come after me.

Christmas morn.

Ready for his morning nap...

Day of surgery.

Toby in a "time out". Looks like its working... Christmas eve in their new PJ's

"Rock chalk jayhawks KaaaaaayyyyyUUUUUUUU."

We saw the lights at Tanglewood park with E -pa and Memaw. It was pretty impressive.

The boys before the Christmas eve service at our church.

Caleb and I are making a Birthday Cake for Jesus. Caleb told me Jesus told him he wanted an airplane flying in the sky birthday cake, so we tried to make one.

I think Jesus liked it, except that I spelled birthday wrong. I tried to make the gas/smoke from the plane spell the letters. I'm not sure that I'm the best cake decorator.

Has anyone heard of "Angry eyebrows"--That's what Caleb is referring to from veggietales.

The hospital gave Caleb a bunch of hospital garb to get used to...

Caleb at his pre-op visit.

"tired"

E-pa makes the best jungle gym.

so does Elliott

Don't they look "merry". Caleb actually told Santa what he wanted this year. A Batman with wings that came off. He said this consistantly, so we had to do some last minute shopping. Not a lot of batman's out there.

Toby is crawling through an artery. The yellow stuff is plaque that builds up when we eat too much fatty foods and don't exercise.

Ken's parents and us four went to the Catawba Science Center. This is the big size Sit N Spin.



a sting ray at the Catawba Science Center. They would leap towards you to pet them.

Elliott the Elf.

Caleb's leg surgery.

Caleb will be having surgery on his leg on the 26th of December. His cyst has gotten bigger. This might be something we have to deal with every year. I don't know we will have to see. It's a preventive against breaking his leg again.

The longest blog entry

Month in review. I turned 32(4th). Yipee!!!! My Dad(16th), brother(20th), and Aunt Judy(28th) had a birthday also this month. Happy Birthday!





I know Gross is the only word for this. Toby contracted a worm while we were in Jamaica. It's been an ordeal, but we finally have him treated. I am only putting this on the blog for my mom(a nurse) so she can see it--not for voyoristic reasons.

We don't have a lot of hardwood trees in our yard, but we get a nice amount of pine needles. Caleb wanted to jump in leaves. He kept asking us if he could go jump in the leaves. All we had were these pine needles. Poor guy. Does anyone have leaves he can jump in...these pine needles aren't so soft.





Maybe a Christmas Card????


For Thanksgiving we had Kim and Sebastian, his parents from Germany, and his host parents from Indiana. We enjoyed having them at our house to Celebrate Thanksgiving. Beth & Joe (Newlyweds) came out to visit...It was a nice. They made the 17 hr drive, stayed for 3 days and drove back to Kansas City.

Notice the hair twirling/grabbing and thumb in mouth means TIRED.

Sebastian's Dad, Bernard, and Toby

Carving the turkey

Stuck at the "Kid's table"

IT'S A BOY!!! He looks so much like Jason. I wonder who the father is?

We had a surprise visit from the Bish family. We're so glad Jason and Kelly could drop by. They should stop in more often.

Kelly and I are developing great chemistry, but I think Jason and Sebastian have an even stronger bond.... Just look at the loving gaze and adoration.

Has anyone seen my blanky???

day after Thanksgiving.

update on Caleb's Leg

Caleb is going to have to have surgery. We aren't sure when, but probably in the next few weeks. The cyst (air pocket) in his bone is bigger and has expanded. He won't have to be in a cast though---which is good news. We haven't scheduled the surgery yet...the Dr. is hoping it will give him another year of strength in his leg. Then we might have to do something more invasive next year. We will see how long it last. Right now she told us to be careful--no playground equipment. I'm not sure how we are going to keep him from doing that since he climbs our ladder at home and jumps onto the bed into a summersault. I will update again with Thanksgiving pics soon.

We're going on a bear hunt...

Gonna catch a big one....

We're not scared....

Oh no...a deep colorful forrest...can't go over it, can't go under it....guess we gotta go through it.

stumble, trip....stumble, trip....stumble, trip....

We literally did that. We had a nice time, but since our children are little we don't get to REALLY hike like we would like to....but Caleb stuck it out and he did great. I told him he couldn't quit that easily...sometimes when you get tired you have to keep on going....(preaching more to myself than Caleb probably).

I really did go, I just took most of the pictures. I love our annual tradition of heading to the mountains in the fall. I fell in love with Black Mountain/Montreat area. The Grahams reside up there...Of course Ruth lives in a better place now....hard to believe because the hills and trees are amazing. I went on a retreat there a few weeks ago and wanted to come back when the trees changed. It's weird this year because the leaves are changing a couple weeks later this year.

Back with the stash...in case you didn't notice, Toby got a hair cut....
As you can see...I didn't really want to, but everyone was calling him a girl. They would say, "She is so cute." Even worse than that, now that his hair is gone, he grabs his hair to twirl and he has none. My hair gets extra twirling, though, or anyone who is holding him--even Ken.
This is what I really wanted Caleb to be for Halloween. He is Clark Kent and when he opens his shirt he is SUPERMAN. But he changed his mind and wanted to be Buzz Lightyear...

Our neighbors who live accross the street. (you may see their house a lot in pictures) About 5 or 6 familes got together next door for a pumpkin carving get together.

Kelly...doesn't she look so cute?

"Welcome to the gun show"

Caleb likes to pretend he is Jesus. He breaks the bread and says," The bread is for my body, eat this in remembrance of me." and for the "wine" he says,"This is for my blood, drink this in remembrance of me."