Reflections on the New Year...

Blessings abounded in 2008. When I think about the many changes we've had this year, it seems like the time has flown by! We have created a wonderful life in our new town, love our new home, and have a strong sense of community. We are very cognizant of how fortunate we are to have great careers in this tough economic time. Our daughters are precious gifts from God, and we fall more and more in love with them each day. They bring us so much joy, help us to remember what is important in life, and keep us focused on building a happy, healthy, and prayerful family.

I am looking forward to this New Year of 2009. Even though I'm turning 30 in a few weeks (yikes!), I'm actually looking forward to life in the 30's and what the years will bring! My hope in 2009 is that all of our family and friends will continue to be blessed, healthy and safe. I will be focused on strengthening my faith, staying healthy in order to live life to the fullest, and importantly making the most of each moment with my beautiful girls and wonderful husband. Cheers to a very Happy New Year!

Madeline finally received her Hula Hoop!

Watch Madeline try out her hula hoop at Grams' house!

Happy New Year!

We rang in the new year with our good friends, Doug and Emily Keuker. We broke in my new martini glasses from Nana with Oprah's recipe for Pomegranate Martinis (awesome, by the way). We also 'rocked the house' with Guitar Hero World Tour (Daddy is very serious about his drum playing as you can see). Who needs Dick Clark?!! Guitar Hero was my gift from Mark for Christmas - - quote 'I know it's not very romantic, but we will have a lot of fun playing together' - - I LOVE it!

The Magic House with Nana and Carl

The Magic House in St. Louis just opened a new wing, complete with a replica of the 'West Wing'. We had a great time with Carl & his 3 kids (Andrew, Jordan, and Lesley)! Aunt Katy and Tim joined the fun. Madeline & Ella enjoyed dressing up like Mulan.

Christmas with Grandma and Grandpa Great

Christmas at the Strode's was a great time, and the food was awesome! Grandma Great always cooks a great spread for all of her kids, grandkids, and great grandkids. We played the traditional Christmas card game of Pass the Ace, but the hit of the day was a friendly game of competitive bowling on the Wii. Mark and I won the first round, but Grandpa Great and Grams gave us a run for our money!

Christmas with the Wilburns

Santa came by Grams house, too! My girls must have been really good this year to get so spoiled by Santa. We had a wonderful Christmas brunch at Bob & Susan's house, and as always the kids have so much fun with their cousins. The three little girls played with their new dolls together - - so precious! Mark and I got a Wii from Bob & Susan for Christmas, and we've been playing non stop! What an awesome gift!

Christmas with Papaw Doc

We had a nice Christmas with Dad, Grandpa Jack & Grandma Clara at the house in Vandalia. The girls always enjoy how their Papaw Doc and Papaw Jack get down on 'their level' and play! The hungry hippos game and my little pony baby were big hits! Mark also loves his remote control helicopter (boys will be boys).

Santa Came!

Uncle Brian Surprise!

I won a webcam at my work Christmas party, and Mark and I conspired with Brian to schedule a web chat for a Christmas surprise! Mark spent a lot of time getting us all 'hooked up' and ready. It was so much better than a phone conversation, and everyone was thrilled to have nearly an hour to talk with Brian! He seemed really happy to have the face to face interaction, and we were surprised to see his mustache!

Madeline and Brian even exchanged 'dance moves' over the web, and of course we had to interpret the brother/sister movie language between Bri and Meg. I even gave Brian a virtual kiss from his big sis! Having this special time with Brian was the best Christmas present of all...

Christmas with Nana, Aunt Megan & Gigi

We were so happy to have Nana, Megan, and Gigi come to our home for Christmas. We really had a wonderful time together! The Lincoln Logs from Nana and Megan were a hit and brought back memories of building cabins for hours with Elizabeth, Brian and Megan when we were little... The girls also love their keyboard from Gigi!

We are so blessed to have had such a wonderful Christmas season!!

Spamalot!

Mom wanted to carry on the tradition of going to see a Broadway Show over Christmas. Spamalot the Monty Python musical happened to be at the Walton Arts Center while Mom, Meema, and Megan were visiting. We had a wonderful time and laughed so hard our sides were hurting! Even Meema thought it was outstanding!