Welome Home Auroralyn

Thanks so much for all the love and support you have showed us as a family. So many of you have prayed for the safe arrival of our precious grand daughter. It is greatly appreciated! Since Auroralyn's arrival so many of you have sent notes or phoned us and you have been such an encouragement to us. It has been so fun to bring you in to share our joy. Thanks so much for showering us with so much love and support! Praise the Lord with us that she is now home from the hospital and all is going well. She will enjoy being able to "usher in the New Year" at home. Whatever that involves for a two day old baby. (Hopefully sleeping soundly for her Mom and Dad.)

Auroralyn Meets the Uncles

This afternoon the boys were able to meet their little niece. She is so adorable!

Welcome To The World Auroralyn Jane

Today was an amazing day that I will never forget. We welcomed a precious little grand daughter into our family. We were awaiting her arrival with much anticipation and lots of prayer. Although she was eight days late according to the doctors we know she entered this world in God's perfect timing. Thanks so much for your prayers for Kristina during labor! She did amazing! There were MANY tears of joy shed today as this little one arrived into the world. Each time I held her was an awesome experience. We truly feel blessed that God has brought Auroralyn Jane into our lives. Congratulations Caleb and Kristina! We are so happy and excited for you. We are behind you and cheering you on as you begin your journey into parenthood.

Grandbaby On His or Her Way

Caleb phoned just a couple of minutes ago saying that they were on the way to the hospital. So for any of you blog readers out there that haven't gone to bed yet, or for the ones who are waking up already to start your day, please be praying for Kristina and the baby that all goes well.

The Windy City

No we are not in Chicago, and No we don't live in a city, but it is VERY windy out. Since we enjoy bringing our smoke house to jungle camp it is portable. Well, Vern found our "portable" smoke house down the road this morning. It looks like we will have to do a little repair job before we use it again. It was also an interesting drive to church as there were all sorts of branches and debris on the road.

Smoke Detector

Anyone who lives near us could detect smoke coming from our house as Vern and the boys worked on making some farmer sausage today. It was a really rainy day which made things a bit interesting as they worked in the rain to get the fire going and to check on it. But it was once again a successful venture. We enjoyed the fruit of their labor s tonight for supper.

Christmas 2008

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas together with your family. It was very special for us this year to have all of our children home. We enjoyed a delicous breakfast together. Afterwards we sang some Christmas carols, read the Christmas story and then Vern shared a challenge from the Word. We opened presents and enjoyed spending the day with each other. (There was also another meal in there.) We were also able to make some phone calls to our parents, grandmother, and a few of our siblings. Although we didn't spend the day with any of them we were thinking of them and the special place they have in our hearts and lives. It was a day where some special memories were made together.

Road Closures

Well, like most of you out there reading this, we have been experiencing a lot of VERY snowy weather. For the past several days it seems like we are tuning in either to the radio or Internet to check for road closures. It is not uncommon for the transportation department to close roads. If you decide to travel on a road that is closed you can get a fine and if you get into a car accident your car insurance will not cover you. So traveling on closed roads is not an option. With a couple of sons having a bit of a drive to work, it is always a concern if they will make it there safely. We look forward to things calming down weather wise so that we don't have to check for road closures.

Happy Birthday Kristina!

Yesterday was Kristina's birthday. We had a special birthday breakfast together as a family to celebrate the special occassion. As you know from my last post it was a stressful day. In the later afternoon Krsitina baked parts to make ginger bread houses. Then in the evening Kristina and Ruth worked on decorating the gingerbread houses. It was a very nice way to detox from the stress of the afternoon. ( Thanks Kristina for coming up with a great plan to lift the spirits.) Their houses turned out awesome! It will be hard to walk by and not steal pieces of candy off the houses as they look so yummy.