Life As We Know It

If I haven't taken any new pictures, does it mean nothing has happened?

Quite the contrary for us right now... We are finally all together as a family again and the dust has begun to settle. Any move comes with its chaos and stressful tasks and this one was no exception. Thankfully now we have a functioning heater, a fridge, and cooking utensils, all of which we did not have before. The only task that remains is getting Internet!

We are really loving our new place in all it's charm, especially the location and weather. We are hoping we can stay for a while!

Holiday Tidbits

These were some of our highlights from the fabulous Christmas we had.

Nicholas' note to Santa

Loving the morning with presents and jammies

Ryker's new sleeping bag was an instant hit

New Year's Eve party survivor game, lipstick challenge was hilarious.

Being with the people we love, loving our kids too :)

Silly string fight!

Nicholas' first big boy New Year, staying up all night and loving every second.

 I love these handsome boys!

Party Time!

This year was Nicholas' first big boy party where the kids stayed without parents.  I wasn't necessarily planning on that... I was more used to being friends with the kids moms and the parties are a chance for all of us adults to chat too! Oh well.  The kids had a lot of fun and I felt a bit more relaxed, but the kids did still need help with getting their food, cleaning up, and moving between activities. I think 4yr olds are probably still a bit too young to be left.

Anyways, we had a great time at Nicholas' fish party.  The invitations read: "You are o-FISH-ally invited..." and Nicholas was really into the theme.  For food we had sandwiches in star shapes (so much more appealing than regular shapes), fish in water (Swedish fish in blue jello), of course goldfish crackers, fish eggs (grapes), and a few other things.

Nicholas was so happy to have his three school buddies, Kellan and Cade (twins), and Jack, in addition to his church friend Savannah, and other friend Andrew (who came later).  Ryker had a great time too, especially finishing off everyone's leftovers.

 They played a fun Go Fish game, went fishing for treasure in a shipwreck, and even watched some of our favorite parts of Finding Nemo.

  Nicholas loved his special Nemo cake and was so happy to be with his friends.

Happy Birthday Keke!

Four years ago today Jared and I became parents.  We were so worried our baby would be born on Christmas, that my mom would not be able to attend his birth (she was living in Holland at the time), and that Jared would not get much time off from his new job.  We were so blessed to have everything work out alright: my mom arrived on time, Jared's job was very accommodating and he was born 6 days before Christmas. 
We had struggled to choose a name for months and ended up naming him Nicholas after the incredible Saint who performed so much charity for others.

The last four years have been an adventure for us, learning all about this little guy and watching him grow.  He is stubborn and strong-willed, funny, and friendly and becoming very empathetic.  He is a great big brother full of patience, and always wants a hug when I raise my voice. We love our little boy!