Chase is 13!!

I cannot believe that we have another teenager in the house! EEK! Chase is 13!! 

We had a great day celebrating him - from gifts to donuts, to bowling and arcade games, and then eating mexican food (burritos are his favorite) and then watching a movie with mango ice cream instead of a cake. He got some airsoft accessories, a cat backpack (to take his cat on a walk!) a mini pool table, and a 3d printer!! 

He is such a great kid. He is smart, responsible, kind, compassionate, and soooo funny. He's the life of the party wherever he goes. Adults absolutely love talking to him. He's a great brother and friends with everyone. He's still into scary movies and everything Halloween. He's so excited for his 3d printer - to put it together, calibrate it, and learn how to use it. He wants to be a doctor or a movie director when he's grows up. He is starting track this semester, loves to play airsoft, and wants to start karate. He loves skateboarding and riding the new dirt bike. 

He's so fun and such a great kid, and we're so lucky to have him in our family! We love you Chase!

Merry Christmas!

 It was a beautiful Christmas season! We did so many things - we made gingerbread houses, and then also made ginger"dead" men - Chase's idea, but it turned out to be so fun to make zombies. :)  We made out own wreaths, did a few advent calendars (one with books for Claire and "A Christmas Story" one!), and got to see Santa at our church Christmas party and in our neighborhood. We're trying to soak in every moment, because Christmas with a 6 year old is absolutely the best! Claire insisted we have a sleepover in the front room with the Christmas tree. We had fun with our elf, though Chase decided to take it over and it got dark a few times - but Claire loved it. We made over 100 cookies and cinnamon rolls to deliver to friends and neighbors. We experienced FREEZING temperatures of about 10 degrees, (which really is cold for us here!) and only had a few pipes freeze with thankfully no leaking! We went on walks, had a few fires outside, and had a great break from school and work, with the best being Christmas morning! The kids loved getting their gifts and then we all went to a special church service. We've had so much fun together! It's going to be so hard to go back to real life. We feel so blessed to have each other and so thankful we get to celebrate together. We hope you had some wonderful, peaceful moments this holiday season.