Merry Christmas! (a few days late)

All the "cousins" on my side of the family
(Sara, Ashley, John, Nathan Horn and Luke, Hannah, Andrew Robey)

Well, it's a few days late in coming, but Merry Christmas! Here's what we've been up to.

We left for Indiana and it was not under the best circumstances. However, God was in control and made things smooth sailing. First, Chris and I got some sort of short lived stomach bug the night before we were to hit the road. Thankfully, the kids did not get it and we recovered in a few days. Second, the forecast was for freezing rain from our house to Indiana - ugh! We headed out a bit later than anticipated despite the forecast. There was ice on the fields and even our windshield wipers, but not on the roads. It didn't take us long to get ahead of the weather and we didn't have any problems traveling. What an answer to prayer.

The next day we arrived in Indiana to one C-O-L-D weekend. It didn't take away from the welcome we got from our friends in Indianapolis. It was a refreshment to our souls to be able to see so many people, attend our home church and have meaningful fellowship with several of our friends.


Then, it was on to my parents. On Christmas eve, we visited the Indianapolis Children's Museum. If you're ever in the Indy are, I would highly recommend it. We'd been there before and it was even better than our last visit. We then ended the day with a Christmas eve service at church.We had a low key Christmas day and then the following day all of Luke, Hannah and Andrew's cousins arrived. They have had a great time just running around with others their own age and learning new tricks :)

We are currently enjoying time with my family and look forward to visiting with Chris's parents next week.

There are so many highlights, but here are a few.

- We let our kids open one Christmas gift before we left our home and then they got to open one gift on Christmas day. Before we opened all the gifts the next evening, Luke was asking if he could just open "one gift". I think he loved opening more than just one. He has even more to look forward to when he gets to open the rest of our gifts at home.
- Singing "Happy Birthday" to Jesus and having some birthday cake for Him.
- Luke and Hannah enjoying their first carousel ride at the Children's Museum
- Playing with so many friends and enjoying all of their trucks (that would be Luke's favorite)
- Andrew sitting up for over an hour while we opened Christmas gifts. He loved playing/chewing the ribbon on his gift and just watching all the other activities of the evening.
- Playing outside when the temperature reached a rare 60+ degree day
- Just having everyone together for the first time in three years. What a special and treasured time!

Captain Robey

Four years ago today Chris became an Air Force officer. In some ways it doesn't seem like it's been that long, but in other ways that it seems like we've done quite a bit since then. We've done things like have three kids and move four times. I guess that would make time fly.

Anyway, I just wanted to brag on my husband for a minute. He was promoted to Captain today from his Lieutenant status and I'm so happy for him. First, "Captain" is much easier to spell. Second, he's worked hard and is continually gaining experience. It's nice to see it all paying off. Well done, Captain Robey!

Random Observations of Today

Thought you might enjoy some events from our home today - random of course!

- Luke put his own pants on this morning - backwards. I let him wear them that way. Can they really be that comfortable?!
- When your 3 years old and dying to open Christmas presents, but not allowed to touch them, you go around smelling them. According to Luke, they smell like toys :)
- Hannah was ecstatic when her very special "babies" finished their bath (they definitely needed to be washed, but finding the perfect time is a bit tricky - she uses them when she's sleeping, but she knows when they are missing when she's awake.)
- Andrew loved the toy piano Luke gave him to play with this afternoon along with the kids' nativity scene that plays "Away In the Manger". Maybe he's my musician.
- When you're in trouble, just say "yes, ma'am". However, Luke learned today that this needs to be said after I have given the reprimand/instruction not before. He isn't really a mind reader.

Our Driveway

Well, I never thought our driveway would be newsworthy enough to get a spot here on our blog, but here it is. Maybe by the time I'm finished, you'll still think it wasn't too newsworthy.

Anyway, our driveway is one thing about our house that I don't really like and basically it's because it has a steep grade of maybe 15 percent. We have to be careful when pulling our vehicles in and out. Plus, it makes me nervous to have the kids have anything with wheels near it (thankfully we live on a cul-de-sac so it's not too busy). That's not to mention the treacherous slope that is created in winter weather. This week has been our first experience with this, but we were wondering this from the beginning. To make matters worse, the front of our home faces north and the driveway essentially gets no sunshine to help melt the snow or ice off of it.

I think my wonderful husband will be spending some time this winter on that patch of cement making it passable for our vehicles. Today, we had a special treat, though, when one of our neighbors came over and plowed the big stuff away. We were thankful for that, but Chris still had to spend some time getting the remains off and the additional snow that fell after it was plowed.

So, our winter adventure begins here on the "Robey slope".

Andrew's Newest Accomplishment

After dinner, Luke sometimes likes turning out all of the other lights except the Christmas tree lights and enjoying the ambiance - at least as much as a three year old can enjoy it. It usually includes running laps around our staircase with Hannah in tow.

Anyway, tonight, I set Andrew in front of their Little People nativity. He was quite entertained and I thought you might enjoy a few seconds of our evening.

Mystery Plane

We now live in the air capitol of the US as there are several large airline companies that have offices or factories here such as Boeing, AirBus, Cessna and Beechcraft just to name a few. That is all in addition to the Air Force base so needless to say we have quite a few winged engines above our heads. Plus being married to a pilot, we are often observant as to what is flying around.

Anyway, several weeks ago, as I left our subdivision, I noticed a huge plane with a unique shape. I had no idea what it was, but thought it had landed at the base. So, when I explained it to Chris, he had no idea what I was talking about because there are no military planes that look like this one. I thought it was going to remain an unknown. So, today, as we were driving, Hannah spotted "a been". When I looked to see what she was referring to, I discovered that it was the mystery plane. So, I took copious mental notes to redescribe it to my dear husband. I didn't really have any new info from the last time except for the first word in the writing on it (the sun was hitting the last part badly). When Chris got home for lunch, I was telling him about it again. Then, he went and looked it up and found what it was. It's a plane that Boeing built to transport parts for airplanes that have yet to be manufactured.

Now, aren't you glad that you learned about the Dream Lifter in case it comes to an airport near you :)

Lots and Lots of Snow Outside

Lots and lots of snow outside was Luke's summary of getting to play outside. He loved it. We let Luke and Hannah go outside today after lunch and right before naps. I didn't think they would want to stay out long. It was COLD and very windy with plummeting temperatures. I had been out running errands as the snow moved in and the road conditions were really deteriorating. However, I thought the kids would be just fine outside. After bundling them up in their very warmest clothing, they headed out. Hannah didn't last long. I'm not exactly sure what happened, but I think she took her gloves off and got into the snow. Yes, she came in crying and with very cold hands (she got sick just a few minutes later so I don't think she felt well either). Luke was the trooper, though. He spent nearly a half hour navigating his car around the yard. He did stick pretty close to the house, though, because it was blocking the wind quite well. Chris took him to the store later this afternoon and he said Luke was just staring the whole time. He told me when I said goodnight that he wanted more and more snow. He might be a little disappointed because we will be saying good-bye to our 1-2 inches of snow tomorrow.

Just as a side note, it felt great to be back in the midwest, at least on the weather front. Yesterday, it was in the mid-60s here and the kids went out without their coats. It didn't stay that warm for long, but it was definitely fun to get out and enjoy while it lasted. When we lived in Indiana, people often said that if you don't like the weather, just stick around because it will likely change soon - very soon (it went something like that). That's true here as well!

Gingerbread Tree

The other day I picked up a discounted gingerbread tree to do with the kids. I definitely was not up for the challenge of trying to get a house to stand and stay together, but I thought I might be up to the challenge of stacking star gingerbread cookies with icing in between the layers. So, one afternoon when Daddy was gone, we went to work. Both Luke and Hannah got to stir a bit, ice a bit and put the little sugar ornaments on the tree. I'm sure you can guess the best part - licking the utensils. The evidence is all over their faces!

If You Don't Have a Wrench

Luke didn't have a wrench readily available this afternoon so he used the wand that goes into bubbles for his wrench to work on the "bolts" on his Noah's Ark.

Wow, what creativity! I wonder if I was ever that creative at three and if so, what happened to it?!

Just a Little Bit About This Picture

After running around for the past couple of weeks, we're enjoying a rare afternoon of peace and relative quiet at home. That called for a "new toy". This past week we had another one of our home visits from Miss Shelly. She brought this and I thought it was such a great idea that I put one together for Luke and Hannah. It's just simply rice in a reusable container. Hannah can occupy herself for a very, very long time by just using a measuring cup to fill up another measuring cup. Luke, on the other hand, likes to use the funnel and to bury his cars and trucks in the rice. The one down side is that it doesn't always stay in the container - that is the reason for the old tablecloth. Andrew just loves watching. Speaking of Andrew, did you notice he was sitting up in the picture? Honestly, he can't do it for more than 10-20 seconds - just long enough to get a picture of him doing it. He loves to watch them play!

It's Beginning to Feel a Bit More Like Christmas

I am having a horrible time getting myself ready for the Holidays. It just doesn't seem possible that Christmas will be arriving in just a few short weeks. However, a couple of things happened over the weekend that helped.

First (actually last), we woke to a pleasant surprise this morning - a nice dusting of snow. Now, I know some of you have already experienced a few inches and a few other cases, a few feet of snow. This is the first snow, though, that we've had in two years. So, Luke and Hannah were excited this morning - OK, Luke more than Hannah. Since we did live in Georgia for a year, my blood quickly grew thin and so I've probably done a bit of overkill in getting the kids ready to go outside. Hannah could hardly move making her attire look more appropriate for an artic climate rather than the moderate thirties that it actually was (the wind was blowing so it did feel colder than that).

Second, we decorated a small portion of our home for Christmas. Chris went and got the tree out and I just thought he was doing it early. He was actually right on time and we went ahead and decorated it. The kids enjoyed hanging bulbs - mostly in the lower 18 inches of the tree, but it is fine and Chris and I helped to better distribute them as we added more. They also enjoyed playing with the nativity scene that I got for them last year. Luke loved continually pushing the button where the angel sits on the roof because it lights up and plays "Away in the Manger". Hannah carried "Baby Jesus" around just like she did her baby dolls. It's fun to see them grow and learn about what Christmas is really about. However, the world has still reached them. As soon as the tree was up, Luke informed me that I needed to put toys under the tree :)