Things I Enjoy!

The booties Alice made for Daraby.


One of the only decorations in our home.


My brother Darrell holding Daraby. He and his wife-Deb have six kids.

11 of us played Apples to Apples- So much laughter!

Sweet Sixteen- My Niece Dacey

I believe the little things play a big role in our life. "It has long been an axiom of mine that the little things are infinitely the most important," said by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It is the little things that we say and do everyday and conveys who we are. It is the life we live, when no one is looking, that matters. Perhaps that is what makes me tick everyday. This year like every year I have such high expectations for my life, marriage and child. I want everything to be absolutely perfect or as close to it as can be expected. Granted, I know that none of us are perfect and that we fall short of the mark by a long shot but the goal is still there.

This year as we prepared for Christmas everything went haywire. We hunted up and down the creek for the perfect tree to cut down but couldn't find him so we settled for a shaggy little cedar tree. When the tree decided to not stand upright and stay in the stand he got booted out of the house. Never mind it dropped off multiple branches and sticky green fuzz in the process. What a mess! All that to say we don't have a tree this year and we won't be putting up one at this point. At first it floored me that we wouldn't have the perfectly decorated home for Daraby's first Christmas but then I thought it through. What does it matter? Will she even remember? No!

It is the little moments that we spend with her, the moments we spend with others, and the moments we spend with the Lord. I love Faith Hill's new song, "A Baby Changes Everything." It is such a true statement for Andrew and I this year. Although Faith is singing about the baby Jesus -we believe the song has such a double meaning for us. Daraby has come and changed so much in our life. We will never be the same and because Jesus' birth, life and death we will never be the same. Gradually Jesus takes our lives and molds us daily into the vessel he wants us to become just like Daraby who gradually grows and we adjust our life accordingly.

For some people there are huge life changing moments that define who they are. For me it is the little things. It is the little eye openers, the simple truths, and the constant in the everyday. I love seeing the hand of the Lord in the everyday simplistic events. Yesterday, Alice my neighbor stopped by to say hi and drop off some booties for Daraby. She didn't care that I was in sweats, no make-up, and my house was a mess. It wasn't any big event but just a simple hello and check in. It is the simple little things: this week my mom is taking care of Daraby so I can work and catch up on things, this last weekend we sat for hours and played Apples to Apples with my family, this last weekend Andrew and I watched my family love on Daraby, and we sang happy birthday to my niece while chowing down on pizza. No big fan fare just living life the simplistic way.

So although we won't be putting up the tree, all the decorations and all the fan fare-Christmas will still happen. We will celebrate the Lord's birth, celebrate family/friends and celebrate the little things that make life happen everyday. After all that is all that matters. So let's extend a heart of grace this year for the imperfect people. The people that don't have the perfect sayings, the perfect clothes, the perfect body, the perfect gifts, the perfect spouse, the perfect children, and perfect heart. Remember to extend that grace to yourself. God knows you aren't perfect and that is why we need him.

More Pictures of Aaron and Jessica's Visit

Our smiling babe! She has been so happy on this hypoallergenic formula.


Daraby hanging out with Dad!

Daraby hanging out with Aaron. I didn't get many photos of Jessica- I don't know why. I'm a puts. I didn't even get the photo of Alice, Aaron and the buck. They all teased me that I didn't get the camera turned on. I think it was turned on but I didn't push down on the button long enough. Who knows?

The boys and their "kids."

I'm holding Daraby after her bathtime. She loves her bathtime now.

Aaron and Jessica Visit

The hunters go on horseback through the wildlife refuge searching for "big buck."


Andrew, Aaron and Jessica (and Abby)


Andrew and Aaron horseback after returning from the refuge.



Our friend Alice helped Aaron find the "big buck." Aaron shot him with his muzzle loader on Tuesday.






One more shot of Aaron with Mr. Buck.

Our really good buddies-Aaron and Jessica (and Brynn-their dog kid) came to visit us all last week. They arrived around midnight on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Sadly, I puttered out and went to bed while Andrew got up and greeted them. I'm not the best of hosts- I love my sleep.

In January, they are moving to Germany for a year so we knew they had to come visit us soon or they wouldn't be able to see our place for another whole year. We begged them and enticed Aaron with the "big buck." Thankfully, they came and we had a great time. It was so much fun to play games and catch up on life. Jessica is an absolute sweetie and loves babies. I had no idea she liked kids! Most of our friends that haven't had a baby don't really enjoy hanging out with one. Jessica not only liked hanging out with Daraby but would often pick her up and feed her while I cooked or did laundry. She was a great help. It is a good thing Daraby has been so happy lately. Jessica saw the best side of Daraby. One day, Jessica got Daraby to belly laugh over and over again. It was awesome!

Last Monday Andrew took the day off to spend with Aaron and Jessica searching for the "big buck." All three of them saddled up and took off to ride the wildlife refuge. In order to get to the refuge they rode through one of the buffalo pastures next to our home. As they were riding the buffalo surrounded them and made Aaron a more than a little uneasy. Most of you would be a bit timid as well. In the end, Andrew shooed them all away so they could get through the gate and out of the pasture. While on the refuge they saw a couple of bucks that were too far away to shoot. In the process of riding around they collected many deer sheds. They came home with antlers tied to all their saddles. (You can see some of the antlers tied to the horse Aaron rode in the first picture. The gun is tied on as well.) They came home tired, a bit chilled and deer less.

While they were out riding our good friend and neighbor Alice called and invited Aaron to hunt her property. So on Tuesday morning Alice took Aaron hunting. She knows these sandhills like nobody else around here. A couples hours into their hunt and they found a buck. Aaron snuck up on him and shot him. They were so excited! Jessica, Daraby and I drove over and saw the buck already hanging up in the tree. It was a proud moment for Aaron! Thanks Alice for guiding Aaron around your place and helping him find the "big buck." He along with Jessica thinks you are the wonder woman! Aaron teasingly called Alice his gal. She likes guns and likes to hunt what else do you need.

That afternoon we took the deer into town to get checked in. Aaron and Jessica took me out to eat at this little cafe in town that I've never gone to since they are only open during the day Monday-Thursdays. It was quick and easy. Afterwards I took them around town and introduced them to everybody- well almost everybody. I think it took them by surprise how involved everyone is here. We need each other to live out here. Friends are more like family.

All in all we had a great time with them here. Every night we had game matches. Jessica and I took on the boys. Although we lost by a couple of games in the end we held our own quite well. Granted we don't cheat either. :) During the day Aaron and Jessica took walks through the hills, took pictures, helped us with chores, watched morning tv, drove through the scenic areas, saw lots and lots of deer, and played with Daraby. One day we drove through the refuge and came back home a different way. It was a big circle over 80 miles. It was very peaceful, sunny and enjoyable. Jessica got some great photos. Aaron jokingly said a person could kill someone out here and nobody would ever find the body. It is pretty desolate but no one has killed anyone recently that I know of. Jessica and Aaron did really well with being in the middle of nowhere. They left Friday night so Aaron could get home to work/plow snow Saturday night.

Thanks Aaron and Jessica for coming out. We had an incredible time. We love you guys and loved hearing about life and your future plans in Germany. We know the Lord will bless you, grow you and love on you while you are away. What a wonderful opportunity to expand your horizons! We will miss you lots! Our home has been so quiet since you left. (Thanks for loving Daraby while you were here that meant so much to me to have the extra help.)

While playing she will often look at the front of the oven and see her reflection- her playmate. She'll jump up and down while laughing and cooing.

Grandma Wanda bought this exercise bouncer for her.

She is starting to understand how it works. Oh so interesting!

Our kids!

Oh big kiss! Daraby loves Abby kisses! We spend a lot of time playing with toys on the floor and looking at Abby. Abby steals several toys but Daraby doesn't mind. On the floor Dara rolls all over.

Hanging out with Dad!

Thanksgiving at Alice's home-our friend and neighbor.

Hey! Happy Thanksgiving- Belated! I hope you all got stuffed, enjoyed family/friends and thanked the Lord for all the things he has given you. This year we made a thankful list of 26 items since we are 26 years old. Every year our list will grow and change. Surprisingly, we completed that list relatively fast. We have so many things/people to be thankful for.

On Thanksgiving Day we headed on over to Alice's home. She made the big meal and it was yummy. We had a great meal and great conversation with her son-Tuff and her best friend-Jean. After lunch we lounged and chatted the afternoon away. Tuff and Alice talked guns for a while and boy are they sharp shooters. I can't believe how far away they can shoot down an animal. Crazy thing-Once when Alice's husband was shooting a hand gun at a target it blew apart and hit her in the back of the head. Thankfully it only grazed her skull but it still bled a lot. She said, "I grabbed the back of my head and my hand was covered in blood." I think I would have fainted. I love all the stories. I think you learn so much in life just by listening to other's experiences. Thanks Alice for having us over! We had a wonderful time!

On Thanksgiving night we debated about going to Byron and Shelia's home but we finally pushed our tiredness away and drove on down. It was a good thing we did because their granddaughter, Britley, was wanting to see Daraby all day. Britley is only three but loves babies. It was darling as she fed Dara the bottle and gave her the pacifier. Byron and Shelia's three girls were home and their daughter Shilo had her four kids. We spent the night eating leftovers and playing games on the Wii-what a cool video game system! The kids beat us badly at all the games we played, but we had fun.

Our friends Aaron and Jessica DeGraaf from Michigan are coming out tonight, so we're getting the house in order. Aaron wants to shoot a deer out here and we'll take the horses out to the refuge hunting on Monday. We're excited to have them out for the week and spend time together before they take off to Germany for a year. They will be working for a landscaping company over there and are looking forward to a new challenge. Stay tuned for pictures and a summary of our week together out in the hills!

Answers!

This weekend was a long one. Last night Daraby was up throughout the night and was very unhappy. It was a long night. Thank goodness hope comes in the morning. Shelia and I started out early. She had three spinal taps and then a blood draw. I can't imagine. She is one strong woman. I took Daraby to the chiropractor again and felt better. She is turning completely to the left and rotating both ways. For so long she has only looked to her right.
After lunch the pediatrician was able to work us into his schedule and I was so happy to see him. Last week we had to see a substitute pediatrician as our ped. was in Indonesia seeing his missionary parents. Dr Taylor is a very kind man who takes the time to check Daraby over and love on her. It didn't take him long to tell me that she is allergic to this soy formula and so he put her on some hypoallergenic formula. (He could tell by the blotchiness of her skin, her snazzly nose and sore tummy.) If after a week this formula doesn't work she will need the "big guns"- which is some super sensitive expensive formula. We hope this formula works.
In addition he prescribed an oral stool softener. He doesn't want her to consume so much sugar by drinking the white grape juice. The stool softener should help her feel better and eat more. He also wants her to go back to the other GERD medicine that is more appropriate for infants. If need be we will go back to this really powerful medicine that she was on. Less is best! We are all hoping that the new formula will do wonders. The protein in this new formula is broken down so it should be easy for her to digest.
All in all I'm worn clear through and so is she. We are hoping she sleeps so we can sleep. I know you all may laugh but it is 7 PM my time and I'm going to bed. Thanks for all your prayers and thoughts. I know the Lord has His hand on Daraby today!