Caleb's a walker!

My amazing husband brought these beautiful flowers home for me. I think they're tulips? Either way, they're gorgeous! Thanks, honey!

Things are going alright. I'm still on antibiotics for the strep throat, but I'm not feeling it anymore, so that's good. I feel much better. And the kids are doing okay. They still have constant runny noses / coughs, but they're surviving.

Caleb now has four (almost five!) teeth, and he can walk clear across the room all by himself! And he'll be ten months old tomorrow! He's so fast! It's fun to watch him toddle around, and he's so proud of himself sometimes. Cute.

Tonight is our AWANA Grand Prix, so we're going to go cheer on our Cubbies / TNT kids. (I do have some Cubbies racing cars! Yay for them!) And then this weekend, we're going to head up north to see my family. My dad's been accusing me of hoarding the grandchildren (haha), so we're going to go visit. It'll be nice to spend some time up there. I wish everyone lived closer, so we could see them more often with less effort!

Well, that's about all. Can't think of anything else to update. Have a great Wednesday!

-{lkr}

I have strep throat.

Yuck.

-{lkr}

Sunshiny winter days...

Mommies don't get sick days

Even though I feel like my head got hit by a truck (know how that feels, Chaeli? haha), my kids just won't give me the day off. They still expect me to cook, clean, and change their diapers. It's a good thing I get other "benefits" that are great...

Big, slobbery kisses all over my face, the best snuggles around, giggles that are the sweetest sound I've ever heard, smiles just for me, experiencing their "firsts", the privilege to teach them about God...

I guess being a mommy - healthy or sick - isn't so bad.

-{lkr}

Our little girl is sick

Well, the mood has changed since the first post. Grace has been running a temperature of about 103 since around 4pm. Poor kid. She's just not feeling well. She just laid on the couch during dinner, and then she laid on me while we watched the Incredibles, and then she went to bed. And she was sleeping intermittently in there, too. That's not like her. I hope she gets better soon, but if not, it's off to the doctor we go!

Hope everyone else is doing better than our little sweetheart is tonight!

-{lkr}

Does this shirt look familiar, Buzz?

More Christmas pictures / New Year's pictures / Caleb's firsts

One of the best things about Christmas this year was celebrating with my dad. We had great time. He was able to sit with us all the whole time we opened gifts, and he joked around with us a little bit. This picture is of him reading to Little Karl (the nephew formerly known as Kade) at our Lung Christmas. (That's my mom's side of the family.)

You know, since the accident, my mom's been praying that my dad will come out even better than he was before...And I think the Lord is answering her prayer in a way I didn't expect. My dad's been a Christian most of his life, but he's never been very vocal about it. He'd always pray at mealtimes, and we always went to church whenever the doors were open. We knew he had great values, but he didn't talk about the Lord much. Well, now he's talking about the Lord much more! I almost cried...at our Lung Christmas, I heard him say to a relative, "Uncle Roy, have you been praying for me?" And then, "Now I can be a testimony to (the Lord)." And then later he told my cousin, "You need to love the Lord with all your heart, and serve Him." Then when we were in church, he stood up and thanked everyone for their prayers and remarked how good God is. WOW! My dad may not be as strong physically as he used to be, but I'd say this is a change for the better! He could be bitter and angry that all this happened to him, but instead he's praising the Lord. Thank you, God!

The second picture is Grace at the Lung Christmas - after the pinata was broken. Can you tell she's excited about the candy?

Third is Grace and me testing out her new sleeping bag that we got her for Christmas. Snuggly!

Melissa, Karl, Karl, and Emma were here for New Year's. (We switch back and forth, and this year was their year to come here.) We had a great time hanging out, eating food, and chasing the kids. Although, I must admit, we pretty much went right to bed after the ball dropped. What can I say? We're old fogies. The fourth picture is Grace and Karl kissing Emma. Awww.

Now, the exciting news...Caleb took his first step last night! All by himself! YAY! What a big boy! And he was only 9months, 3 days old. Then Luke and Grace helped him walk around the house (picture #5). Pretty cute, huh?

And one more first for Caleb...Today was the first time he sat in the grocery cart seat (picture #6). I decided he's big enough to leave his silly car seat in the car when we're at Meijer. He was pretty enthralled with it at first. He didn't move. He just sat there and stared, like it was a whole new angle on grocery shopping. Ha.

Let's end with a giggle...If you want to see something really funny, go here. Luke thinks it's a little creepy, but it makes me laugh.

-{lkr}