Tate's picture ornament this year. On the flip side:
his hand print. Turns out, you shouldn't use food coloring with plaster of paris. It doesn't work so well. Just passing on that useful bit of information.
My favorite accessory has to be this:
Cole made a no sign and put it under the tree so Tate wouldn't open any presents :)
Another year has come and gone and we are all another year older. Getting older has come with consequences. I learned this year that my parents are not immortal. *Gasp!* It’s a shocking revelation, I know. I guess it’s something I’ve always known, but this year that fact reared its ugly head. In March my dad had surgery for prostate cancer. I guess in the scheme of cancers it’s a good one to have, but scary none the less. He is cancer free and doing great now. This fall was full of appointments and visits to the neurology department of the Mayo Clinic on behalf of my mom. I enjoy spending time with my family, but I would much rather spend it away from downtown Rochester.
Pat’s parents are doing well. His dad is thoroughly enjoying his new knees. His grandmother has been in the hospital a couple of times this winter, but overall they are healthy.
Outside of hospital visits, the year hasn’t been terribly exciting.
Tate turned 2 in July. He desperately wants to be 4 and has been known to throw fits and even put himself in time out. He’s a much more adventurous kid than his brother. We’ve lost him a couple of times during chores when he’s wandered off to check out something. Thankfully he’s kept himself out of serious trouble, but he requires constant watching.
Cole turned 4 in June. He finished up his first year of 3’s preschool in April. He started school readiness in August. He attends 2 full days a week and recently started riding the bus to and from school. His teacher has learned a lot about farming. Cole still spends much of his time helping Grandpa do chores and learned to drive his Gator this year.
Pat spends his time working on the farm, and attending meetings for the local fire department and grain elevator. Pat and I joined the Young Cooperator’s group through our milk cooperative. We attended the annual meeting last winter and toured our butter plant in New Ulm this summer. It’s been nice meeting other families like us. This summer we also attended the LCMS National Youth Gathering in New Orleans with 5 youth from our church. It was a great trip and a very different experience from attending as a youth to attending as a chaperone.
I am in my final year of school. I start student teaching in January and was fortunate enough to be placed nearby. I turned 30 this year and spent my birthday recovering from out-patient surgery that landed me in the hospital for 4 days. Four weeks later I ran my first competitive race since I was at Concordia. It felt amazing and I hope to pack in more races this coming summer.
We headed to Medora, ND and Theodore Roosevelt National Park in early June. If you’ve never been there, it is absolutely gorgeous. My only recommendation is not to tent camp in NW ND in early June, especially with 2 small children that don’t stay under their blankets. Thankfully the next 2 nights were spent with friends or in a hotel, which was a much warmer way to stay. It was a fun trip and I think I may have finally sold Pat on the idea of camping.
It has definitely been a year to remember, both good and bad. The farm keeps us incredibly busy. We are milking at near capacity (140 cows) and have been calving heavily since October. In fact, we’ve had 10 sets of twins in the last 2 months.
This time of year we remember the Babe in Bethlehem and look forward to a new year and a fresh start.
Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and Blessed New Year.
Cole is loving having a puppy and I think Angus enjoys him too. Cole was begging for Angus to sleep with him tonight, and I was tempted. Maybe he'd actually sleep, but I'm pretty sure I'd have a mess in the morning. 
Angus has been trying out all sorts of spots to sleep. This is where we found him shortly before dinner. Tate walked up and said "puppy died" very matter of factly. Pat and I both got a good laugh out of that.
Tate on the other had was a little less excited. Turns out I caught Santa at the perfect moment. The look on his face says "Really, you want me to put this kid on my lap?" Santa was actually a very good sport about it.
Sunday was a long day. First there was church, then Sunday School Program practice, then lunch, then Santa, and finally going to get Angus. Tate fell asleep on the couch at 6 PM.
I had a hard time taking this picture I was giggling so hard.
A very happy boy bringing home his new puppy.
Taking it all in.
The perfect place for a puppy, under the butcher block.
All tuckered out. Turns out if you blend in with your surroundings, the kids can't find you.
Side note: yes, my house is always that messy and the couch was supposed to be turned so the part to your left was in front of the window, but then the giant chaise was blocking the door to our bedroom.
