Live in the Moment : December 2009

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Friends Forever!

These women are simply amazing and I am so blessed to call them my friends! I have known a couple of them since the 1st grade, but God brought us all together (plus a few girls who weren't able to be here) in the 8th and 9th grade. I spoke about them all here. It is so refreshing to see these women! Although we don't get to see each other as often as we would like, once we do get together, its like nothing has changed! Of course there is always a lot of catching up to do on our lives, but there is such a strong foundation and past that molds us all together! It is so neat! It was so wonderful to see each of you! It truly is amazing to see how God has orchestrated these friendships! I believe they WILL last forever. We all had our ups and downs over the years, we have busy lives with work, school, being moms...but the foundation that God set in our junior high years will last forever! I praise Him for you girls!

Those of us who are in Colorado need to see each other again soon! I'm so thankful we were able to meet up in Denver! Love you all! We missed you girls who couldn't make it this time!

Muttie and Pop Pop

We got to hang out with Muttie and Pop Pop again the other night as they were passing through the Springs. We went to Old C's where Avery enjoyed her first taste of Alfredo noodles! As you can tell from the pictures...she loved them!

She is so loved by her Muttie and Pop Pop!

Two of Pop Pop's favorites.... Avery and Beer! He is quite the beer brewer himself! He brews up some good stuff! This pictures cracks me up!

Saturday, December 26, 2009

Avery's First Christmas

Avery's first Christmas was so much fun! We spent the morning at our house with Gabe's parents. I made breakfast for all of us and then Avery opened a few gifts, which were mostly clothes! She has so many toys already so I just got her a few outfits! We spent the rest of the morning just hanging out as a family. Later, we took off to Denver to spend the rest of Christmas at my Dad's. We had a wonderful time there! Avery is so blessed to see all of her grandparents so often! My Dad and Eileen really blessed us for Christmas! Thank you! They also surprised us with a pack n play before we came back home! They bought one for their house and one for us to take home with us. I am so excited to finally own one! It will be great for traveling and even greater for whenever God decides to bless us with a second child since it converts into bassinet and changing table. To be honest, it got me excited! I don't think we are quite ready for #2, but when the time comes...we will be ready! :) Anyway...Happy Birthday DAD, I'm happy we could come stay with you guys! Thank you for everything! We love you guys!
It was a blessing to see so much of our family over Christmas, but we did miss those of you we didn't get to see! We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!

I found my two favorite dolls in a closet at my Dad's house, so I introduced Avery to them. She quickly started eating and wrestling them! How funny. I think she liked that they were her size! We brought them home with us!

Fun with Grandpa!

Avery had a blast with this cow. This was my little step sister's when she was little...I'm happy they saved it!

Checking out her new clothes!

She looked so cute in her Merry Christmas jammies!

Christmas Eve

Gabe's parents joined us for the Wonderland Christmas Eve service. It was wonderful, beautiful and powerful! Avery loved the service too because she just loves music! Music will always catch her attention. After the service, Gabe and Avery took me out to dinner to "celebrate Momma" and then we went to Gabe's grandparents for a little while to see his extended family. It was great to meet more of Gabe's family. Avery got passed around from cousin to cousin; she did so well! She definitely loves people!

I attempted to get some pictures of Avery in front of the Christmas tree before we went to church to meet up with Daddy. She was much more interested in eating the presents and bows!

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Happy Birthday Jesus!

The first year Gabe and I were married, I decided to start a tradition of baking a birthday cake for Jesus every Christmas. So, here it is...Jesus's birthday cake! I can't wait for Avery to start helping me with this! It will be so fun to have her decorate the cake next year! I am hoping each year my baking skills will improve. This cake is very lopsided, but from the top it looks pretty good! I can't seem to figure out how to get the two cakes out of the pan without them falling apart! I think it will at least taste good! Happy Birthday Jesus!

We took Avery to the mall last night to take a picture with Santa, but the line was ridiculous. So we just took this picture!

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Skating in Kansas!

We just got back from staying a night in Kansas with Muttie and Pop Pop. Soon after we arrived, Avery was surprised with a new gift. They got her a walker which she already loves. First she wasn't sure how it worked, but she quickly figured out how to walk with it. Now that we are home, she is walking all over the place! She will be walking on her own in no time!
It was a beautiful 60 degree weather day yesterday, so we spent some time walking around main street. For dinner we enjoyed some great steaks at Big Ed's in Bird City and then got Avery out on Muttie's ice rink for the first time. It was a great day! Avery was once again a joy and a trooper! Thanks for everything Muttie and Pop Pop!
We are now back home and just waiting for the huge SNOW storm we keep hearing about. We are actually praying for BIG SNOW! We would love a white Christmas!

Gabe's parents home. They moved here when Gabe was in 6th grade! It is very nicely decorated for Christmas!

Muttie's "town" skating rink! I's so cool! This is the 3rd or 4th year they have put it up in their lot next to their house. It's open for use by the entire town and the people there love it!