Monday, January 26, 2009

Isaiah's Candles

For those who were at Isaiah's party - this is probably what you remember from it! For those who weren't there - you're going to love this video!

Siblings

We had our picture made by Davy Knapp this Christmas & here are my siblings - John, Lisa & Laura - and my mom. When I was posting this, I thought it might be fun to compare some past family pictures.

This was at our great-grandparents house - I know, I'm looking good with my Cabbage Patch Kids, chewing gum!
This was Christmas 1982 when I was 4, my brother 2 and our sisters only 6 weeks old. Pretty precious.

Quite a blast from the past pulling out these pictures. It really was wonderful growing up with my precious, amazing siblings. Love you all.

Monday, January 5, 2009

Christmas in Colorado with the Koettings

After Christmas with my family, we loaded up the car & began our trek to Winter Park, CO. We drove to Raton Christmas evening & had a lovely stay there. Isaiah did so well sleeping in a pull-out couch bed all by himself! Then, we drove the rest of the way to Snow Mountain Ranch, which is 12 miles past Winter Park. The drive was a bit challenging as I have now confirmed that Abigail gets motion sickness in the car. Thankfully she didn't get sick, but was very nauseous & let us know it by wining, crying and at times screaming. Needless to say, we were glad to arrive! Almost all of Dan's family celebrated Christmas there together! We didn't brave the nordic skiing, but the kids did partake in the sledding and ice skating. Otherwise, we did mostly indoor activities, including the arts & craft place, roller skating, and the indoor pool. It was a nice vacation with the family.

We returned to Amarillo via the Castle Rock Outlet Mall a few days before the 1st. I finally got all of the Christmas decorations down and in the garage last night!

It's hard to believe we were in Italy last year for Christmas and New Year's - it's fun to be out of town, but hopefully it will work out next year to just stay home!

Colby started school again today, which was a bit depressing for me. I don't really know why, but he was amazing during the break - so helpful and kind. He also became very lovey-dovey, always wanting to sit in your lap and be held. A different side of Colby that hasn't come out in a while, but it was really nice!

Abigail & Isaiah go back to preschool and mother's day out tomorrow while I get to go back to work. So, here goes another crazy semester!

Merry Christmas

After Isaiah's birthday, we began celebrating Christmas with family. First, we went to my grandparent's house, Mum & Pappy's to have Christmas with them and my dad & fam. Of course, we enjoyed some wonderful cooking, including Mum's world famous mashed potatoes that are quite challenging to duplicate! (I love you Aunt Teresa)

Then, we began festivities with my mom playing the money game. We have been playing the money game for as long as I can remember. I think my grandmother began the tradition long ago! Different amounts of money are put in cans that in turn you get to shake, steal & finally end up with the one you get to open. I remember as a child wanting the ones that were loud and heavy. But, in my wise old age I now go for the quieter ones with the bills inside! This year Isaiah even joined in the fun & wanted to shake every single can. In the end my mom and aunt were the ones who ended up with the most money - and they're the ones who filled the cans! It was lots of fun!

Christmas day we gathered for present opening and aquired many precious items. The afternoon ended with the last 2 pictures below - my mom encouraged Abigail & Isaiah to pretend to be Mary & Baby Jesus. They took turns being each of them! I really can't believe that my 2 year old was playing make believe - yes, he had his gun in his hand, but he was really trying!!

Isaiah's 2nd Birthday

Isaiah turned 2 on December 21st. I know I have condemned him to a life of challenging birthdays because of Christmas being 4 days later. But, there's a few good points - out of town family are usually in town because of the holidays, and as Colby decided - you get lots and lots of presents! My brother's birthday is the day after Christmas & my grandmother, who's in heaven now had her birthday the day before. So, I grew up with fitting in birthdays around Christmas already! Anyway, we had a great time.

For those who were there, you witnessed Isaiah blowing out his candles. He was very determined! He tried to blow them out by blowing up - this lasted for a for a few minutes! It didn't even discourage him that everyone was laughing! I do have it on video & if I can figure out how to put it on here, I will!

There were too many pictures to pick from so, I tried out a slide show below: