Christmas Pics!

Here is our little snow bunny sledding down the hill on Christmas Day! She had a lot of fun with her Daddy sledding and making snow angels today!

Nate Drewry playing the Dance Revolution game on the Wii.

Austin Drewry...what a cutie!

Here is my little man! He was really tired, and he was squinting his eyes!

This is a Red Velvet Peppermint Cake that I made for our Sunday School Christmas Party last Friday evening. It was really good!!! And, the best part was that it was also pretty easy to make.

Merry Christmas!

I hope that you are all having a wonderful Christmas Day! This past week has been so very busy. Let me quickly recap our activities for you. Last Thursday, we had the 962 Christmas Party at the Bridge restaurant here in Anchorage. Friday was a very hectic day as Nathan's office had a potluck lunch and then we had our Sunday School Christmas party that evening. The kids had a fun evening at the church while the adults gathered at the Anderson's house. That was kinda weird because we didn't quite know what to do without all the children running around us. But, we had a lot of fun playing games and socializing without being interrupted by our children for once. Saturday I had a party in the afternoon and then we had to watch the Cowboys play- GO COWBOYS!!! Sunday was our normal day of church activities. Of course, Nathan was on the hook to fly both Saturday and Sunday, and is currently on the hook to fly today and Wednesday as well. So, we decided late on Sunday evening that we needed some Christmas snacks to have around the house. So, Nathan went to the store for me, and then I stayed up until 11pm making Christmas goodies. First, I made rolls and sweet potato casserole for our Christmas dinner. And then I made chocolate fudge, peanut butter fudge, spiced tea mix, party mix and puppy chow. Now, those of you who know me well know that I am not known for my cooking abilities, but I would have to say that everything came out pretty well. OK, so back to our holiday activities. Since Nathan could possibly fly on Christmas Day, we had decided to open presents on Christmas Eve. We expected Brianna to wake us up early, but instead she actually slept later than usual- until after 9am, and so did baby Nate. So, we had a late start, but we managed to tear through all the presents. The kids got so much stuff, between their grandparents and aunts and uncles and mom and dad. I gave Nathan the Nintendo Wii for Christmas this year, and he found out about it early (I'll let him share that story if he wants to). So, he hot me the DANCE DANCE Revolution game that goes with it, along with some boots that I have wanted and some DVD's, CD's and perfume. Anyway, we had the Drewry's over for dinner last night, and we had a good time with them. We even all took a turn on the dance mat. It was quite comical. Some of you may ask who the Drewry's are. Well, Ruth is a friend of mine from high school and college. I actually graduated with her sister Rachel, but through that friendship, Ruth became my friend as well. Anyway, she married an air force guy and they just recently moved up here. So, it was really nice to have a bit of home here for the holidays. They have a son, Austin, who is just a couple of months older than Nate, so it is nice for the kids to play together. Really, Brianna just plays and the boys watch her, but it really works well.

So, here we are on Christmas morning. I got up early and made breakfast for everyone. Nathan has taken Brianna out to go sledding, and the baby is down for his nap. I really like not being so busy on Christmas day. It gives me time to think about Christ and how He came to earth as a little baby so that He could one day die for my sins. I hope and pray that each and every person who reads this post knows the love that the Father has for each one of His children. And, if you don't know that love, it is never too late to experience it. HE is the reason we have Christmas!

COLD!!!

Just so you know, it is really cold here. Really cold. The high for today is ZERO. It is days like today that you just don't want to step out of the house. But of course, today is the day that I have to get important items from the grocery store, like milk. And, of course, the squadron Christmas party is tonight, so not only do I have to go out in the cold, but I have to do so dressed up for a formal event. Some of you may think that I am complaining, and well, I am. It is that bad.

Funny Pics

We took a few pics this weekend of the kids. We thought you might enjoy some of these.

This first one, shows Nathan after he realizes he's being punished for biting his Momma. Of course, he could be doing his best impersonation of Popeye the sailor man. It's adorably pitiful, he's sort of forcing the cry.

This one is Brianna being adorable in front of the Christmas tree.

This is Nathan and his Momma right after a good tickle!!

Brianna playing with her McDonald's toy.

And of course, the two Nathan's, one sleeping very peacefully.

We had a great weekend as a family. We took Brianna to see her first movie in the theater. We went to see "Alvin and the Chipmunks" which was lots of fun. If you ask Brianna what we saw, she will say, "Bow chicka wow wow!" which was her favorite line in the movie!

Thank You Jesus for Snow!

So, every year since we have lived in Alaska, we have tried to take a nice Christmas picture in the snow. This year proved to be a bit of a challenge because we didn't have snow for awhile. Acutally, we have a really good snow toward the end of October, but we didn't get the picture taken then. But then, all the snow melted off, and the temperatures warmed up, we hadn't had any more snow. Until this week. I left Monday morning with the kids to go to Jazzercise, and we opened the garage door, and huge snow flakes were falling, and the ground was finally covered again with snow. Brianna was just elated, because we had been praying for snow, and she said, "Thank you Jesus for the Snow!" It was just too cute. And, when we got to Jazzercise, while I wasn't looking, she grabbed a big chunk of snow off of the ground and started to eat it. When I found her, she just smiled at me with this guilty little grin...it was too cute!

Here is the little cutie!!!

A Sleepless Night

So, last night was one of the craziest nights we have had at our home...ever. Let me start with the fact that Nathan was flying, and I knew he would be gone until the early hours of the morning. So, we usually put the kids to bed at about 8:30, but since Nathan was gone, and Brianna took a late nap, I let her stay up a little bit later. So, by 9:30, we had completed the bedtime routine and Brianna was in her bed, and I was attempting to put Nathan to bed. Then, Brianna comes out of her room and tells me that she is awake now. She did not look one bit tired. I told her she had to go back to bed, and so I took her back to bed. Now, I cannot remember Brianna ever getting out of bed once we put her down, so this was a very unusual thing for her to do. So, back I go to trying to get Nathan to bed, and here comes Brianna again. We repeated this process four times, and she still continued to get out of bed, just as happy as can be. Even the thoughts of getting a spanking (and the actual spanking) did not deter her. I told her she needed to close her eyes and go to sleep, and after she woke up she could come out of her room again. So, she cried, and about 20 minutes later, she came out and told me, "I closed my eyes and now I am awake!" So, of course since she had closed her eyes, she had slept, and it was OK to come out of the room, right? So, here we go again. By this time, it is after 11pm, and no one had gotten to sleep yet. I finally told Brianna to lay in her bed and wait for me while I put Nathan down, and then I would come lay down next to her. By the way, the reason Nathan wouldn't sleep is because he had slept all day because he had a fever, and then his fever finally broke that afternoon, and he was all full of energy again. So, I finally fed the baby, put him in bed- screaming and crying- and then went back to Brianna. She finally fell asleep within just minutes of me being in there with her. I finished cleaning up while I waited on the baby to cry himself to sleep. Then I went and took my shower. By this time, it was after midnight and I was pretty keyed up due to all the activity. So, I sat down to write a few cards and pay a bill and stuff like that. So, 12:30am comes around, and the baby wakes up. Now, normally I would have let him just cry it out, but since he has been sick and it was time for his next dosage of medicine anyway, I went ahead and got him. I was rocking him back to sleep at 1am when Nathan finally came home. I related this story to Nathan as he decompressed after his flight...it always takes him a while to be ready to go to bed after getting off a late flight. Anyway, we went to sleep between 1:30 and 2am. Crazy night, huh? But, it isn't over. I had been sleeping peacefully for about two hours when I hear "Mommy!" right next to me. OK, Brianna had gotten out of bed and walked all the way downstairs in the dark at 4:00 in the morning. So, Nathan grabbed her and put her in bed with us...which I am very against. Not that I expect it to never happen, but our children have never slept in bed with us, not even as infants. So, of course I was getting no sleep. Not that it would have mattered, because 30 minutes later Baby Nate woke up. So, I was laying there in bed with Brianna awake between me and Nathan, Nate upstairs screaming, and I just could not believe the night we were having. So, I picked up Brianna, took her to her bed and told her to sleep the rest of the night there. Then, I went and got the baby, fed him (I honestly think he was just really hungry because he was feeling better and he hadn't eaten well in about four days) and then I finally got back to sleep at about 5am. I actually got three hours of solid sleep before I had to get up for the day. Needless to say, we all took a good nap today! Can you believe how crazy that night was???

Update on Baby Nate

Well, unfortunately, Nate is still a very sick little boy. He came down with a high fever on Sunday afternoon, and has had it ever since. I took him back to the doctor on Monday, and basically he is just sick and we have to let it run its course. The good news is that his ears looked cleared up, but his throat is all yucky but it is not strep. The doctor did have some kind of name for what he has, but I have no idea what it was. He said it would take three to five days to run its course. So, continue to pray for Baby Nate.

Isn't he pitiful? He fell asleep at the table.

Welcome Home Jerome!!!

This past Sunday, my good friend Ginger's husband came home from a fourteen month tour of duty in Iraq. We are so proud of Jerome and the service that he and the rest of the 425 provided for our country, and we are so glad to have them home. We went to Buckner gym where the troops were welcomed home, and I have never been to a welcome home like that. And, I barely made it. They arrived a little early, so even though I was early, I walked in just as they were singing the national anthem. It was very touching to see the 250 men who had been away from their families for so long standing there at attention. A prayer was said, they sang the army song, and then it was chaos as everyone ran to hug their loved ones. It took a little bit for Ginger to spot Jerome, but I tell you I have never seen her move so quickly, and the children were quick to follow. What a special time! Thank you Lord for protecting these men and bringing them home safely to their families once again.