We found some old photo albums while doing some cleaning at my parents. The kids got a kick out of seeing old pictures of their mom and looking a lot younger.

A New Do

We decided it was time for a short easy hair do for Miss Meryn. She was so excited to go back to the salon to get pampered. She loves it and has been showing off all day! I think this will make my mornings a lot easier.

One Year Later

One year ago (Jan 6th to be exact) was not a fun day for Meryn. Actually is was an awful day for all of us! We are SO happy with how her lip has healed. The biggest reminder is the missing front tooth. We are just happy the permanent tooth did not decide to drop down and come in(we were told this may happen). She is such a sweetie and we are so glad this really was just a minor set back.

Igloo

Never at a loss for imagination. The kids were playing outside this evening, they had me come out to see what they had done. When I came out, I was surprised to see they had made an igloo. One that was almost big enough to get completely inside. I was pretty impressed at how well they made it. They're looking forward to it freezing tonight so they can add more to it tomorrow. They sure are ingenious!

Making the best of things!

The kids have found ways to even enjoy the ice. They figured out that they can run and slide half way down the back yard if they do it right. Meryn even got into it. They also got their electric scooters out to pull each other around. It's fun to see them make the best of things.

Max the bull

Well, for the past year and a half or so, I have been helping out a family in our church take care of their cattle. They have 86 right now, which makes it fun keeping them happy. It's funny, as soon as I get there and they see me, they'll start mooing continuously until they can bury their snouts in some tasty morsels. As you can imagine, being a city boy, this has all been very interesting and way out of the ordinary for me, but I've really enjoyed it and could see myself having my own. Anyway, I talked to Rocky, the guy I have been working for, about buying some beef from him when they slaughter. We had it worked out but then the other day, I was feeding and "Helen"gave birth to a red bull. Very interesting to see the front feet and tongue sticking out her rear end. Well, he decided that this bull would make the best meat. SO now we have Max the bull, soon to be steer. I had to ear tag him with a 1/4 inch earring to mark him as mine. Didn't seem to bother him much. Bothered momma to have me messing with him. Anyway, after he gets big and fat, he'll be stocking our freezer for a year or so.

Playing on the Ice

Snapshots

Meryn got some play makeup for Christmas. She loves it, but would love it even more if her brothers would play "dress up" with her. Trevin decided to be a good sport after I convinced him there wasn't any color to the lip gloss. He DID NOT want purple lips!

Dude

We watched "Dude" over the holidays for some friends. He was a great dog, very easy and made me feel like I could probably get used to having a dog. That was, until Meryn confirmed our suspicion of having an allergy to dogs. She broke out with a bad rash and is just now (2 weeks later) not needing benadryl all day long for the itching. There are still 4 boys in this house not giving up on getting a dog. It will just have to stay outside I guess.

More Pictures

Brendon and Caleb watching Maggie play her gameboy

Meryn and Eli playing beautiful music.

Meryn playing with the little people nativity

Christmas 2006

Brendon, Caleb and Trevin were all very excited to get electric scooters for Christmas. Meryn got her wish with a new pink bike.

Caleb has been wanting a robe for quite a while and was very excited to get one. He wears it all the time.

Wow, What an adventure Christmas 2006 was. 39 screaming people, elbow to elbow, standing room only, enjoying the fun and excitement of Christmas. We were blessed to have everyone here from KC, Iowa and even Grandpa & Grandma from Salina. It was all so exhausting, but we will always cherish the memories.

Christmas Eve

We started Christmas this morning with the kids opening their stockings. They were so excited with every little thing they received. They are such appreciative kids.

School Christmas Program

Brendon and Caleb had there 3rd & 4th grade school program/musical last night. They were a frog and a cow, in case you couldn't tell. They all got to make there own costumes. They loved singing the songs and did a great job.

BEST FRIENDS

THEN AND NOW