Fun Times

At the beginning of March our good friend's The Thomas' came to visit from Chapel Hill, NC. They used to live across the street from us and we miss them very much so it was really great having them come stay with us! While they were here we did our annual reunion with our group of friends in Brown County, Indiana.

The kiddos.... Caleb, Dane, Jackson & Ashlyn

Caleb loves his buddy Dane!

Such a cutie!!

Celebrating Emily & Dylan's birthday at Kona Grill

The boys!

PAO

At the end of February Dylan and I traveled down to Orlando, Florida for a conference. It was put on by a ministry called Pro Athletes Outreach. It is an amazing outreach that reaches out to professional athletes and their families. They put on many different conferences during the year. We had an amazing time worshipping, learning, growing and fellowshipping with so many other believers. The had some pretty dynamic speakers: Miles McPherson, Tony Evans, Francis Chan (a huge favorite for us) and Dave & Ann Wilson. A really fun blessing was being able to be with our friends Ben & Amy Hartsock! We are truly grateful for this ministry!

TEXAS!

At the end of January we traveled down south to the 'great' state of Texas. We started our journey in Pflugerville (a suburb of Austin) which is Dylan's home town. We had a great time seeing lots of old friends, family and eating AMAZING food. We then ventured down to Rockport where Dylan's dad, step mom, sister & brother in law live. It was a full two weeks! Below are a few pictures capturing our time there!

Caleb LOVED the warm weather and being able to be outside!

We loved being able to see our friend's the Fuller's

Lots of fun with Mom Mom & Pop Pop

Caleb had an absolute blast with his cousins Liam & Amelie.

Austin experienced the lowest temps. they had, had in 20 years. It even snowed a bit!

Rockport has a really nice beach and playground. Caleb had so much fun running around and of course swinging on the swings, his favorite!

January ReCap

Since moving back to Indianapolis, life has just been busy, so there hasn't been a lot of time to Blog but here are some fun things we did back in January!

Dylan's Christmas gift was a trip to Georgia with my brother Josh to spend a weekend BBQ'ing with one of the best BBQ'ers in the country, Myron Mixon. Myron has been apart of the show BBQ Pitmasters on TLC and does a BBQ cooking school at his home. Dylan's hobby is definitely BBQ'ing and he and my brother love to do it together so I thought it would be fun to send them to learn from one of the 'greats' in the BBQ world.

Here is Dylan, Myron and Josh

Some of their creations

Yummy!

They came home ready to practice!

We were able to have the fun opportunity to spend a few days at this amazing Lodge in Michigan with some other friend's from the Detroit Lions. We had such a great time playing games and spending time outside in the snow. We were so blessed to have so much snow and such wonderful weather. It was a great time and we really appreciate the generosity of the owners for inviting all of us to come stay at their amazing Lodge!

Snowmobiling

Caleb loved the snow

We had so much fun sledding! Wish I could have captured Caleb's face better, he had a huge smile on his face every time he went down the hill. He would say, 'speed, speed'.

Ending 2010

We had a busy end of 2010! Dylan's Mom & Stepdad came to visit, had the last game of the season and then we packed up a decent amount of our belongings in Michigan and headed home to Indiana. Here are some pictures from our last week in Michigan.

We were able to celebrate Christmas with Dylan's Mom & Stepdad. It's always so nice having them come for a visit. Caleb LOVES all of the attention!

Me and Baby Girl

Daddy & his boy

Family Picture before Dylan and I headed out to dinner for New Years Eve

Last game of the season! We finished the season with SIX WINS which is really great considering that we only won 2 games last season! Way to go Lions and #65!

Caleb loved seeing his Daddy after the game.... he was very sad when he had to come back to Mommy.

Looking for Daddy

We went to the Henry Ford Museam. Caleb loved seeing all of the cars and trains.

The day we left our friendly squirrel climbed up in our kitchen window and just sat there watching us. He is such a cute little squirrel!

We were able to celebrate Christmas with my family once we were back in Indiana. It was nice getting to finally be together!

Christmas At Our House

Due to Dylan leaving Christmas day for his game in Miami we celebrated Christmas on Christmas Eve. It was a good thing since Caleb woke up so sick on Christmas morning. Here are some pics from our celebration....

Santa Came!!!

Caleb very excited about his tractor

I gave Dylan the best gift I've probably ever given anyone. Most of you know that his hobby is BBQ'ing and he really likes the show 'BBQ Pitmasters' on TLC. Myron Mixon of Jack's Old South is a judge and competitor on the show as well as one of the most awarded men in BBQ competition. So when I found out that he does a BBQ cooking school at his home in Georgia I knew this would be the perfect gift for Dylan. So for his gift I am sending Dylan and my brother to Georgia to learn from one of the best BBQ'ers in the country. Needless to say Dylan is pretty stinkin excited and I was pretty excited to give him his gift!

One of my favorite gifts was actually for our little girl... isn't pink so cute?!

Caleb's big gift from Santa was a train track with trains... he loves to say 'Choo Choo'

Caleb and I went to my Aunt's in Northern Indiana to celebrate Christmas with my Mom's side of the family. I was so thankful that Caleb was feeling better so that we could celebrate Christmas with them. It was great seeing extended family, especially my grandma.

Caleb lovin on his cousin Sophia..

Being silly with Poppy

Dylan's Mom & Step dad came for the last game of the season. We were able to give gifts while they were here.

Caleb got a really cool Thomas the train that he LOVES

"Silent Night! Holy Night! All is calm, all is bright. Round yon virgin mother and child! Holy Infant so tender and mild. Sleep in heavenly peace, sleep in heavenly peace."

Today has been a different sort of Christmas day. Dylan plays in Miami tomorrow so I had already been prepared to be without him today and had already made plans to head to my parents with Caleb to celebrate Christmas with my family. We had opened most of our gifts yesterday saving our stockings for this morning. But like a lot of things in life, plans change and the unexpected happens. Caleb woke up this morning screaming and as I ran into check on him I noticed that he was burning up. His temperature was 104. Yikes. So our plans to head home were cancelled and I was... well.. disappointed. It didn't help my emotions to watch my husband leave either. For those of you who know me well, you know how obsessed and in love I am with this holiday. I love Christmas, I love everything about it and to not be able to go home and be with my family was really hard. So I had a good cry, sucked it up and started to think of all of the things I have to be thankful for. I also tried to keep a good perspective. I was reminded throughout the day of all of the friend's I have who have lost parents or grandparents in the past year and the sadness they must be feeling, I also thought of the wives who have husbands who are overseas at war. Plus I had a sick lil boy to care for, thank goodness for Motrin as it helped bring his fever down. I'm still not sure what he has, he was just sick two weeks ago with a sinus infection & conjuntivitis and then we were back at the doctors two days ago for the same thing plus an ear infection but he has been on antibiotics so I'm still not sure what happened this morning.

So instead of packing up myself and Caleb and driving five hours we stayed in our jammies, watched movies and took a long nap. Instead of being apart of the excitement of opening presents and hearing the squeals of my niece & nephew we've had a quiet and restful day. Silent night... all is calm... that is kinda how I would describe today. This has been the quietest, most calm Christmas I have ever had, not that it has been easy taking care of a sick lil boy, but there has been rest, silence & joy in this day. I have savored the moments of getting to cuddle with Caleb for so long on the couch knowing in my heart that I was all that he wanted and all that he needed. What a gift.

I have pondered what Mary must have felt holding the Savior of this world. How still and silent that night was, no gifts to unwrap, no food to be cooked, no overstuffed tummies, just her and her new baby surrounded by her husband, some hay and animals. It was just an ordinary night but for Mary it was a night of savoring the new sights and smells of her baby. It was an ordinary night but a night that would change the world and my life forever. Jesus came to save us, to save me. God said my creation is worth it so I am sending my one and only Son to be 'like' them and then die for them. What an amazing gift. The best gift.

There is a book that I love to read at Christmas, it is called 'One Incredible Moment, Celebrating the Majesty of the Manger' by Max Lucado. It is a wonderful book that really brings humility to the whole Christmas season and points you to the most important part of Christmas. It always 'centers' me on what is most important. I was struck by this line: "You are precious to him, so precious that he became like you so that you would come to him." I also loved this scripture, "With the loving mercy of our God, a new day from heaven will dawn upon us. It will shine on those who live in darkness, in the shadow of death. It will guide us into the path of peace." Luke 1:78-79 Christmas is all about the light of life, the Prince of Peace coming to earth to save us, to bring peace to our hearts. So much of this Christmas season is not about peace, it becomes about scheduling parties, baking, shopping for gifts, wrapping gifts making sure your child has the perfect outfit, the perfect gift, ect.... but tonight as I sit here I am thankful that admist disappointment, sadness and a different kind of Christmas day I have peace because I have Jesus. And for that I am thankful.