Happy Birthday Jim!

The 39 birthday... Next year's birthday is a doosey.

'Tis the Season...

...for holiday letters and all that.
This year I am saving a few pennies and putting our holiday letter and pictures on our blog. I have to admit that I do feel a little bit guilty as all of your pictures and letters arrive in the mail...

Now for the memories of 2010:
The year started off with a bang--in more ways than one. The kids and I were in a car accident in January, which totaled our Suburban. Thankfully we weren't injured beyond sore necks and the boy that turned in front of us wasn't hurt too badly either. Not an experience I wish to repeat.

We had a wonderful roommate for one quarter, Ben. The boys absolutely adored having an older brother for a couple of months. He was usually up for a game of Nerf darts, boxing, horse rides, sitting in a dark closet--pretty much anything the boys dreamed up!

We've had many great visits from Opa and Oma this year as well as from some good friends. Please come see us and we'll add you to our good friend list!

Jim still likes running for some reason--I like to say it is because he still runs with eleven women most mornings :-). He continues with Weight Watchers, teaching one class a week and substituting often for other leaders. Jim remains working with his dad and brother in law at Bashful Bob's Windows and Doors, which keeps us close with Papa and Auntie Alicia and Uncle Todd. It's always fun to run to town for lunch with Papa and the cousins.

Carsten: He remains our accident prone child and I don't think he is going to lose that title. Carsten and Reese have become best friends the last couple of months which is quite cute to watch, but I am waiting for the moment that ends... They like to share a bed, give each other toys they know the other one will like, and being sticky sweet with their words. Carsten likes to listen in to Reese and I doing school and he picks up little tidbits of information which he likes to spout off later. He is the boy that wakes up happy and is quick to tell you, "thank you" and, "I love you".

Reese: He is our big 1st grader. We are continuing with the Virtual Academy that we were with last year and Reese and I really enjoy our time learning. Reese does well with math and reading, but his favorite subject is science. We finally put the boys in swim lessons this past summer and Reese really did well. He progressed quickly through the levels and wasn't afraid to try what the teachers asked him to do. He is also continuing with piano lessons and doing well with that although practicing is sometimes a chore. Reese lost six teeth this year, four rather quickly, so he has had trouble biting apples and other hard objects.

Our newest addition to the family is Skippy Jon Jones and we are loving having him. He adds so much life to the party. He is either on or off. Either running in circles or sleeping (in some odd positions for a cat).

We started with a feral cat we had tamed all summer and fall, Caramel, but he was hit by a car. We felt a void when he was gone, so off to the shelter we went and we didn't come home empty handed!

We hope you all have wonderful holidays!
Love,
Jim, Dana, Reese, and Carsten




*Picture of our family and kids by Michelle Tschetter

Crazy Cat...

Skippy is the funniest sleeper, whatever is comfortable...

Gingerbread House Making

Or, maybe more accurately, Graham Cracker House Making... :)
We had a fun evening of making winter houses!

Carsten and Grandma JoAnn's--Carsten wanted a bridge up to his...

Reese and Jim's--theirs ended up like an outhouse or a bus stop... and, theirs fell down twice during construction.

Justin and Auntie Alicia's--theirs was the most "house" like.

Uncle Todd's--his was the most sturdy, thanks to a pound of frosting!

Joren and Kaitlyn's house--thiers was the most creative.

Clayton kept himself busy--here he is hammering on the table.

Papa Jim relaxed with Skippy Jon Jones while the house making was going on...

Goodbye Ben!

Ben left today... He is transferring to the school by his parents. We are very sad, but hope for the best for him. Notice Carsten's hair--he had to have his hair cut just like Ben's, "Do a number 2 all over mom"... okay.

Little Ole Skippy

The kids and I wanted to take pictures of Skippy Jon Jones before he gets too much bigger so we remember how little he was. This is Skippy next to Butter for size comparison...
He is quite the people kitty, always wants to be right by us. He is also very wild when he wakes up from the night or naps... :)

Skippy Jon Jones

Our new kitten's name!
We really like these books and even though our new guy doesn't look like this Skippy, he sure acts like him!
These books are about a Siamese cat who thinks he looks more like a Chihuahua because of his big head and ears... you'll have to read them!

We caved...

We went to the Humane Society today... just to look... and... yeah. Meet the new member of our family! His name is yet to be decided by all of us, but we are working on it. He is 12 weeks old, but the size of an 8 week old as he and his siblings were malnourished. So far he seems to be very good natured and is loving the boys--Reese loves holding him and keeps saying, "I've always wanted a little kitty to snuggle".

The kids and I made some of our favorite GF Sugar Cookies last night... Yummm.

Carsten insisted on wearing this sign around on Thanksgiving... Not many pictures of our Thanksgiving as both kids were sick, but we had a nice day anyway.

Tears...

Well, so far just I've shed tears for this little guy, but Carsten is still trying to figure out why he is gone. His solution was to go and dig him up and take him to the doctor, which of course just made me cry more...
While we were on our trip to CA, Caramel was hit and killed by a car. We didn't get to know him long, but he was by far the best cat I've ever had. He was actually more like a puppy. He would follow the boys everywhere outside and even race them to the barn.
There is a kitten sized hole in my heart right now...

Happenings...

This is a tree in my parents yard that I thought looked pretty in the light...

Jim brought the kids and I down to my parents last weekend so we could have some time here before Thanksgiving. We are thoroughly enjoying our time--I am enjoying some breaks as Oma puts the kids to bed and then stays with them so I don't get interrupted and can just relax. The boys are completely enjoying starting fires in the morning in the wood burning stove, playing on Unc's iPad, taking naps with Oma, playing outside for hours, and just being at Opa and Oma's...
Carsten did get a cold and is snuffly now, and Reese threw up this morning, but with Oma around everything is better...

Carsten's cute saying this week after spelling my mom's name, Cate, "No, how do you spell your real name, Oma?"

Photo credits for the pictures in the new header-- Michelle Tschetter

Cousin Wyatt's Pictures

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Just Cute!

This last week I took some senior pictures at a park and Alicia kindly watched my boys. When we were all done and just visiting the boys went off to watch the ducks and this is the picture we saw...

Halloween

We last minute went trick or treating in Justin's neighborhood... We raided our dress-up box and this is what we came up with! A bear and a pirate.

Pumpkin Patch!

Took our annual family trip to the pumpkin patch!

Thanks Papa!!!

Special Company

We had special company last night, Robyn, and she made (literally whipped up) slippers for the boys (they wanted slippers like hers)! They are so pleased--even slept with them on...

New Member of the Family!

Our new roommate, Ben, with the boys. Ben moved in when school started, but I am just getting around to posting a picture... The boys adore him of course!

Losing Streak is (hopefully) Over...

Sixth and hopefully last tooth for awhile.
Now we need to paint triangle eyes on him and dress him in orange...