AJ Spending the Night

Last night Beth picked up AJ after work to spend the night with us. John’s home and this gives Becca & him some quiet time together. He is almost ready to start crawling. He’ll get up on all four and start moving forward. Just a little bit more strength and he’ll be mobile. Right now he does a lot of rolling to get places. Also, he has his first tooth. So now you have to be careful when he grabs your finger and sticks it in his mouth. We are stuck in a deep freeze. Today’s high only around 11 degrees and tomorrow only 9 degrees with the night time temperatures below zero. These temperatures should stick around until the weekend before it gets closer to the normal for this time of the year. I even had a big surprise last night when I got home. Our drive way, side walks and deck were completely shoveled after the previous night’s snow. Cori’s boyfriend Justin came over and shoveled for us. I really appreciate this since I didn’t have to go out and do it after getting home from work. Thanks Justin!

Robert’s Birthday

Mid-week Beth and I went out to dinner for my birthday.  Since our birthdays are four days apart Beth is now only 1 year older than me. I have some fun during those 4 days picking on her about being 2 years older than me. John should be home on Monday after being out on the road for 2 weeks after Christmas. Right now he is in the middle of the snow storm going through northern Ohio and southern Michigan.

Beth’s Birthday

A couple of nights ago we celebrated Beth’s birthday at Outback. My dad called earlier in the day to wish her a happy birthday. Beth asked him to come over to go out with us but he didn’t want to go any where. Later he called and said he was heading over. So the three of us went out for dinner and had a real good time. We got a free ice cream sundae for her birthday and I shared it with dad. You know how Beth’s not in to desserts. As we were leaving her cell phone was going crazy as all of her family from West Virginia was trying to call and wish her a happy birthday all at once. Now it’s my turn to decide where to eat since my birthday is in a few days. Then we will have completed the cycle of anniversary, Christmas season, New Years and both of our birthdays in just under two and half weeks.

2008 in Review

What a year it has been for us. Many ups and downs but with God’s help we made it through the year and are prepared for what’s in store for us in 2009.

There were some tough times in 2008. In February we lost my mother 1 week before her 68th birthday. She died from MSA which took 3.5 years for the disease to destroy her body. Her mind was very sharp up to the end but the body couldn’t last. Then in September we lost my Aunt Drew, my father’s older sister. This leaves my dad with a older sister and younger brother still living from his family. A week later we received news that Beth’s Uncle Dick passed away from a long battle with cancer. This was her dad’s older brother and leaving him as the sole survivor in his family.

There were many blessings in 2008. The first great grandchild on Beth’s side of the family was born in February. Audrey was born 3 days after my mom passed away. In May we became grandparents when Andrew was born. Then in August Jamie married Amanda adding another to the family. I’ve even heard rumors there may have been some engagements over the Christmas season so there is the potential of more additions to the family. Also, even with the economic turn down everybody is still working.

As we look forward to 2009 we ask God for His guidance and strength for all of us. Everything from the economy, our christian believes, our health and our families will challenge us this year but only God can get us through it. God has a plan for every one of us and we pray His Will will be done.