Slime!

We made slime together on Cade's Friday off of school. Joel had made slime at Tiny Tigers School and was just loving playing with it but left it out so it dried it up. The boys had a great afternoon playing together. 

Sleeping Beauty

My Callie is almost 3 months old. She has lost so much of her newborn hair it makes me sad, but hopefully it will grow in sooner than Joel's did. I have been keeping hats on her head to keep her warm. She is so precious. 

Imagination Man!

Joel and his friend Kaylyn enjoyed making an airplane out of the window seat at the coffee shop. It is so fun to watch him use his amazing brain to play. I wish I could think out of the box and let my imagination run like my kids. I love how God made my babes! 

Mommy and her Girl!

We went out for coffee with some girlfriends and while we waited I got this cute pic of us together! 

Growing Up So Fast!

Callie is starting to reach the point of growing out of some of her clothes. She will probably get to wear her size 0- 3 month clothes one more time. I am so sad. I just love so many if the outfits I have for her now. Many of them are fleece so thy help to keep her warm in the frigid temperatures we are having. I don't have much fleece for her next size up. Guess I should have exchanged more items for warmer things. We will just have to layer! I just love the Carter's brand outfits on her right now. So so so cute! At least she hasn't outgrown the Gap 0-3 month items yet (my absolute favorites!!). Oh I am having so much fun dressing this little girl of mine!

Starting to Play!

Callie has been starting to enjoy the playmat we had with both the boys. She loves to look at the hanging toys and reaches out for them. Her favorite action is to use her feet to kick the hanging ball. I think she could be my soccer girl!!

It is so fun to see her interact and smile. I love this stage of non-moving with sweet sweet smiles and cuddles. 

Big Brother

Joel's holding of Callie has gotten worse. We hasn't gotten bigger and fills his lap so she is not able to sit very well on him. Then the combination of him wiggling and her wiggling make for an interesting 30 seconds. Though Joel is so loving and caring and snuggly, he doesn't have the gentle touch with his little Callie yet. Hopefully it will come or maybe it won't. Definitely can't trust him alone with her, but I do know he loves her very much. He uses his words in such a kind way when talking about her. "She is the best baby ever." "She is the best beautiful sister ever. " "I love Callie so so so so much."

Friends Forever

We had Debbie and Carson Bullington over to play on January 15. Their family will be leaving to serve The Lord in Paupa New Guinea in just a few days. Debbie and Justin were in our youth group during high school. It is an amazing work to see how God has worked in their hearts and where He is taking them. It makes my heart sad to see them go but happy at the same time to see their obedience to The Lord. What a testimony of obedience. I need to remember them when I struggle having faith that God will provide. They are an inspiration to me. 

Catching Snowflakes!

Thia morning we got a light skiff of snow. Right after Cade and Daddy left for school, Joel and I went out and caught a few snowflakes with our new catching kit our friends sent us for Christmas. We used the magnifying glass to examine them, as well. Next time we will use our bigger glass so we can see them even better. Plus it would probably be a good idea to wear our coats so we can stay out longer! Just a little fun to start our day!

1-15-2014

Connect 4!

Joel and I made patterns with the Connect 4 game today. Red, black, red, black, . . .

Grandma's Hat

Grandma Bev made Callie and me matching hats for Christmas. Mine has gotten very stretched out but Callie's is still fitting well. I added a pretty white bow to it to dress it up. With the right outfit it looks darling. Thanks Grandma!

1-15-2014

New Hat!

Grandma Bev made Callie a new hat for Christmas. I added this pretty bow to it and she has been looking quite beautiful lately! 

Laundry Girl!

Today I was doing laundry and had the sweetest little helper. I brought a basket of laundry from the second floor down to the basement and in those moments I had a sleeping baby in my basket. It was pretty sweet. So funny how she wouldn't fall asleep while Joel and I were playing upstairs in his room while lying on the floor next to us, but fell asleep in the basket while being transported.

Safe and Protected

I caught this amazing photo in church. I just love Callie's beauty but also the two other people in the photo. I love how Callie is protected in Curtis' arms but has her Pop right in the background for extra security. These two men will probably be two if te greatest  human influences on this planet. What great men God has selected to shape her and develop her into being a Godly woman. She is blessed. 

Towel Time!

We were all showered and wrapped in our towels today. We looked beautiful at church!

Home Again!

We are home again today from school and the normal routine of life. It is cold out there! I just read an article that 3 Amtrak trains got stuck in the big big snow drifts yesterday. The blowing and drifting snow is so dangerous. Even our driveway has drifted snow and we are in town!

We will continue our family Monopoly games, more Wii, maybe some cooking (apple pie, venacin stew, and caramel rolls yesterday), and hopefully another good reading time today. Cade and I finished The Indian in the Cupboard yesterday (only took months!)

Not Just Cold but Frozen!

We have started off the year with not jut cold temperatures but freezing cold temperatures. Today was to be Cade's first day back to school after break and he is home still because the temperature outside is -15 degrees and with the windshield a - 50. The door are shut on this house and not opening! We are enjoying family moments together by a warm fire. I am feeling very blessed for a working boiler and blankets!

New Year's Eve

We had a BiG party on New Years Eve at our home. We invited over Pop and Grandma last minute and enjoyed some yummy Chinese food (made by Curtis) and potato soup (made by Bev). We played games, did puzzles, played Legos, and made S'mores in our fire place. We were suppose to be in Iowa at Grandpa Bill and Grandma Glenna's, but with our sickness and unpredictable weather, we were not able to make the trip. So we made up our own fun and rang in the new year at 9pm with musical instruments and cheers. It was a fun little time! 

Happy Anniversary!

We made it 10 Years!! We enjoyed a nice evening out to dinner at Olive Garden. We enjoyed a free meal from a generous friend who gave us a gift card. Callie was a great third wheel on our date!

Bad News

The bad news of our break began on Christmas night when we got home and discovered head lice nits in Joel's hair. We striped all our beds and started doing laundry. We also put coconut oil in Joel's hair to kill the awful lice. The next day I cleaned the house like crazy to rid it of any lice that might have moved in. We put many blankets in garbage bags, vaccumed, sprayed the floors with a cleaner, washed, washed, washed. We thought it was gone but I discovered a live bug in my hair that night and we also discovered one in Cade's hair that Sunday. We have treated our hair 2-4x each and continue to keep the laundry going. We are going on 4 days without a sign of it. I pray it is gone!! No no no fun!!

Our next bad news came on the evening of the 26th when we had the Lambert kids over to play. Joel accidentally pulled on a water pipe downstairs and it broke spraying water all over our basement, giving everything a really good soak. And thankfully the new air hocky table was not ruined. Pop saved it with his body. It was not fun. There was no permanent damaged but Curtis and I were not happy with Joel. Thankfully Pop and Curtis got it fixed by 9pm and we could turn the water back on. 

The last of the bad news came soon after we got the water pipe fixed. Joel said his tummy hurt and just after midnight he threw up in his room and on the carpet rigt outside of the bathroom. I spent time scrubbing the floor in the middle of the night. We thought he was feeling better so we went on with the next day. Unfortunately after he had been in Wyanet awhile he started to go down hill. He had an awful day of sickness. Being our anniversary that day Curtis and I went out for dinner still despite Joel's sickness. We got a call around 7pm that he was doing poorly so we scurried on home. Curtis started to not feel well around that time and threw up around 2am. He was down the next day too. And finally I got it New Year's Day around 2am. Oh it was an awful sickness. We pray that Cade and Callie stay clear because Pop and Grandma have ended up with it too. Yucky. 

Odell Family Christmas!

After our time together we headed to Wyanet to see Pop, Grandma, and the Lambert family. 

It is always a joy to share gifts with each other. The kids have fun picking out gifts for each other and for Grandma and Pop. It is neat to see their giving hearts as they think of others. We had so much fun opening gifts with each other, sharing delicious food together, and just being with each other. It was a wonderful day. 

Christmas Sweetness!

Christmas Morning!

Merry Christmas! 

The boys woke up with much excitement on Christmas and it wasn't super early. They awoke at 6:45am. Not too bad. 

There is always much excitement and anticipation on this special day. In the days up to Christmas Cade would come home from school and stake our the gifts under the tree to see what was new and if any had his name on them. I  prepare everyone else's gifts before the boys', so he was getting a bit concerned as we drew closer to the 25th. Curtis and he had a discussion on the way home from school one day about the presents. Cade asked if we had gotten him anything yet and asked if he could tell Curtis what he wanted. Curtis laughed a little and told him we had already gotten his gifts. He was so surprised. And Curtis told him to tell him his list anyway. It was funny the way Cade described his list. He wanted te Star Wars Wii game but knew he wouldn't get it. 

Through this conversation we also discovered that Mr. Clausen had been joking with Cade about his behavior at school saying he wouldn't be getting presets because he was a bad kid. Though Cade knew he was being sarcastic, he also wasn't sure if maybe there was some truth in what  Mr. Clausen was saying. This was a wonderful opportunity to reassure our love to Cade and that he didn't get presents because of what he did or did not do. Our love for him was not based on his actions, like Christ's love for us is by based on what we do or do not do. It was a great illustration of salvation to him. 

Curtis had prepared a fire on Christmas Eve so we could enjoy a cozy morning opening gifts together. Daddy started the morning by reading the Christmas story to us. Them the boys handed out the gifts and we started opening. It was so fun!!

Cade received Star Wars Wii, the movie The Sandlot, golf clubs, a new backpack, books, and a GI Joe helicopter and tank from Mom and Dad. He received two Imaginext pirates from Joel.  

Joel received golf clubs, books, two sticker sheets, Sonic Wii game, and the movie Racing Stripes. He received two Bubble Guppies and a peacock figurine from Joel. 

We also had gifts from aunt Opal and Tom & Patty Caneen to open. Aunt Opal have our family a Jonathan Park CD. Ms Patty gifted us with some beautiful books. We have enjoyed reading One Wintery Night by Ruth Bell Graham these days after Christmas. 

Curtis received 2 pairs if jeans and 3 shirts, plus a super comfy Bears blanket, and his big surprise th Work Sharp knife Sharpener. 

Jessica received 2 new shirts and a pair of jeggings. She will be looking pretty snazzy. 

The big surprise of our Christmas was a new to us Air Hockey and Foosball table for our basement (thank you Wilson family!). We hope to be able to bless many people through our fun game filled basement. 

What a wonderful Christmas morning of gift opening! One of the best parts of Christmas for me!

Odell Grandkids!

Merry Christmas Tom and Bev! What a legacy you are leaving for those little ones around you. 

Special Ladies

Here is Callie with some special ladies!