Without further adieu...

There has been quite a bit of excitment in the air at the Doezie house!

I celebrated my 35 birthday on the 23rd...

Which in and of itself was not that exciting, but it gets better...

The missionaries dropped by for some NON-alcoholic sparkling cider. For some reason Avery was not very happy about this picture? Maybe he thinks we should be avoiding the very appearance of evil!

Actually he looks how I feel! I don't want to get any older. Half way to 40...YIKES!

I also want to thank my darling friend Amanda, who came over to visit

and leave me a very 'delicious' birthday present! (I forgot to take a picture of us together) DANG IT!

Then came Christmas...

Avery had SO MUCH FUN! This was really the first year that he 'got it'

and it was so dang cute! Every present was better that than the next and it was so darling to watch him have such a great time!

(Dad, I found the 'magic' again through Avery's eyes!!!)

Kasey also had a very expensive, I mean great Christmas! She got her own digital camera, (among many other gifts!) which she had been asking for, FOREVER!

She has already taken a million pics! Look at that, she's taking after her Mommy!!!
Like it or not Kas, we're really not that different!


Well the only thing missing from this picture,
of course is Jaylyn and Hallie!
We have had to celebrate Christmas FOUR times without two of our children!
My heart aches just writing that!
Three years, 1 month and 17 days ago Troy, Kasey, Avery, Kain and I left two of our children and everyone and everything else that we knew and drove to Illinois.
At the time we HAD to come here.
Truly it was our best option. We had planned to be here for a year, TWO at the absolute MOST!
I thought I could do it... and I guess I did, but I didn't do it well!
I'm sure if you have been in hearing distance from me, at any time during these last three
years, you would agree, I did NOT do it WELL! And for this I sincerely apologize!
I am truly thankful for the love and patience that you have all shown to my family and me!
We have learned a lot about ourselves and can say in hind sight, this experience
was good for all of us!
(maybe not so good for all of you, again SORRY!)


So without further adieu............


We say goodbye Illinois! It has been.......well...
Let's just skip over that part!
Yes we are moving HOME!!! My dear husband FINALLY got that transfer, and we are goin HOME!
I have dreamed about this very post for sooooo long!
We could not be more excited! And as for Jaylyn and Hallie....Let me tell you the story...
We called Jaylyn and asked her what would be the best Christmas present EVER?
And without hesitation she said "For you guys to move home!"
Let's just say after that none of us could talk, we just cried!
A little later, after Hallie was out of school, we called and asked her the same question...
She thought about it for a minute and her reply..."A puppy!"
We hope to sell our house within a month (Yeah right)
but even if we don't we leave the end of January...

Again, thanks for sharing your love with us...