Happy 2009

As the year is coming to an end I have been "reflecting" on the past year and how the kids have grown and changed.
Meagan: she is our go-getter. There is no challenge that she cannot beat. She has such a confidence in herself and her abilities that she will take on anyone challenge that is placed before her and usually will do it with a smile on her face. This confidence can come off in a bad light at times and we are trying to direct her in a more positive way of asserting her abilities and "knowledge". This is a nice way of saying she can be bossy and a know-it-all and we are working on that with her. She is sweet as can be and loves to help others. She has a heart of gold and loves to learn and has a desire to push her self to be the best. She has grown so much this past year in herself and academically, she has moved up to honor roll and one of the top students in her class. She also finally lost her first 2 teeth right before Christmas, she was so excited, she felt like she was the last girl in the world to still have all there baby teeth. We are so proud of her and look forward to what 2009 will bring to her and us.
Jacob: He has begun to come out of his shell and have a little more confidence in himself. He is still extremely shy, Not as painfully shy as he used to be. He is home with me this year and I will have to admit he has driven me crazy at times, and other times I have really enjoyed having him here and our great conversations we can have during the day. He is still a tender hearted guy and hates to hurt anyone on the outside or the in, it is almost hard to discipline him when he has hurt someones feelings because he tears himself up so much. We are working on his confidence in himself and his lack of a desire to do anything that is "too hard". I have a feeling we get the confidence up the other won't be far behind. He is a Joy in our lives and we look forward to 2009 and his start of Kindergarten and the new growth that comes with that.
Ryder: Oh, boy!! He is an energetic little boy to say the least. He has really kept me on my toes this year. He is all boy, very rough and loud and energetic. His favorite thing to do is to throw or hit, if it can't be thrown or hit he doesn't want anything to do with it. I think that he will be our ball player. He's had many accomplishments in 2008 as well, from crawling to walking and talking and running. He is definitely a mommas boy but has recently become really clingy to daddy and I think he would just enjoy to have us both stay home all day together. He really misses any of his family member if they are gone for the day. When Meagan is at school he will call for her "Meanan" Meanan" and he puts his arms to both side like he's asking "where is she?" He is very sweet and is definitely doted on by everyone in our household. We look forward to what 2009 will bring to Ryder.
Hope everyone has a blessed and Joyful 2009

Yippee hooray whoo hoo!!

(Ryder and his cast)

So we got back from the cruise on Sunday December 14th at about 1:30 a.m. with a sick boy. Everyone in our house ended up with this nasty stomach bug, and our house was shut down for the week. BUT...... Since this bug was so nasty it caused horrible diarhea (gross I know!) and it oozed down Ryder's leg into the cast!! Double Yuck!! So we went to see the Doc and the Doc said CAST OFF and STAY OFF, yeah!!! So Ryder is cast free, but he still is not walking right. Weird. He won't bend his knee when he walks, They say this is normal and he should adjust himself shortly. For now it is very cute to watch his gimpy walk.

Thanksgiving traditions

Ryder decided he liked the view from John's shoulder's rather than the stroller.


The past few years on Thanksgiving morning our family has gotten up early and headed downtown for the Grateful Gobbler walk, roll, or stroll. This has become our Thanksgiving family tradition. The kids look forward to it every year. We are still trying to figure out a christmas tradition that is as fun as this turkey day one.

New Friendship's Made Old Friendship's Renewed

Beth,me and Kristy, We decided when we were (18?) That when we turned 30 we would take a trip and I think we even said a cruise (Right girls?) We were just a year late following thru on our deal but still did it and it was great to spend time with them.


"THE BOYS" Ryder, Isaac, Landon, Jacob, and Aiden. This was the only picture I got with Ryder in it, he wanted to do a funny face too, but he wouldn't stay still long enough to get a good picture.

"THE GIRLS" Outnumbered!! Meagan, Madison and Macie. Meagan and Madison really hit it off and enjoyed there time together on the boat, Macie was as sweet as could be, She amazed me with being able to sleep anywhere and seemed to be able to sleep through anything, what a great baby.

Meagan and Isaac building a sand castle at Castaway Cay (Disney's Island)

Meagan and Madison.

still sick and spreading!!!

So Jacob is still sick, no more vomitting just the other (you know!! ugh!) Ryder woke up last night with the vomitting and today John is sick!! So Meagan and I are awaiting our turn and praying that it passes us by!!

This was supposed to be our Christmas picture and it may still be!! Jacob was very mad because he wanted to wear his sweatshirt for the picture, so he would not smile or stop crying!!


Formal night.

Leaving the "Golden Mickey's". (very cute show)

Along with crusing with John's whole family we also got to cruise with my two great friends and their families. The kids had great fun and so did the adults.

First day of the cruise, getting ready to depart!!! Yippee!!!!

WAITING

We are back from our cruise. We had such a fun time. John has all the pictures on his computer so I am "waiting" for them so I can post them on my blogg. We had a great time the whole week and then realized on the drive home we were missing a bag and my cell phone!!! So Disney is shipping the bag and someone on the next cruise found my phone and called us this morning at 1:30 :) lovely!!! The drive home was also an adventure in itself, Jacob brought a bug back with him and we had many stops to dump the bucket!!! Our car was very odorous!!( is this a word, I am not sure but that is how I would describe the stench!!) So we are back with piles of laundry to do!!!

Cruisin'

Vacation here we come!!!! Tomorrow we leave for Florida to start our 7 day Disney Cruise on Saturday!!! We can't wait for beach and sun and lots of R&R. We have a cast cover for Ryder so hopefully he won't miss out on any of the fun. I will have lots of fun pictures to blogg about when we come home.