Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

I don't know where to even start! This was the craziest Christmas ever! We had three places to be on Christmas day and two cities to be in. I don't mind a packed Christmas, but when you have a child that gets car sick, you realize you have a problem. Poor Emmy threw up every time we had to drive somewhere. By the end of the day, her stomach needed to recover and she ended up being sick at Oma's house the whole time we opened presents. Therefore, we don't have a lot of beautiful pictures, the day was a whirlwind. Here's what we do have.

Jim's brother Bill on Christmas Eve in the girls new princess tent.

Emmy and Jim's dad launching a rocket.

The house that will not fit in our van!


Emmy talking on the phone in their new house.



Lydia showing off her new skills.



For all of you wondering what Calvin is looking like these days.



The girls in their Christmas dresses.








And of course, the Christmas card picture.

Happy Birthday Emmy!

Here's our 4 year old! Can you believe it?!? Emmy turned 4 on December 22nd. Poor girl, having her birthday so close to Christmas!




This is Emmy on her Birthday last year....3 years old.



She's done a lot of growing this year, and we can't wait to see what a new year brings.

Just Because.....

Happy Reformation Day!

To celebrate Reformation Day, we had a festival at our church. Emmy was a ballerina and Lydia was a bee. They had such a good time and now we have way too much candy in the house!

The Zoo

Last week we went to the Columbia Zoo and enjoyed it very much. I think the girls were most enthralled with the fish. What's your impression?

A Short Story About Emmy

Yesterday we were in the car (Emmy, Lydia, and myself), waiting for Jim to get out of Office Depot. Lydia was already sleeping and Emmy was complaining about the wait (can't say that I blame her). I told Emmy that if she wanted, she could take a nap. Emmy paused for a few seconds and said "Mom...I've thought about it, and I'm not going to take a nap." I'm glad she takes time to think the important things through.

Third Time's A Charm!

Many have been skeptical as to whether Jim was capable, however, he has come through. An heir has been produced and his name is "Bubba"! No....we have no name for him yet and are officially accepting name donations! I am four and a half months pregnant and am due March 3rd. For those of you who care(I wouldn't admitt it if you did), that is square root day, 3/3/09. Emmy is particularly excited. When I was two months pregnant (Emmy did not know yet), she spent the weekend with Jim's mom. At church that Sunday, she told the pastor during the children's sermon that she was going to have a baby brother. This of course, then prompted Jim's mom to ask us if I was pregnant at which point I was busted. Emmy has continued to hope for a baby brother and was so glad to hear the news this week. Lydia doesn't understand yet, but she loves babies and I'm sure she'll be very excited when "Bubba" comes. Everything looks great so far with the baby, please pray that he will continue to develope and be heathly.

In other news, we've had a very busy summer and now fall. We went to the beach twice and the mountains twice and of course, in the midst of that, my camera broke, so we really don't have a lot of summer pictures. We also went out on Lake Wyle were we had so much fun with some friends who took us out on their boat. Michelle went on the tube with the girls becuase Jim had a broken wrist (another highlitht of the summer) and I was pregnant. Here are a few pictures from this summer.