New Home

Well, our family moved into our first house in August 2009 after apartment living for 7 years. The house needed a lot of work and still has some projects in store for it. Josh and my mother-in-law, Trish, could see its possibilities. I was slower in figuring that out, but we are so happy with how it is turning out. So far we have replaced all of the flooring with new vinal and carpet, gotten new appliances, painted every wall in the house, got window blinds for all windows, did some major heavy duty cleaning (Thanks, Seantel), replaced 2 toilets (Thanks, Randy), had cracked pipes fixed, had some missing shingles replaced, and unpacked. Check out some before and after shots.

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

God Answers Prayers

Thanks to all of you who were praying for my sister, Jennifer. She was in the ICU in the hospital for one week. She has recovered from the pneumonia and is now home. Thank you, God. Please continue to keep her in your prayers as she is still battling Hodgkins Lymphoma.

Jennifer needs prayers

My step-sister, Jennifer, is 28 years old and needs your prayers right now. She has been battling stage 4 Hodgkins lymphoma for the last 3 years. It has nearly wasted her body away. She has come down with pneumonia in the last week and it has landed her in ICU in critical condition. She has been put in a medically induced coma to help with pain and treatment. She is on a ventilator and feeding tube. Visitors are very limited in order to not expose her to more germs. Please please lift her up in your prayers. Her body is so weak after fighting the cancer these last few years and the pneumonia is hitting her hard. She remains positive despite all that she has been through. Thanks.

Pumpkin Chairs

Jesse found a new use for our pumpkins. He loves the pumpkins, just like his mom. We can't wait for Halloween. Just wait till you see the super cute costume!

Jesse Learns How to Slide

Packing to Move

Blanket Peek a Boo

Jesse started finding blankets or pieces of clothing to put over his head to play peek a boo.

Home on Fridays

I have changed my summer schedule so that now I have Fridays off each week. It's nice to have a 5 day work week instead of a 6 day work week. So today I had lots of fun with little Jesse and got some fun pics of his new favorite spot.

He likes to climb in the cereal/baking cabinet. It's funny because he tries to close the door, but can't of course because his legs are sticking out. He tries it every time, none the less.

This is the guilty, "You found me," look.

Wow! It's been a long time!

The Udells have been super busy lately. We are in the process of trying to buy a house. This is our first time, so we had no idea it was such a rollercoaster process. Jesse is now 17 months old. He is a big boy and saying all kinds of new words. Here is a recent picture.

New Chair

Jesse got a new chair! I have seen this chair at Target for nearly a year and thought it would be so cute for Jesse. It's big enough he can use it for the next 5 or 6 years. Well, I went in to finally buy it and God smiled on me. It was on Clearance! When I took it up front in the store another shopper was eyeballing it and it was so obvious that he was wanting it. This chair is a mini version of my office chair.

Doesn't he look so cute reading there!

What's New

So, I haven't posted in quite awhile and may need to update you all on a few things. Jesse is 16 months old now and very active. He loves to play with a cell phone, climb on things, and play with the cell phone. Did I mention my child is obsessed with cell phones. Unsuspecting adults offer to let Jesse look at and play with their cell phone which quickly takes off in the hands of my son. He knows the difference between the real thing and a toy, so there is no substituting. He is so smart though - learning animals and the sounds they make. Jesse is also cheering on the Royals baseball team with his Daddy, just praying they will have a better season this year.

In other news, my brother, Nathan, is engaged! He has a beautiful Russian fiance named Lida. Our family really does adore her. They are planning for an October wedding.

Jesse and his Great Grandma Marj taking a nap on the couch.

My little man is growing up!

Jesse and Dalton

On Sunday, Jesse and I visited PaPa and MeMa's church. Jesse wanted to be up front and preach with PaPa.

Tuesday night Jesse and his cousin, Dalton, got to have play time. Dalton is the 6 month old son of my step-brother, Cody.

MeMa and PaPa bought them matching baseball PJs.

Busy Busy

I know it has been a long time since I blogged. Life has been busy. Jesse is 14 months old now, and learning all kinds of new words. He can name most of the facial features and point to them. He also knows belly button and toes. He has a tiny bit more hair, but still is follicley challenged. He loves to look at books and gets very excited at "bap time." Jesse is starting to feed himself with a spoon. He is also getting some new teeth. He has 12 teeth and has 2-4 more trying to make there way through. Jesse has been sleeping all night in his crib. We finally cut out the habit of letting him cuddle with us if he woke up in the night.

In other news, I have started working full time. I was working part-time for a little over a year after Jesse was born. Full time includes 30-40 clients per week and about 15 hours of paperwork. But Josh and Jesse have been great through the adjustments.

I will try to post some cute pics or a video soon. Jesse fell asleep sitting up leaning against the couch this morning just before his nap time. I think the time change caught him off guard. I wished I would have had the camera handy.

Toy Box

Jesse got a new toybox from his Mommy's Uncle Mike. I know what Jesse was thinking, "Hey mom, I need some more toys to fill this thing." It was handmade with lots of love. Mommy got a new solid oak file cabinet too.

Little Red Wagon

Jesse has a little red wagon that his Mommy's Uncle Mike made for him. It is usually full of colored blocks, but Jesse has currently scattered them throughout the house. He has really been excited to pull the wagon, stand in the wagon, or flip the wagon over lately. Thanks, Uncle Mike!

Dance Moves!

Jesse loves to Dance! I think he has inherited his dad's love of music. As soon as he hears a beat, he starts to bounce and then spin. Since his dad always has music playing you can just imagine all the exercise Jesse gets with dancing.

Sleepy!

Jesse was a little sleepy at lunch time yesterday.

The Holidays

We had a wonderful Christmas and a fun New Year's Eve. I had the bright idea of starting a new Christmas tradition this year. Instead of rushing back and forth between the Udell and Nelson homes on Christmas Eve and Christmas day, I decided to plan it where we would get lots of time at each house. We celebrated with the whole Nelson bunch on Dec. 23 and then stayed the night and pretended it was like Christmas Eve. Then woke up on the 24th and did our Christmas. We had an awesome breakfast and then opened our stockings. We played games and watched a movie. Then it was onto the Udell family for the evening of Christmas Eve. We had a big dinner together of the traditional potatoe soup and oyster soup. Then we watched the movie, The Nativity Story together. Jesse tuckered out before the movie. Then we spent the night and woke up the next morning to do Christmas with the Udells. It was fun to watch Jesse play in all of the wrapping. Then we had a Christmas brunch with Trish's famous cinnamon roll Christmas tree. Yummy. We then spent the day playing Rock Band 2 and playing board games. I hope we can carry this tradition out each year so we get plenty of time both places without rushing back and forth. Here are a few pics from the holidays.