Trimming our tree

After a late dinner, we trimmed our tree. Lukas was overly excited going through all the ornaments and actually hung some on the tree this year. Landon was very helpful with taking the lights and ornaments off. LOL! I forgot about putting the lights and ornaments that low. Last year he wasn't even walking at this time. We also got Landon his "Second Christmas" ornament that goes with his collection.

Yay...we are officially decorated for Christmas!

Gamble Tree Farm

This morning, we headed to the Gamble Tree Farm for our Christmas tree. We decided to get it this weekend since we'll be busy the entire month of December. It was a little cold, but not as bad in the past. Lukas really enjoyed himself looking for the perfect tree and Landon was a little fussy. All-in-all, we had a great time!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today, we are thankful our family....

 

...we spent the day at Grandma's. This is the first year in about 6-7 years that everyone was together (minus Logan). We had a great dinner and the boys got to play with their cousins all day. We also celebrated Christmas for Talen since he will be going back to Tennessee next week. On the way home, Lukas said "we forgot to say what we are thankful for before we ate dinner". It was the sweetest thing he said all day. We then all said what we were thankful  for and told him that we would do that on Sunday at Great Nanny's house. 

These are some projects Lukas made in school this week. He's so proud of his turkey. He even took all this to Grandma's house.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! 

Pitt VS Notre Dame

Ben stumbled on Pitt/Notre Dame tickets Saturday afternoon. I called my Mom to see if she'd watch the boys and sure enough we headed to Pittsburgh by 5:30. Ben was absolutely estatic! Not only were we going to watch Notre Dame for the 1st time, but this was also our first time at Heinz Field. And, to top it off, we had seats in the North Club Lounge! It was an experience we'll never forget. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!

A beautiful November day

It was absolutely gorgeous today! It was sunny and in the 70's. What more could we ask for.

We spent the afternoon outdoors and loving every minute of it. It was so nice not having to wear coats outside=] Here are some pics from the day.

One year ago...

...we lost Derek. A husband, a son, an uncle, a father, a step-father, a step-grandfather, and to many a friend. It's been a very hard year for family and friends, but most of all for our mom. Mom, we want you to know we're thinking of you and we remember too. We found this poem and thought you'd enjoy this too.

GOLDEN HEART

God saw you getting tired 

and a cure was not meant to be,

So he put his arms around you 

and whispered "Come to Me".

With tearful eyes we watched you,

as we saw you pass away. 

Although we loved you deeply, 

we could not make you stay.

Your Golden Heart stopped beating,

hard working hands at rest.

God broke our hearts to prove to us,

He only takes the best.

Copyright 1997 Therese Williamson

In remembrance of Derek Cline...

"DEATH LEAVES A HEARTACHE NO ONE CAN HEAL,
LOVE LEAVES LIVES A MEMORY NO ONE CAN STEAL"

Derek in 2005

Kelly, Derek, Kristy in 2000

Mom and Derek in 2001

Mom, Derek, and Lukas in 2004

Derek and Landon in 2008

Derek and Landon (Oct 28, 2008)

"The very last picture I took of Derek"

Top bunk!

We just had to post this!

We put Landon to bed an hour ago and we didn't hear anything so Kelly went to check on him. When she got upstairs and peeped in their room and Landon was fast asleep on Lukas' top bunk. OMG! It was so stinking funny that we had to get pics of this. Of course, she put him in his own bed right away. Lukas thought this was hysterical too.

 

Uncle Mike is home!

Mike, Ben's brother, was released from the Army in the beginning of October. He has been home for a few weeks. The last time he was home was 3 years ago (our wedding). It's so great to have him home. Last weekend, Mom, Dad, and Mike drove back to TN to pick up his son, Talen. Mom, Mike and Talen spent the day at our house and Landon and Talen had so much fun playing together. It was so great to finally meet our nephew. He'll be staying for a few more weeks and we plan on seeing him a bunch more before he goes back home.  

Enjoying Fall

It was a cool, but a beautiful day today. Most of the leaves on our tree have fallen. We spent the afternoon playing outside and having fun in the leaves. Lukas got out his magnify glass and was checking out lots of ladybugs. He also was in a weird mood and didn't want his picture taken. I can't believe that Fall is almost over. The boys are going to miss playing outside everyday. Here's a few pictures from today.

Halloween Parade

Friday night we took the boys to be in the Leechburg Halloween parade. They had so much fun. Lukas ended hanging out with a boy from his kindergarten class. Landon got tired by the end of the parade so we didn't stay to see if we won any prizes. We put them in as a team (same number). They have our phone number and will call if we won. I remembered to put their faces on this time. They look much better=] 

Happy Halloween Everyone!