Our friends here are so great!

Have I mentioned that before?!? : )

They organized a little farewell party for us at the COP bowling alley.

It's a great private experience, some people don't even know the alleys exist down there in the basement of the Conoco Phillips building.

Pizza.

Balloons.

Sugar.

Screaming.

General havoc.

A lot of what I'll miss most.

Love these ramps that help the little ones not drop the ball on their toes!

Jordan, Alyssa, Jenna & AJ. Too bad one of the Brown girls didn't sneak in their, then all the families would have been represented.

AJ loves Kyla. Kyla has been a great example of responsibility and helpfulness.

So fascinated by the ball return.

Does this make anyone nervous?! Mr. I'll do it myself!

After Halloween I was strolling through KMart and there was a rack of costumes 90% off, I couldn't resist. : )

This is Batman - he's really tough......wouldn't want to meet him in a dark alley.

Oh shoot.....maybe he's not that tough.

(Didn't get the whole "eye holes" thing) Tehe

Dino Dillon has a mean growl! Do you see the tail? It's a hoot!

When Curt decided to take this new job, we knew it would mean we had to buy a new vehicle. The blue truck was not going to make it back and forth every weekend.....that's funny to think about because we're amazed it's still getting around Bartlesville. Anyway, Curt's buddy asked if he could buy it to keep using for the mowing business and we agreed.

That same night Grandpa K called and asked if we'd be interested in buying his truck. CRAZY.

So we said, "Sure thing!"

The following weekend we met up with Grandma & Grandpa K to pick up the "new" truck. : )

Halfway happened to be St. Louis.

We didn't have much time, but we were able to enjoy the arch together.

The boys thought it was great.

I can't believe they strap you into a tiny ball and take you to the top of the arch and you have to wait a turn to see out these tiny windows. Strange. I'm confused why people pay money to do this.

With Grandma K helping them see.

AJ and I were not fans of the arch, but we were both impressed with the museum at the base.

The two of us agreed that if we go to arch again we'll take our ticket money in cash and spend it in the cute little general store.

This pic should've made it into the post of house upgrades, but I didn't see it, so instead I'm tucking it into a post about Curt's parents. : ) This is one of six windowsills Ed made while he was here at Christmas time. 

Really going to miss enjoying these!!

Lucky Charms in green milk.

Thank you Pinterest....my new favorite way to waste time.

A rainbow for dinner.

Curt said it was most unusual. : )

And of course a refrigerator craft.

Ashlyn's is on the bottom.

Dillon's is on the left - so cute.

Preston's......ah, Preston......when I put the paint on his hands he totally freaked out I was lucky to get this wonderful memory art. 

A great day!

That's what I'm telling myself.

The more complicated part is that it's been the favorite chapter of my life and penning the final words is sad.

We're saying goodbye to Bartlesville and moving the family to Oklahoma City.

Curt got a new job that he started last week and loves.

It's a great opportunity and absolutely the right choice for our family.

Right, but not easy.

Because when I say that I'm sad it's the 

scared out of my mind

totally want to resist

heart bleeding

kind of sad.

Whoosh....can't think too much about that.

So, we sold the house to the first people who looked at it - it took 3 days.

We're still finishing up on all the inspections and making sure we agree on house repairs, but it seems like a done deal.

Thought I'd include some pics of sell ready.

If you want to see more you can take the virtual tour here 

Dining/Entry

Kitchen 

Grandmas room remodeled. : )

New furniture. (we sent ours with Grandma to the new apartment)

They call that a win win, right? : )

FINALLY!!

Whoosh. There was one more Christmas celebration for our family.

Curt's parents drove down a few days after Christmas to spend some time with all of us.

They're so lucky to have all 4 (+1 unborn) grandkids in the same spot.

I know they wish it was just a bit closer. : )

Here are the kids opening gifts.

The boots were a favorite for Dillon!

Didn't know it then, but Ashley's pregnant with a GIRL!!!

A dream for Ashlyn and me.....we can't wait to spoil her!

Preston's favorite is and will always be the dogs.

He LOVES Trig, this is how to latches on and he just walks around saying, "MINE".

Uncle Mike thought it would be fun to get the boys their first nerf guns. 

Do I even need to record my thoughts about this?!?! : )

Flashlights for all.

So, those were the only pictures I took while Grandma & Grandpa K were here. 

It's a shame, because they came to our house and worked really hard and it deserved to be caught on film (or pixel?). Ed brought his router and made us all new window sills....from scratch. And they're beautiful. Curt put in new trim and Jeannette helped paint the bedrooms.

I hope to get some pictures up soon.

But you know, it might be a month!!

So, this is the GREATEST gift any parent can receive 

and for it to come on Christmas and my birthday

was especially meaningful -

 like God-breathed affirmation

life-giving

eraser of everything imperfect about this year's Christmas-

that kind of meaningful. : )

As we were going through the story of Jesus birth, 

and why it is amazing that He came to Earth as a baby 

so He could eventually overcome the sin of the world, 

to reunite us with the God of the universe,

if we will just believe in Him as our Savior.

She interrupts and says, "I want to do that."

And Curt and I were speechless.

Caught totally off guard on this busy morning of birthday cake and flying paper.

This is the morning God chose to stir in her a longing to know her Savior personally.

And we're totally unprepared.

But we rally and are able to walk her through...

Admitting she is a sinner in need of a Savior,

Believing that Jesus is the Son of God - that Savior,

Ushering in the power of the Holy Spirit that will begin at that moment shaping her to God's image.

And then I have the presence of mind to pick up the camera and record the moments to follow. : )

If you're interested in watching, you'll want to turn up the volume. Our little girl is soft spoken.

Praise God!!

And only a couple days later the evidence, 

we're sitting at lunch and she looks at me and tells me she lied to her dad earlier that morning and she needs to apologize. Amazing!

I realize everyone else in the world has moved on, but I'm still on Christmas.

Now more than a month behind....but determined not to drag it out to February. : )

On Christmas day, we like to be here and celebrate with just our family.

I tried to start some great traditions last year. This year I learned how to let it go when everything can't be perfect. I love personal growth, don't you. : )

Curt dragged our tree up 2 days before Christmas. We were both exhausted at the idea of finding ornaments (remember our house was packed away in the basement and garage) so we let AJ decorate the family tree with her Advent ornaments. These were a year long craft project for she and I, and we were both happy to see have them on display.

Curt and I have so much fun setting things up the night before.

Christmas really is magical, isn't it!

Waking up we start with Jesus' birthday cake (coffee cake) and looky there, Curt took me to Starbucks the night before and I tucked this drink away so I would have a birthday coffee. : )

Everyone is having a great time. 

But Ashlyn is outloud wondering where the gifts are.

I didn't even want to be distracted by the gifts before we could talk about Jesus and the significance of Christmas. It felt like it was such a rushed holiday this year, I didn't want to miss the most important part!

So, one last picture before we show them the loot.

Preston got a bike. 

(We didn't feel like Dillon was ready for a bike, so my parents got him a scooter.)

And was super happy.

Until....

it became a two-seater. : )

Oh dear, Mom needs to put down the camera.

It's amazing how much distress opening gifts can cause at this age.

Another outfit set for AJ and Grace. 

These were Curt's idea. The boys each got one and I'd say they were the favorite gift of the morning.

We still play with them everyday.

Now the best gift of all came at breakfast.....I'm going to make it a separate post though.