We didn't get these in time for the boys to wear for Halloween, but they wanted to try them on today. This was too cute not to share!

We now have a teenager in the house, as Nate turned 13 this week. Things are changing already. Chip thinks he is a bit taller than me. Nate and his best bud decided to change their appearance. Brendan gets his hair highlighted every year, so Nate wanted to jump in on it. As part of a birthday gift from us and Grandma J, Nate will be attending a retreat/skiing/snowboarding weekend with the local Christian youth group. We are hoping that he enjoys it!

Before and after....

"Heavy, heavy, hang over your head....."

Amazing how the holidays flew by...The military is very generous, giving us Soldiers a half day off from before Christmas through New Year's. Of course, being a senior officer in my unit, half day means I get home at a decent time! But it was nice to be able to subject my family to my cooking. Normally Chip has the cooking duties, and he does an outstanding job. I normally stick to baking, but every so often I get this wild scheme and want to do something "different." I am back to work full time, so I am back to doing the occasional dessert and possibly a side dish!

Christmas was wonderful. We actually had the bulk of the kids' stuff ordered and on hand early this year. What we forgot to add in was the added wrapping time, so Christmas Eve was a bit late for us. This year, I had a chance to sing a Christmas cantata in a full choir and it was amazing. It was comprised of members from all of the Christian choirs on post and had about 30 folks. The kids were thrilled with their loot, Christmas morning. It took the rest of the day to bring the house back towards normal! We took time later in the day to go to the Soldiers' barracks. We went to each door, handed them some Christmas candy, wished them a Merry Christmas and thanked them for their service. Chip and I wanted our kids to see the sacrifice these young men and women are making, even if they aren't in an official war zone.




Before...and...after......