No More Braces!!!

Today Carl got his braces off after 3 1/2 years. We are all so excited for him.
Here is before:

And an after:

Playing Catch Up!

Hello Hello! A huge thank you to our 2 readers who have enquired as to our whereabouts. Leann and Kerilynn this one is for you. Just kidding! Our lives have been so crazy since Thanksgiving that we barely had time to come up for air. Don't get me wrong it has been a great 2 months full of wonderful experiences, I just get disappointed in myself when I have to do massive catch up entries. I am an avid Journal writer and have realized when you do not take the time to document events as they happen, you tend to brush over details and feelings you had in an attempt to just get it all down on paper. So, as I relate in my Journal many times, here it goes and I will try in the future to post more often!

Thanksgiving 2008 was spent at my Mom's in Germantown. We had a small group of just us, Mom, Gma D and Gma S. It was a nice day and dinner was fantastic, as usual. We were lucky enough to be able to use Gma D's everyday dishes at dinner. I know Mom really appreciates her new additions! Thanks Gma. We actually took a family picture to be used in our Christmas cards this year, and I sent photo cards to people we have not seen in a long time. Here we are:

On November 30th I began the final push in holding our Churches 4th Annual Nativity Display. It is a display of over 400 Nativity scenes collected by members of our Ward that we set up and invite the public to view. There are 6 themed rooms that are decorated by wonderful volunteers that really help one feel the true meaning of Christmas. There is also live music and a live Nativity play to see. It is a huge collaborative effort by many who feel very passionate about the event. With every great event a little turmoil must follow. This is the first year I was overseeing the whole thing and let me tell you it was more intensive, stressful and more exhausting than I could have ever imagined. My friend Natasha has done it all the years before and I thought she was joking when she said, " you best just get a sleeping bag and live at the Church for that week or so." I am so thankful to all those who volunteered and sacrificed their time to make it a beautiful and successful display. Thank you to all my friends to listened to all my complaining and gave me encouragement. And most of all thank you to my family who lived without me and supported me all year in planning and finally holding the Display. I love you. Here are a few pictures of the Nativities, the angelic singers and our live Nativity cast. We hope to see you this year, it is a great family activity to usher in the Christmas holiday.

On December 13th we attended the much anticipated wedding of my cousin Kelly and DJ. We went to Hudsonville Michigan for the long weekend. We prepared, celebrated and ate the whole time. Kaitlyn was a Junior Bridesmaid which made her feel so grown up. All the girls in the Bridal party were so nice to her, it really made her feel a part of the Wedding. It is not often you get to say about a Wedding that NOTHING went wrong, but this was one of those times. Kelly and DJ had a perfect day. The weather held off. They had a great turnout of family and friends. With only one Bridal meltdown everything went well. I am sooo happy for them and am so thankful we were able to be a part of their big day. We love you guys!

Nails, Limos and Hair:
AAHH!! How Beautiful Kaitlyn!
Kelly and Kaitlyn.
Kaitlyn, she looked so grown up! Mom, Aunt Nancy, Gma S Aunt Penny and Uncle Rick. Family.

Kelly and Uncle Steve

Kelly was such a beautiful Bride. It was absolutly the best weekend I have had in a long time. Best of luck guys!

On December 16th Kaitlyn had her second Orchestra Concert at School. They all did a great job and are getting much better. They all looked so professional. Here is her and her 6th grade Orchestra.

Kaitlyn and Hazel

December 18th was our 15 year Anniversary. To celebrate we went down to Savannah Georgia for 4 days. Our parents watched the kids which was no easy thing considering in the middle of it all we had a 14 inch snowfall. This made driving dangerous on the day the kids were being passed off. Thank you to Mom and the Meyers for allowing us to have some quiet time alone to relax and rejuvenate. Our time in Savannah was great. We stayed at the Azalia Inn, a bed and breakfast in Historic Savannah. The hospitality was over the top. Everyone bent over backwards for us, planned and set up our day trips and recommended restaurants where we had the best meals of our lives! By the end the southern hospitality was getting on my nerves and I said to Carl if one more person smiles at me and tries to make small talk I will punch them! Sometimes you just want to experience something on your own. It became our little joke, but was sad that in this day in age one could think that kindness could be taken to an extreme. We appreciated all they did for us and really it did make for an unstressful vacation. Our WONDERFUL staff gave us a private carriage ride and a dinner at Alligator Soul for Christmas. We took the Carriage ride at dusk, it was so comfortable and beautiful I did not want it to end. We visited 2 new Cemeteries there which were fantastic. I love the trees and Spanish Moss! I felt like I was in a park. They were places of peace and beauty and so far the best Cemeteries I have been to. Kimberly you would love it! Here are some pictures of the trip.

The Azalia Inn

My favorite house in Old Savannah. It is the Parker house on Jones Street.
Who wants to go down the creepy stairs first?
I love Savannah! I love the beauty and history there! I am thankful we were able to be in the city for so long. Too bad it is in the South, I do not do heat. I am looking forward to a return trip.

Then came Christmas. I had so little time in November and December to get shopping done that Christmas was a bit stressful for me. Did I have everything? Ugg! On Christmas Eve we went up to Roberta's where we spent the afternoon with her, Doug, Jeff and his family. It felt weird to not have Dad there. It was a definite reminder of what we have all lost. In all it was a nice trip. We were able to get caught up with everyone. Jeff's kids are getting older and played real good with Kaitlyn and Scott. Roberta had been sick, so she was still under the weather a bit. I could tell she was having a hard time and am grateful Doug was able to stay with her a few days. It was a wonderful afternoon.

Scott, Kaitlyn and Liza

Jeff, Kristen, Quinn, Liza and Griffin

Mom came over Christmas Eve night. She brought stake, so we had a nice dinner. This year was Scotts, so once Kaitlyn was in bed we put in Going My Way, broke out the snacks and played Santa. Scott could not believe all he had been missing, but had a great time. I am excited for next year when we can start new family traditions with all of us. Christmas was great. We all got many nice gifts, and snow on the ground made the morning feel so festive. At 2pm Mom picked up Gma D and they came over for dinner. I made the standard ham, mustard sauce, hashbrown casserole, corn and rolls. It is my favorite meal. Gma was a bit disappointed because we did not have pretzel salad, I wanted things easy. Maybe next year!

One of Grandma Deglman's gifts to me was a story she wrote that goes along with salt and pepper shakers she got when she got married. It was a touching story and a very thoughtful gift. She wrote it in her own hand which makes it more special to me. I love my Thursday Grandma!

Me and my Thursday Grandma

For New Years we go to the the Meyers and celebrate with them. We fondued again this year which is always fun and reminds me of my childhood. The kids loved playing with their cousins Kyle and Aaron. Mr. and Mrs. Meyers had taken all the grand kids a few days early to give us a few days alone. What a wonderful thing! We saw a movie and relaxed-thank you! It was another fun get together. We played Runnikub and it was officially our last year of wrapping our gifts in brown paper; yea!!!!! We drew names this year which was a lot of fun. The kids got into it more than usual, I hope we keep that up. Leaving Fond du Lac was bitter sweet. I was overwhelmingly relieved the Holidays were over and yet I wanted to continue that warm feeling of peace and family a bit longer. Here are a few pictures from New Years.

Well, it has been a very full Holiday Season. We enjoyed every moment of it! Thanks for reading to the end, I peomise in the future to be better. I am embarrased to say how long it took me to post this. Thank goodness for snow days!