Our Aweful Beautiful Life

When Jason and I first started dating, I can remember his Mom & Aunt Debbie telling me stories of then 10 & 12 year old Jacob and Silas and some of the things they said, in public, that made them cringe. Like Silas falling off the bunk beds, and when questioned about the bruises at school, replying, "it's a family matter". Or dear, tender uncle Jacob, having just endured his Grandfathers death, and Jason buying a house, and Jessica moving on to college telling the school nurses that "our family is just falling apart"..................Mr. Drama he was! ;) Well, I knew our time would come right? All parents with small children know their day will come when a story will get misconstrued and repeated in the most inappropriate of times. When our school years started with the kids, I remember hearing or reading somewhere that teachers will only believe half of what our children tell them about us, if we promise to only believe half of what our children tell ...

All in all, 2015 was pretty darn good to us. We were blessed in many ways, had a lot of fun, made some great memories which I hope are reflected here. I'm sure I've over looked a few, and I hope those engrained so deep in my memory I can't get to them, but all in all -- we are so grateful for our families, friends, and the opportunities we are given. Kids, Dad and I are so proud of you. You are each growing and learning and changing, adn it is sooo fun to watch. Even if I lose my cool in the 7:30am rush. Or in the 6:00pm "don't eat one more single snack I am cooking you supper, just be patient" rush.  I know I've raised my voice or lost my cool more than I should have this year, and I'm going to work on that, but know beyond the shadow of a doubt that you are loved. You are so loved, and I'm only doing my best to raise you up to be independent, well behaved, mannered, KIND young kids. We love you to the moon. Cheers to 2016!

Post Christmas things slowed down a bit...but we still found ways to have fun. We were nothing but LAZY the day after Christmas....which was wonderful since it was pouring buckets of rain and really windy. By 4pm, we'd had enough.....and Jason has schemed a plan to finally buy the coyote caller he'd had his eye on. So, we cleaned up, used Outback giftcards for a family date, and made our Christmas returns. In the rain. With three kids. Call us crazy, but it was a great night together! I'll let our pictures tell the story of the rest of our break. Malone's Gym with friends, ice cream in the new ice cream maker Patricia (boss) got me, girls night in with Stac, Nat, Keng & kiddos....and Jason and Kent! A shopping day for Me & Momma, a trip to Valpo to exchange our boots and an overnight with Mamps & Paps, and then finally ....NYE 2106. New Years Eve was................................... chaotic fun! We kicked off the day with bowling at Aul...

60 degrees and rainy/sunny/windy aren't exactly words I'd use to describe Christmastime. Usually it's snow, brisk, bright & flurries that fill my Christmas post...but not this year. We were blessed to only have a handful of places to go, but still got to see a lot of our family. It was great to see everyone, on a more spread out schedule, not making the holidays feel like  WORK. We wrapped up our pre-Christmas weekend with the Stockment Christmas and had a great afternoon with family. The weather was perfect for the kids to play outside some, which, in Grandma Pat's tiny house stuffed full of family, is a nice retreat!  It was a fun evening, and even more fun for the bigs, as they got to go home with Karlie & Luke (Isaac & Kate) for a sleepover! It was a great evening for us to enjoy/focus on Keaton and a fun way to kick off no school for two weeks! Jason and I worked Monday & Tuesday, then I was off Wednesday to do last minute shop...