We Are Here!

Happy New Year! Here is my wonderful family on the 1st, in McCall, ID...amidst lots of snow and sun! Please ignore the fact that we aren't bundled up. It is by no means a representation of the temperature. It was about 13degrees, but we were getting in the car and thought "FAMILY PICTURE!"

Despite the cold, there was lots of sun. Had there been an endless supply of babysitting and money, we would have been skiing EVERY DAY. However, that wasn't the case, so we opted for 1 afternoon teaching Anna and a full day with each other and other fam members, which did include a few hours teaching Anna.

Wow, it was so fun. I have mentioned before but the idea of my kids not being babies anymore has always kind of left me wondering if I would be sad about it. As we taught Anna to ski, I can tell you that each stage is wonderful. My oh my. How incredibly AWESOME it was to be on the hill with her. What was so wonderful is that she loves it as much as we do. She did not complain about the cold, even as she wore sunglasses while it snowed lightly. I could go on and on about the two days she spent on the hill, but I will just post a few pics of our new skiier!

And, here is a picture of THREE generations of skiiers, in case you don't recognize us in our gear, my mom Karen, Me and Anna!!

While I am post happy, here is a picture of Bo, unwrapping a gift. Or shall I say playing with ribbon. That is about all he did. But he had fun nonetheless!

Now that I have mentioned some fun stuff, I will get to the nitty gritty of a trip. It started with a delay out of Tulsa, which led to a canceled flight in Denver. We did make it to Boise eventually, but not with our luggage. We were without ANYTHING for 48hrs. All the gifts had been shipped, but no clothes for any of us and there was nothing under the tree but toys for the kids. So, that made life interesting (mind you NOTHING was open). Oh and my hair. My mom's hair is long enough she doesn't use any product on it. Mine is short enough that without product it is a disaster. I had no product as it was in my suitcase. That was HORRIBLE. I had such a frizz ball on my head. Okay, so the luggage came, we celebrated Christmas (oh yes, after my sis in law to be rode a bus from SLC to Boise b/c of bad weather and canceled flight). Then up to McCall where my Grandmother broke her ankle, carrying Bo down a flight of stairs. She was and still is unable to bear weight on her leg and is scheduled for surgery this coming Friday. 81yr old on crutches is scary!!!! Poor thing. Bo then got sick, so we made a trip to the emergicenter and can I say that by our flight time on Jan. 3, we were ready to go home.

It was wonderful to see everyone, and we did have some great moments, but the stress of traveling with two kids got to me at times, compounded by the other goings on. We are so thankful for the time we had skiing, sitting by the fire and drinking wine over delicious meals my parents prepared. Next year though, we are contemplating the idea of everyone coming to us...

We slept very well our first night home and except for a slight fever on Anna's behalf we seem to be well. Jake is back at work, Anna back at school, I am back to laundry and house stuff and Wilson is happily napping. Ha!

It was wonderful to return to our Sunday school class and for me Bible study. We have some great friends at church and it was so good to have smiling faces welcoming us home. We approach this new year with a few goals, or shall we say hopes and dreams. We hope to have the SAME address in a year, going off a fun fact Sarah C. presented....we hope to have a pregnancy free year. Yes folks, for some portion of 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 I was pregnant. That is FOUR years in a row. Thankful for what the pregnancies gave me, but this is my year to get back my body of years back. (yeah right). We also hope that our relationships with each other, with God and with our new friends, grow and flourish to HIS delight.

And with that I am ever so thankful for:

1. A blog, love to get out at least some of the jargon in my head

2. All that my parents did to make our Christmas "homie" in their new home in Eagle. It was like they had always lived there.

3. Crock pot recipes

4. My ladies at Bible study. What a fortress of strength and inspiration.

5. My sis in law for loving on and caring for our dog while we were gone

6. Having a cudly little girl for at least a few hours while she ran a fever. It is a shame to get her to cuddle she has to have a fever!

7. Home made baby food. You got it kids, I made some!!! You can just call me one with mother nature!

8. My brother's surprise visit to TTown. He must have been really bored to drive all this way to see us after less than a week of leaving us in Boise. haha!

9. Hearing that Sarah F. is getting ready for the new little one in her family. She is so cheery, and being so close to the end, I am sure that is hard!

10. The craft kit that Sarah C. brought by for me today since I missed MOPS can you say thoughtful?

Happy Happy New Year!