So, here's the news

After much thought, prayer and discussion, we've decided to move on. Randy will graduate with his Masters this spring/summer and we've decided to stop there. We are excited about the future! We're starting the job search, trying to figure out what to do and where we'll be. As we've thought about our time here coming to an end so abruptly, it is a little sad. We've loved Ames and all the experiences we've had here. We also can't help but notice all the blessings we've had--from getting accepted to school here and having it paid for, to all the growth we've had as a family and individually. So many blessings to be grateful for!!! We've got to start to gear up for the changes ahead.

The other great news is that we're having another GIRL!!!

(Sorry, I couldn't get the ultrasound pictures to upload. Some sort of error. boo.)

We've got to get thinking of names.

Hooray for paints!!!

And here are some from our ice storm a couple weeks ago. Everything looked so beautiful, really. The trees, street signs, and everything was all coated with ice. It was pretty cool as long as you weren't trying to go anywhere.

good stuff

The Post: Here's the finished product--mailbag, envelopes, and mailboxes. We've had some fun writing letters to each other!

The girls love crawling and playing in the tunnels. We have found that rolling a ball just got a lot more fun when you roll it through the tunnel too!

Action shot!

Anne loves her apron and has to wear it every time she even touches anything that has anything to do with food.

Good thing for Dad who will play in the snow with the girls! They never want to come in.

They had so much fun throwing snowballs. Ruby was great to watch because her snowball would go straight up in the air and land in front of her. Sometimes it landed on her head, but she could always recover it. She only needed one snowball. Anne was funny too. The very last throw of the day she went to get dad (about a foot in front of her) and it landed off to her right a ways, almost perpendicular to her target. So good. I love it when little kids are so bundled they can hardly move!

Christmas Time Continued...

The girls got this doll house to share. My favorite part about it so far is when I hear Anne telling Ruby, "Don't climb up the stairs Rubus!" The stairs are for dolls, not Ruby.

Mermaids!

Making and decorating Christmas cookies with the cousins!

The beloved bingo tiara.

Anne learned about the Nativity story this year and one day she spontaneously put the nativity scene together. We all got to participate. This was taken afterward when she found her scary teeth.

As much as he tried to argue, Dad also played Joseph. (We had 2 Josephs. Anne and Dad) No shepherds here.

Mom played Mary, the doll was baby Jesus, and Ruby was a wise man. She even had the yellow blanket be straw in the manger.