Our Christmas Disco Dance

We have had so much fun watching this over and over again!

MERRY CHRISTMAS FAMILY AND FRIENDS!

Getting Ready For Christmas

Thanksgiving weekend, we all went out to get our Christmas tree.  We went to The Home Depot this year.  I think Jon and the munchkins did a great job selecting the perfect tree for our home.

 Here's the nice man from Home Depot tying the tree to our car.

  And here's the tree all decorated (Not the best picture, but you get the idea.)

 This is a wreath I made during a MOPS Mom's night out event we had at our church.  I think it turned out beautifully, if I do say so myself!  I decided to hang it on the inside of our door.  It really adds more Christmas feel to our home.  I love it!

 I have yet to set out our ceramic Nativity set, but I did put this Little People Nativity Set out for the munchkins to play with.  They love playing with it.

Along with decorating the house, we made cookies last Saturday.  Our good friend, InShil, came over to help.  We made chocolate chip cookies and cut-out sugar cookies.  Unfortunately, I only took this one picture of our time together...  but aren't the cookies pretty!?!

 We all had a fun time, even though Buddy dumped all the M&M's all over the bowls of frosting and cookies at one point.  (I'm still learning patience and flexibility when it comes to letting the munchkins help me!)  They did a great job decorating the cookies and love to help whenever they can.   

Even outside, it's starting to look and feel a little more like Christmas.  This morning it snowed a little bit.  It was just enough to cover the sidewalks... 

and the cars and make everything look a tad bit white.  

 I love it when it snows as we are getting ready for Christmas. 

Jon's Last Surgery

Today I was reflecting on what we were doing one year ago...  we were at the hospital, George Washington University Hospital, where Jon had his last surgery. 

 Let me back up a little.  

Jon had surgery to remove a benign brain tumor in July, 2009.  He recovered from that surgery and was healing well for the first few weeks.  During one of his post op visits with the surgeon, it was determined that the bone flap was infected.  This meant that Jon would have to endure another surgery to remove the bone flap.  The original plan was to do surgery to remove the flap, leave that out for 6 months, then put it back in or use that flap to make a prothesis.  So, in August, my mom came out to be with me at the hospital during his surgery and be with me as he recovered there.  I had made arrangements for the munchkins to stay with the Pulls, good friends of ours, for a few days.  That surgery was uneventful and Jon recovered well, but now he had an indent on his forehead from where the bone flap used to be. 

In November of last year, Jon was getting anxious to get the last surgery done and he wanted it done before the 6 months were up.  So, we talked with the surgeon, and he thought since Jon was recovering so well, that it shouldn't be a problem to go ahead with the last surgery.  

On Dec. 7, 2009, Jon had surgery to reinsert the bone flap.  My mom and sister, Debbie, drove out from Indiana, to help with the munchkins while I was at the hospital during the surgery and the few days after while Jon was still at the hospital recovering.  Along with my mom, one of my good friends came to sit with me during Jon's surgery!  I'm so thankful that she took time out of her busy schedule to be there with me!  Jon's surgery lasted for about 7 hours, from what I can recall.  What they ended up doing during surgery was removed 2 of his ribs and used those bones to cover up the hole instead of using the original bone flap or a prothesis.  As they were doing that, they discovered that the ribs were not enough bone to cover the entire hole, so they removed some of the bone from the other side of his forehead and used that as well as the ribs.  This last surgery was much more involved than we had anticipated.   Jon's recovery from this surgery was much more painful, due to his ribs being removed, than with the other two surgeries.  In fact, he told me that the pain in his side trumped the pain in his head!  I can't even begin to imagine!  Jon came home on Dec. 10th from the hospital.  My sister and mom left on the 11th and the munchkins headed over to the Holmes', some other good friends of ours, for a few more days as he recovered in peace and quiet at home.  It was so helpful to have the munchkins stay with our friends so I could devote all my attention to Jon and not be multi-tasking with the kiddos.  Each day I made it a point to go over and visit with them, to hopefully reassure them that Mommy and Daddy were okay.  I think Buddy had the hardest time being away from us.  Just recently, out of the blue, he will start talking about how he missed us when Daddy was at the hospital.  He has such a sweet heart!  

Once again, we were so well cared for by so many people!  Meals were brought over, our friends took care of the munchkins, and Jon was able to rest well.  I know so many people were praying for us as well!  

We celebrated Christmas here at home last year.  Jon's mom came out to be with us over Christmas.  It was a quiet, relaxed time for all of us.  I think that was what we all needed after all the craziness of the few months prior. 

Here are a few photos from Christmas last year...

The munchkins decorated a gingerbread house...

Grandma Jean helped too...

Our family on Christmas Eve, 2009

Me and Jon

Jon with his mom

Grandma Jean and Sissy with their new PJ's on

The munchkins & Daddy playing with Buddy's new train set

Jon reading the Christmas story from Luke 2 on Christmas morning

In January, Jon started physical therapy for his side.  After just a few sessions, he started to feel so much better! 

I never want to forget how God took care of us and all the of the small details during this difficult and uncertain time!  He was with us every step of the way.  He is always good and will see us through anything we face in this life.  He keeps His promises to never leave us or forsake us! I am thankful that we are all doing well and are healthy this year.  We will be heading to Indiana soon to celebrate Christmas with our families.  I'm thankful that we were able to see another year of life together as a family!  To God be all the glory!  

A Visit with Friends

This past weekend our good friends, Tim and Angie Smith came to visit.  They have been married for almost 20 years and have 5 teenagers, 4 girls, and 1 boy!

Tim was Jon's best man at our wedding.  They have been friends since they were 5 yrs. old!  A long time!  :-) 

Tim had some business and a church conference in Myrtle Beach, NC earlier in the week and then had to be in Philadelphia on Sunday for some more business.  Since we live in between those two cities, they thought it would be a great opportunity to stop by and visit with us.  They had never been out to our place (they live in IN), so it was a treat to see them here at our place.  They arrived on Friday evening and left Sunday morning.  Our time with them was brief, but it was a refreshing and encouraging time for us and I hope for them as well.

On Saturday, we all, with the Munchkins, drove down to Alexandria, VA to show the Smiths where Jon's 'official' office is located.  Then, we headed on to Washington, DC to visit a few monuments/memorials.  Our first stop was the Jefferson Memorial.

Our Munchkins did great considering we walked to the different Memorials, which is quite a hike!  We, adults, all took turns holding one or both of the Munchkins for short intervals as we walked. 

After seeing the Jefferson Memorial, we headed on to the FDR Memorial.  This is a picture of the Washington Monument from the FDR Memorial...

Tim carrying our Sweetheart...

 From there, we made our way to the Lincoln Memorial.  Notice that Tim is now carrying Buddy on his shoulders... giving Jon's shoulders a break!

Once again, the Washington Monument, only this time from the Lincoln Memorial.

We had a great time walking and talking in DC with the Smiths.

Later that evening, the Junior High students with their leaders from our church were offering free childcare from 5-9 PM at the church.  (While there, the kids played games, made a few crafts, ate pizza, watched a movie and ate popcorn.  They had so much fun!)  So, we decided to drop them off there and enjoy a kid free dinner with the Smiths at the Cheesecake Factory!  YUM!!!!  They don't live close to a Cheesecake Factory so this was a special place to go, for them and for us!  We LOVE to eat there!  Definitely one of our favorites!

During our dinner, we had such great conversation.  The Smiths have a way of talking about deep, thought-provoking things in a very casual laid back way.  I don't know if that makes any sense, but I felt refreshed by their visit. I just love their insight and wisdom.  

We hope we will have another opportunity to host them again!  

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday Jon!  

We love you!  You are a wonderful husband and a super Daddy!  

For his special birthday dinner, he would like me to make our seasoned mexican beef tacos with rice and beans, chips and salsa, and his request for dessert is Sugar Cream Pie... his all time favorite!  I'll get right on that Jon!  :-)

These next two photos were taken by our friend, Naomi.  This first picture is his birthday gift!

He has a picture of himself with our first munchkin on his desk for work.  That photo was taken on Jon's first Father's Day, 2006!  Can we say outdated?!?  I think this picture will be a great replacement!

I tried to keep his birthday gift a surprise for him and... it worked!  He had no idea that Naomi had taken these photos of us and absolutely LOVED them when he saw them this morning!  

Thanks for making this happen, Naomi!  We LOVE these photos and will certainly treasure them!  You are such a talented photographer!  

So, Happy Birthday to the love of my life!  I hope to celebrate many more birthdays together in the years to come!

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year...

... at least in my opinion!

I LOVE this time of year!  The trees are absolutely amazing, the air is becoming crisp and cool, and there are so many great things to do outside  (i.e. go to the pumpkin patch and pick out a pumpkin, play at the park, go on a hayride, etc,... )

 I think of Fall as God's last display of the beauty of His creation before the winter and cold weather come upon us, and beauty is an understatement!

This year I'm really trying to take it all in.  The best way I know how to do that is to capture the Fall splendor with photos... here goes!

   This photo was taken at Lake Needwood.  You may recall that Lake Needwood was the location for our recent family photo shoot.  Aren't these colors just breathtaking?

Pumpkins... 

Buddy with the pumpkin of his choosing at the pumpkin patch...

Our sweetheart... not sure which pumpkin to choose...

A few more photos at Lake Needwood...

And here are some pictures from Redland Park.  The munchkins and I visit this park on a regular basis once the weather warms up in the Spring until the last leaf has fallen in Autumn.  It's one of their favorite places to run and play!

I hope you are able to take a few moments this season and really marvel at God's creation.  It's such a gorgeous time of year!  

8 Years Ago Today...

Jon and I got married at Grace Fellowship Church in New Haven, IN on a cold, wet, dreary Saturday,  October 26, 2002.  The dreary day did not dampen our excitement about getting married to each other, though!

God always knows what is best for us and I'm so glad He picked Jon to be my husband.  He is my perfect mate in so many ways.  I love him now more than I ever have and, Lord willing, I'm looking forward to spending many more years together with him and our family! 

I love you Jon!  

I can't wait to see what God has in store for our future together!

Smile!

Our family had a photo shoot a few weeks ago at Lake Needwood with our good friend InShil.

Here are a few of the many amazing photos she captured...

... and here's a picture of InShil.  For some reason, she always seems to be behind the camera, instead of in front of one.  :-)

We LOVE our pictures and had a great time on our photo shoot!  We are very thankful for InShil's obvious gift of taking great pictures and the gift of her friendship.  These photos will be treasured for years to come!