Saying Goodbye to 2010!

I have no idea where this year went! I think time passes more quickly as you get older. The Douberlys accomplished a lot this year. We made it through Dustin's deployment, we found a new house, we moved to Mississippi, we fought for the boys' education and succeeded, we've settled in with great neighbors, I went back to Weight Watchers and have lost almost 4 pounds in 2 weeks, and we are looking forward to what 2011 will hold for us. Hopefully it will be a good one. Dustin and I will celebrate our 10th anniversary this year! We'll be going on a cruise to Jamaica, the Cayman Islands, and Mexico. I am definitely looking forward to that. Even sooner than that I am going on another cruise with my mom in February, quite honestly because I am going crazy and need a vacation. :) Best Wishes to all 3, maybe 4, of you who read this! Happy 2011! I hope it's our best year yet!

Christmas Morning

Christmas morning was an exciting one this year. Kelsey was old enough to open gifts and was all smiles all morning! The other three knew the routine and were very patient as each person got to open their gifts. We like to take turns and I love that they are excited to watch others open their gifts and well as open their own. The boys each made me a gift and I loved those the most! After all the gifts under the tree were opened and tummies were full of candy (yikes!) we told the kids that we needed to go check on the cat. Really we wanted them to see this gift pictured above. It wasn't really a lie since the dog had attacked the cat the day before and we were worried about her. Anyways, this go cart was waiting for them outside! Wow! I never had anything like that! And it goes FAST! Like more that 35mph! We let them drive it around the yard first. Dustin failed to teach Henry about the brakes...the old Power Wheels Henry used to drive simply stops when you let off the gas. The first thng Henry did was mow over my brand new lights trees I had in the front yard! I mean mowed them over- zoom! Dustin said he could fix them. I made him promise no duct tape!

More from Christmas Eve

Here is Dad reading the Nativity story from Luke 2. It's something we do every Christmas Eve after everyone has their new jammies and new pillowcases on. After this I read "Twas the Night Before Christmas" and off to bed they went! Jeff woke us at 4:06am to let us know Santa had come and that "it was getting light out". I told him that was the street light and to go back to bed! He fell asleep on the couch looking at the tree and the gifts!

THE KIDDOS

I almost forgot to post a pic of the four kids together. This is not an easy shot to get and I always wish I could just photoshop one good smile from each kids into one photo, but I don't know how to do that. So this is what you get! It's pretty good, no one is crying and everyone is looking the right direction!

The Fam

We have had a great year. Things are so much better since our move to Mississippi! It was one of our best choices! It's lovely here. We love our house, our yard, our neighborhood, the boys' school, the weather, the beach, the fun things to do, the base, and Dad loves his new job. I don't know if Dustin will ever get me out of here. :)

HENRY!

No doubt about it...Henry is growing up! This year was a special one for Henry. He was baptised this summer and started Cub Scouts, which he loves! When Henry was in preschool, we had a parent teacher conference and the teacher said, "Henry is high energy". Nothing has changed. The boy doesn't stop. He loves to play outside, play pirates, ride his bike, and play the Wii. He's pretty good at that thing and can figure out new games in a heartbeat. I am always thankful when I am not last on MarioKart and he's screaming into first! His teacher is often impressed with his intelligence and how well he does on testing...even material that is completely new to him in the form of pretests, but she says, "Henry makes me earn every penny!" He is all over the place. We are so glad we switched schools. North Bay embraces Henry's energy and finds ways to keep him engaged. Our old school would've just broken him into their mold. How sad that would have been! We are excited to see the young man Henry becomes. That energy has got to be put to good use!

JEFFREY!

Oh, my Jeffrey! Jeff's had a big year. He is doing so well with wearing his patch for the recommended time each day. Most days he has a very good attitude about it and I am so proud of him for that. His lazy eye is improving and he is able to see more clearly with it. His doctor thinks by the end of summer he'll only be wearing it every other day. We are looking forward to that! Despite his eye sight Jeff is doing really well in school and is a wonderful student and friend. His teacher is very impressed with his attitude and perseverance, even though it's pretty hard right now. We love Jeff. He is a thoughtful and loving child who loves to draw you pictures. He is a great artist and can often be found with art supplies in hand.

JENNA!

Here's Jenna! She was so excited about Christmas! She is at a very fun age! I love 4! She is so smart and is always asking questions. She usually phrases them as a statement with a "right?" at the end. Like, "Christmas is the best day of the year, riiight?" with an emphasis on the "riiight?" It's pretty funny. She really wants to take dance class and I really need to find one that doesn't break the bank. I mean she's 4. I am not interested in developing a career for her. I want her to twirl around with other little girls for about an hour once a week. Anyways, Jenna loves to play pretend and to color, color, color! She also wants to go to school and can write some letters. She is way ahead of the boys when they were 4 and I think she's really going to excel in school. We love Jenna and can't imagine life without her.

KELSEY!

We'll start with the baby! Kelsey is developing quite the personality as she grows up! She definitely has her own opinions on things and let's us know it! She loves men and will go to any "Daddy" at church who will pick her up. She doesn't like to give kisses and shakes her head "no" if you ask her for one. It's funny and we kiss her anyway. She loves to run outside and to follow the cat around and around and around. Thankfully the cat doesn't seem to mind. She looks just like Henry did at this age. She has a couple of winter fleece jammies that are probably meant for boys (one s light blue with snowmen and one is green with one snowman on the chest) and she is just a little Henry in them. It's like going back in time! We are so grateful to have Kelsey in our family. We are fairly certain she is our "baby" (God will have to make something happen- we are not!) and we are looking forward to the next chapter in our family.

Frustration!

So, we dislike BellSouth very much. Only BellSouth doesn't really exist anymore. It got bought by AT&T. Yet, it still stinks like BellSouth. All they've changed is their name. We had trouble with BellSouth in GA, now we are having trouble in MS. Frustrating. Our internet is slower than dial-up yet we pay a lot of money to AT&T. We call, they tell us they will do things and they don't, they hang up on us (accidentally, of course) and they transfer us to offices that are closed for the evening. I am writing all this because I have a ton of Christmas photos that I have been trying to upload for a week now and I can't because it overloads or something and won't do it. So now I think I am going to have to upload these bad boys one at a time and that it going to drive me nuts!

400 Posts and Another Lost Tooth

So, I noticed as I signed in that this is my 400th post! Wow! Yay for me! :)

Here is Jeff with another tooth lost. This time, we were in Target...4 kids and myself trying to Christmas shop for Dad. Jenna gave Jeff one good bump with an elbow and out it came...in the Christmas decor isle...the farthest place from the restrooms in the entire store! Luckily it's been ready to come out for a LONG time and didn't bleed much and luckily I carry tissues. He was pretty happy it was out and enjoyed finding money under his pillow the next day.

Our Tree

Life seems super busy right now, although there's really not that much going on. I don't know what it is, but I have been having trouble getting into the spirit of the season this year. In spite of that, Christmas is just around the corner and I am getting things finished up. The trees been up for a little while now and I am happy to report Kelsey is leaving it alone. I can't say so much for some little ones I watched who broke one of my favorites, but life goes on, that's for sure. Dustin is away this weekend at a friend's military graduation. I am hoping to get as much done while he's gone so I can relax the last few days before the holiday especially since he's off all this next week. I am hoping to take some great photos of the kids in their Christmas outfits this week, too. We'll see. I have been to the doctor with both Kelsey and Jeff in the last 4 days both with ear infections. They don't look to photogenic at this point, but hopefully by Wednesday everyone will be happy and well. Merry Christmas!

Numero Uno!

I won! I won! I won!

Oh, I mean Dustin's sqaudron won! Dustin's squadron won! Dustin's squadron won!

Dustin called and asked me about 2 weeks ago to help with their squadron's giant christmas card. It's made on a 4x8 sheet of plywood. I have made one before and knew it was a big job. It got even bigger when Dustin's squadron commander made a few suggestions. I designed the card and Dustin did all the cutting for the dimensional parts. He got a new tool and a new skill in the process. We painted together although it was mostly me on the artistic parts. I knew we had a quality product, but after they announced 3rd and 2nd places I thought we were out of it. Then they announced us as the winners and I was so excited! Dustin went up on stage to accept the $250 prize and then, of course, he called me up there in front of everyone! We get to have our photo in the base paper and I am glad the squadron made their money back. The project cost about $75 and I was hoping they would win one of the prizes to at least let it pay for itself! And it did! I am so happy for them and me!

Christmas in the Park

Tonight we went to the Base's Christmas in the Park celebration. It was super fun and NOT super cold! Yay! In fact we're still in the 70Fs this week. I love, love, love living on the Mississippi Gulf Coast! So we got to eat hot dogs and chili and drink cocoa (it was in the 50Fs in the evening). We went on a trolley ride and a hay ride around the marina park. The boys won a new game, Jenna won 4 new polly pockets, and Santa gave us 2 new movies...ones we haven't even seen before! Speaking of Santa, we had all the kids photos taken. We have never done that before outside of a ward activity. The 3 big kids did great. Jenna may even have her photo in the Base paper. Kelsey, on the other hand wanted nothing to do with the jolly old elf. She was screaming in the three photos before the one I am posting, but I just loved the look going on between her and Santa in the posted photo. Too, too funny! So we are settling in down here. We love our new house, the kids love their new school, Dustin loves his job, and I love the weather! Life is good!

Beach Pics...Our First Attempt

I have been wanting to get a family beach photo since we moved here. We finally gave it a try last Sunday even though Dustin wasn't feeling all that well. I have a remote and a tripod for my new camera so we gave it a shot. I am happy that we are all looking at the camera. That, to me, is a miracle! We may or may not try again. I am thinking this one is a keeper!

Henry's Thanksgiving Program

Mrs. Davis and Henry

Henry had his Thanksgiving program last night at North Bay. At North Bay they divide the programs up throughout the year by grade level so last night was just the third graders. Jeff will have his turn later in the year. I like it this way since there were fewer people trying to get parking places and seats in the gym. Henry did a great job. In fact, it was his best program ever!

Like Father, Like Son

I hate learning lessons the hard way.

About 3 weeks ago, the school nurse at North Bay sent home a note to tell us that Jeff didn't pass his vision screening and that we were then required to have him evaluated by an optometrist and return a signed form. Honestly, I was a little annoyed. Jeff had always passed his vision screenings at school and his well check-ups and I thought, maybe, he was just messing around. Now, Dustin is very serious about his glasses and his eye check-ups. He stays on top of things. I, on the other hand, haven't been to the eye doctor since 1994 and that was for an injury, not an eye exam. I have never taken my kids in for real eye exams. Boy, have I learned my lesson. We get one free a year per child. I should have been taking them in! Jeff has Amblyopia. It means one of his eyes is lazy and isn't working while the other eye is picking up all the slack. Someone should have caught it a long time ago, but it's been left unchecked. Now Jeff gets to wear a patch and glasses until he is 8 years old. He is excited about the patch, but about the glasses...not so much. The glasses came in yesterday and I think they are pretty darn cute, if I do say so myself. We all fasted last week for Jeff's eyes and we are hopeful, while knowing the true limitations, that Jeff's eye will improve throughout this treatment. Lesson learned: use the free eye exam every year for every child! It's definitely worth your time!

Our First Camp-out in Mississippi

The weather is finally cooling down around here so Dustin and some friends from church planned our first Gulf Coast camp-out. There were three other families with us and we all camped out at Davis Bayou, a part of the Gulf Shores National Seashore. Who would've known we'd have a cold spell and we'd be out there on the coldest night of the season so far! It was in the 30Fs! Jenna and Kelsey did not want to sleep and I spent half the night driving around the park with Kelsey in the van. Everytime I would stop she would start to cry again. She finally fell asleep at 5:45am and slept until about 7:20am. We had a good day anyways. Everyone else had slept so we jumped right into the day with a BIG group breakfast, followed by a visitor's center visit complete with a movie, a short hike, seeing a huge alligator, and then breaking camp. It was a fun time. Now the weather is back to normal with nighttime lows in the 50Fs and 60Fs. Too bad we didn't go this weekend!

Henry's First Rank in Cub Scouting

Henry was awarded his first rank in Cub Scouting at last week's Pack meeting. We are so proud of him. He has also finished three of his requirements a for his Wolf rank and earned his first of four beads. He's also completed 10 electives already, but can't sew on that award until he earns his Wolf Badge. Way to go, Henry!

Jenna's Write-in Candidate...

Today is election day!

As we were driving back home from dropping off the boys at school I told Jenna that later this morning we were going to go over to the community center to vote. She asked what that meant and I told her that we get to go and say who we think should be leading our country. She then said, "It should be Jesus." I told her that, yes, it should be Jesus, but that I couldn't vote for him. She asked if she could...

Halloween Night

Soooo...here are my darling little ones last night. We handed out candy and took a quick trip down our street. I was against trick-or-treating on Sunday and was really hoping that either our neighborhood or base housing would be doing it on Saturday. No luck. I found out on Saturday that the mall was hosting trick or treating that night, but we were carving pumpkins and there just wasn't time. So we trick or treated with our neighbors on our street. Not everyone was out but it was nice to see the neighbors that we already knew and meet a couple of new ones. We hit about 10 houses and the kids were done. It was actually a nice evening visiting with our neighbors.

Trunk-Or-Treat

Here are the kiddos all dressed up for the Ward Halloween Activity. I love Halloween and getting all dressed up. Dustin's costume earned him lots of attention at the party. He picked it up on his deployment earlier this year. One of our teenagers kept calling him a terrorist and at the end of the evening I overheard Dustin tell him, "Be nice to me or I will charge you $4 a gallon again!" I thought it was pretty funny.

Pumpkins!

We carved our pumpkins on Saturday night and had a fun time as a family working on them. I really enjoy carving pumpkins and love to see the jack-o-lanterns all lit up. Henry was old enough this year to work on his all on his own. He needed some help at the end, but he was dedicated to the project and didn't give up even when it got hard. Jeff did not like the scooping out process. He asked Dad to do it. Jenna, however, liked that part. I am with Jeff! After they were all lit we stretched some of that fake spider web stuff and the house looked pretty spooky. The kids loved it. Once we were back inside and the mess was cleaned up, we watched "The Private Eyes". It's an old 80s Don Knotts & Tim Conway flick. It's one of my absolute favorite movies from my childhood. My sister and I have watched that movie it seems like a million times. I found it on netflix and got it just in time. The boys really enjoyed it and I loved watching them laugh (out loud!) at all the parts we used to laugh at. It was a great evening!

Jenna's First Primary Program

Here is Jenna all dressed up (in the skirt and matching headband I made for her) and ready for her first Primary Program. All three kids did a great job. Last year Jeff got stage fright and couldn't do his part, but this year he not only gave his part but he had it memorized as well! Way to go, kids!

Stone Mountain Pumpkin Patch

After spending the morning with Jenna throwing up in the hotel she decided she was feeling better enough to head to the park. Aunt Linda had left me the keys to her car so we hit the road. We found our family and had a great afternoon in the park. I was happy to get a few good pics of the kids in the pumpkin patch. I LOVE pumpkin patch photos. It must be from having an October birthday. Maybe not. Either way, I love everything Fall!