Happy New Year 2012

Goodbye 2011, Hello 2012! Hard to believe another year has gone by just as quickly as the next. It seems like the years are going faster and faster as we get older and I hate that! I wish life would just slow down a bit. We juggle too many things each day from work, kids, school, family, etc.... there has to be a better way to balance all of this at times. I just don't like how fast time is going; I don't want to look back and wonder about the 'what ifs' or the would have, could have, and should have's....

Overall 2011 was a great year for us; no complaints here. We all remained healthy and happy. We got to do quite a bit as a family, and the kids continue to grow up too fast. Stacey went back to work full time after 8 years of being a 'stay at home Mom" Although let's face it, she really wasn't a stay at home mom with all the juggling she did these 8 years (LOL). She certainly kept herself busy with the Mom's groups, the twins club, Baby Signs, Stroller Strides, etc.... She seemed to manage it all very well though and still keep the family in tact. Anyway, I digress..... We continued to be blessed in 2011. To ring in 2012, we had a rather low key New Years; we hung out with 4 of our closest friends and went to a local restaurant for dinner then headed back to one of their houses to ring in the new year. We always have fun hanging with them!

This week has certainly been busy though. Off of the heels of Christmas, we dove into a house project of painting each of the kids' rooms. After four days of priming and painting and recoating, the rooms look new and they all turned out great. Our next step will be to put crown molding in each of the rooms, add chair rail in Caroline's, and also change out the curtains to match the new colors. Then the rooms will be complete. Here is how the rooms look now.

Caroline's Room:


Jack's Room:


Lauren's Room:



A New Year’s Prayer

May God make your year a happy one!
Not by shielding you from all sorrows and pain,
But by strengthening you to bear it, as it comes;

Not by making your path easy,
But by making you sturdy to travel any path;

Not by taking hardships from you,
But by taking fear from your heart;

Not by granting you unbroken sunshine,
But by keeping your face bright, even in the shadows;

Not by making your life always pleasant,
But by showing you when people and their causes need you most,
and by making you anxious to be there to help.

God’s love, peace, hope and joy to you for the year ahead.

- Author Unknown

Merry Christmas

We had another wonderful, memorable Christmas this year! The kids have been off from school since the 21st and we've been trying to do a number of fun things while they are on vacation. We took the kids to see Chipwrecked, which was pretty funny. The kids love going to the movies and enjoy getting their little kid snack box.

Christmas was a blast! On Christmas Eve we all went to church as a family, came home and Pops, Gigi and Uncle Scotty came over and spent the night. One of our traditions is to open one gift. It gets us ready for the big day, but it certainly is quite a tease... LOL.... Why stop at one present right?! The kids definitely wanted to open more gifts, but they knew they had to wait.

Christmas morning went by so quickly. The kids woke us up around 7:00 and we all came downstairs to start opening their loot. The first thing they do is only play with the gifts Santa left (not wrapped) so they can enjoy those toys first. They were SO excited to get the iPod Touch!! It totally made their Christmas.....

Pops & Gigi were extremely generous with the kids and the toys were all great!! We are truly grateful for all the love and support they provide all of us. The kids have been enjoying each of their gifts from everyone. They are also becoming pros with the iTouch.

This week, Stacey and I are painting each of the kids' rooms. I will post pictures of the finished product.

Great Grandma Utz arrives tomorrow for a week, so we will make sure to spend some time with her during her visit.

The Big 4-0!

Yesterday was certainly a milestone; I turned 40! My age has never really bothered me so much and I don't mind turning 40 at all. Besides, it's not like I can do anything about it anyway, LOL..... The past few days leading up to my birthday, I have spent reflecting on my life. NO, I am not going through a mid-life crisis. I am extremely happy with where I am in my life; I am blessed with a wonderful wife, three amazing kids, a job, a house, friends and family. I have nothing to complain about at all! Life has been good to me for sure.

It's just so hard to believe that I have been on this Earth for 40 years already! To me, that is a long time and I am extremely grateful for the things I have been able to do so far and I hope that I get the chance to have many more years to do a lot more things with my life. I guess I should I start my bucket list now?! HA....

Stacey surprised me with a birthday party on the 10th. I had NO clue whatsoever.... What I thought was a get together with a few close friends turned out to be a party with even more of our close friends! It was great time, I really enjoyed the party. She certainly got me!!! I feel like I have been celebrating my birthday for over a week now. This past weekend, Pops & Gigi took us out for my birthday dinner at Olive Garden (one of my favorites) and then yesterday, we celebrated at home with the kids. I appreciated all of the Facebook messages, texts, and phone calls from friends and family throughout the day. It made me realize just how truly blessed I am to have so many wonderful people in my life. I feel very fortunate to call these folks my friends! They say people come into your life for a reason and I hope all of them stay for a long time. They have enriched me in so many ways.

Now that I am 40, I want to focus on things that I can do to help make a difference. In 2012, I am going to do just that. I am going to start by donating one of my kidneys to Gigi in January (I will go more into this in another post). I want to volunteer more and expose the kids to community activism; I want to do some big things with the community garden; get more involved with the kids' school; do my first triathlon; continue increasing recycling efforts in the region; looks for ways to help the environment, and so much more. I don't intend to do all these things myself, I want Stacey and the kids alongside me every step of the way and do some of these things together as a family.

Turning 40 may be just a number, but it is a milestone and I want to do something big with this milestone. We only live once, right?! My thanks go out to the Lord who has allowed me these 40 years on this Earth and for the blessings He has given me. I pray He will allow me another 40 years and continues to guide me to be the man He has intended me to be.

Cheers to 40 great years!

Christmas Greetings

We have all been busily preparing for the Christmas season and find it hard to believe that it is only 9 days away and we still have lots to do. We are not even finished with our shopping; well almost done, but not yet complete. Since our last post, we've been busy decorating, sending out Christmas cards, mailing out packages, and attending a few Christmas parties.

This year, yet again, we were graced with Pops & Gigi serving as Santa's helpers at the Twins Club Christmas party. It's amazing they continue to do this (going on 7 years I believe), and it brings so much joy to all of the kids. It's a lot of fun. This year's party was held at the local Field House where the kids got to run around and play on the field. Each child received a gift and got to sit on Santa's lap and each family had the opportunity to pose with Santa and Mrs. Claus. Below is our picture. This year Jack and Caroline got to dress up as Elves and helped hand out the presents. Lauren stood nearby and rang the jingle bells. She wanted to be part of the action as well and enjoyed her role as the bell ringer!!!

Each morning the kids continue to eagerly wake up and look around the house for Jingles. He's been in some pretty good spots this year! It's been so much fun watching them look for him. Lauren has finally understood the meaning behind it and has gotten into spirit of it as well this year. See below for some of Jingles' hiding places!

The kids are anxious to begin their Christmas vacation! I will have almost 2 weeks off and Stacey about a week, and although we are staying local this year, we hope to be doing a few fun things during the kids' break. Great Grandma Utz will be making a visit as well. I'm still holding out for some snow!!!! What's Christmas without some snow?!

This time of year is not only about the excitement of Christmas, but a time to reflect the true meaning of Christmas (our Savior, Jesus Christ), but remember those who have passed on and for family who live far away, and of our loved ones nearby. We thank you for being a part of our lives and may God keep you and bless you during this Christmas season.

Thanksgiving Blessings

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Since the kids were off from school on Wednesday, Stacey and I took the day off from work. Stacey took the girls to see the new Muppets movie; while Jack & I went bowling and ran some errands at Lowe's and Wal-Mart.

On Thanksgiving, we spent the day at Pops & Gigi and enjoyed way too much food and watched football. Aunt Jennifer and Uncle Larry were actually at the Cowboys - Dolphins game in Dallas, but we didn't see them on TV. We were hoping one of the cameras would have captured them with their sign. We ended the night with our traditional read of "The Elf on the Shelf" and the kids went to bed eagerly awaiting the arrival of Jingles!

Sure enough.... the next morning, the kids rushed downstairs to see who could spot Jingles first. His first location was in the window next to the fireplace hanging with one our angel figurines. Stacey and I absolutely LOVE how J&C still believe in Santa, Jingles, etc. It's just pure magic for us. We know this will probably be the last year we can get away with 'lying' to them about it. They have been hearing stuff in school and on the bus about how Santa isn't real, that parents are the real Santa, etc.... Christmas is all about the magic of believing and we hope the kids will understand and won't be too disappointed when the truth eventually comes out. Now we just need to make sure J&C can keep the secret a bit longer for lil sis!

We spent the rest of the weekend decorating the house, putting up the tree, and hanging up the lights. We did a few things differently this year and added more lights. We love it!!!! All of us love this time of year!

We are definitely reminded of the many Blessings!

God - for his constant guidance and unconditional love

Family - to our parents who have shown us the true meaning of parenthood and marriage

Health - for another healthy year

Friendships - for the many great friendships that have formed over the years and the bonds that have been formed. We are truly grateful for all of our friends.

Love - to my wife who has shown me love; to our kids who remind us about the innocence of childhood and unconditional love.

We hope this holiday season finds everyone blessed. May this Christmas be your best bet.

School Awards

In our previous post, we mentioned that all three kids received awards for the first 9 weeks of school. Below are some pictures of the kids proudly holding their awards! Way to go kiddos, We are SO proud of you!!

Caroline:


Jack:


Lauren:

Kids' Art

The other day Jack and Caroline decided to sit down and draw/color and we were amazed by the amount of imagination they used when designing their pieces.... It's nice to see their creativity developing. Rather than watching some of the mindless TV shows, or playing the Wii, or fighting.... they decided to just sit down and draw. It was nice to watch them do this. With Christmas approaching, we may need to consider buying more art supplies.

A school update: All kids passed the first 9 weeks with flying colors; Caroline made Scholar's List, Jack made Principal's List, and Lauren received her very first Citizenship Award! We are so proud of them! Way to go, good job kiddos!!!!

Jack's Masterpiece



Caroline's Masterpiece