In A Galaxy Far, Far, Away...

So, when we were in California, I took Curtis to the Discovery Science Center in Santa Ana since they were having a Star Wars exhibit. This exhibit was so cool! The actual costumes and movie props were on display. For those of you in Southern California, you should go see this exhibit, you will not be disappointed. You can go their website at www.discoverycube.org for more information. The Star Wars exhibit will be on display until April 15th.

Hello, New Year!

My, oh my, where does the time go? It's been awhile since I last posted, so I guess I better update on what's been going on with us. Christmas was nice, we drove up to Kevin's parents place in Chicago to celebrate with his family. It was a long drive and the kids did very well and it was nice to see everyone again. Then, on New Year's Eve, Kevin drove down to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina to help run sound for the Jeff Cook concert. It was the first time in our marriage that we didn't celebrate New Year's together, but we got through it and Kevin enjoyed the experience. Then, last month, the kids and I flew out to California to be in my best friend's wedding. It had been two years since we left Cali, so it was great to see my family again. The kids were so good on the plane ride out and the plane ride back, I couldn't be prouder of them. The day after we got back, Kevin met with the HR Director of Timkin to discuss job openings. Kevin said it was a good meeting, but there were no openings. There is a gentleman at our church that has his own physical therapy business that is very interested in hiring Kevin, so we are hoping that next week they can get together and discuss things. It would be so nice to finally have some income coming in. We are going on six-and-a-half months now of no income, but the Lord has provided for us and we are so grateful! So that has been what's been going on with us, oh I forgot, last week we signed Curtis up for tee ball. The season starts the beginning of April and he is so excited. We can't wait to watch him play. So here are some pictures from the last two months to get us all up to speed.

DECEMBER

Our Christmas tree (the kids were so happy to have a real tree)!

The little tree that the kids decorated. I think they did a great job!

The kids helped me make Christmas cookies to give to our neighbors, teachers, and crossing guards.

This is the inside of a McDonalds that we stopped at in Asheville near the Biltmore Estate. There was also a player piano in the corner playing Christmas music.

Downtown Nashville. We can't wait to go back and actually sightsee.

This is the Wingate mansion in Paducah, Kentucky. It's a rest area and the bathrooms are inside.

The kids table. The cousins had so much fun together.

The cousins: Lily, Luke, Sophie, Levi, Logan, Jeremiah, Curtis, Lauren, and Claire

Our beautiful family

Kevin's family: Todd, Kevin, Barry, Dean, Allan, June, and Shari

This is a picture from the Jeff Cook concert. You can see a little bit of Kevin (in the ballcap) next to the keyboard player.

JANUARY

My best friend Myra. I was so honored to be her Matron of Honor.

Curtis was the ring bearer, and the girls were flower girls. Claire was grouchy and didn't want her picture taken.

The cousins: Claire (she didn't want to be in this picture either), Lauren, Curtis, James, Nathan, Natty, Olivia, Daphne, and Lia

Four generations: My grandmother Helen, my mom Norma, me, and the kids

My cousins: Mollie, Tim, me, Matt, and Jon

My friend Cheryl, whom I've known since junior high.

The kids and I with my sister-in-law Michelle. My brother is currently on deployment in Africa, so we didn't get to see him.

The harbor at Port Hueneme where my brother is stationed. I sure do miss the California beaches.

Pics #2: The Museum of Science and Industry

While we were in Chicago, Kevin's parents took us to the Museum of Science & Industry. The kids had so much fun!

Here we are in front of the Body Worlds giraffe. The kids thought it was cool to see the insides of a giraffe.

The indoor tornado. The kids were very afraid of this.

Kevin talked Curtis into stepping into the tornado. Curtis did not let go of Kevin's hand.

The fam.

This is my favorite picture. Lauren was having a blast looking in the fun mirrors. There were three mirrors and she would run back and forth looking at how funny she looked and just laughed and laughed.

Claire thought it was so cool to sit on a cow.

The kids driving a combine.

Driving a tractor.

First Snow Day

Today, we here in the Frozen Tundra, had our first snow fall of the season. The kids have been waiting for this since the leaves starting falling. Everyday Curtis has been asking if it's going to snow and he gets sad when it doesn't. So yesterday, before the kids went to bed we told them that it was supposed to snow today. So when Curtis got up this morning, I could here him lift up the blinds to look out the window, then say in a quiet voice, to not wake up his sisters, "It's snowing!" Remember, the kids have never seen snow on the ground until we moved out here in March and today was the first time they have ever seen snow falling from the sky! It was like Christmas morning around our place today! When Lauren woke up about 20 minutes later, Curtis must have told her that it was snowing because I heard her lifting up the blinds to look outside. Then she exclaimed, "It's snowing!!" and came running into our room, "Mommy, it's snowing, it's snowing!!"

This is what it looked like when we woke up.

Claire, our little snow bunny!

Curtis catching snowflakes on his tongue.

Lauren making a snow angel and tasting snow flakes.

Catching Up: Part 4

Alrighty, so today I'm going to talk about this cool celebration that our city has called the Fire Muster. They have this celebration every September with a fire truck parade on Saturday and the community parade on Sunday. We went on Saturday and let me tell you, the fire truck parade was so cool! I felt like a kid getting all giddy with excitement waiting for the parade to start. I think I was more excited than the kids at one point :) What an awesome parade!! I've never seen so many fire trucks in one place in my whole life. I took about 100 pictures, just of the fire trucks. After the parade, we went to the civic center to look at the trucks up close and see the demonstrations. The kids got to play on some of the trucks and try on the fire fighting gear. They even got to pick out their own fire hat to take home. Here are some pictures of that awesome day!

Here they come!!

This is a truck that goes into buildings that are unstable.

The mobile command unit

The hook and ladder truck

Old fashioned fire engine

Old fashioned ladder truck. This was Kevin's favorite.

The auto extraction demonstration

This is one of my favorites of the kids.

The kids shooting water from the fire hose.