December

Yup. Thats it. You get one little post about the entire month of December. Why? My life is has been utter chaos and I am tired. Oh. So. Tired. We kicked off the month with Ike and AnDee getting a little cold. We have been sick since. (Yes... we are still sick over 3 weeks later) We are talking really sick like Pep had a temp of 105.4 on Christmas Eve. Merry Christmas??? And last night AnDee jumped up to 104. Its been a blast!
This is what Ike has looked like for approximately 3 weeks.

What else have we been up to? Oh you know, the usual. Just moving to a new house the day after Christmas, having Nanny and Poppy come stay with us (And save my life by  helping us move and watching the kids endlessly while I tried to get things in order) and celebrating that little holiday in December. I think its called Christmas? Im not really sure, it was all a blur of fevers and snot and boxes and sleepless nights.
AnDee's last day of school was strange. She didn't want to go (which isn't strange) but when we actually had to leave and she had to say goodbye she cried. A lot. Like a half hour of constant tears. Sad ones too. Broke my heart. Change is so hard.

 Our tree has a candy theme...

 AnDee Lew's  introduction to Home Alone. She loved it, of course

 Christmas curls

 This is where I prove how pathetic Ive been this month. These are literally the ONLY pictures I got on Christmas. I didn't even get AnDee jumping up and down squealing when she realized that Santa really did come! And to top it off.. they are blurry. Winner winner chicken dinner!

 The Day after Christmas Nana and Papa came.... and saved us all.  I honestly have NO IDEA how I would have got everything done without them. Between Andrew and the kids being sick, moving and trying to get the old house in good enough shape to get our deposit back I was at a loss. SO SO SO endlessly grateful to them.

 Plus Papa spent endless amounts of time like this..

which was all that sick baby wanted and I couldn't give it to him at the time


Its been a hard month for sure but SUCH a blessed one. We finally got a house with a fenced yard! Our Christmas was insane. How do we always end up with so many gifts? I honestly ended up throwing out 90% of the kids' old toys to make room for the new ones. When I was a kid my grandparents weren't overly involved with our family so now as an adult I tend to forget that my parents and Andrews parents will be sending gifts as well, (Not to mention Gayle and cousins)  so I always end up getting way too much stuff thinking that the only people they will be getting anything from are Andrew and I. We are so blessed to have such awesome grandparents and cousins and Aunts and Uncles that are involved! Most of our gifts somehow involved trains (of course) Miss AnDee Lew (we have been informed that she wants to be called AnDee Lew, not just AnDee) got roller skates and it has been nothing but pure entertainment watching her try to figure them out.
I was hands down the most spoiled of us all though. Andrew broke down and let me get my puppy.

We had to dive out to Iowa to get her and this is what the two of them looked like the entire way home. Seriously, 4 hours of puppy naps. They sure settled in to things quickly

When Grandma Pam called last night to wish us a happy new year, she had no idea we had a puppy until she asked the kids what their favorite part about their new house was to which they both replied "our puppy"

 Her name is Bernadette (Bernie) and she is a Saint Bernard/Poodle mix. We like big dogs... We honestly did consider something smaller but it just didn't fit.

 Pretty sure Ike likes this thing more than Bernie does..

She is the best. She is like a fluffy little Betty and her personality is a blend between Hunter and Betty (at least so far) If we can't have the two of them here, we will try our best to come as close as we can. We are still planning on bringing Hunter out here in the spring and then things will feel complete ;)
 This year has been a crazy, scary, awesome, fun, full of changes kind of year but it has been oh so good. We have grown and changed in so many ways I never could have imagined. Im so grateful for my family and extended family and friends. And Im especially grateful for the gospel and for Christ and his constant companionship. Without it I don't know if I would have made it through the craziness that has been my life this year.
Happy New Year! To you all! I hope yours was as good as ours!