"31"

This week I got to celebrate my 31st Birthday. WOW... The weekend before we celebrated with family. Monday night the girls sang and we had cake while watching the Bachelor. On Tuesday I woke up to the table decorated by my amazing hubby. The kids had gotten me a new water bottle and some of my favorite candy. Andy had given me my present a few days early...a Garmin watch (yeah...I was very surprised and loving it). Andy got me a Starbucks and I headed off the work. After work I got home to more cards from the kids and cupcakes from Icing on the Cupcake. Luke was very excited to take daddy to the cupcake store to get mommy cupcakes. After our afternoon cupcake snacks we headed outside to play. Amy and Joy both came by with goodies and all the kids played and shortly after Toni stopped by to say hi as well. I felt very special by family and friends coming by. Grandma and Grandpa came over (with flowers) and watched the kids so Andy and I could go to dinner. Later in the week I enjoyed a special lunch and pedicure date with Christina. We had a great time escaping for the afternoon. I just LOVED my birthday this year. It was simple and SPECIAL and I felt very loved!!! I look forward to a year full of new blessings and new adventures!!

Sportsman Show

Uncle Paul took us to the Sportsman Show this past Saturday. The kids enjoyed seeing all kinds of boats, fishing stuff, hunting gear, and animals. Luke even ended the evening by winning a brand new fishing pole!!!

Basketball Saturdays

Andrew has started basketball at Rocklin HighSchool on Saturdays. He loves it and especially loves playing in his new Air Jordan shoes that grandpa and grandma got him. Hopefully I'll get some better pictures in the weeks to come.

Praise the Lord for our strong Boy!!!

We are so thankful for our Andrew's energy. He loves riding his dirtbike and he is getting quite good on it. The past couple weeks were a little more difficult. He hadn't felt great and we knew his next round of scans were coming. Our anxiety level always rises a bit when he doesn't feel well. He had a MRI of his knee and a CT of his chest and abdomen on Tuesday, January 18th. On Thursday the 20th they called to say that his scans looked clear. PRAISE THE LORD!!! We haven't received the final report, but the fact that they didn't see anything on the initial report made us very happy. At this point he seems to be cancer free. We rejoiced in this news and Andy and I felt like a weight was taken off our shoulders. I think we will always worry a bit about Andrew, but it always helps to get scans back that are clear. We LOVE our boy so much and continue to be so proud of his strength throughout this whole journey with cancer.

Luke rides his Two-Wheeler

Oh my Luke....this boy got a new bike for Christmas two years ago. He had seemed a bit interested, so we bought him a bike so he could ride with Andrew. Well....getting on a bike was never quite Luke's thing to do. We tried lots of things, one on one time, taking the bike places, riding with friends...and "nope, he wasn't going to do it." Last Mother's Day we finally got him on his bike with training wheels, but that lasted for one day. So, here we are in January 2011 and LUKE has DONE IT...in his own time!!! One day Andy and I were home with just him and we took him outside because he said he wanted to ride his bike and he was EXCITED to put on his helmet (his helmet is another story, I think he threw a fit about everyday before this because he didn't want to wear his helmet). He jumped on Andrew's old bike and took off on his training wheels. We were praying that the training wheels wouldn't give way because he may never get back on the bike. This was a MOnday, and Luke was very proud of himself. Tuesday we were outside with all the neighbors and he was riding again, but he decided to lift the training wheels up. I start yelling, "Luke you're doing it, you are riding on two wheels." The only thing he wanted to do on Wednesday was go on a bike ride. I took his training wheels off and away we went on about a mile ride. By the afternoon he surprised daddy and all the neighbors by flying around the streets on his two wheeler. He looked like he ad been riding it for years. He's already gone on a couple mile ride with me and he is doing great. We are very proud of him and Luke is a constant reminder to us that we all like to do things in our own time and when we are ready!!! Love YOU Mr. two-wheeler!!!

just another week of dance...

She's too cute to not take her picture!

Sledding with a Snow Picnic

On Martin Luther King day we headed up to go sledding with the Konows, DeJongs, and Bales families. We went to one of our favorite spots off Rainbow Road. The kids go down a big steep hill on their bottoms and there is plenty of area to explore in. Luke stepped it up this year and was the first one down the mountain (he's been a little timid of the snow in years past). Andrew started off with some exploring with Mike and Allie quickly followed all the big kids around. Poor Sarah Bales took a good face dive off the sled and ended up with quite a few owies on her face. Poor girl just watched the rest of the day. We sledded, hiked around, enjoyed the beautiful sunshine (it was freezing cold and foggy back home), and spent time with good friends. The kids enjoyed filling the bathroom, which is boarded up with snow balls. Andrew said this was his favorite part! I love taking pictures on top of the hill because it has an awesome backdrop. Allie helped by taking all the family pictures, so if they are a little off center, it's because it's a 2 year olds photography skills. We all enjoyed a picnic in the snow and then everyone headed for home. We were enjoying the sun so much that we stopped in Auburn for ice cream. We sat outside in the warm sun and enjoyed our ice cream. After that it was back into the foggy cloud and chilly weather!!!

Meet GiGi and Molly

Allie LOVES playing with her dolls. These are two of her favorites...GiGi and Molly. She rescued GiGi from a garage sale and she got Molly for CHristmas from daddy and mommy. She has a little doll names Lucy that is also a favorite. GiGi and Molly are nearly part of our family. They come many places with us and are often mistaken for a real baby. The other day she had GiGi ride under the cart at the grocery store and I know I got some looks from people because at first glance she looks real. It's fun to see Allie nurture and love her babies so much, she is an amazing mommy!!!

My mornings with these 2...

I love my mornings home with Luke and Allie. They really make it quite easy. They love playing together and Luke pretty much thinks he is her dad, so he treats her like a princess. With all our cold weather, I'm not too motivated to get out of the house early because it's so COLD this winter. We have had many cozy days inside and these two love it. This morning they began pulling out all the blankets and stuffed animals, as usual. Luke loves to do this! Luke set up a mini gymnastics area for Allie. He then told me what she should do at each station. He had her doing somersaults and then jumping into the "pit" he made with blankets and stuffed animals. I could just watch and listen to these two all day. They have a great relationship and just love being together at home with one another.

Our little Ballerina & Gymnast

Allie just started a little dance/gymnastic class at "Flip To It" She was very excited about "her dance class." She talked about it days before and asked if just about everyone she knows was coming to watch her. When Monday evening came, she was very excited and kept saying, "c'mon boys, go to my my dance class." The boys watched with daddy and grandma. Luke loved taking pictures of her during her class with his new camera. Allie loved it and did great. She was a very good listener and was way too cute. They dance to Disney Princess songs and then head out to the gymnastic floor. Allie loves swinging on the bar and she even got to do a flip over the bar because she could hang so well. She has been practicing her dance moves at home and can't wait to go back!! We can't wait to watch her!!

More like his daddy everyday...

Luke loves to play basketball. Grandpa and Grandma gave the kids a hoop for Christmas and we have all spent quite a bit of time outside shooting on it, but Luke has a special interest. His friend Jacob also got him a Michigan basketball for his birthday and Luke is very proud of it. He even brought the ball in the house today to give it a bath. He has a great shot and I just love seeing the excitement in his face when he makes his shots. He is very proud of himself!! It's the perfect outdoor activity for Luke and we look forward to many more hours together with the hoop!!