"Amazing Grace"

More Snow Pictures

Aubrey all decked out like Ralphy... she couldn't even roll over! I love this picture... just wish I could make Kenzie smile... she really is a happy kid, but pretends not to be when she sees the camera!

Ok, well, she wasn't that happy here. She was mad that she was "stuck!"

Aubrey was happy just to be there and be stuck!

I love her little impish look in this one! It looks like she's secretly laughing at her sister!

Mackenzie trying to have a snowball fight with Jake! Something her mommy may have taught her how to do!

I love this... there's Aubrey content stuck in the snow on one side and Kenzie trying to make snowballs on the other to throw at Jake!

Back inside getting into trouble with her sister's pictures! Mackenzie went on a roll and colored all sorts of pictures and put them on the fridge... Aubrey went on a roll and ate each of her sister's pictures!

"No, No, Aubrey... no eat my pictures!"

"I help you Aubrey!"

Getting into her own trouble... she grabbed a slice of pizza and disappeared behind the curtains... I didn't even want to see...

Ahhh... I get my best friend home for the next 12 days... I can't wait to spend all this time with him!! It's going to be a great Christmas!!

It's Beginning to Look a lot like Christmas!

We started a new tradition this year of a Boettcher, Moon, Dimarcangelo Family Progressive Dinner. The goal was that we'd be able to see each of our house's decorated for Christmas since last year I didn't get to see either of my sister's first Christmas trees! It was so much fun! We all started off at Amy's apartment and she made a wonderful potato soup for us. Her house was stunning... she did a great job keeping the same color scheme throughout, something I really lack in! Then we all went to Angie's for dinner, she made us really yummy chicken fajitas in her crockpot! Her house was beautiful too and we are all in awe that she convinced Jeff to get a fake tree this year... the Boettcher in him must have decided to concede to the Quiles in her! They are so sweet though, even though they are going the route of a fake tree, they are still going to join us for our Boettcher family tradition of all cutting out trees down together... they still want to be there for the arguing and complaining and teasing that takes place every year I guess! Back to the progressive dinner story... after Angie's we all came here for dessert. I had just had a neighborhood cookie exchange the night before so I was loaded up with cookies, which my family made a pretty good dent in, I might add! We watched a Bryan Reagen DVD (or CD as my mom kept referring to it!) and had fun laughing together once we got the girls in bed! It was a great memory... and really easy this year since we are the only ones with little kids and we could put them to bed at the end of the night!
Andrew and Amy making our girls laugh!


Doesn't Andy look like such a college student now?

They were all doing their own weird poses... I dont' know...

Here is Aubrey trying to help Mackenzie get her skates on... such a help!

I love this little face... we call this her "crazy face!"... she makes it quite a bit!

Finally, got the skates on... now if only she could have convinced us to let her go outside! She insisted that she had her hat on and that she should be allowed out, she didn't care that it was snowing!

Aubrey... headed straight for danger!

"Daddy, where are you??"

My little snow angel... my other little angel was fast asleep... the snow is taller than she is so I don't know if we'll take her out yet or not!

Mackenzie and I had fun while Jake pulled us on a sled up and down the street... he is such a great daddy! First he cleared our walk way (well, a neighbor did a big bulk of it last night... they are so nice here!) then he cleared off his car and then he still had energy for running down the street with a rope attached to an old wooden sled with runners! After all that, he came inside and built a fort for the girls in the living room! They thought their daddy was amazing... and so do I! He read to them in there so I could make lunch for everyone without little one's "helping" me the whole time!

So with church cancelled today, we are just all snuggled in here for the day! Jake went over to Jeff's to dig him out since he can't lift more than 5 lbs. until he has his pic line removed. I didn't realize what a big deal a pic line is... apparently it goes through an artery all the way to the heart! You really can't mess around with it! Jeff has gained 4 lbs. though since leaving the hospital I think... every little bit helps! Angie is doing such a great job taking care of him and he is keeping up such a good attitude despite all these complicated circumstances!

"And Wrapped Him In Swaddling Clothes!"

If you can't understand what she is saying it is: "And she brought forth her first born Son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room in the inn." I am so ecstatic that she just memorized her very first Bible verse!!

Also, a cute quote that is just too funny: "No, no mommy, I don't want to clean up... I want to read the Bible!" Hahah... nice try, dear!

In Front Of The Tree

We have Rock Band for our Wii and for the fun of it the other night I got dressed up like a rocker... well... Kenzie insisted on borrowing my boots when it was her turn on the drums... you can see the results!

"How big is Aubrey?" "SOOO Big!"


She's starting to eat finger food now!



My dad got Jake and Mackenzie a book to read together... it's a special book for Daddy's to read to their kids!



We decorated our tree last Sat. night and then put the girls in their jammies in front of it for pictures... I'd like to make this a tradition every year so we can see how they grow!



Aubrey is into attacking everyone right now! Mackenzie just laughs and says, "Aubrey go nuts!"


I love this one... they look like little sisters sharing a secret!

Fun with Friends!

Today was our last play group for a while and we had so much fun at the Bass's house praying together as mom's and making graham cracker houses with our kids! It did get a little crazy though... at one point, after all the peaceful praying had happened and the babysitter left, I had to feed David lunch while helping Kenzie make her graham cracker house and Aubrey needed to nurse at that exact moment and was crying non-stop! Thank God for good friends who jumped in and helped me even though everyone had two of their own to care for! Here is a picture of Aubrey with her boy Isaac who she couldn't get enough of today! On Tues. night Lauri babysat for me so I could go to Financial Peace University with Jake. Mackenzie absolutely adores both Lauri and Chris and both our girls had a blast!
I LOVE their little girl Maddie... look at her big smile! She was so cute... as soon as the camera came out she started pulling out this huge grins!

Aubrey and Maddie were wearing matching jammies because someone gave Lauri the same ones and she passed the extra on to me... they are my favorite jammies too... so snuggly and with little lambs on the feeties!

Thanksgiving at Mommom's

On Saturday we went to my Mommom's house for our traditional Thanksgiving dinner... and I'll tell you what, with all these in-laws our families have been gaining these past few years, the dinner keeps getting better and better! Emily made to die for bread that everyone fought over and Katie made delish apple bars and Angie made her famous pound cake! We've come a long way from steamed squash and greasy mashed potatoes! Besides the new food these wonder girls have added, they are all so much fun! I love how each of my cousins is so adored and love seeing my brother and sister so well taken care of... there is much to be thankful for this year!

Number One reason to be thankful for though is Emily's pregnancy!! Finally someone else for the "Four Littles" to dote over... selfish, I know... even someone else's baby is all about me! But we really are excited for Ben and Em to join us as new parents at these functions! They are going to be wonderful parents together... I can't wait to learn from them!

All the men congragate in front of the football game as usual...

We spent some time as a family praying for Jeff's health. The very next morning he went to the ER with a lot of pain. He had a CAT scan and it is showing that the infection that is in his intestines is still there and spreading, he will need surgery, it's just a matter of deciding if the time for that is now or if they can wait a little longer. He is going to stay in the hospital the rest of the week because they are trying to get some weight back on him. He hasn't been absorbing any nutrients... even with all of the work Angie has been doing for him with the juicing... and has lost 40 lbs. since March. The doc said they can't even talk about surgery until Jeff gains more weight. Anyway, this picture means a lot to me... I'm so grateful for my family... what a blessing to know everyone here has a personal relationship with Jesus!

Here are some adorable pictures of Aubrey from Thanksgiving....

This is the cute face she makes when the camera comes out...

Uncle Matt... Aubrey was working on widdling down his "10-year-plan" of no kids...

Some cute pictures of the sisters from the other morning...

As if Aubrey wasn't smiling enough, her big sister decided to help her...

"Say Cheese, Aubrey!"

"Thanks, Mom, you saved my life... my big sister almost killed me!"

On a much more tragic note, I dropped my brand new phone in the toilet this morning! Mackenzie had an accident and I was talking to Jamie and had it on my shoulder while I put Kenzie on the potty, only to have it slide of and into the toilet bowl! I pulled it out right away and threw all three of the kids (I have David today) into the car (never left the house so fast before) crying all the way to the phone store praying they could get it to work. They told me to stick it in a bag of rice and that would absorb the moisture and then I can just hope for the best... so will you join me in praying for my brother and praying for my phone?? If you don't have that many spare prayers, make my brother the priority, but if you have any leftovers... can you please send them up for my phone? I'm not usually attached to stuff, but this was an iphone that we got at a bargain price... I didn't need it, but Jake's heart was to bless me with it and it was amazing... it had everything on it... all my contacts, grocery list, Christmas list, email, music, games, pictures... stuff that is on my computer or scattered on scraps of paper but was all of a sudden conveniently contained in my pocket... until this morning at 9:57! I didn't get angry at Mackenzie (it wasn't her fault at all) and Jake didn't get angry at me (I didn't think he'd yell at me, but I know he was so excited about blessing me with it I hated to disappoint him) when I called him from a friend's house... but I am really heart broken about it... and I'm so hoping it will work again. I'm supposed to wait 2 days... I guess that is so I can pray really hard??