The R~ Rear View Mirror: A Look Back at 2008

This was our Christmas letter this year. I had it formatted like a newspaper.

Two Year Old Breaks Leg
Cole R~ had just finished his swimming lessons the night before. The following afternoon his mom, Becky, took him out in his kiddie pool. “He was just playing around, getting in and out when he caught his foot on the edge, twisted his left leg and broke it” reports R~. “I didn’t know it was broken. I thought he hurt his ankle or knee, but he just kept crying so I took him to the doctor.” After the x-rays they realized he had indeed broken his left femur. They casted him from his belly button down to his toes on his left leg and to his knee on the right. “He couldn’t sit or stand or anything. All he could do was lay there” says his mom. It took him about a week to figure out he could crawl around on his belly. His dad, Pat, claims the break didn’t seem to phase him. “He just kind of rolls with the punches” he stated. Cole was in a cast for only 4 of the projected 6 weeks. It took him about a week after the cast was off to start using the leg again. To date he is back running, jumping, and being a normal toddler.

Are We Over Scheduling Our Kids?
“We are always on the go” reports Becky R~, mom of 2 boys. “Between play group, ECFE, story time, doctor’s appointments, swimming lessons, and everything else, we never seem to spend much time at home.” R~ states that her reason for scheduling her 2 year old in so much is that he is very shy and needs to be around other kids. “I also want him to feel comfortable when he starts school next year” she claims. While most parents agree it would be nice to slow down, they also agree it’s hard to choose what to cut out.

Mom Delivers Second, Unexpected, Preemie
In 2006, Becky R~ unexpectedly went into labor at 30 weeks. She gave birth to a little, but healthy, boy. With no reason to believe it should happen again, the couple decided to have a second child. “The doctors monitored me very closely and never found anything unusual” claims R~. Still, the local mom went into labor early again. On July 14th she gave birth to their second son, Tate David, in Marshall at 34 weeks gestation. “He is doing just fine. He’s nearly 14 pounds and is a pretty happy baby” claims R~. Tate weighed 5 and a half pounds and was 19 inches long when he was born. He was discharged from the hospital after 4 days.

Local Dairy Farmers Keep Expanding
Local dairy farmer, Pat R~, started farming with his parents in 2006. Then they were milking about 70 head. With the addition of another free stall barn, the second since 2006, they will have capacity for 140 head. “It’s a lot of work, but it allows me to stay home with our two boys” states his wife, Becky. While he may not enjoy the long days, R~ does enjoy farm life. The couple moved onto the dairy site this summer, along with their two young boys. “My parents built a new house less than a quarter mile down the road. This way no one has to travel very far to work.”

R~ Trivia
Tate and Cole are a lot a like. True or False?
False. Tate has a more extreme personality where Cole is more laid back. When Tate is mad, he’s mad, but he can also be very smiley and giggly.
Pat is
a) A volunteer firefighter
b) Lazy
c) On the elevator board
Answer: a & c. I think he’d like some time to be lazy, but rarely finds any. He had a very busy year as the elevator went through a lot of transition.
Cole’s favorite past time is
a) Riding in the tractor
b) Chores
c) Throwing fits
d) Hugging other kids
Answer: Most certainly not d. He does not liked to be touched by other kids. He also throws relatively few fits. So that leaves a and b. He loves to be in the tractor and if you tell him it’s time to go work he heads straight for his boots and the door.
Becky will graduate this spring. True or False?
Answer: False. She would love to be done, but two kids makes it tough to take many classes. She can see the light, but it may take a couple of years to get there.

Christmas Day

So I'm a little behind in my blogging. My goal today is to write posts to put up while we are gone this week. We'll see...

Christmas was very good this year. We spent Christmas Eve with Pat's family and Christmas Day at home. That evening some of Pat's extended family came over for oyster stew. It was a good time, but I have way too much junk food left over. I even took it to the big family Christmas on Saturday and still have left overs. Ugh.

Cole and Tate made out very well this year. Cole was easily distracted by every present he opened. He wasn't as thrilled about books and clothes, but he got plenty of toys and games that he would run off with to play with right away. We had to take away the trucks he got from my sister so he would finish opening presents. Tate slept through the whole ordeal. Pat and I also got a lot of nice things. The boys got me an electric fireplace. Pat got MarioKart Wii, so we've played that quite a bit. Cole likes to play racing, which means he sits and watches. Pat also got some Christmas money so yesterday we headed out and bought ourselves a new dining room table. The one we have we bought second hand pretty cheap. It's not our style and it's not in the best shape anymore. It served its purpose, but it was time for a new one. We picked out a very nice solid birch table. I searched online for a picture but came up empty handed. I guess you'll all have to wait until it arrives in about 6 weeks. In the mean time you'll have to be satisfied with pictures of the boys from Christmas Day.

The Excitement of Christmas

I remember the excitement of Christmas growing up. I remember being up very early and spending hours in my sister's room doing puzzles because we weren't allowed to go downstairs until 6. Once allowed downstairs we were not allowed to touch the presents. I remember breaking that rule and hearing my dad yelling "don't touch the presents." My parents' room was probably the furthest room away. I have no idea how he heard that. I think the most exciting gifts we've ever given were the announcement of the coming of both of our boys. Even that excitement doesn't match the excitement of over 2000 years ago when the angels announced the birth of the Baby Jesus. How amazing it must have been!

I hope you all have a Blessed Christmas. My wish for you is not that you get everything on your list, but that you remember the reason we are celebrating and that you are filled with excitement over our Savior's birth.

With that I leave you with a picture of the most handsome boys ever..., but I may be biased.

The Annual Christmas Letter

I did it. I finished our Christmas letter! I just have to have Pat proof read it and I'm done. Of course, then I have to print them all out, address envelopes, and mail them. I also ran out of ink, so I have to wait for that to come in the mail too. But it's written!

I love Christmas letters. It's great to catch up on all the happenings from those I don't hear from often. I'm always a little disappointed to get a card with just a signature. I don't care if all you have to say is "Living in the same place, going to the same job, driving the same car." (Try to say it a little less depressing of course). I just like to know what has or hasn't changed in your life in the past year. I enjoy reading them, but I don't really like writing them. I wasn't terribly blessed with great writing skills. I got the math skills, my sisters got the creative stuff. So it's hard to come up with something fun and witty. Of course, having kids helps make it more interesting. This year I decided to go the newsletter route. I'll post it at a later date. I don't want to spoil it for those who will get it in the mail.

Saturday we went and cut down our tree. Sunday we decorated it. Cole loved all the tractor ornaments. It was really fun watching him this year. He's finally big enough to understand a little better. Here are a few pictures.

Cole putting the star on the top of the tree.

Checking out the Nativity Set. The lamb got lost last year and never returned.

Cole's section that he decorated all by himself. Notice the 4 tractors in a row.

Our tradition, picture ornaments. Cole colored his own this year. Can you tell?

Christmas Survey

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? wrapping paper!
2. Real tree or Artificial? Real, how else would we get Jenny confessions?

• Side note: On our way to the tree farm, Jenny would muster up the courage to confess something she did years and years before. I don't remember what it was that she confessed, but something about the drive to get a Christmas tree just made her crack.

3. When do you put up the tree? Usually the second week of December or whenever we get to it.
4. When do you take the tree down? Depends on whether we are traveling or not. I like to leave it up for New Year's.
5. Do you like eggnog? I don't think I've ever tried it, but I have no desire to drink eggs, alcohol or not.
6. Favorite gift received as a child? Probably my Cabbage Patch Doll, Misty. I think it must have been the Christmas I was 5.
7. Hardest person to buy for? Pat's mom
8. Easiest person to buy for? Cole
9. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes
10. Mail or email Christmas cards? mail
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? A gold paint pen from my sister Kris. I think she was really cheap with everyone that year.
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? Muppet's Christmas Carol
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? I used to wait until December, but now I start whenever the free shipping deals start.
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? I don't think so
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Nut bars, Reese's PB cup cookies. Mmmm.
16. Lights on the tree? of course. I think ours are clear, but I like colored too.
17. Favorite Christmas song? Ring Christmas Bells. Does anyone know of a CD that this is on? I can't find it. Every commercial uses it, but I can't get it on CD.
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? There is usually some travel, but I prefer to stay home on Christmas Day.
19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? I think so.
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Star
21. Open presents on Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas Eve with Pat's family, and then our own Christmas gifts Christmas morning.
22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? The commercials and grouchy shoppers. It's Christmas!
23. Themed tree or traditional ornaments? Themed tree?? Do people actually do that? Is random a theme?
24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? Ham, mashed potatoes, orange jello salad, green bean dish, and pie!
25. What do you want for Christmas this year? Wii fit
26. Favorite part about Christmas? The atmosphere in preparation for the birth of Baby Jesus. I love the decorations, the food, the music, the traditions, the giving and getting gifts, but I think my favorite part are church hymns.
27. Favorite Christmas Tradition? Growing up, it had to be putting up the lights with my Dad. When we moved to our new house, hardly anyone on our street put up lights, but we put up so many it looked like we had an airport landing strip. Gradually, every year, our neighbors put up more and more lights.
Now it would be making ornaments of my boys. I've decided that every year our kids will make an ornament with their picture on it so we can see how they've grown through the years. This will be the first year Cole will be able to color his own.