Update, Laundry and Head Locks!

We will be fixing or replacing our swing set. Our insurance company is paying for the removal and replacement of the three trees we lost and will replace the swing set too. We do know the beam that held the swings snapped in two, however, until the tree comes off, we won't know if the whole thing is a total loss.

Funny Story...I took the boys upstairs the other day to put away laundry and baracaded them in Xan's room with the launday basket (I let a friend borrow our gate). Brennan did great until I went out of sight. I had to run into the master bedroom very quickly to grab some hangers and I heard Xan yell, "No Brennan, you can't go out of the room! NO Brennan you can't go down the stairs! NO BRENNAN NO!!!!!" Keep in mind, I was only gone for a second and as soon as I heard Xan yelling, I came running. What I found was both boys, just outside of Xan's room and Xan had Brennan in a serious head lock. Normally I would not be very happy about Xan treating his brother this way, but I was sooo happy that Xan was truly worried about his brother's safety and would do whatever it took to keep him safe. Xan got a big high five, a lot of praise and some money for his piggy bank. Needless to say, I got a gate, so no more escaping.

It Was Fun While It Lasted

We had a huge wind storm on Wednesday and a huge pine tree in our backyard was up rooted and landed on our swing set. A tree also fell and landed right next to my car. My car is fine, only a few scratches. I am so thankful that no tree fell on our house and that my boys are happy and healthy.










You can see where my car was parked, the only part of the black top that doesn't have any broken limbs on it. The tree literally landed all around my car, but not on it. God is good!

Out of the mouths of babes!

Xan was running around the house the other day pushing Brennan's walker and he was being VERY loud. The loudest part of the whole thing was when he would roll the walker over the strip of wood that covers the seam where the hardwood meets the tile floor (What is that called?) I showed him how to "pop a wheelie" over that strip of wood so that he wasn't being so noisy. A few minutes later I hear Xan say, "Momma can I do a wedgie?"






Notice the tongue...now that's concentration

Please Pray

Please pray for Kevin and Laura Cuthbertson. I met both of them while working in the Financial Aid Office at Southern Seminary. They have a beautiful, healthy little girl. However, this past year have suffered two miscarriages and now they have lost their beautiful baby boy, Max, whom they were adopting from Ethiopia. Max died at the orphanage sometime within the past 24 hours and their hearts are breaking once again. Their love for Max was deep and they considered him their own even though they had only seen him in pictures. Please pray for these precious people.

19 Christmas Trees

Several people have asked about the 19 Christmas trees that Bucky mentioned in church a few weeks ago. Well, I don't have pictures, but here is where we put them all...
Master Bath - one 3 foot tree
Xan's Bedroom - one 3 foot tree
Living Room - one 7 foot tree
Kitchen - one 7 foot tree and eight 1 foot trees to decorate the counter top.
Dining Room - one 6 foot tree
1/2 bath - one 1 foot tree

So that is a total of 14 trees. We did have 3 other trees up last Christmas that we just didn't have time to put up this year.

Merry Christmas Part 2

We always have a jam packed Christmas when we return to Tennessee. We left on Tuesday morning and drove to Cleveland, TN and had Christmas with Bucky's step mom and her parents. Then we drove to Whitwell, TN to spend the night with my (Julie's) mom. We spent Christmas Eve morning with my mom and my oldest sister Lisa and my other sister Lauren, my brother-in-law Jeremiah, and their three kids August, Avolin, and Israel. We then went to my dad and Karen's house for Christmas Eve afternoon. After that, we drove back to my mom's house and spent the night and had Christmas morning with my mom and grandparents. Christmas lunch we drove back to Cleveland to spend the afternoon with Bucky's dad's side of the family. After that we drove to Nashville, TN (2 and half hours from Cleveland) to visit Bucky's mom and step dad. We always have a bonfire and roast hot dogs and marshmallows and then end the evening with fireworks. So much fun packed into a small amount of time.

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Xan checking out what is in his stocking


Xan admiring his new Thomas tracks.







Xan and Brennan all bundled up, ready to see the fireworks.





Home at last, enjoying his new Thomas tracks.

Merry Christmas

We had our annual "Family Christmas Day" today. We always travel to Tennessee to spend Christmas with our families, therefore, we started a family tradition last year where we set aside a day to spend at home and open gifts. We want to give the boys an opportunity to enjoy their new toys (and mom and dad) before the hustle and bustle of the Holiday begins. Prepare for picture overload...

Xan found his Thomas band aids in his stocking.


What's in here?


THOMAS PAJAMAS!!!!



Brennan distracted me for a minute and when I turned around I saw this...


He put the pajamas on and wore them all day long.




Brennan was equally excited about the Thomas band aids




We got Brennan a swing, he loves to swing!






Xan also got a new train. It's a Lionel brand train, not exactly a toy. He refers to it as "my train without a face." (All his Thomas trains have faces.) He laid in the floor and watched for a loooong time.






So much fun makes a little fella tired