My Little Bruiser

Leif always has either a black eye or huge bump on his head! He is all boy! He happened to open the coffee table door onto his face the other day and had a pretty good black eye. I did not get a picture of it at its worst but here it is almost healed.

Bath Time Fun

Every once in a while the kids get to take a bath in our big bath tub with bubbles! They always have a blast and beg to do it everyday after. Leif although about has a heart attack when we turn on the tub jets. It is pretty funny!

Walking With Dinosaurs!

We went to Walking with the Dinosaurs with our neighbors the Bostons! The kids had a great time and were loving the show. Lily leaned over to me once and whispered in my ear, "Mom, I don't want to walk with that Dinosaur." That was when the T-Rex came out. Too funny. We enjoyed the show and then went to eat some Mexican food and then off to a little cup cake shop downtown to enjoy dessert. It was a fun night! Thanks Bostons.


Cupcakes After Dinner! A Big Hit!

Lily devoured her cupcake! I think she liked it!

These guys really like to play with their neighbor Ethan! What a cute kid he is!

Both Top Teeth Gone!!!

Jacob finally lost his second top tooth. His first one fell out when he was about 2 1/2 years old by accident and now the other side matches. What a cutie!!

Cute Cousins

We were babysitting Brenna and Cannon and the kids had a blast all morning. No one even fought the whole morning! I think we can do this more often!

Future Acreage

So, my in-laws were kind enough to agree to sell us 5 acres of land which is just over 3 miles from my office (very sweet!) Heather and I hope to build our (her) dream home on. Its been untouched for years and years and nature has taken over. The majority of trees are Black-Jack Oaks which can turn into giant shrubs if left alone. Intermingled among these are some very cool Elms and more desirable species of Oaks. My Saturday workout for the last 2 winters has been to try an tame this wilderness. I didn't get good pictures before I ever started. I did take some this fall (08) and this is roughly what I started with:

Here are some shots from a bit farther back: sides are from the fall, middle is this winter



I can usually handle a couple of hours before I've had it. This is an area around an elm tree that I really like and have spent a lot of time clearing out.



I've accumulated a bit of a brush pile:



My dad and I planted 7 trees (5 maples) in some of the open areas. Unfortunately in the fall the deer stripped the bark on the maples. The Jury is still out but I tried to protect the ones that were left with a fence.


I learned the hard way that fall, after the first freeze 'til spring is the time to work in the brush. I went out in the summer and became a gracious host to dozens of ticks. I think I'll have it taken care of in about 10 yrs.

A New Year Of Hope

We are excited to start this new year. Surely it begins in uncertain and perilous times. Economic hardship spreads around the world as we perhaps sink into depression. There are wars and rumors of wars. People are sacrificing on all fronts. However, at the same time we share a feeling of hope with the nation and the world. We stand firm in our faith, comfort, and the knowledge that the gospel of Jesus Christ brings to us. We are certainly hopeful for the future. The memory of the inauguration of our 44th president is still fresh. It was a jubilant and inspiring event in the midst of so much that is not. Truly this is a historic time, being that Barack Obama is our nation's first African American president. But even more than that is the sense that our nation sits at a crossroads of sorts. New developments of the recent past have spurred on national reflection and evaluation. We have to make important decisions about how to protect ourselves, how to power ourselves as well as how to protect our environment just to name a few. Amidst great synasizm for government and its seemingly inherent corruption, we find hope as a nation in someone who seems to truly and genuinely want to do what is best for our nation and the world. His inaugaration speech was inspiring. Images seen from the site brought awe at the sheer quantity of humanity that wanted to be there, to be a part of history. President Obama instilled a hope in his speech that we as individuals and as a nation will do the work necessary, make the decisions necessary, to bring about positive change. Our hope and prayer is that he is the leader to do it and that it will be done wisely and righteously. May God bless, guide and protect him and the other leaders of this nation. We so desire that the future that we are preparing for our children and our children's children will be a prosperous one of joy, hope and respect. May this year be a great year!