Merry Christmas!!!

We hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas! We have been so blessed this year and we thank the Lord for all of his good tidings. God Bless all of our friends and family! We love you!!

THE Coolest Dog!

These are my sister's dogs, Coza and A.J. They are the neatest dogs! The are a bread called Rodesian Ridgebacks. They get their name from the ridge of hair on their back the stands straight up. They have done such a great job of training the dogs. They rarely bark and do not jump all over you. I would love to have one, but since we don't have a fenced in back yard and don't plan on fencing it in, it's probably not going to happen. I guess I will just have to enjoy Shannon and Craig's dogs for now.

Isn't She Beautiful!

This is the newest member of our family, my niece Aubrey. She is 3 weeks old and is just gorgeous! My kids are absolutely in love with her, especially Ryan. He did not want to put her down and was so gentle and sweet with her. He sat with her in his lap for a long time, singing songs to her and gently rubbing her head. I had tears in my eyes because it was that sweet. They keep asking when they can see Baby Aubrey again. They are going to be so sad when Shannon and Craig go back to Kansas City after Christmas. We are planning a trip there in the near future!

Ice!

We have some serious ice here the last 2 days. The roads aren't bad, but every other surface has a pretty thick layer of ice on it. School started late yesterday and today it was canceled because some of the school don't have power. The ice is so thick that tree limbs are down everywhere and so are power lines. Thankfully our house has not lost power, but you never know. Even though the ice is causing a lot of problems, it is actually very pretty. I just hope the roads stay okay so Jim and I can got out tonight for our anniversary. Happy Anniversary honey! I love you!!

Happy 10th Anniversary!

Happy Anniversary to my sweet husband Jim! I can't believe it has been 10 years. We first starting dating at the end of my junior year in high school (his senior year) and have been together ever since. We have been through college in Kearney, medical school in Omaha, residency and fellowship in San Antonio, and now we are back home in Kearney where Jim is in a wonderful practice. He takes such good care of me and our 2 precious children. He works so hard for us and I know there is no where he would ever want to be than home with the children and I . I couldn't ask for anything more. We have been so blessed in our 10 years of marriage. I look so forward to the many more years that we have before us. Thank you Jim for being my best friend always! I love you!!!!

Cards Galore!

Like everyone else, I love getting Christmas cards. This year they were a little slow starting out, but lately they have been arriving like crazy. Since we have lived in 3 different cities since we have been married and have gone through medical school, residency, and now a practice, we have friends spend out all over the county. It is so nice to see all of the pictures and read the letters, especially of the friends we don't get to see on a daily basis. As I look through the cards, I realize how incredible blessed we are to have so many wonderful friends and family. We thank the Lord for all of the blessing he has given our family. We also as for any of you who are reading this to please say some extra prayers for Jim's father. He was just readmitted to the Medical Center in Omaha where he had his kidney transplant a few months ago. He is having some severe complications and needs all the well-wishes he can get. Thank you! We wish all of you a very Merry Christmas!!!

Photoshop Fun

I'm posting instead of Bridget. We have a friend who does some professional photography and showed me a few photoshop tricks. I had this full color picture of Alex and cropped, desaturated, and recolored portions. Check the eyes an lips.

New Christmas Tradition

The other night we decided to decorate the gingerbread kit I purchased at Target. I have never decorated a gingerbread house before (or not that I remember). The kids had a blast! Ryan is very artistic and detail-oriented (read: anal). It was driving him a little crazy that Alex and I were just slapping that candy on the house wherever we wanted. I think he thought we should have more of a plan to our madness.
Today Ryan has his Christmas program at his preschool. Our town does not have many preschools and the ones that they do have are affiliated with churches, which is fine, it would just be nice if our Catholic church would have one as well. The would have so many children. My friends and I are not lacking for children. :) But I digress. His school is a PreK-8th grade Luthern school. It is really a nice school and they do a good job. I am just hoping the program won't be too long since all graded will be performing. Alex does not sit still (unless she is watching Doodlebops). I will post pictures from the program later. Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Viva Las Vegas!

I realized today that I have not posted about Jim's brother's wedding in Las Vegas over Thanksgiving weekend. We had so much fun and it was a beautiful wedding. We gambled a little, ate a lot, and did some shopping. Jim spoiled me with a pair of Jimmy Choo shoes. I love them! They are actually so very comfortable. Jim's mom flew up from Austin, TX to stay with the kids. They had a great time getting spoiled! :) We wish Sarah and Chris all the happiness in the world!