Callie makes 5

Friday night we got a new cat.


A co-worker of Jenn's found her in a store parking lot a few weeks ago and took her in until a new home could be found. She mentioned it to Jenn and after talking to the kids we decided to take her. She is about a year old and in good health. It took a little time for her to get acclimated  but by the time kids were in bed and we sat down on the couch, she happily joined us. She sleeps between us most of the night. :-)
She loves to play and bat balls around, as well as playing with string, especially around and under the dining room chairs. She loves attention, too! If we leave the room, she follows (mainly Jenn and I).  She is using the litter box without any trouble. At times she has meowed a lot and she sounds just like Casper!! Usually she meows if she wants something, particularly if we are in the kitchen.  Eating cereal (with milk) is fun as she thinks it's for her and loves milk! But we read that most cats are lactose intolerant, so we won't be giving her anymore.

Christmas in PA, Finally!

Well, we finally made it to PA to visit my family. We were scheduled to go over Christmas but everyone got sick with a stomach virus and so we had to postpone the trip until last weekend  (17th-20th). It was a quick trip. We drove out on Friday and returned on Monday. The kids did great in the car. Luke read for all but about 2 hours of the 20 hours we were in the car and  I think he read more than 20 books (Lego Bionicles chapter books). Ashely only complained once about being car sick and it passed fairly quick once we got off the winding roads and onto the turnpike. Back in Dec. we had talked to the doctor and she gave us a prescription for some anti-nausea medicine which really seemed to do the trick.

Saturday morning we exchanged Christmas gifts with Grandma and Grandpa Souders. In the afternoon Shelly, Shawn, Hannah and Mikayla came down and we spent time with them opening presents and then playing games. After supper, Grandma brought out a fairy cake and we celebrated Ashley's 6th birthday. On Sunday we enjoyed the service at Littlestown Chapel. Aunt Karen and Uncle George came over late afternoon and we celebrated Christmas one more time with them!

Grandpa made a doll bed to match her loft bed.

Luke got a Lego race game and more dragons.

I am going to try to learn to play.

Gorgeous as always!!!

Ashley's fairy cake

She loves fairies!

Daddy Daughter Dance

Tuesday night I took Ashley to the Daddy Daughter Dance at the Century Center. She had a blast!!! She got to wear a beautiful dress and be a princess for the night. When we first arrived there were some ladies that put a tiara and sash on each girl and then we headed into the dance area. Ashley immediately wanted to go dance. She held my hands and twirled and danced with me for the first couple songs and then started doing her own thing. She was constantly twirling and moving with a huge smile the whole time.

Ashley's Party

Ashley had a great time at her party on Sunday!! She had five girls from Kennedy come. They had about an hour in the gym where they did relay races, sliding and jumping into a pit filled with foam blocks, jumping on a trampoline, and more. Then, they all gathered for some pizza and cupcakes followed by opening presents.

Kylene, Mary Grace, Ashley, Kendyl, Lauren, Marissa

I thought everyone might like to see what my foot looks like before I go to the doctor.  It is not very painful as long as I keep taking Ibuprofen and keep it iced. I will not be able to get into the doctor until Monday morning, so it is going to be a frustrating weekend.

Bored!

I never thought that I would be writing a blog, but sitting here with a broken foot doesn't give me too many other options.  I am still waiting on an appointment with an orthopedic doctor so all I can do is ice and rest. I definitely don't want to do any more damage!

Jenn and I have been talking about getting a way of sharing pictures and videos with everyone so I figured this would be a good way to do it.

Ashley is getting very excited about her birthday next week. We are having a party on Sun. at Gymnastics Michiana and so far seven girls have said they are coming. We will be sure to take lots of pictures and videos that we can post.

Luke is doing well in school. His favorite subject is music and most challenging is math. He is currently in 5th grade math (as a 4th grader) and is learning about parenthesis and exponential notation. He continues to be our bookworm, reading every Lego Bionicle book he can find. His favorite toy right now is Lego Ninjago.  They are mini ninja figures that fight skeletons using "tops".