Christmas Picture overload

It was a GREAT Christmas. Everything about it. I think since Hannah is at the stage where she really understands Santa and what Christmas is all about and to see how excited she was just made it that much better. It was an emotional Christmas- with all that we have going on it was hard to say goodbye to people and we dont really talk about the subject without tears in our eyes. Well- at least me, my mom and my sister dont! Just a different kind of Christmas but thats for another day. Hannah had a blast! Not only did she have so much fun being surrounded by all her family but she was GREAT. No meltdowns, no tantrums just played and played and played and laughed and smiled & ate and played some more. All things little kids should do! I loved watching her this year- you can tell she is almost three and its killing me. Its a huge difference from 2 and I cant believe she is getting this grown up. Just her mannerisms, the things she says and does- I think she is really 3 going on 13!
Here are some pictures from the past few days- Ill have a Christmas part two post soon! If you ever wonder where Hannah is in a picture its because she just doesnt want to do it! Story of my life!

 We let Owen try out the car first cause Hannah was too shy to get in!

 His face says, no way sister! This is mine!

 Loved showing off her presents!

 They were suppose to be in matching jammies but there was an accident so gray shirt it is!

 SWEET angel! Sick little boy but still so sweet!

 She loved helping Owen with all of his presents too!

 Ready to go outside and drive my car!

 a little snack break on the hood of the car!

 SERIOUSLY!!

 this just melts my heart.

 showing me Santa but wouldnt ever look at me...

 LOVE!

 at the doctor on Christmas eve :( Ear infections again- on an antibiotic until tubes!

 Taking the car out for a drive!

 LOVE this little boy!

 Christmas is exhausting!

 Leaving "water" for Santa. I told her we were going to leave milk for Santa and she said, "and water?" so we left both!

 Best family picture we could get!

 Such a good girl these past few days!!

Christmas 2012 was awesome!!

big, grown up life changing decisions....

Whoever said being a grown up was easy, was wrong! I think back to the days where the hardest decision of the day was if you were going to make it to class or not (sorry mom!). But really, once you get married, get real jobs, and have kids no decision is easy. Every single decision you make is based around your children and their life. We wouldn’t change that for anything but it just makes being an adult that much harder. We work hard for our kids and everything we do is for them & to make sure they have everything they could possibly need.
Back track a bit- my husband- the hard worker that he is, is just that. One of the hardest working people Ive ever met. (too hard, if you ask me!) but he is extremely good at what he does. And he loves it. That is something to admire. Most people work because we have to and are thankful for the jobs that we have. But Jeremy really does love what he does and he is so good at it. When he first started working here in Louisville he worked a lot, he worked hard and he never complained. Me on the other hand, I was always complaining for him. Ha ha! But when I saw how dedicated he was and how much he loved his job I knew one day it would pay off. And it has. He has been given an opportunity that he cant really turn down. This is a stepping stone in his career and he needs to take advantage of it. We’ve talked, we’ve prayed, we’ve cried (A LOT!) but its something we need to do for our family right now. So…with that being said, we are moving. (and Yes Im crying right now!) We will be moving our family to….are you ready for this…Las Vegas. Of all places right!?! Jeremy will be the Director of Golf Course Maintanence at Angel Park Golf Club (look it up- its GORGEOUS!) Im so proud of him. I knew he would get the job but I don’t think I was prepared for the reality of moving our family 1800 miles away from home. He deserves this so much so we are 100% supportive no matter how hard this will be. There are so many details, we have to sell our dream home. A home I thought we’d be in for 20 years. But what is that quote- something like, What I love most about my home is who I share it with. And that couldn’t be farther from the truth. This will be a HUGE bonding experience for our family. We’ve never been alone. We’ve always had help. Im scared about that. Im scared to be alone but I have a feeling we will have quite a few visitors :) I always say it takes a village to raise children (especially Hannah!) but we are losing our village. Not so sure what Ill do without my village. We know we will meet knew friends and we will be back and forth A LOT! And we know we will have so many people to come visit! I mean who really gets to stay for FREE in Vegas :)
With this opportunity, it gives me the opportunity to stay home with the kids. I am so thankful that I get this opportunity. Will it be hard- yes! Will it be so different than what Im used to- yes. But I am SO excited to get to do what I want every single day with them instead of dropping them off and watching the clock. It is going to be fun and something I will cherish forever. They grow up way too fast! In 10, 15 or 20 years we are going to look back and say, "remember when we lived in Vegas!" Soon enough it will just be a memory. Hopefully one that we look back on and although it will be HARD, Im hoping we look back on it with a smile.
Im looking at this as an adventure. Something to make us grow as a family and grow as a husband and wife. I don’t even have words to express the amount of sadness I have to say goodbye to our families. Im going from living ONE mile away from my mom and dad to 1800. That’s going to be the hardest part. Im sad to take the kids away from their grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins but we arent gone forever and we will be back! (that’s part of the deal!)
I could go on and on about the emotions I go through each day. I have finally reached a point where I am not crying every morning and every night- ha ha. The ONLY thing making this easier is the love and support we have from friends and family. Without that- we couldn’t do it.
Jeremy starts the first of January and we will follow a few months behind. We will stay and sell the house here and let Jeremy get acquainted out there. We are going to miss him terribly…see doesn’t this just get harder! But we have so many people who have offered a helping hand. Its going to be the little things we are going to miss- craft nights with my mom, cookouts with friends, FALL weather, winter (yes I might miss the snow & cold), among thousands of other things. But we will have some new things to look forward to- In n Out burger! Disneyland is 3.5 hours away!! Trips to places we never would have been if not for this. So, on to our next adventure. But like I said, this is just a stepping stone that will prepare us for something else. I couldnt be more proud of Jeremy. He really does deserve this. It was hard to make this decision but I just keep saying, its not forever!! So here we go...from the 'VILLE to VEGAS! 

Lately!

Things have been crazy lately- you'll hear more about that later but I wanted to write a little about our happenings lately.
3 out of 4 of us have gotten that nasty stomach bug. It was AWFUL!! Hannah first for about 5 days, I was hit with the 24 hour bug & Owen is on day two. Not to mention my mom caught it the exact same day I did. It was rough. Poor Owen can't keep anything down. We are getting pedialyte down but that's about it! I'm home with him today so I have enjoyed that :)
Hannah is doing great with potty training- well- she's doing great with peeing on the potty...the other is a battle every night but we are in underwear full time now! No pull ups at night & that was her decision! She has been staying dry through the night. I'm so proud of her! She's a potty pro!
Owen was 7 months on the 8th! Sweet boy gets sweeter everyday. We went ahead and met with an ENT for tubes since he's already had 3 double ear infections. We are set for tubes on the 7th- yay!! He will get so much relief!
We are gearing up for Christmas- but I still have lots to do. Probably so behind since we've had sick kids for the last 3 weeks. :( I'm so excited for Hannah this year to really get into Christmas. She is really enjoying her elf "Joey"! We've been talking to her about how Christmas is Jesus' birthday & she follows it up with, "my birthday is coming & ill be 3!" We're getting there!
We have a busy weekend ahead- hoping Owen can start feeling better soon!

Sick but still smiling!!

Funny girl! Wouldn't take these off one morning. Then she handed them to me & told me they aren't working- ha ha!

Love bath time with the two of them. Hannah loves it too!

Happy boy!

Owen at the doctor for his shots, Hannah with the stomach bug. Par for the course I suppose!

Santa!

We took the kids to see Santa on Sunday...Hannah wanted nothing to do with him but Owen liked him! They do this every year in my parents neighborhood so we dont have to deal with long lines at the mall or paying for ridiculously priced pictures. They have music, cookies, and crafts for the kids. Hannah enjoyed the cookies and crafts :)

 Hannah told me Owen had a kangaroo on his shirt- ha ha!

 loved the treats!

 and loved the crafts!

sooooo serious! on purpose of course. She has been one sick little girl. Started on Thursday and I think I have to keep her home again tomorrow. Owen is going to the doctor to get his ears checked and his 6 month shots so Ill just make her an appointment too!!