Limes to Limeade

On Friday we were getting ready to go on a school

field trip when the phone rang.

I was preoccupied so Katrina answered and said it was Rebeccah.

I got to the phone as quickly as possible to hear a

disappointed tone in Rebeccah's voice...

The boiler at the pool where we were headed was broken

and the field trip was cancelled.

My mind raced trying to figure out where we could go swimming.

You see, Katrina and Samuel had a pool bag packed since Monday

and I could not bring myself to tell them there was not going to be any swimming.

After some looking online, I decided to call a hotel to see if we

could come to just swim.

The AmericInn in Weston said we could for a small fee

(which probably ended up being less than the gas

to drive to Antigo) so the trip was still on.

My sister-in-law, Amber, joined us to help us out and we had a

wonderful time.

The big pool was VERY cold, to say the least, but the hot

tub was like a cool bathtub so we enjoyed our time in there.

Sorry for the lack of good pictures.

I realized that when you are at the pool with three small kids,

camera time is a low priority!

So, it was a good day to learn that when you are handed a lime,

you can either scrunch up your face and whine,

or you can make limeade!

Limeade is much tastier!

Joel Thorne -- 5 months

Happy Birthday, Dear Samuel

On Saturday we celebrated Samuel's 3rd birthday.

It was a theme with all of his favorite things in mind:

lawn mowers

diggers

cake

Samuel, since the day God brought you into

our lives, you have been a gift.

We love you mas que nunca and look

forward to what the next year of life will bring.

You have such a tender heart and we pray

that God will help you keep it that way.

A Dream Come True

On New Year's evening we were still at Grandpa and Nana's

when we saw a "little" snow plow out the living room window.

My parents live on the circle end of a cul de sac (just like us!)

and the plow pushes the snow from the whole street

up across the circle from their home.

So, we called Samuel and began to watch the "little"

plow do some work in the circle.

Soon, Pancho received a text from Uncle Shawn:

Look out into the circle!

It's Eddie!

Just then the "little" plow man parked the plow in front

of my parents house and walked up the driveway and into the garage.

He knocked on the door and when we opened it,

it was our good friend Eddie Livingston.

He had come over to do some plow work and was close by.

He decided to make sure his good friends, the Gehring's,

were plowed out.

Well, Samuel was beyond thrilled to see that Grandpa

and Papa knew the "plow man" so well.

We asked if he would be willing to give

Samuel a ride and he was quick to oblige.

Samuel ran into the living room and tore off his pajamas

(if you know him lately you know that he doesn't stay in his

clothing for long during the day --

he loves his "Harry shirt and soft pants"),

put on his clothes and went to get his coat, hat and mittens.

While he was getting dressed Katrina was also.

She was not going to miss out on this!

Graciously Katrina let Samuel go first.

She said when she came in to warm up while he

took his turn, "I wanted to let him go first because I

know he loves snow plows."

They both got a LONG turn and he even let Katrina drive it!

It was an amazing experience that Samuel has not

stopped talking about.

For him, it was a dream come true.

Thanks, Eddie, for making one of Samuel's dreams

a reality.

What a wonderful start to 2012 for him

(and for us!).

New Year's Memories

On New Year's Day we went to my parents

 for a fresh fish sandwich lunch.

Samuel helped Grandpa prepare the fish,

which was a super cute sight to see!

After lunch the kids were anxious to get

outside into the freshly fallen snow.

Grandpa and Papa took the kids outside

 and soon they were back inside, looking for the

van keys and a few extra layers.

Here are some pictures of the fun we had at the park!

I drove my parents car over after they left,

not wanting to be left out of the fun!

Boy, am I glad I did!

What a wonderful memory of

the first day of the new year.

 Boy, am I glad I did!

What a wonderful memory of

the first day of the new year.

NYE Recap

Our NYE celebration was a hit for everyone!

1:00

We decorated the house for the festivities.

2:00

We "made" snow and played in it!

3:00

We played Bingo.

Katrina won.

4:00

We played with marshmallow shooters.

5:00

We went to Noodles and Co. for dinner.

(ended up being the highlight of the night!)

6:00

We filled out our NYE interviews.

7:00

We watched a movie -- Angel Dog.

8:00

We enjoyed popcorn and KitKats.

9:00

We got new Lego figures for our Lego sets.

10:00

Happy New Year!

We got glow bracelets for bed and the promise of

a special 2012 breakfast.

It was a great NYE.

We think a tradition has begun!

2011 in a few words

2011 has been a year of high-highs and low-lows...

August 12 marked the high-high for us.

Joel Thorne entered our world.

October 26 marked the low-low.

Pancho Duran Senior exited our world.

We are so thankful he entered the heavenly realm with His Savior

and Lord where we will see him again.

As we leave 2011 and look into 2012, we are prompted

to reflect on God's faithfulness.

From the high-highs to the low-lows

He has remained faithful.

Thank You, God, for Your faithfulness

through it all.

We look forward to experiencing You again in 2012.

Happy NYE!

We are going to celebrate NYE

(New Year's Eve)

as a family of 5 this evening.

Well, we are going to start at 1:00 so that we can

end a few hours before midnight

since the kids won't do that well staying up till 12:00.

Actually, they would probably do better than Pancho and I!

I found several ideas on pinterest of fun things to

do with your kids and Pancho and I decided to

implement some of them, hoping they will

become long-standing NYE traditions around here.

We have a colored lunch bag for every hour from 1:00 PM to 10:00 PM.

Inside each lunch sack we have included an activity.

Here are our 2011 end-of-the-year festivities:

1:00 Decorate the entryway between the dining room and living room with streamers and balloons

2:00 Play with your toys in "snow" (we will make the snow!)

3:00 Let's play BINGO

4:00 Let's play with marshmallow shooters

5:00 You are invited to dinner with Papa and Mama at Noodles and Co.

6:00 NYE interview (at Noodles)

7:00 Put on your pajamas and we are going to watch a DVD with popcorn

8:00 Intermission snack (Kit Kats -- their favorite snack)

9:00 Dance party and LEGO fun

10:00 Glow bracelets for bedtime and tomorrow morning we

will welcome in the new year with a special 2012 breakfast!

I hope to take pictures throughout the festivities, but alas, with

three kids and all the fun we will be having, I am not

holding my breath on that one!

Happy NYE to you and yours!

See you next year!

4 Month Comparison

Here they are at 4 months...

Any thoughts?

Just for fun, here are their weights at 4 months:

Katrina 10 pounds

Samuel 15 pounds

Joel 15 pounds



Milestones

We have hit some milestones in the Duran home during December...

December 23rd marked the day Katrina lost her first tooth!

She has had a lower center tooth loose for about 2 weeks.

Friday evening, at the Gehring family Christmas celebration,

at the dining room table no less, Katrina's tooth simply fell out.

She was wiggling it a bit, but not enough to make it hurt,

and it fell onto the table!

It was so special that it happened with family gathered round.

Samuel has accomplished TWO milestones recently.

He gave up his chupi in November and December 2011

marks the month Samuel was potty-trained.

We are so thankful he is making big boy choices!

And Joel-ito (as we endearingly call our littlest guy)

has begun to eat rice cereal.

He has had it a few times and is getting used to

the idea of swallowing solids.

He seems to enjoy it.

Katrina loved feeding him on Christmas Eve!

The kids are growing up and we are doing our best

to capitalize on these moments and special memories.