Go Huskers!

A requirement for living in Nebraska, Huskers shirts!

It was a Merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas

Thursday the girls started making cards for the assisted living center

down the road.

They recruited their friends too so by the end they had quite a few cards. These four girls and one more went to the center Christmas Eve afternoon to spread some Chirstmas cheer, and that they did. It really was fun, some of them just couldn't figure out why they did that, they kept asking what group we were with. How fun to say, it is just because, we will definately keep doing it. It was a beautiful day so the girls enjoyed the sunshine outside and then we had their favorite dinner they talk about all year long. Dinner with candlelight. We could have mac-n-cheese and they would be thrilled as long as it is candlelight. Then after that we headed to the candle light service at church.

After church we had dessert and they got to open one present, they each got a new cd for the karaoke machine. We saved the rest for morning because we didn't have to rush off anywhere and we would be home the whole day. Daddy got a new sweatshirt and I got two gifts. Kylie gave me a card and a bracelet she made and Karinda made me a book and a card.

In the morning the girls did awesome being patient waiting for us to open the rest of their gifts.
Karinda got some doll stuff for Kylie and Kylie picked out a new notebook and two card games for Karinda. They got a few things from us too and Daddy got a board to set up the train set downstairs with him! Eric took the girls shopping earlier this week and they gave me a super cute purse, a ring, necklaces and earrings.

Eric is loving his new hooded sweatshirt too!

Cambridge Church Christmas Program

Our Little Angels!
This is the kids choir ages 4-12. They did great!
Here are just a few songs from their program Sunday morning.

AlI I Want for Christmas is my Two Front Teeth

Perfect timing for some Christmas pictures!

Christmas Past and Present

On Friday we took a trip
to Grand Island for the
day. We ran to errands
during the day and at
night we went to the Stuhr Museum. They had a special thing called Christmas Past and Present. It was really fun for me and the girls. They have a whole town set up like a train town from 1890. The whole thing was lit with lanterns and decorated for Christmas. We got to go in the hardware store, mill, hat shop, city hall, houses, church, mercantile, and for a hay ride. There were people all dressed up and in character for us to meet. The girls got to make some ornaments for the tree and a little train at the mill, they were so proud. We would have loved for Eric to come with us but I have decided if we wait for him we won't do anything :(

This week has been good, a little rough at times. Karinda is a very emotional child, I am finding when she is in a good mood, all is well and when things turn bad they are very bad. She can get very angry at times and I am beginning to wonder if this is normal. We had the same thing in Michigan and I thought it was the seperation of our family but obviously not because this has not changed being here. In Michigan she would say it was because of her sister or that she missed her daddy. This week she first said it was because of her sister and when I wouldn't buy that and tried to have her journal why she gets so mad and write all the things she is thankful for she wouldn't. I tried to talk to her and remind her of the good things in her life and remind her of all the friends she has made she said "but I can't make a new grandpa and grandma." Talk about rip your heart out and feel like a failure. If anyone has any tidbits of info or words of advise I would very much welcome them.

Although Karinda's eyes look funny here, I think she is getting enough sleep.

F

Thanksgiving and the Turkey Trot

My parents made the treck out here on Wednesday for Thanksgiving. Kylie loved helping in the kitchen, helping peel potatoes with Nana. I bought the smallest turkey I could find at the supermarket, he was 23.06 pounds, but it was awesome and we have lots of leftovers.

We had a great time hanging out with my parents and we had a good Thanksgiving. This morning it was 20 degrees and Cambridge had a Turkey Trot so the girls and I ran the 1k. Karinda and I finished and Kylie made it half way. It is a good thing it is Cambridge and I could ask the people at the half way mark to take her back, gotta love a small town. The 1k felt good and someone said the girls could hang with them while I ran the 5k, so I did. I ran the whole thing, not fast but I did it!

Another Surprise Visit for the Girls!

Carter and Trey!













Friday morning Karinda was surprised when Uncle Brian knocked on the window and then Carter got to go wake Kylie up! Carter and Trey came with Uncle Brian, Aunt Kelly, and Kelly's parents Jim and Marianne DeJonge. We had a great time with our visitors. Kylie did whatever Carter wanted and Karinda loves hanging out with Trey. When the boys were sleeping they had fun with Aunt Kelly doing some crafts that she brought.

Eric and Brian with the kids, could anything be sweeter!?!

The Big Reveal! From Drab to Fab!

The basement stairs, we added walls instead of spindles, and a door to our bedroom.

Where the bedroom door was (off the kitchen) we took a wall out, moved the refrigerator over and put the walkway in its place.

The kitchen carpet

replaced with tile.

The wall that got the ball rolling. There was a long narrow hallway from the front door so we took that wall out and opened up the dining room.

The kitchen and dining room.

The entrance from the
bedroom to the closet and

bathroom to make more
room in the closet and another
big wall in the bedroom.

Our bedroom, we moved the entrance door and the doorway to the closet and bathroom.

This is the girls bathroom.

These are the girls rooms. Karinda wanted pink and peace signs.

Kylie wanted her comforter from home and a red stripe, she also wanted her "Fruit of the Spirit tree."

Birthday, Birthday, Birthday

The girls went to another birthday party yesterday for their friends Ellie and Monique, it was a dress up party and they looked so cute. This was the third birthday party they went to in 8 days. Our birthday party spree started last week Friday, with a Luau party for their friend Lexie. Sunday they went to the park for their friend Breelle, and yesterday. Thankfully they were both invited to them all. It has been fun and a good sign that they are making a lot of friends here!

Corn piles

Here in Nebraska this is so common no one even pays attention, CORN PILES. There is even a small town elevator that ran out of room so they put it in the city street. NCP (Nebraska Corn Processing) also ran our of room and has two corn piles. It amazes me that it is corn,

easily amoused I guess. The girls were pretty amazed by it too. A few nights this week we would drive out in the field and watch the deer back there. The girls also loved it, they loved to talk about what the deer were thinking, it was so cute. Later in the week one of the guys working saw the deer eating the corn from one of the corn piles. He said to Eric, "You are late I just caught some of those deer eating our profit sharing." (He has an adorable spanish accent which made it very funny.)

Happy Birthday Kylie Jean!

Tuesday we celebrated Kylie's birthday!

First thing in the morning Kylie got to open her gift from her sister, the game Operation. Once they had played enough of that we did some baking. Then out to enjoy the beautiful day before bringing Karinda to Girl Scouts so we could bake some more and get

ready for our special guests.

We invited our friends the Sines and our favorite "resident uncle"
Mr. Chris over for cake. We would have had then for dinner but we

still don't have a table. Kylie was so patient and waited all day to open
her gift from grandpa and grandma and us, a karaoke machine. It has been so fun, the girls have been loving it, but it has just made it a little hard to concentrate on school. I am sure it will wear off and in the mean time they are reading and singing right!?!