Seth's 2 month pictures

So I finally got Seth's 2 month pictures. I had a friend take them with her nice camera. She just sent me a couple of them. I will post some more later, but here are a couple of them now. The first couple are the color version and the last couple are the B&W. Tell me which one you like.

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These are the black and whites.

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Texas Tanner's KIT - July 12, 2009

We have been good. We are staying afloat so far but have about reached the point where I am ready to give our house back to Wells Fargo. I’d still like to know where all that money went that was supposed to help homeowners stay in their homes…

Work is going well. My project is rolling now and I am busier then ever. It is a great job, especially in this tough market and will look great on the resume. I will be honest though, working for the government sort of sucks. It is no wonder that our taxes and deficit are so high… I witness our dollars wasted every day in my little corner of government through inefficiencies, ice-age era processes, wasteful paperwork, etc. It is sickening, especially every time I hear our “hope and change” president asking for more… and then turning to programs and spending that have been historically proven to fail. Oh well… that is for another forum.

I am thinking of changing careers… I have started training to be a UFC cage fighter. I have been lifting weights for a few months now and last week started running. I have installed a “cage” in the back yard and have a few people work me over now and again. In fact a couple fighters just gave me a good work out earlier, right before they brushed their teeth and we put them to bed! Ha!

I did have a good time on our ward’s high adventure trip to Lake Powell . I have a few pictures linked on Facebook. We paddled 13 miles the first day on the water from Wahweap marina to Labyrinth canyon. We had an awesome campsite in a beautiful cove. We spent the week kayaking, hiking, rappelling, water-skiing, and cliff jumping/diving. The highest a few of us went off of was over 50 feet! Talk about exhilarating! I haven’t had that kind of a rush in a long time! It was a blast and I definitely want to do something like that again. It was probably the best outing I have ever been on and all of the kids agreed. There were also some great spiritual moments we had together as a group and individually that strengthened my testimony and brought me closer to the Lord.

Kelley is getting over the sinus infection I gave her, poor woman. She started to run again and then this thing floored her. So she is going to have to get back in the groove. She spends most her time going to the pool, cleaning the house, splitting up fights, doing laundry, cleaning the house, cleaning again, etc. I do try to make sure she gets out once in a while and she has had the chance to get out for girls’ night, visiting teaching, shopping on her own, etc. We had a fun little last minute date last night. We went to Michael Scott’s favorite restaurant and then saw Transformers 2. It was great! Seth went with us and stayed up through almost the entire movie. And he didn’t cry! Jonathan would be jealous…

Hailey is almost done with her swim team season. She has two more meets this coming week and then city finals if she does well. She should be going again. She has been doing great. We feel bad that Jonathan hasn’t been put in anything yet… he just tags along and gets to watch while Hailey is a part of something. He is pretty good about it though and we are going to try to get him on the team next year. I am thinking about getting him on a wrestling team or a pee-wee tackle football team (yes, tackle… they start them early in Texas ). He would LOVE the contact sports. After all, he is my best cage-fighting competitor right now! Hailey is still doing piano… we are not helping her enough at home though and she has hit a plateau. She is memorizing tunes and playing them the way she thinks they should be played instead of actually reading the music. Back to the flash cards I suppose…

Jonathan is still Jonathan. Stubborn. He sure can be sweet when he wants to, especially when he flashes you that smile with his big blue eyes and tells you he loves you. He is excited to start all day school in a month or so. We hope that he gets a good teacher that is willing to work with him. He still loves to build things and is into Magnetix now. We also got him a little Playmobil pirate kit that he LOVES. Remember all the Playmobil toys that Grandma Tanner had at her house? I loved those toys.

Chloe is following in Jonathan’s footsteps the best she can. They play really well together but also fight really well together. She loves to push his buttons and is extremely stubborn in her own way. She is talking very well and other than the occasional accident (which seems to be getting more often) she is wearing big girl panties all the time. She makes it to the bathroom, but seems to forget that pee goes in the toilet. I thought that was a boy thing… I still forget sometimes! She is a little cutie and is the most “daddy’s-girl” (or boy) of all our kids.

Seth is adorable! He is very pudgy and smiles all the time. He is extremely ticklish and is on the verge of belting out laughs every day. He loves to look at people and carry on conversations… He smiles and makes the cutest noises! He is a very good baby but will let us know when we are not paying him enough attention. He enjoys his swing for awhile and is also sitting in the “tippy-toy” for short spans. Still not sure who he looks most like. There is definitely a resemblance to Jonathan but he has his own distinct features. We will try to get out some updated photos.

Best Friends

4th of July

El Paso Parade

3rd of July parade

We had a tri-ward primary activity on July 3rd. The kids had a great time. They had some activities and they decorated their scooter, wagon, and bike for a little parade. Chloe was actually to young to stay for the activity, but still got to participate in the parade.

Here Jonathan was showing off his face painting pulling his wagon behind.

Here Hailey is with her decorated scooter.

June 22, 2009 KIT Letter

So I stayed home from church along with Chloe and Seth. Chloe woke up crying the other night. She eventually told me her ear hurt, so I took her to the Dr. yesterday, and sure enough she had an ear infection. I think I might have a sinus infection now too. I think we are all sick except for Hailey and Sam. Klaine still has the remenants of Bronchittis. He went on his week long Kayaking trip with the scouts to Lake Powell. He said he had an awesome time. The Doctor told him before he left that he didn't think he should go. But knowing the Tanner/Surtees, that means nothing.

My mom and Sisters were here this week to help me. We didn't do anything special, just what I normally do. It was nice to have someone hold Seth while I could get somethings done. He wants to be held all the time and talk to. The kids were also at their best this week having tantrums everyday and being as stubborn as usual. No sugar coating this week. My mom and sisters actually ended up staying and extra day because their flight go canceled due to bad weather in Chicago. It ended up being quite helpful.

Hailey is busy with swimming. She has it every morning at 7:30-8:30. She had one swim meet this week that everyone went to. She is swimming in 2 relays this year, and swimming butterfly and freestlye. She really enjoys swimming and says she wants to be an olymipic swimmer someday. Jonathan and Chloe enjoy going too, they either play in the sand box or swim in the shallow area. Jonathan took swimming lessons the last two weeks. He enjoyed it, but I think we have too much going on so I don't think we will be doing that again.

I am overwhelmed with 4 kids. I don't know how some of you do it with 5 or soon to be five. There are constant up and downs all day long. Then added on top of that we have our house on the market. We had 7 calls this week! That is a record by far! Maybe someone will put an offer on our house. Our house is a little to big to be cleaning everyday.

We still love Uncle Sam living with us, although when he babysits they all melt down so he has to become mean Uncle Sam. We got to meet his new girlfriend last week while Klaine was gone. She only speaks spanish. My mom wanted her to come so she could practice her spanish. We really liked her. She is a very nice girl.

Thats it for now! I know there is more that I could write, but this will suffice!

May 31, 2009 KIT Letter

Alright… I’ll write a KIT. How long has it been? A week? A Month? Many Months!? Sorry… we have no excuses.

My new job is going great. I am learning my role and working hard to get my buildings started this week. It will be nice to see some actual work progressing on my project. It still boggles my mind how large this project is, and how large the entire expansion on Ft. Bliss is! As a group we are installing over $2 million dollars a DAY! That adds up quick… Sam seems to be enjoying his job, especially now that he got his first paycheck! We and the kids sure enjoy having him around. I am trying to fight this dang sinus infection. It is bad and my face feels like it is going to explode. I haven’t been able to sleep at all for weeks. I sure hope these antibiotics kick in soon. I definitely do not want to go on this high adventure in two weeks if I am sick…

Kelley is doing well. She is getting back into running and wants to come to Indy to do the mini next year. I told her to go for it! I’ll watch… She is still working with the Bear Scouts who meet each Friday at 5:30… yeah, great time for scouts. We usually go out for dinner each Friday because it is such a pain in the butt. Oh well… the scouts come. That is what is important. She is also gearing up for summer… having all the kids home!

Hailey just started the swim team again. She still has a week of school, but the swimming started last week. She still enjoys it, so hopefully she will do well again this year. She is enjoying school but looks forward to summer too. She is really looking forward to the 3^rd grade next year! She likes school and is still in the GT (Gifted and Talented) program. She is also still doing piano and keeps getting better every week, although she doesn’t always like to practice! She keeps asking me to give her bagpipe lessons and we have had one so far. Her fingers are too small for the chanter though so I am going to have to get her a junior one. Oh yeah… I have started teaching bagpipe lessons to some boys in our ward. 2 of the bishop’s kids and 3 kids from another family. It is fun… I wish I was close to a REAL bagpipe band so I could get back into it seriously.

Jonathan is out of school for the summer. He is excited for summer but is also excited to go to kindergarten next year. Hopefully we get a good teacher who can teach those kids who don’t fit entirely in “the box”. Jonathan hangs off the sides sometimes, and sometimes just flat out runs circles around it… We are not going to put him in swimming this year… he could do it, but we are going to wait for another year. Eventually he is going to get into pee-wee football! Oh yeah…

Chloe is growing quickly and is very cute… unless she is mimicking Jonathan’s every action… She definitely has her stubborn side, like all the kids, but is extremely observant and smart for her age. She amazes us every day and nothing gets by her! She loves to push Jonathan’s buttons which makes me laugh every time! She is still in Jr. nursery and will be for the rest of the year because of her birthday, but now she is the Big Helper! She no longer has anxiety attacks and looks forward to going! What a relief… just in time for Seth to show up. She is still potty-trained but does have the occasionally lapse in judgment.

Seth will be 8 weeks this week. He has pudged out and keeps on eating… Everyone says he looks just like Jonathan, but we haven’t pulled out any baby pictures to compare yet. He does NOT like his car seat, which is opposite from the rest of the kids. He LOVES to be held up, so he can see your face. Then he loves to coo and smile when you talk to him. He is already a social bug just like Jonathan was. He is sleeping fairly well… usually will get 4-5 hours in a stretch at night… at least as far as I can tell! Kelley is sweet and lets me sleep usually.

We are still trying to sell the house so we can pay off some debt… please pray for the house to sell.

Day 5 (No pictures on day 4!?)

Update Friday, April 10, 2009

Seth is doing well. We went and visited him tonight and they took him totally off the nasal cannula, and his tube that was in his stomach was taken out last night.
They also finally washed his hair.
They plan on taken the central line that is in his belly out tomorrow and replacing it with an ivy.
He started on bottle feedings today, and is taken it on like a pro.
That's about it for now.

Kelley

Seth Benjamin - Day 3

Wednesday, April 8th's Email

Sorry I have not gotten out an email sooner... Here are some pictures of the new addition to our family, Seth Benjamin. He is in NICU, but don't be alarmed by all the wires and tubes... he had his umbilical cord wrapped tightly around his neck during delivery and was not getting proper circulation through his body. He also ingested bloody fluid into his lungs and stomach that needed suctioned out. The bloody fluid was probably from a problem with the placenta; we will know for sure when lab tests come back. He is doing great and is progressing rapidly each hour. They had him on oxygen for awhile and even had a breathing tube in his lungs for about 4 hours, but he fought it and they took it out. I guess they usually leave those in as a precaution for 1 - 2 days, so that is a good sign! He is still breathing with a slight rasp but he is doing great. He does still have the nasal cannula in, but he is down to room air and no oxygen. Regardless of how well he is doing he must stay in NICU a minimum of 3 days, and up to 7, for antibiotic treatments and tests. If for some reason a test comes back positive (in the bad way) he will have to stay longer... but we don't anticipate that. He is already taking after our other stubborn, tough boy...

Sorry to you mothers out there for not knowing all the details... but here is what I have:

Seth Benjamin Tanner
Born 4:49 AM MST on 4/7/2009 in El Paso (El Paso County), Texas.
Weighed in at 7 lbs. 4.8 oz.
Length 21 inches. but he has a big head!

Kelley is doing great and should be coming home Wed. afternoon or Thurs. morning.

- Klaine

Seth Benjamin - Day 2

Seth Benjamin - Day 1

Winner's Recital

Rocket

March 17 KIT Letter

Hey everyone, just thought I would let you in on a couple of updates for our family.

Chloe is in the process of being potty trained and is doing fabulous! We have been at it for a week and a half. Of course she has the accidents now and then, but has taken it in on quite nicely. I thought I would try and get it done before our baby comes so that we don't have to buy 2 sets of diapers. Looks like that will happen.

Saturday we had the same people come through our house twice. Haven't heard anything back yet. It would be nice to sell the house so we could pay some debt off, but I am content until the baby is born.

Saturday Klaine went hiking with some guys from church. He had a good time. He has been working out almost everyday the last 2 weeks. He and a buddy at work go on their lunch break. He says he has lost 6 pounds, way to go honey!

Hailey and Jonthan are on spring break this week. Yesterday we went to the zoo, and today we went to the library. We also bought a little kitchen from a friend and they have been playing in the back with it for most of the afternoon. It has been great. We also had a Best Buy gift card that we need to use, so we bought Mario Cart. I am sure we will be playing that all week. I think I might try and take them to one of the museums here, go to the park one day and if it is warm enough maybe get our little waterslide out. It should be in the 80's all week, but that is not the same as Indiana 80's.

I have less than 6 weeks left of being pregnant. YAH! I am ready I think. But then again, the thought of having to drag 4 kids around all summer long sounds a little overwhelming. I guess I will just have to take my stroller everywhere and starp at least two of them in. I still need to get out the baby boy bin of clothes and wash them. I also need or would like to buy a swing and bouncy seat. I think that is my short list of things to do before he comes. I would also like to get a couple of meals in the freezer too, but we'll see if that happens.

Sunday we had a farewell party for our next door neighbors. The whole ward was invited. I figure we had around 100 or so people come through. They then loaded their truck up yesterday and spent the night here. They left this morning for Utah. I am very sad to see them leave! They were so wonderful, we are truly going to miss them. Maybe we will sell our house now and move next door to someone else in our ward. It was so nice to be able to borrow something, or have the kids go next door to play or have one of their kids come over here to play. Or even have a babysitter at the last minute! We wish them luck!

Thats about all that is going on in our neck of the woods. We hope that you are all doing well!

The El Paso Tanners

March 1, 2009 KIT Letter

I’ll write this week. We are slackers, but you know what? I enjoy getting KIT’s. Kelley and I need to do a better job at getting them out.

We are doing well. My new job is a good one and I could see myself with this company for a while. The name of the company I work for is Jacobs. Jacobs Engineering is, or used to be, another name. They are global with about 55,000 employees. There are pros and cons to working for a large company, but so far so good. I actually work with Vern Pfeil who is 3 cubicles over from mine. We probably have too much fun at work. Although I work for a “civilian” company, I am actually a part of the Army Corps of Engineers staff. My direct supervisor is a Corps employee, a Resident Engineer. Due to the enormity of the construction being put in place, the Corps contracted with Jacobs to manage it. I have had to go through all the government security clearances and trainings in order to gain daily access to the base and on government computers. I am a Project Engineer and mostly do paperwork… a lot of paperwork. I submit paperwork in order to submit paperwork in order to use the restroom. Okay, not really that bad, but it is the government. I am in charge of the construction of 24 barracks buildings for 2 light infantry brigades. Each building has around 64 units with 2 beds each. There are other associated buildings being built for each brigade. We are in reality building a city in the middle of the desert. It is quite extraordinary. The 2 light infantry brigades that we are building include over 80 buildings in a one-square mile footprint. In addition to the 2 brigades I am with, there are an additional 5 brigades under construction. It is hard to fathom the enormity of the total project which includes all the necessary roads, highways, bridges, power stations, and other infrastructure required.

The job is a good one, and the pay is good, but we still need to sell the house if we want to get ourselves out of debt. We did get a huge tax refund this year that could cover the shortage each month for a year, but we wouldn’t be able to get out of debt very quickly. We are probably going to leave the house on the market and see what happens. We are excited for Sam to come interview with Jacobs, especially the kids.

We just had stake conference and I sung with the stake choir at the adult session last night. That was neat… the music was amazing.

Kelley has a big belly. It is getting harder for her to move around or sleep comfortably. We are excited for the new baby, but still haven’t gotten serious about a name. Kelley is trying to exercise the best she can, but hasn’t kept up with it as well as she did with Chloe. She is doing a great job keeping the house clean in order to show it now and then. What a saint.

Hailey is enjoying school and still doing piano lessons. She is a smart girl and growing much too quickly. She enjoys carpooling with another girl from our ward and they play after school together a few times each week. They are both bossy… probably good for Hailey to get some back.

Jonathan is enjoying school too. He had a great time at a friend’s birthday party yesterday. He was there for 3 hours and they still hadn’t gotten to the cake! If we didn’t have to get him home to the baby-sitter so we could go out to dinner with some friends, we would have left him. He was having a great time and came home with all sorts of Superman paraphernalia. In fact he is running around outside with his cape on right now.

Chloe is a smart girl. She is much more observant then either Hailey or Jonathan were at her age. She communicates very well and really knows how to push Jonathan’s buttons. It is sort of amusing. They usually play well together though which I am sure Kelley appreciates more than me.

Well, that was a lot of nothing… we sure miss and love you all. Please keep up the KITs. Hopefully we will have more better to say next week.



The Texas Tanners

Chinese New Year

January 26, 2009 KIT letter

Well this week was eventful. Klaine accepted the job here at Fort Bliss. He started on Wednesday. I think he is happy to be working again and not staying at home with me anymore. His 2 month retirement is over. We also down sized the truck this week. We traded it in for a 04 Toyota Corolla. It is a fun little car that will get him from point A to point B, and it is even manual. So now that we have income again, we should be able to survive, we just need to sell our house. Which who knows in this economy, it might not.

Hailey had a talk at church on Sunday. She got up on Saturday morning and started typing a talk. She did an amazing job. Klaine proof-read it with her and fixed a few minor things, but it sure is nice when your kids start becoming independent.

Hailey’s Talk on Caring January 25, 2009

My talk today is about Caring. Caring means feeling and showing concern and love for others. Caring also means keeping someone or something safe. Children are in the care of their parents. To care also means to have a special interest in something. For example, some children care about their pets.

We should care about others, especially our family. For example, yesterday morning, my brother Jonathan was eating at the breakfast table. He wanted some milk and asked me kindly if I could pour him some. Okay, I said nicely, and poured him a glass of milk. We care for each other.

Here are 3 other examples of caring:

This picture shows 4 people helping someone unpack from a move. They are showing that they care for this person. Some people call caring serving.

This picture is of Adam and Eve. They were the first man and woman on the earth. They named all the animals on the earth. They cared for the earth and all their children.

This last picture is of David and Goliath. David showed that he cared for his brothers and their people by being brave and slaying Goliath.

I want to bear my testimony that I know my Heavenly Father lives and cares for me. I also know that Jesus died for me because he cares for me too. I hope to follow their example and care for others. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

It is amazing to see your children grow up right before your eyes.

Jonathan has had smiley faces all this year at school. That is a miracle in itself. He loves preschool. He has a really bad cough right now. I had the same one every year growing up. Poor kids gets to inherit it. He stayed home from school because he woke up at 5:00 coughing his head off.

Chloe is getting so big too. We decided to let her keep her binkie because she would not stay in bed, and would only go to sleep if I was in the room until she fell asleep. We decided to have her move into Jonathan's room on the top bunk. It has worked wonders, no crying and having to stay in her room until she falls asleep. Jonathan and her are good buddies. They play very well and entertain themselves.

As for me, I am 27 or 28 weeks along. I had to go get the glucose test and rogam shot last week. For some reason I had to go to the outpatient care at the hospital. Usually they do all that stuff at the doctors office, but I guess they are wierd here in El Paso and have find ways to make you wait forever. I was there from 8:30 until 12:30. I had to leave for an hour to pick Jonathan up from school. But I am healthy as far as I know.
I have also been trying to get back in the swing of things since Klaine is no longer at home everyday. I have to get up early now and take both kids to school before 8:00, which I haven't really had to do. Klaine is now on the other side of the city so I can't depend on him any more to help me out. I was very spoiled.

That is about it for now, we hope all is going well for each one of you. The Lord blesses us in ways that we might not understand but they are for the benefit of our learning. I guess we are going through one of those times, but it seems most of the country is also.

Love you all and thanks for the prayers on our behalf.

Car Shopping

January KIT Letter

We had a great time in Indianapolis/Kansas on our trip. Thank you all for allowing us to stay/play/veg/work/whatever. I had a good time doing what I could to help… fixing Larry’s car (only to have it break down in Colorado !), helping to move Larry, putting new brakes on Kelley’s sister’s car, installing a new gas line and heater at Mom & Dad’s, etc. It was fun… I enjoy that sort of work when I am “helping”. It was great to see family and friends. We enjoyed spending more than a night at Travis & Family. It was good to get together with “everyone else” except Sam and Kylene at Andy & Family too. It was a good break and a chance to escape reality for a short time. I did have an interview with a company while I was there. Supposedly I am still on the “list” for consideration but they are moving slowly. I just found out today that they may be merging another company in with theirs and that is the cause of delay. We are getting worried and stressed because we won’t be able to pay all our bills by Feb. And yet we do have hope… I took the opportunity to really fast on Sunday and was assured that we would be taken care of, even though it might get even more rocky here soon.

I did have an interview with a global company, Jacobs engineering, who is doing about a billion dollars (not exaggerating) worth of work right now here at Ft. Bliss and Biggs Army Airfield. They have extended me an offer… I know I would fit right in and it is exciting work… but something didn’t seem right in my gut. I am fighting the decision to follow my gut and the need for a job, any job. Unfortunately it is a huge pay-cut from what we were making and even if we stayed in El Paso we would have to get out of our home. I would also be a “quasi-government employee” which doesn’t sound too exciting. The company is limited on what they can pay, raises, time-off, etc. depending on what the Army Corp. of Engineers allows. I was offered a pay-rate at the top of the position I applied for, but it is still a 30% pay cut before any bonuses are considered. Plus this company has no bonuses, and medical insurance is expensive each month. But it is a job… hmmm. What to do.

I have another opportunity, through another recruiter, in San Antonio . I have not yet had the privilege of talking to the company, but they have my resume. I also let the recruiter know yesterday that I have an offer, but am extremely interested in this opportunity. It is similar to what I was doing in Indiana . They build mostly apartments, except they are luxury. Some of them are downtown, mid-rise, urban-infill type projects. They also do some commercial, etc. It sounds like a great thing… hopefully events can move swiftly so I can decide what to do. We appreciate all your thoughts and prayers… please keep them up. And know that you all are in our prayers too.

The kids are doing well. Hailey loves school. She is taking a break from piano lessons, partly because her teacher is on some month-long trip to Africa or something, and partly because we have no cash. She is really into games too. She loves board and card games and does very well. It is scary. Perhaps we will take her down to the casino here and all our cares will disappear!

Jonathan loves preschool. His first day back was a little rocky, according to his teacher, but he is back in the groove. He picked up a bad bout of dry skin from being back in Indiana again… something that surprisingly went away when we moved here to the desert. I don’t know exactly why he would get dry skin in a humid climate. I think it might be from the heaters that run continuously in the house that suck all the moisture out. Dunno. He is still a hard-headed, stubborn, son of a Klaine… but we love him. He can be extremely sweet and adorable when he wants to. Usually he is standing on his head watching tv. He has this thing with being upside down… not too sure where that comes from.

Chloe is growing fast. She is talking up a storm and parrot’s everything anyone says. She also know exactly what buttons to push to set Jonathan off and enjoys pushing them. It is humorous actually. She says the cutest things. She also gave up her binkies… for a few nights. Now she won’t stay in her bed and screams at the top of her lungs if Kelley or I are not standing right next to her until she falls asleep. It can get pretty annoying… So last night she got her binkie back, but still cried and carried on for awhile. She is 2!

Chloe's 2nd Birthday

While in Indiana we were able to celebrate Chloe's birthday. We decided to celebrate a little early since we were with family. Her birthday is actually January 8. Here are just a few pictures.

Chloe's 2nd year birthday cake.

Chloe getting ready to blow out the candles. She actually did not blow them out this year, I think she was to afraid at first and besides Jonathan thought she needed a little help!

Chloe's Grandpa Steve and Grandma Pattie got her a baby and a step stool that talks. She loved them! When we got back to Texas Klaine and I got her a swing for her babies and a potty. (Sorry no picture.)

This of course is me getting ready to cut the cake and in the background is Hailey, Ally, and my mom, Pattie.

This is my brother Mike and his wife Ally.

Katie, Hannah, and Kristi.


HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHLOE!

Christmas 2008

This year we were able to make the trip back to Indiana for Christmas. We left December 19 and drove 12 hours until we made our first stop in Derby Kansas where Klaine's brother and his family live. It was a great stopping point, almost half way. We stayed there a day and the kids got to play with their cousins and we got to visit with Travis and Brittney. Then on the 21st we left Derby and traveled 10 more hours and reached our Indianapolis destination, my parents house. We were able to stay for 2 weeks, and then made the trip back. It was not a bad drive, but there sure isn't a whole lot to look at but desert and lots of farm land. Before we left I made sure to tell Santa where we would be so that he would deliver our presents to the right house. And sure enough good old Santa remembered.

Here are some pictures of what our Christmas morning looked like with each of the children's favorite present.

The Christmas tree before we opened presents. The kids had to wait until Grandma, Grandpa, Katie, and Kristi woke up before we let them open their presents. They were excited!

Chloe got a baby and a stroller.

Jonathan got the treasure box that he had been asking for, so that he now can have somewhere to collect all his treasures!

Hailey wanted a white board. I think she wanted it so she could play school.

We were truly blessed this Christmas by many people. Klaine lost his job in November so that put a damper on Christmas gifts this year, but we had lots of kind and generous people help us out so that we could limit our spending over these holidays. Thank you to all that helped us out! Heavenly Father truly was mindful of us, and we now have a deeper respect for the Savior and what it means to be humble and to receive. Hopefully next year we can be the ones giving generously to those who might need it!

Super Heroes

We went to the Children's Museum in Indianapolis over the Christmas holidays with our good friends the Coffmans. We went to a new exhibit with Super Hero's. Here are a few pictures that I took.

This is Jonathan and his friend Devin.

Jonathan posing, what he does best.

Cheese!

Chloe showing her super powers.

Jonathan coloring, what he does best!

Hailey and Chloe fishing at the ice holes.


Even Frosty the Snowman made an appearance! Chloe of course was terrified, and Jonathan was so excited!