Photo Story

These pictures are all out of order, but oh well! They tell a little bit of our Christmas 2010 story.

On Christmas Eve we went to church and then spent the evening at John and Carolyn's with the Tauke's and VanNordstrands (hope I spelled those right!). Santa came too! Jude LOVED him and kept pointing and saying, "sanna." But when it came time for him to sit on his lap, he was NOT having it. Yeah, Santa's a little scary!

This is kinda blurry, but it is what Gil and I had ready for Jude on Christmas Eve morning (since we were in CB on Christmas morning). Some balloons (his new fave), and John Deere tractor which was Gil's from his childhood, and a hockey stick and puck (thanks Colleen!).
We got to spend part of a day with three of my wonderful college friends, Kelly, Mel, and Val. We had a great time and Jude got to meet Val's little one Mady.
Mitch and Minette found this Roman soldier outfit in Italy and brought it home for Jude. Isn't he hilarious? We got to spend four days with them and the rest of the Ridenour gang the weekend before Christmas. It was nice to spend so much time since we don't get to see them often.
One of Jude's favorite new activities is pulling people wherever he wants them to be. Uncle Mitch is the victim this time:)
Jude has discovered playing in the snow. Although he loves it, he gets cold very quickly and wants back in the house.
Here is Jude with his second cousin Whitney (just two weeks older than him). They hit it off at the Buhman Christmas. Jude couldn't stop giving her hugs!
Brittany came this week for a visit. She and Gil went hunting and we all played LOTS of Hero Quest! Jude loved having "Bri-ee" around too:)
Another snow pic. Jude got a great new snowsuit. I think Gil is trying to get some buggers!
Here are the stockings hung with care at my parent's house! Jude and Ashtyn of course will not look at the camera.
Another activity of the season included finding out we are having a GIRL!!! That makes things a little more complicated since we have everything we need already for a boy. But it is also a lot of fun because I'm already planning the new room decor (including fabric I purchased to make my very first quilt...yikes), getting a few pink things, and thinking about what a little girl might be like as an addition to our family.

We also were surprised to find out that Mitch and Minette are expecting as well! Their baby is due in July on Minette's birthday. This was very fun news for us, and we are excited to have a Ridenour niece or nephew and cousin for our kiddos!

Still other fun stuff was having all of my family over to our place for dinner and watching "Despicable Me" twice, eating at Cali Taco, eating sooooo much stuff that was soooooo good and not having to cook it all, playing TONS of games, going to the Buhman and Erwin Christmases and the Koester one still to come, and best of all....NOT being snowed in at any point or having to miss any parties.

P.S. Merry Christmas to all!!! Thank you to everyone who sent us cards and pictures. We love having them up on our fridge. Sorry we stink at sending them...but look for a baby announcement sometime in...June?!?!

More Tree

Here is a pic of our tree actually lit up. Jude really likes it! He always says, "ooooohhhhh" when I turn on the lights. Also, here is the Barster. He is doing SO much better, but has come to love the house (especially today in the blizzard!). And another one of Jude bundling up to go outside and play. Just a funny pic I thought.

The last is of my phone cover. Or what has become of it. The other night I was attempting to multi-task and it all went wrong. I was trying to get the fire in our wood stove going as I was talking to Gil on the phone on his way home from class. I had the phone braced between my ear and my shoulder when suddenly Gil shouted, "Well!" (to his benefit he was really talking in a normal voice, but because the phone was pressed against my ear it sounded like shouting). Anyway, it scared me to pieces and I dropped the phone. It landed on the lid of the stove, but the case fell off. No problem. I picked it up and quickly found the back part of the case on the floor...but not the front. I hung up the phone and discovered the front had flown into the fire. That was no problem either because as I said I was only trying to get the fire going, not much had happened yet. Nevertheless, I decided to be on the safe side and not use my fingers to pick it up. I grabbed the fire poker thingy and lifted it out with that. Problem. Apparently the non-existent fire had gotten the fire poker hot. Too hot for a plastic phone case. The plastic immediately started melting and was very hot (my fingers found this to be true). I quickly put it under water, but the damage had been done. Mutilation. Lesson: don't try to build a fire while on the phone! Not smart!

P.S. This incident reminded me of a time when I once tried to put out a candle with a kleenex. And when I tried to light a candle at night on a school bus. Neither activity is recommended!

O Christmas Tree

This past Saturday we took the road trip once again to Logan, IA to Tannenbaum Tree Farm. This year we took some friends of ours along who have a little boy almost the same age as Jude. It was a lot of fun and made the long trip fly by. Unfortunately we discovered that all the large trees have been picked over and not too many tall ones remain. This leaves us questioning next year's purchase, but for now we got a great big 15 footer. It is skinny, but it is heavy! Much heavier than last year's white pine.

In other news we are still Babbs-less and looking like we might remain that way. It is so sad to think of never having her happy little self running around the place any more. I guess we are glad though that Barry is here. In fact he is lying right at my feet as I type. He has made the house his home over the past week!

Here is the tree sticking out of the back of mom and dad's truck

Jude and his friend Eli.

Jude's stocking. Any guesses why I chose a monkey ornament?

Here is the tree, minus the colored lights.

Unbelievable Barry

In my last post I stated that there is no place like home especially when my husband is here. Little did I realize at the time that it is also not quite home without a couple other special creatures!

As most of you know we have two beagles on our ranch: Barry, who came with the house, is a male, and is a very well-mannered dog, and Babbs, who is a little over a year, a female, and who we've spent time training from a pup. Sunday when we finally arrived home we brought the dogs in the house (a special treat for all!) and Gil was so excited to see them he couldn't resist taking them for a drive. They went outside around 4ish and Gil started calling them back around 6:30. No dogs. That was strange for nighttime, but I didn't think much of it. They hunt a lot and always return before long. In the morning we called. No dogs. A little more strange. Gil went for a drive to look for them. No dogs. All day long as I am home, no dogs. Gil gets home in a furry about where they could be and goes out to look again. No dogs. Tuesday morning, no dogs. At this point we are at our wits end. They don't just forget how to get home. We figured they were either stolen or shot by some crazy person. I took a sign to hang up at daycare about them. I called neighbors about them. No dogs. We get home Tuesday afternoon and Gil sees a paw print. He runs to the barn. There is Barry, in his dog house in the barn. He picked him up and ran to the house. Barry looked terrible! He had a huge swollen neck and a little blood on his head. He could barely stand. We rushed him to the vet, got some pain meds and antibiotics, and were told it was probably a coon...

Right now he is in "recovery" on our back porch. He is still having trouble standing and moving, but has an appetite! He is in such bad shape. We just can't even believe he made it home. I wonder how long it took him to make the short trip. Two days it seems! I can't imagine his crippled little body hobbling home. I wonder where he even was. I really wonder where Babbs might still be!!

While we are still holding out hope of seeing Babbs again, we are in awe of our unbelievable Barry. And so glad he is back...feels a little more like home again.