Christmas Surprise

A few weeks before Christmas we found out Trevor had a week off for Christmas. My Parents, Mom especially, decided that we needed to be in Utah to celebrate with the family and surprised us with tickets. It was wonderful. We couldn't have gotten a better gift for Christmas. We kept it a secret from the boys and Trevor's family until the day we flew out. When we told the boys they lit up with excitement and joy. I've never seen Ryan get out of bed and dressed so fast.

My sister and her husband blessed their baby Owen. It was great to finally meet him and get to hold him. One of my favorite moments was when my sister Angie and I were talking while holding Owen and Matthew and Matthew began to chatter baby talk and pat baby Owen. There was an instant connection. I look forward to the relationship they'll have with each other.

The Green Family party was fun. We always enjoy spending time with Grandma Green. It was nice to visit with the extended family too. Oh and I can't forget the Chili and Cheesy Chicken Chowder.

Christmas day was a delight. We woke up and had bagels, eggs and bacon at my parents house. The boys waited for Angie and Owen to show up before opening gifts. We later went to my Grandma and Grandad Dilks' house for Christmas lunch and christmas crackers. They're a long tube, wrapped in paper and tied on both ends. Two people hold onto opposite ends of the cracker and pull. You make a wish and whoever holds the larger portion of the cracker gets their wish. Inside the crakcer is a paper crown, a silly toy and a joke. Thanks for the Christmas Crackers Grandma.

I also had the special opportunity to talk to my brother who is currently serving a mission for the LDS in Canada. We shared some good laughs and moments and we spoke of what was happening and hopes for the future.

We had the opportunity to see many of our family that we haven't seen for several months and we even were able to see some of our dear friends, the Hartvigsens and the Deppes.

Thanks to both families for the gifts, time and fun. We love you.

Christmas cookies

"Would you like some cookie with your frosting." We made sugar cookies for the neighbors this year and Ryan decided that the more frosting you have the better. Don't worry, he loved his cookies so much that he couldn't part with them.

Gingerbread Houses

The Bright Family Gingerbread houses. Daddy and Caden worked on a house while Ryan and I worked on one. We had such a good time putting our creations together. Caden enjoyed eating the candy decorations the most. Dad was missing most of the materials for their house.

Thanksgiving Tradition

It has become a Thanksgiving tradition for our family to make pilgrim and indian hats. The boys loved running around in their Thanksgiving attire. This year was also fun because we read some books and talked about why we celebrate Thanksgiving. Isn't it wonderful that we have a holiday to celebrate the many blessing we have been given? May we celebrate these blessings throughout the year.

On Thanksgiving day we had the opportunity to celebrate with our dear friends Quinn and Tabitha Johnson and their family. The meal was great and the company was even better. They have become such dear friends to us.

I'm hoping to be able to scan in the table decorations they made using a picture of each persons face and making them into a pilgrim or an indian. They were the cutest things I have seen.

After dinner we went to the park and we shot off rockets. The boys loved it, including the biggest boy, Daddy. We hope to carry on this new tradition. Thank you for having us over for a wonderful day. It was one we won't forget.

Congratulations to the Raab Family

Congratulations Erich and Angie on the new arrival of your little boy Owen Christian Raab.

He was born on November 20, 2008 at 7:24 PM. He weighed in at 8 lbs and 9 oz. and was 20 1/2 inches long. Mom and Baby are doing great and Dad couldn't be a prouder papa.

We are so excited for the newest little one in our family. We look forward to watching him grow and are sure that our boys and Owen will be the best of buddies. Thanks for including us in your special journey.

A visit from Aunt Sharon and Grandma Green

On the 20th of November Aunt Sharon and Grandma Green made the trek to Joplin, MO to visit us. We had a wonderful time with them. On Friday we sent Trevor off to work and headed to the Precious Moments Chapel. It was wonderful to see the amazing artwork and figurines. Caden enjoyed riding on Grandma Green's lap while Aunt Sharon pushed them in Grandma's wheelchair. We got home in time to pick Trevor up and go out to dinner. Instead of taking two cars we put Trevor in between the seats, his feet located on the shoulder of Grandma green and myself. We sure had a good laugh. Saturday we headed to the mall to see if we could find anything exciting, we didn't but the kids did. They had a mini carnival setup inside the mall with a train, cars, helicopters and a carousel. Ryan and Caden had a blast and we enjoyed watching them. Sunday was the best. Aunt Sharon and Grandma decided we'd have Thanksgiving dinner with the family. The best part was making the meal together. Grandma was trying to instruct us from the family room while Trevor, Aunt Sharon and I ran around the kitchen trying to get everything ready. Grandma couldn't resist not being a part of the action and quickly joined in. It was like one of those chef reality shows only better. We laughed and joked with each other the whole time. The meal was amazing too.

It was hard to see them leave on Monday morning. Matthew took a special interest to Aunt Sharon. Maybe that's because they spent so much time in the back of the car together.

Thanks for taking the time to come and see us. We had a blast.

Happy 2nd Birthday Caden!

Caden turned 2 on Monday, November 3, 2008. We had one of his favorite dishes: pizza and crazy bread. We also let him pick out a cake for his birthday this year. He chose a batman cake with batman riding a motorcycle. He also got a slide with a basketball hoop hooked to it.
He has such a tender little heart but is definitely our little spartan. He loves fruit snacks, playing any game that involves a ball and playing with his older brother. His favorite song right now is I belong to the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and when he says his prayers it always includes thanking heavenly father for our food and blessing our bodies. He loves any type of adventure. The other day he tried to do a spiderman move off of our back porch. He sure brings us a lot of Joy. Happy Birthday!!