Cousin MacKenzie

Our newest niece was born December 28th, 2010. We got the privilege to go see her along with Jenna and Bill (her parents) a week ago. We had such a good time hanging out and getting to hold baby MacKenzie! She really is a precious little girl and so loved by her parents and extended family. While in CA, we also crossed paths, just for a day, with auntie Danielle and her three kids. Levi and Emerson had a blast playing with their cousins! It was so nice to send the kids outside to play on the green grass and in the sunshine. By the end of the trip Emerson kept walking to the back door, picking up his shoes, and saying "side, side (outside)". It's amazing how happy kids get when they are in the sun. We went to the beach one day which was so nice to just put our feet in the sand. I could go on and on about the trip but I will keep this short. We had a great time and maybe it will have to be a yearly thing!

No Pictures

Wow, I have no new pictures to put up of the things that have been going on in out lives. I am a pathetic picture taker! As much as it is fun to have the pictures and look back on them I just can't figure out that in order to get those pictures I have to SNAP some! Anyway, someday I might get better at it. Brad and Andrea have lived with us for a year now and I have just a handful of pictures of them with or without the boys and none with the four of us-how disappointing.

After a year, Brad and Andrea, have bought a new house (still in Anchorage) and this is moving day. We are excited to have our space back, but we are sad to see them leave. John really needed an office for his business/inventory and with a 1200 sf home we were running out of space really quick. Having the hardest time with the transition of them leaving is Levi. He loves his aunt and uncle and doesn't understand why they need their own house. It's fun to watch his relationship with them; they got so close over the course of a year.

So now that we have some space to move stuff around, we have decided to go through all of our stuff and get rid of anything we are not using. I love throwing things away and making areas neater. As I declutter, I destress! We also have a few house/yard projects planned for this summer and John and I both get excited about improving our home.

But as for now, John is doing some traveling for work. He is traveling to Memphis for a week and then Portland for four days. A few days after he gets back we get to go down to southern california to see our new niece, MacKenzie! We are all so excited to meet her and of course to see Jenna and Bill!

Christmas!

Levi got a piston cup race track for Christmas from "Santa" and he was not excited at all! Emerson got a play tent which he loves! We had a good Christmas spent with family. What a joy it is to see little kids' faces light up when they open a present (more Levi than Emerson).

The beginning of a new year, another year married!

January first not only brings the start of a new year, but also our wedding anniversary. We have been married six years!

Our Christmas Letter

We are being cheap this year and we are putting our letter on our blog for some to see.

I can't believe how fast this year has flown by! Some parts of this year have been good, some have been bad. We praise God for both, because without the hard times we wouldn't draw as close as we have with family.

We started out the year slowly. January was nice and slow since we still had a five month old at the time and things just move a little slower with a baby. At the end of January, my brother, brad, moved in with us while his wife, Andrea, was back at their house in MN wrapping up a few things to be able to move up here. Brad started a job where John was working at National Oilwell Varco. In February, Levi got potty trained over Valentines Day weekend and we started a house project that same weekend (maybe this is where the year started getting really busy). Brad and John started fixing up the room that Andrea and Brad would be staying in. We stripped the entire room down to the studs and with Brad's construction expertise the room was ready to be lived in about a month later. In March, I took a trip with the boys to visit John's sister and brother-in-law, Jenna and Bill, down in southern CA. We also traveled to Minnesota in April to visit my family in Bemidji and also to visit some friends in the cities. Both trips were so much fun as it was good to see family and friends and get out of AK for awhile. April brought the realization that things take a little longer to warm up here than they do other places-it was so cold when we got back from our vacations. May was BEAUTIFUL! Ahhh, we love Alaskan spring and summers. Over the summer we did some hiking, fishing, camping at the cabin with friends, bonfires in our backyard, yard work, and some biking. We are very blessed to live in a beautiful state and have so many beautiful things to look at around us. At the beginning of June, John's grandma Jane died, which was hard. Then in July, John's cousin Loren died, unexpectedly. We are still sad that he is gone and we are wishing he was here with us, especially around the holidays. At the end of July, John's sisters and families were able to come up for both funerals and then stay a few weeks as well. Beginning of August, John got a a new job with Smith and Nephew selling medical devices. He likes his new job very much. At the end of August, Levi celebrated his 3rd birthday and now understands what getting presents is all about. He likes to fold up a box and walk around the house singing happy birthday to him and Emerson (still). In September, we celebrated Emerson's 1st birthday and just had family over. For both boys' birthdays we were blessed with beautiful weather and we were able to celebrate outside. At the end of September and beginning of October my mom got to come up for about 10 days! Part of that time John was gone for training in Memphis so I was very thankful for the extra help. The kids always enjoy seeing Amma. In October we started our membership at The Alaska Club-a workout facility. We have been enjoying this thoroughly! I get up most mornings at 5:30 a.m. to run. John likes to take advantage of the racquetball courts with friends and the kids like the swimming pool and the rock climbing wall. November brought snow! I've had "It's starting to look a lot like Christmas" running through my head for quite awhile now. :) Also in November John's sister, Danielle, was able to come up with all three kiddos to hang out over Thanksgiving and thereafter. We had a good time hanging out and of course the kids enjoy seeing and playing with their cousins. December...it just feels like a blur at this point. I really can't believe it is already the 11th. It's fun watching Levi this year understand the birth of Jesus a little bit better. I made an advent calendar and on each pocket there is a different picture. Levi and I got to talk about the three wisemen, the shepherds, Mary and Joseph, and baby Jesus. It's neat to see the wonderment in his eyes as he processes the story. We are so thankful for a season where we can celebrate the coming of our Lord, Savior, Jesus Christ!

Other blessings this year:

*John got to go hunting for ptarmigan this year

*The boys and I go to Bible Study Fellowship every Thursday morning (we are studying Isaiah this year and they boys learn what I am learning except at their level)

*Brad and Andrea have been living with us for almost an entire year and we have enjoyed their company as well as the boys have enjoyed getting to hang out with their aunt and uncle on a daily basis.

*Two healthy boys

*The daily reminder that we are not on this earth to serve ourselves, but instead those around us and to do God's will.

*A real Christmas tree and the first one in our married life-we love the smell!

*To see our kids mature and grow up.

*The ability to see lots of family this year, and spend some good quality time with them.

We hope you are enjoying the Christmas season this far!

Merry Christmas!

John, Renee, Levi,

and Emerson

Friendship

Emerson has become a little talker (and screamer-it hurts my ears). Levi likes to pretend that he is at the start of a running race and he will bend down and get in the starting position and usually has me say "go", but now Emerson does that job for me. Haha! He says a lot of other one-syllable words but that one just makes me laugh for some reason. He is also learning how to jump, dance, clap and throw his own diapers in the garbage can. Ahh, they grow up so fast. He is such a curious little one. For awhile he was obsessed with the garbage can and would throw all kinds of things away. I found a whole thing of baby wipes in there, some of Levi's toys, magnets, and he had started putting a stuffed animal in there one time but I caught him just in time. Emerson (we call him Simmy for short) is going through that stranger anxiety stage. Levi never went through that so this is a whole new stage for us. I have a very hard time leaving him behind and he doesn't want me to leave him behind so goodbyes aren't good for us. How long does this stage last? Anyone?

Today I noticed what good friends Levi and Emerson are becoming. They were out in the living room and I was in the kitchen and I could hear them laughing and laughing. I peeked around the corner and there they were throwing the football (a nerf one) up in the air and if it came down and it them on the head or another body part they would crack up laughing. :) My heart fills with joy at the sight of them having so much fun together and without my intervention even. My prayer for them is that they would continue to be good friends all throughout their lives. I know they will have fights, but that will strengthen their friendship. About 6 months ago, Levi was so rough with his brother. He would sit on him, step on him, punch him. Now he is a little rough with him (like you would imagine an older brother would be) but genuinely cares for his brother and would protect him from other people if necessary. Watching this friendship grow makes me want to have another...but hold that thought, we haven't decided yet.

Emerson's 1st Haircut!

Here are Emerson's luscious locks before the buzz and here is his new stylin' haircut. His hair was growing in the shape of a mullet before so we thought we would even it up a bit. We hope that he has curls like Levi but we will see when it all grows back out.