One Happy Little Elf!

Kelsey's First Christmas

Isn't she lovely?!

Merry Christmas!

Here we are...nothing says "Military Christmas" like Christmas over the video call! How thankful we are for modern technology! Dustin was able to join us for all of the gift opening festivities this morning. It was nice to have him there to watch the kids open their gifts but it sure would have been nice to have him home. Last night, as he "helped" me wrap gifts over the Live Messanger we talked about how it used to be that we'd only have letters to help us stay connected and now we have this video chat. It's pretty amazing. How truly blessed we are!

The Children Were Nestled, All Snug in Their Beds...

They may hate me later, but I love taking pics of my sleeping little ones on Christmas Eve. I've decided, however, that 8 years old is gonna be my limit. That means just one more year for my Henry! And, yes, it's weird but Kelsey sleeps in her carseat. She'll sleep longer there than anywhere else. Go figure!

New Jammies!

Here's the gang all cleaned up and in their new Christmas PJs!

The Only Kind of "Icy" I Like is Spelled Icee!

Everything here is Great Falls is covered in ice! I don't think I've ever seen it this yucky before. We ventured out yesterday because Henry had a dentist appointment. It was crazy. On the roads in Base Housing I had very little control over my van. I would turn the wheel and straight we would go. Once we got out of Base Housing and onto more travelled roads we were good to go. Then, we tried to come home. Yeah, we got stuck! I couldn't get my van to make it up my slightly slanted driveway and into the garage. We could make it part-way up but then, even with the brake pushed to the floor, we would slide back. Finally I gave up and just left the van where it was and got the kids out. I was not happy. Lacie came over and saved the day with a bag of lovely scented kitty litter and we made a path for the tires and finally got it put away. It's still icy outside and there is no hope in the forecast either. In fact, there's a 100% chance of snow today. That'll be a nice addition to the thick sheet of ice outside. The 10 day forecast has nothing over 25F so I think it's going to be here for a while. Is it gonna be Spring soon? The first day of Winter was just yesterday, you say? Heaven help us!

Sledding!

So we braved the cold yesterday and headed out to Neihart, Montana for some super fun sledding with our friends the Clarks. Actually, it was pretty warm, 46F when I looked in the van, but snow is inherently cold and therefore courage was needed and taxed on this lovely sledding adventure. I have decided that sledding trips won't truly be "fun" until all my kids are at least 6 years old. You see, to those younger than that the cold simply makes it a yucky experience whereas the older kids can say, "Yeah, it's cold, but sledding it totally worth it!" Even Jeff had his moments of "this stinks"! The little ones only lasted so long and Lacie had to take them back to the van to thaw out. The big kids had a blast, especially Henry who just went flying down the hill everytime. Just watching him was so much fun. He'd catch air in the middle and then totally wipe out at the bottom. I was actually surprised at how fast he was going! Sledding really is super fun and I can't wait till we can all go and not have any tears! We finished up with yummy cocoa and donuts (thanks Lacie!). The kids really want to go again but I think I may leave Jenna with a sitter next time just like we did with Princess Kelsey this time.

I Betcha You Didn't Know...

...that there was no room in the inn because Strawberry Shortcake and her friend Lemon Meringue were vacationing in Bethlehem. Jenna is so cute. She's had these characters in the nativity all week! I think it's kinda funny that in the picture the girls are both waving from upstairs...totally not planned by me!

Kelsey Anne

Here is another cute picture of our little princess!

She is growing up so fast. Last night she even slept for 8 hours in a row! Wow! I certainly needed that. :)

A New Place to Play

There's a new place to play at Malmstrom Air Force Base. Oh, how I wish they had thought of this sooner! My friend Liz told me about it last week and we went to check it out on Friday. What they have done is convert one of the old gyms into an indoor playground for families. There is soccer and badminton on indoor grass carpeting. There is an inflatable obsticle course, a bounce house, giant chess, 3 dino climb on toys, a giant connect four game, and plenty of room for running, running, and more running around! And boy do we need room to run. With it being so darn stinkin' cold outside my boys want to run around my living room. This is an awesome alternative. We were there for an hour and a half and we all had a really great time. I think we'll be spending a lot of time here.

What a Great Big Brother

Henry is such a great big brother. Here he is reading to his little sister. He was the one who got her all comfy with a blanket and pillow, too! It's sooooooo nice when they help me.

The Christmas Tree is Up!

Tonight for FHE we decorated our Christmas tree. The kids had lots of fun once we got Kelsey settled down and the ornaments ready to hang. They were soooooo anxious to get started! Kelsey had her 2 month well check today along with her first round of shots. She was quite the angry little princess this evening and it took me a while to get her calmed down and fed. That's why she's not in the photo...she was resting in her swing while we decorated. While the kids had fun and were super excited, I just wasn't feeling into it this year. This is normally my absolute favorite FHE of the year. I usually love putting up the tree and decorating it, but I think having Dustin gone is draining my enthusiasm. We met at Christmastime and I am thinking it's gonna be a little rougher than I thought...but I am hoping for the best! The excitement of the kids is going to be my buoy. Here's wishing all of you a wonderful Christmas season!

Happy Babies = Happy Mommies

Here are a few pictures we've taken recently. She is a smiley little thing now. She's also started making those adorable little baby noises and coos. She's settling into a schedule, too, which I love. She's usually in bed by ten and stays there until she needs me again at around three. I am getting a pretty good night's sleep and that is good for everyone, especially with Dad gone. Now I am just waiting for that first laugh...

Contact info for Dustin...

I now have both email and snail mail addresses for Dustin. For security reasons I can't post them here but you can call me and I can give them to you over the phone. My mom also has them and can give them to you. I have been instructed not throw anything with the address written on it into the trash without being shredded first. I'm sure he'd love to get something fun in the mail!

Safe & Sound

Dustin has arrived and has settled into his new digs at Al Udeid Air Base outside Doha, Qatar. He has a roommate for now, but that may change when he makes rank in December. He was able to hit the gym today as well as eat lobster for dinner. There are lots of fun things to do there and I am excited about some of his future adventures. He can go to the beach, he can go snorkeling and sailing in the Persian Gulf, there's a pearl market to visit, and he mentioned he can go to a mall bigger than the mall of America. Does is sound like Dustin is on vacation? It kinda does, doesn't it? Well, he's not really. He still has to go to work 6 days a week and has to be away from us for a very long time. I just hope he makes the most of it. It's hard on both of us but after the trials come the blessings, right? I sure hope so. I am already seeing how much I really do love Dustin and how much I need him everyday. Not so much I need him to help me work, but that I need him as my best friend. Anyways, I am getting all mushy here and should probably stop. :) I'll keep you posted as I learn more about how he's doing. I don't have an address yet, but I should have one soon. I do know that Christmas packages have to be mailed by the 10th of December in order to arrive on time. Good Night!

I can check that off of my Goals for 2009 list!

Since by the grace of God I have all 4 kids asleep and it's not yet 9pm, I took the quiet opportunity to balance the checkbook and enter my latest coupon savings into my excel worksheet (the one my lovely mother created for me, the Amish one). Drumroll please..........

One of my goals for 2009 was to save $1000 with manufacturers coupons (like the kind you find in Sunday's paper). It's official. As of right now I have saved $1003.38. Now, in total coupons I past the $1000 mark a while ago. That's counting store coupons like at JoAnns and Michaels as well as Target receipt coupons and online coupon codes, etc. With all coupons combined my savings sits at $1327.45! I've also kept track of what I have spent obtaining the coupons (aside from the ones people have shared with me and the ones I print off the internet) and that comes to less than $100.

Now, you might say, "But what junk did you buy with all those coupons?" I only buy things I need and will use. I just love to get a good deal on things we need all the time. It's like a game to me. It helps me keep my other goals of saving for our next house (we should have a very nice down payment ready when Dustin returns) and our retirement.

So get out there and buy that Sunday paper! Since I don't shop or ask others to work on Sunday by bringing me my paper, I buy it Monday morning at Wal-Mart. In bigger cities there is often a Early Edition of the Sunday paper available after 4 on Saturday afternoon. It's like free money, folks! Run out and get you some! Oh, and don't forget your online printables- that's like printing your own money!

Loose Lips Sink Ships

Yeah, Loose Lips Sink Ships...

...so all I am telling you is that my Dustin, our Daddy, took off today from Great Falls. He'll be gone for a little more than a little while, he'll be in a place with more sand than dirt, and we will definitely be missing him. Please think of him this coming November 11th (Veteran's Day) and pray for his, and all other's, safe returns.

3, 2, 1, Blastoff!

This past Monday we built a rocket! Actually Dustin and the boys built a rocket. It wasn't until Wednesday that we had time to shoot it off. We had fuel enough for each of us to take a turn hitting the launch button. I must admit I was very impressed and it was pretty cool to watch it shoot off into the sky. We had a little laugh when a Great Falls policeman drove by really slow. I didn't know if we were going to get into any trouble but he just kept driving. The boys are really into rockets right now and I think there will be many more launches in our family's future.
I'm sorry the video is so short...I left home with my camera but no memory card and I couldn't delete all the images that were on there already so this is what we got. I think it's still pretty cool. Enjoy!

Can we say, "Unsupervised"?

Can you believe it, my daughter was unsupervised long enough to unwrap all those treats? :) Last Sunday night I caught the little princess raiding the Halloween candy that obviously wasn't put up high enough for her to stay out of it. She had about 8 dumdum lollipops unwrapped and looked pretty pleased with herself. They were all either pink, red, or orange and made a lovely little candy bouquet. As you might have guessed they all found their way to the garbage can. I guess I should watch my kids a little bit better...I'll let you know how that goes.

Happy Halloween 2009!

Kelsey's First Halloween!

Could she be any cuter?

Jeff, Jenna, & Henry

Thank you Grandma Pat for sewing this awesome pirate shirt! It looked fabulous.
(No, it wasn't really warm enough for flip-flops but it wasn't that cold either. We got up into the mid 60s today and it was pretty nice until the sun went down and then we were all a bit chilly.)

Jeff as Captain Hook. We can thank Grandma Pat for this one, too! Thanks!

Well, I thought I had all four tucked into bed but the baby monitor is telling me different. I am really, really, really, hoping not to have a repeat of last night- Kelsey was up from 12:15 to 4am when I gave up and asked (demanded :) ) Dustin to go rock her. I am not sure what happened after that but my big kids were all up by 8am anyways. I am pooped!

Jenna's First Offical Dentist Appointment

Yesterday was Jenna's first official dentist appointment. She's gotten to have rides in the big chair that goes up and down at the boys' past appointments but this time was for real! She was perfect! They even took x-rays and she sat perfectly still. The boys also had appointments yesterday and everyone got great reviews from the dentist. Yeah!

Another Pretty Picture

Here's another photo in case you couldn't get enough of our pretty little Kelsey Anne.

Where has the time gone?

Here are the kids with my parents on the morning they headed home.

Pretty little Kelsey at about 2 1/2 weeks old.

Here's Kelsey in her first tub bath just this morning. Her little belly button has taken all this time to finally heal. I like it when they can finally get all wet and get really clean. She really enjoyed her bath and only fussed the first time I tried to rinse her hair. After that she was very happy in the tub.

Grandma Pamela and Kelsey.

Wow! I can't believe how much time has past since my last post. It has been a little crazy around here, to say the least. My parents left on the 7th, we had a week of somewhat normal, then Dustin's family has been here all this week. They head out tomorrow. I've still been keeping up with Cub Scouts and Dustin's been busy with coaching Jeff and Henry's football team. Next week Dustin is back to work and I hope the kids and I can get back to our regular schedules. Then it's craziness again with us pulling the kids out of school for part of the week as Dustin will be flying out on Friday, the 6th of Nov. After that is anybody's guess. We'll keep you posted!