Merry Christmas!

We unfortunately found ourselves sick on Christmas day. We woke up to a stinky little boy who had thrown up in his bed some time during the night. Cade slept almost the whole afternoon, as Mommy laid on the couch feeling quezzy in her tummy. She found herself throwing up Christmas night. Yuck!

All of our family has been sick in this last week, except Curtis and Chuck. So we are hoping they stay healthy and we hope you are healthy too!

We did get to open our presents on Christmas day. Thank you to everyone who gave us such wonderful things! Praise God for the most important and wonderful gift - His SON - JESUS!

Cade did not show much interest in opening the packages, but did enjoy what was inside the packages if it made some sort of noise. His Christmas favorite - bulldozer! He also received a music rocking horse, Little People barn and animals, train, car, books, The Jungle Book DVD, sweater, jeans, and I am sure I have missed something!! Thank you to all!

Jessica's favorite gift came from Curtis . . . MP3 player! We have now made it to the 21st century. Anyone know of a good website to buy songs from?? inexpensive site? Leave your suggestions in a comment.

Here are some special moments of our times together on Christmas day!

Grandma Bev and Aly! Grandma made Aly a beautiful poncho!

Mommy with baby Anna! Anna's first Christmas!

Caleb and Aly coloring with their new markers!

We are looking forward to seeing Jessica's side of the family very soon! We hope you had a wonderful Christmas!

Christmas Cookies

Our family attempted making gingerbread and sugar cookies this last weekend. It was quite a long process and for the most part we were successful.

Cade did a great job with the mixer, measuring cups, and his BLUE scraper. He enjoyed eating the creamed butter and brown sugar, and later the gingerbread dough when we were cutting out the cookies. He loved to watch the mixer go round and round; as well as, pulling the levers on the mixer itself!


Curtis did an excellent job of rolling out the dough on the pastry mat and cutting the cookies! He endured through his wife's request.

And Jessica did the frosting decor and sugar cookies all by herself . . . and they were not the best looking or tasting, but it was a good effort! Next year we will try a different recipe.

Another thing . . . anyone have a good frosting recipe? I tried a couple of different recipes, but they were both too sugary. Should I try a cream cheese frosting next year?

Well we hope our neighbors enjoy these cookies! It was definately a long labor of love!


Cade loves to eat cookies and say "cookie" now, no question about that!!

Winter Days!

So I have been intended to write for at least one week, and of course I have not gotten that accomplished. We have many funny everyday happenings in the last week that I would love to tell you about!

Last week we went to a PHS boys basketball game as a family to cheer on our tigers. Our school has a tiger mascot that runs around during the games, and Cade could not stop saying GRRRRRR whenever he saw the tiger! We especially enjoyed his GRRRRR during the National Anthem at the start of the game! It was quite cute and everyone heard it!



We also endured a few bad snow and ice storms. One of the storms, on the 1st of the month, cancelled one of my Pampered Chef shows. And this last one, Tuesday, cancelled school, so Curtis did not have to clean (yippeee!). We prepared ourselves with flashlights and candles. The power did go out for about 20 minutes, and during that time Cade discovered how a flashlight works! We had just gotten about 6 boxes (from Pampered Chef containing our new cookware set that we earned for FREE) in the mail and during the power outage Cade enjoyed investigating the inside of the boxes with his flashlight!







We tried updating our outlets in our home from creme color or brown to white! Cade wanted to join in with the fun! It was a good thing that we had a plastic screw driver!




Also with our snow that arrived last week, Cade and Mommy enjoyed playing outside! Cade rode in his sled for about 45 minutes as Mommy pulled! After we had gone around the yard for 30 minutes, I decided we might as well take a walk through the neighborhood with Wrigley by our side, as well. So off we went . . . Cade in the sled . . . Mommy pulling the sled and being drug by Wrigley . . . Wrigley pulling Mommy and Cade! We walked for about 8 blocks before returning home.


We made some play-doh and Cade has enjoyed playing with cookie cutters and the rolling pin. He doesn't quite get the idea to press down in order to get the cutter to cut, but he can get an image in the lump of doh as he tries. He loves the star cutter!


While we were eating breakfast today, Curtis was reading the newspaper. On the front page was a picture of two boys playing basketball. Cade saw the paper upside down and shouted out basketball! It is amazing how he picks up on the sports that we watch and knows what to call each one!


He continues to say so many words . . . snowflake, Wrigley, boots, Pop, duck, bear, Grandma, Daddy, Mommy, Ella, church, ball, tree, lights, truck, star, tractor, choo-choo, and the list goes on! And many animal noises - cow, pig, monkey, lion, bear, tiger! And his repitorie of songs includes: Twinkle Twinkle, Ba Ba Black Sheep, ABCs, Old MacDonald, 12 Days of Christmas, Jingle Bells! WOW! He is growing!

If you would also be praying for my Grandmother. On Monday, she fell and broke her hip. She had surgery right away, and now is trying to heal. She is in a lot of pain because we also believe it injured her back very badly. Pray that God would take away this awful pain, and my mom and aunt could figure out where my Grandma should stay to recover. Thank you.

Happy Thanksgiving

We hope that everyone had a wonderful Thanksigiving. We had a great time with Jessica's parents and grandmother in Iowa.

We got our first taste of snow for the season on our drive over. Cade enjoyed riding in a sled for the first time, but did not enjoy the cold hands he had when he touched the snowl If I could get him to wear mittens, life would be much more enjoyable in these winter months.

Cade played with his Great Grandma, Grandpa, and Grandma. We found that he had a great love for tractors - he carried two all over the house!

Cade's vocabulary continues to expand. He tried to say almost every words that we speak, but it doesn't always sound exactly like the word(s). It is pretty amazing how God forms us. It is so much fun to hear him say words!

Cade loves Grandma!!

Cade has also started eating with utenstils at the table. It isn't a pretty sight when he works on his apple sauce and yogurt, but he does enjoy eating with utensils! We have also discovered that Cade will actually eat a vegetable - corn - yippeee!

A weekend of "funnies" and smiles!

Happy Thanksgiving from The Odell Family!

Cade loves playing with Henry our Pumpkin Turkey!

We have had a great weekend and so many "funnies" to write about - and this was not including tomorrow, Sunday!

*Cade mimicks everything we say by trying to say it too! It is so fun to hear him sound out so many words and it is amazing how he remembers many of them later on! He knows what a bear is now!

*Curtis was putting on Cade's shoes and socks on Friday night. Curtis said "one shoes" and Cade without hesitation said "two shoe." We both looked at each other and said WOW. That was his first two word statment!

*As a family we were hanging out and watching television on Friday night. Cade had been playing in the dining room, living room, and everywhere. Curtis and I were sitting on the floor in the living room, and in walks a little boy carrying his sippy cup full of milk and the gallon milk jug of his milk. He helped himself to the frig and wanted some milk, I guess! Curtis and I were laughing so hard we couldn't even discipline him . . . we will have to work on that!

*Cade and mommy baked cookies on Thursday night together. Cade stood up on the chair and helped mommy for at least 20 minutes. He enjoyed playing with the measuring cups and eating M&Ms. And boy does he like the cookies now!

*On Saturday, some kids from our youth group came to help us rake leaves at our neighbors homes. Cade helped out and enjoyed watching the kids rake and bag the leaves. He even enjoyed playing in the piles of leaves! Oh, the giggles!

* Curtis and I went on a date to The Cellar in Geneseo this evening. It was my Pampered Chef Christmas dinner, where we bring our husbands and enjoy the evening together. We had a great dinner and I was so proud of myself for trying something new - shrimp!! We shared a few business words, but enjoyed getting to know each other throughout most of the time. I was amazed that Joan told me that in her cluster of 26 people, we have sold $130,000 in Pampered Chef this year, and in our even larger cluster of 480 people we have sold $6.1 million in Pampered Chef this year = WOW! This business not only provides an income for our home, but is so much bigger! WOW! (Just a little side note for you, if you cared!)

* We also recommend Oceans 13!! Good movie!!

Play!

One of our most recent garage sale finds is this TUNNEL! Cade loves to play in it, around it, and on it. He is a constant giggle when we have the tunnel out. Mom tried to hide it because once it is out Cade drags it all over the house, so it sits in the laundry room (in the brown box) until the little boy's eyes spot it. And then it is a big please by rubbing his hand on his chest (sign language)!

So I took this great video of Cade, but it will not upload so I am sorry that you will not get to watch it. He is pulling this train around the living room and at the end he waves and blows a kiss to the camera - what a sweet ending! One thing that is cool is how Cade problem solves to get around one of the toys. It is so cool to see him grow in his cognitive skills!
I don't have any videos of Cade's leap and growth in his language skills, but it is so neat to watch and listen to him grow!

These are his words he can say all by himself without being prompted by my voice: duck, ball, no, cow (moo), pig (oink or a cute snort), sheep (ba), truck, choo choo, deer, football, bug, keys, cheese, butterfly. In the last couple of days I will say words and he will repeat what I say. We were playing with his Little People animals tonight and I would say bear and he would follow. He also followed my words with turtle and giraffe. It is really amazing how language and communication work. WOW!

We have had a sad decision to make in our family this last week. We have decided that we can no longer have our dog, Wrigley, in our home. He has shown too much aggression to children and we do not want to keep putting the signs and symptoms off. We must keep our family safe. We know that a large part of Wrigley's aggression and agitation comes from the yeast infection in his ears that we can not help him with because he will not let us get close to his ears with any medicine. So we could use your prayer for a couple of things: (1) Wrigley would let us get this medicine he needs in his ears. (2) We can find a good home for him - a place where he will be given people attention, lot of exercise! If you are interested, let us know!

Another exciting moment in our family's life, is that mommy went away over night - she was gone for 27 hours! Daddy and Cade did fabulous! Of course we missed each other, but we did it! Mommy went on a retreat for her Pampered Chef business. She learned so much and is continuing to grow her business through building her team of consultants and live kitchen shows. This fall is such an exciting season for Pampered Chef - excellent products, fun recipes, useful gift ideas! Our family is working our way towards a cruise for the spring of 2008 - I hope we make it!!

So for all of you who check my blog and I have not blogged, today is the day that you got to read a new blog!

Our New Nephew!

Today my sister in law, Katie, gave birth to our new nephew, Corbin Levi! He is nice and healthy weighing in at 9 pounds, 1 ounce and measuring 21 1/2 inches in length! Our family is soooo glad that he made it here FINALLY! Katie has definately been ready since about September 1st! Praise GOD!

My brother, Jeremy, welcomes his third son and fourth child to the world.

Baby Corbin with big brother Sage (6) and big sister Julia (3). Baby Corbin being held by big brother Brody (4) and big sister Julia!

Happy Halloween!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Our family enjoyed an evening of games at our church! Cade went as a LION. Mommy made him a special mane hat, but since Cade doesn't like to wear hats it didn't make it on his head. But he has curly hair of his own, so that worked (it is a beautiuful mane!)

You can see Daddy and Cade trying to flip the frog onto the lilly pan. We could not keep Cade away from this game and the bowling game. I think that he killed the frogs quite a few times at this game hitting them with the hammer!

Cade didn't necessarily bowl with the ball, but enjoyed tackling the pins the most!

This past weekend we went to visit Curtis' grandfather who lives in Michigan. He has decided to not take his chemo treatments anymore, but stay at home at allow hospice to take over. He is happy with this decision. He told us that he is not afraid to die, but is afraid of the pain that it will take him to get there. Our greatest concern has been where he stands with the Lord. Curtis' dad, Curtis' mom, and Curtis all got to talk with him more than once about where he stands with his personal relationship with the Lord. He told us that he accepted Christ as his personal Savior a number a years ago. We have no way to judge this decision or not because it is his heart, but we have not necessarily seen the fruit from this decision. So we must leave it in the Lord's hands. I know that it was hard for Curtis' dad to leave because it was saying goodbye for forever, probably. So be praying for Curtis' dad as he deals with this trial, and pray for Curtis' grandfather as he goes through this dying process. Pray for his relationship with the Lord.

Four generations of Odell boys!

Reading a book with Great Grandpa Richard!

On our trip to Michigan we celebrated Pop's 56th birthday! To celebrate we ate cake and stopped at Bass Pro Shop to look and shop a bit for Pop's new hobby, bow hunting.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY POP!

We hope the deer don't see you in your new camo sweatshirt!

Fall Days of Leaves!

My has the weather been beautiful these last few days. We have enjoyed playing outside many minutes and talking long walks while listening to the wind howl through the leaves. Cade just looks up and smiles! God is so beautiful!

Cade has been growing up sooo much in these last few weeks. He is saying so many new words and trying to pronouce things Curtis and I say. For example, we will ask him if he wants cheese for a meal. He will say cheese, cheese! It is so cute! When Bev was babysitting him this last Wednesday night, she started to hum Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. Bev stopped in the middle of the song and Cade finished the tune - SMART! He also picks up on things that we do around the house. He loves to get into Wrigley's water bowl, so Curtis was cleaning up the water with a dish towel. after he had gotten in the water. Later that night, Cade intentionally went and spilled Wrigley's water, so he could get the dish towel and mop up the floor. Crazy kid! He also loves to help Mommy rake leaves. (And Mama is a definite word in his vocabulary!) He has his own Cade-size rake, but usually he has to being using a big one to help out, and he does!

This is Curtis' last week of football. It is a sad and happy time, but more sad because he enjoys coaching and the team so much. We lost last week in the last 4 seconds to a 30+ field goal. It was so sad. But we definately have a chance this Friday, so go TIGERS!

This was a solomn week for me because my grandfather died 2 years ago this last week. It is so good to reflect on wonderful memories, but hard at the same time. It is hard to imagine that my own son will never know my grandfather. Praise the Lord he is dancing with our Lord in heave and both kidneys are working wonderfully!!

We did visit Tanner's Orchard last week. This is a little (or BIG) orchard north of Peoria, and not far from us. It has wonderful food, delicious apples, and SO MUCH MORE! They have a play area for the children and Cade loved it. He was under 2, so we didn't have to pay the $7 which was nice as well! He loves to play and he is MR. RISK-TAKER! Notice Daddy and him running on the hay bails!
My Pampered Chef business has been really successful this fall! Praise God from whom all blessings flow! I have really been enjoying all of my shows and my hostesses. I have been demonstrating some great recipes. The Pampered Chef just came out with some recipes that you can use with our Deep Covered Baker in the microwave. I have been making a BBQ Pork Tenderloin for sandwiches or a salad. People are loving the meat done in the microwave - IT IS DELICIOUS! I have also been doing Power Cooking shows. These are shows where I teach my guests to prepare 12 meals in one day in ziploc bags for their freezer. I demonstrate how to prepare 4 recipes during the show. People are loving it - all about good food and saving money. Here is the recipe I have my guests eat at my Power Cooking shows. Try it out! DELICIOUS!

Teriyaki Chicken
2 lbs. frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts or tenderloins
10 oz. bottle teriyaki sauce
1 T. vinegar
2-3 cloves freshly pressed garlic using Garlic Press
½ finely chopped onion using Food Chopper
1 zucchini, finely chopped using Food Chopper
Place frozen chicken and all ingredients into freezer bag, coat chicken well. Squeeze air out of bag and freeze. Chicken will marinate as it defrosts in refrigerator for 24 hours. Remove chicken from bag and place in Stoneware Rectangular Baker. Bake, uncovered, at 400 degrees for 45 minutes (30 minutes for tenderloins). Serve with stir-fried rice & vegetables.

I am going to being doing some really fun Christmas shows after Thanksgiving and into December. I want to demo how to make some HOMEMADE gifts from Pampered Chef recipes and products to give to people. Homemade gifts are soooo nice and heartfelt.

Come visit my website to see what is happening in my business. And if you are interested book a show or even talk with me about becoming a consultant yourself!

www.pamperedchef.biz/jessicaodell

Football!

FOOTBALL season is in full swing because the Cubs lost. I now can watch the Bears games and enjoy them a little more. My mind was so focused on the Cubs I couldn't enjoy the Bears. Curtis on the other hand could do both at once - amazing! But we have been MOURNING over the Cubs losses to the Diamondbacks . . . GO CUBS GO! (There is always next year, right!)

Not only are mommy and daddy in the swing of football season, but so is Cade! Cade loves carrying around any football he sees. We went to a garage sale this last weekend and he immediately saw a football in a box, picked it up, and walked on!

Not only does he carry the football, but he can throw the ball very well. He is a righty, but if he has a ball in both hands he does try it with his left too!

He can even defferentiate in his speaking between ball and football. He does say ball or football a good 100 times a day!

Oh but this is the best - he gets in a 3 point stance and then with the "magic" words of DOWN, SET, HIT he is off to be tackled by mommy or daddy!

Take note!! The Tigers won last week, but we did fall again this week. We are now 1-5! At least we got a win and the boys smile on every day except game day it seems!

A trip to Greenville!

We had a very busy weekend! It started out with a VERY late night on Friday night. Curtis' football game did not get over until 11:30pm . . . and a loss again. Not fun!

We had a short night of rest and then we were out on the road at 6:30am headed to see our friends at Greenville College! Emily had a baby shower in the morning and the game started in the afternoon! Cade enjoyed playing with Daddy in the morning, and was soooo tired during the game (he slept for over 1 1/2 hours during the game, which was nice because Mommy and him could be in the AC in the van!)! Unfortunately, Greenville lost to Lakeland College.

We then went out to eat with the team and coaching staff after the game. Cade and Matthew did not get much time to play with one another because there napping times were different, but during dinner they did watch a movie together and enjoyed running around the banquet room! Here is Matthew! Cade and Matthew are 11 days apart (Cade is older). Matthew has started walking more recently and it is so fun to see him move! He has great facial expressions and is so cute!

Cade really enjoyed the staying with Joel and Emily. He enjoyed their dog Jasper (but I don't think Jasper enjoyed him). What great friends we have! Joel and Emily's daughter should be arriving some time around November 4th. Her name is to be Ella Grace! Her room is all set up and is soooo cute!

Cade Riding His Bike!

Cade has figured out how to push his bike with his feet while sitting down. It is easiest for him to go backward, but eventually he goes forward. He seems to do a combination of forward, backward, off the bike, pushing it while standing from the handlebars, back on the bike, backward, and a bit of forward again! Plus a few moments in the front lawn (as long as we are not headed to the street, Mommy is happy)

Grandma & Grandpa's Travels!

Jessica's parents have been on a long road trip since Labor Day and boy are they having fun! It has been like a second honeymoon for them! Their first destination was to Orcas Island in Washington state for my mom's best friend from college's daughter (basically like my cousin)! It was quite the wedding event. Mom and Dad stayed in this European style hotel and saw so many pretty sights. We have an amazing God! Then they were off to visit my mom's brother and family in Oregon. They had a bit of downtime here. As they have traveled in their 1998(ish) van they have seen quite a few hosptial parking lots for sleeping at night and many store bathrooms on their travels. It has been quite the trip. There is another week and half to come!

Enjoy the picture of Cade holding a postcard from Washington state, and a message in sand from Grandma and Grandpa!

(Yes, Cade does have a little black eye. He tripped on a pair of shoes and fell into the bench that holds our shoes. It made Cade, Mommy, and Daddy sad.)

By the way, have you been following the Cubs? They won the series against the Reds TONIGHT! The games have been so intense and so fun to watch. Curtis and I have been on the edge of our seats. We get funny looks from Cade and Wrigley when we are jumping up and down after the Cubs score or win! We love the Cubs!

Go Cubs Go! Go Cubs Go! Hey Chicago What Do You Say, Cubs Are Going to Win Today!

By the way, if you don't know, our dog's name is Wrigley! He is a Viszla (Hungarian pointer)!

Also, big news about one of our friends! Jessica's friend DJ Burgduff from Ames, IA, who went to TIU and played football with Curtis, so Curtis' friend too; was on the TV game show THE POWER OF TEN on Tuesday night. We answered the $100,000 question correctly, but missed the 1 million dollar question by only 2%. He left the show with $10,000, not bad, but oh so close! He had the correct percentage, but then changed his answer at the last minute. Uggghhh. He did a great job and it was so fun to watch a wonderful childhood, high school, and college friend! Check it out - http://www.cbs.com/primetime/powerof10/.

Cardinals vs. Cubs Game!

We attended the Cubs vs. Cardinals game today! The two teams played a double header today and we got to see game #1! THE CUBS WON! Alfonso Soriano hit a 2 run homer in the 8th inning to take the lead and seal the win for the CUBBIES! We were way up high, but we had a great view of the field! GO CUBS!

Go Cubs Go! Go Cubs Go! Hey Chicago what do you say, Cubs are going to win today! Go Cubs Go! Go Cubs Go!

Thank you for your prayers for Curtis grandpa. His surgery went well. They were able to do the procedure without opening him up

Enjoying the Fall Days!

We have been enjoying these beautiful days outside! The weather has been starting to change and soon we will start to wear jeans and long sleeve shirts. Sooner than we know we will be shoveling snow - yuck! But I can't wait to see how Cade plays in the snow.

Please be praying for Curtis' grandpa. He has cancer and will be going in for a surgery on Thursday, September 13. He is very weak. Pray that he repents of his sin and desires to have Jesus in his life.

On a lighter note . . . the Cubs had an AMAZING game tonight. It was so much fun to watch. I did not enjoy the tummy-turning 9th inning, but the double play to end the game was great! Curtis and I will be going to St. Louis this weekend to catch a Cubs/Cardinals game. We have been wanting to go to a game all season, but we have not been able to. God provided us with some tickets for Saturday -yeah! We will leave you some pics!

Playing Outside

Cade loves to play outside. If he had a place that he could be all day long, that is where it would be! He loves to push his lawn mower or shopping cart down the driveway and onto the sidewalk. He definately likes to drive Mommy crazy with going towards the street. We just got a turtle sandbox at a garage sale and that has definately been a hit! He is an excellent help in watering the flowers, or maybe he just likes to get wet! He is an excellent dribbler of the ball - a soccer stud right now, but not for long! And we find lots of time to go on walks or runs with Wrigley and Mommy, while Cade is in the stroller. And don't forget about Cade's cool bike trailer - he loves it! He just simply loves being outside!

Homestead Festival Day!

Today was such a busy day! It started out with going to a nearby garage sale . . . Jessica found a new dining room table!

Then we headed out to go to the Homestead Festival, but the Kid Fair was $3 and all Cade was going to do with nothing, so we decided against that investment. Onward to a nap for Cade, quartet practice for Daddy, and then a baby shower for Mommy.

Home to eat quick, and then off to the Homestead Festival Parade - yippeee! Cade sat in his stroller for almost 2 hours watching the parade. He did so well! We watched the parade with Grandma Bev and Nana under a wonderful shade tree.

Then we went and closed on a used, but new truck for Curtis (2000 Ford Ranger) - yippee!

A few hours of rest. Daddy then off to his 10 year high school reunion, while Mommy and Cade stayed home - ate, played, took a bath, and then off to bed! WOW! What a busy day!

Friday Night Football Game!

Tonight we went to Daddy's third football game of the season! Yippee! We lost again, but Cade had fun watching the band and running around! We have now lost our first 3 games of the season, but the guys keep on fighting. This was the closest game yet. Mommy tried to take some pictures, but it was dark so they didn't turn out very good. One of Cade's favorite things to do is push his stroller when he is not sitting in it. This takes so much time at games, it is a great activity for Cade!

We also got a new toy for our yard at a garage sale today! It has a slide and Cade loves it! We have been going to the parks in our town, so Cade has been learning to sit on his bottom in order to go down the slide (meaning you can't walk down slides). So he knows exactly what to do with his new toy! Our yard is starting to be filled with wonderful toys that we have gotten great bargains on at garage sales!