Ray and Laura

I can barely stand the cuteness

nospam@example.com (Laura Jean) — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 21:16:05 -0800

Miss Megan in the tights from Aunt Peggy and her new "bracelips" that she got in her stocking.

I just think this little girl is gorgeous.

Christmas, Take 3!!

nospam@example.com (Laura Jean) — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 20:15:09 -0800

Christmas from the Powers arrived on our doorstep this afternoon! I think the kids are going to be confused tomorrow when there aren't any more gifts to open! We took a few pictures of the kids opening the gifts from Ray's sister's family. (And just for the record, the tree is no longer in my living room! 10 minutes after these pictures were taken, the ornaments started coming off!)
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Christmas, Take 2!

nospam@example.com (Laura Jean) — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 20:11:00 -0800

Christmas from the Kilmers arrived today! Erin and I did something a little different this year for the kids. We decided to let the kids make each other gifts!

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Last Day with Popa and Ma Here

nospam@example.com (Laura Jean) — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 19:32:50 -0800

Today was our last day with Popa and Ma at our house. Even as I type this, they are on a plane headed back to Omaha.

It was such a blessing to have them here. Popa preached at our church on Sunday, and his sermons were a real blessing to me (and hopefully to the rest of the congregation as well). We did many fun activities, and they put up with the puking for the first few days they were here.

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Springs Preserve

nospam@example.com (Laura Jean) — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 19:29:00 -0800

This morning we went to the Springs Preserve. It was a gorgeous day, and we had a good time playing on the playground and walking around the gardens.

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AJ is SIX!

nospam@example.com (Laura Jean) — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 19:26:00 -0800

Today was AJ's 6th birthday!! Oh how the time has flown! Since he had his party a few weeks ago, we didn't do anything big for him today. But we did have a fun day.

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Christmas by God

nospam@example.com (Laura Jean) — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 09:30:00 -0800

Today was the day we celebrated Christmas. With AJ being so sick yesterday, I was a bit worried about having sick kids for Christmas morning. But God answered our prayers, and the kids were all pretty healthy!

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Pajama Like

nospam@example.com (Laura Jean) — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 06:30:00 -0800

Our Christmas is a few days late this year, so today we celebrated Christmas Eve with "Pajama-Like". Aunt Peggy sent most of the pajamas this year, and they were a huge hit with the kids. Drew really really wanted another pair of fuzzy pants and was so excited when that is what he got! Megan got an adorable nightgown, and she loved the idea of sleeping in a "dress". Even though our home gets cold in the nights, she refused to wear pants or even socks underneath while she slept.

Here's a picture of the kids in their new jammies. Will post more from opening them later when I have more time. And AJ isn't smiling because he was so sick yesterday. Had been throwing up all day, so I think he did pretty well all things considered.

Click through to see even more pics!

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Best Christmas Ever

nospam@example.com (Laura Jean) — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 19:22:00 -0800

We're not celebrating Christmas until Saturday, so we decided to take the kids up to Mt. Charleston to go sledding for Christmas morning. It was snowing HARD, and the wind was blowing too, but they had a blast. I don't have any pics of the kids actually sledding (didn't want to get the camera all wet), but here are a few pics of them playing in the snow. (Click through to see the gallery link).

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Merry Christmas, from the Joneses!

nospam@example.com (Laura Jean) — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 21:54:07 -0800

Yucky Snow

nospam@example.com (Laura Jean) — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 15:33:17 -0800

It's snowing in Vegas today! Pics are going to be up soon, I hope, but for now here's a cute video of Megan. Click through to see it.

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AJ's Lego Party

nospam@example.com (Laura Jean) — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 21:54:13 -0800

I can't believe that AJ is going to be six in just a few weeks! His birthday isn't until the 30th, but for several reasons, we decided to have his party a few weeks early.

AJ was allowed to chose what theme he wanted for his party, and he chose "Lego". I would never have thought of that, but it really suited him perfectly, and the kids had a really good time.

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Blessings from...

nospam@example.com (Ray) — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 17:16:00 -0800

A long time ago, someone I considered a friend said something to indicate that he and his had been a blessing to my family. I didn't disagree with him at the time, but it has always stuck with me. It just didn't feel right.
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Aww

nospam@example.com (Laura Jean) — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 15:11:43 -0800

Snow!

nospam@example.com (Laura Jean) — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 20:34:13 -0800

Tonight we took the kids to Town Square to play in the snow. They were all a little confused at first. AJ said, "Mommy, what is that stuff falling down?" But it didn't take long for them to get into the fun of it.

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Blessings

nospam@example.com (Laura Jean) — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 20:36:51 -0800

Today, I am thankful for all of the blessings that God has given us over the past year. I am thankful that even though we don't always understand His ways, He always has our best interests in mind. I'm so thankful that He removed us from a destructive situation, and that He provided us with a new place to serve. I'm thankful that He gave us supportive family and loving friends. I'm especially thankful that our family has grown stronger in the last year instead of letting circumstance destroy us.

Today, on the one year anniversary of heartache and despair, I'm thankful that we were able to be in God's house, in the midst of His people, being reminded of how far God has brought us. It was good to be in the Lord's house today.

Thanksgiving 2008

nospam@example.com (Laura Jean) — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 19:37:15 -0800

Today we did something completely unconventional for Thanksgiving. We went on a picnic.

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Portraits by Drew

nospam@example.com (Laura Jean) — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 20:27:48 -0800

He was up to no good.

nospam@example.com (Laura Jean) — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 20:47:46 -0800

Air Show at Nellis AFB

nospam@example.com (Laura Jean) — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 12:36:24 -0800

Today we had the wonderful opportunity to go to the Air Show at Nellis AFB a day early. The show is open to the public on Saturday and Sunday, but they opened it up on Friday for military families. I am so glad we went because it was such an incredible experience for us all...especially the kids.

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Another Year Older

nospam@example.com (Laura Jean) — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 18:37:08 -0800

Election Shmection. Today is Ray's birthday!!! To celebrate, we went out for bagels for lunch and then had our little family party at dinner time. Click through for a million pictures of the festivities.

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Ray's Mom

nospam@example.com (Laura Jean) — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 18:05:57 -0700

When Ray and I first met, before we were even dating, we spent a lot of time at his mom's house. She lived in a big beautiful home on a hill, and she often ordered pizza for us. What more could a bunch of crazy college kids ask for?

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Crazy Hat Night.

nospam@example.com (Laura Jean) — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 09:37:00 -0700

Tonight was crazy hat night in AWANA at church. Last Wednesday after Sparks, AJ came up to me and said, "Mom, next Wednesday is crazy hat night and you HAVE to make me something really funny because I HAVE to win the contest." No pressure.

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I Want My Mommy

nospam@example.com (Laura Jean) — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 15:53:23 -0700

As a kid, once in a great while, I stayed home from school due to illness. My parents were strict about school attendance, so I had to be pretty sick to be allowed a day home. Those days might have been few, but I think they are some of my fondest memories.

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Motions

nospam@example.com (Laura Jean) — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 10:01:36 -0700

The boys were SO proud of themselves this morning. They made up the motions to this song all by themselves.