Happy 4th Birthday!

Today Matthew turned 4!!! We had a great day. This morning we played at "Fat City" for a couple hours. They have a three story foam factory full of multi colored foam balls that can be thrown, shot, sucked up and rained around the room. Matthew had a blast and I think Daddy was a close second. Our little monkey climbed up the lattice ropes, slid head first down the chute slide and vacuumed up as many balls as he could so they could fall from the sky.

Birthday gifts had a creative theme ranging from playdough and paint to the John Deer apron from Grandma and Grandpa.

Matthew was actually so excited about his presents that he opted to wait 'til after dinner for his cake!

We thought this monkey cake was quite appropriate for our very mischievous little man. He enjoyed it as well!

We love you and are so proud of you, Matthew! We are so thankful that God gave you to us as our son. We love to see you learning and growing and can't wait to see who you are growing up to be. Love, Mommy and Daddy

Christmas Parties

Our Management Team at work did a nice dinner at The Fort for our Holiday Celebration. We had Buffalo Tongue, Rocky Mountain Oyserts, Elk, Bison Steaks, Quail, etc. It was a lot of fun!

Left to Right: Tammi Abt (Technician Manager), Steve, Joanna Rump (Luke's wife and also a Veterinarian on sabbatical to raise kids), Me (Business Specialist), Luke Rump (DVM Manager and part owner), Mary Romano (owner's wife and bookkeeper), and Sam Romano (owner and my boss).

Entertaining Themselves?!?!

Yup, that's tape on his face.
Yes, that is a collander on his head.

Isn't that the cutest smile you've ever seen!!!

Duck!

I looked out the window last week to see a cute pair of mallard ducks sitting in the snow in my front yard. Apparently they found the crab apples that the squirrels hadn't got and were enjoying a snack.

I looked a few minutes later and they were gone...but not for long.

They came back with all their friends and settled in for a long feast.

Steve had other plans for the ducks!

He chased them off and then called me the next couple days to make sure they weren't back. Matthew and I got a kick out of it.

The Dichotomy That is My Child

So.....I was getting ready for work Tuesday morning and was doing great on time. I went to find Matthew to get him dressed for preschool and this is what I found.

The white stuff is a whole box of bisquick that was given to us the day before and I had left on the table. Oh, and I was dressed all in black and somehow managed to keep myself clean while vacuuming up this mess. Needless to say we were 15 minutes late to preschool.

That same day was Matthew's preschool Christmas program at Trinity Lutheran. Guess what he was playing? An Angel!!!! He sure did look cute - what is that saying about looks being deceiving?

What did you say???

I'm referring to my voice. I caught the nasty cold that's been going around and ended up loosing my voice. I gotta say, it's tough trying to direct a house of boys (husband and sons) with no voice. I have to make sure they are looking directly at me since all I can do is whisper. I can't exactly yell "Matthew Stephen, get over here right now" in a whisper. Maybe it is a blessing in disquise and they all will realize how much they don't listen to me. Or maybe not! :-) Anyway, the added benefit was that Steve took the boys to Pre-school and childcare today so I could stay home alone and rest. It was amazing to be in my own house by myself - that rarely happens. It was sooooo quiet! I kind of didn't want to sleep 'cause I didn't want to waste this precious alone time. But alas, my bed won the arguement and I slept for a good part of the day. I'm feeling better tonight, but I still don't have a voice. Tomorrow should be an interesting day.

Shootings

I'm feeling rather anxious about this last shooting at two churches here in Colorado. Press conferences about all the details of people's lives lost when a gunman goes nuts should not be something we are used to. First Columbine High School, then the High School in Bailey, and now a YWAM base and a church. All of these places should be safe and welcoming, not riddled with bullet holes.

I pray for the familes and friends of the victimes who's lives have been permanently altered. I pray for their comfort and healing.

The Tree Came Tumbling Down

We have, or rather had, a 80 foot 70 year old cottonwood tree in our back yard that provided fabulous shade in the summer. That tree was one of the selling points for this house. But the tree met it's demise when canker moved in. We ended up having to pay a pretty penny to get it removed last week.

There's another pile of wood just as big on the other side of the driveway.
Matthew and Steve had fun in the snow.