Snow

I got an action shot of the kids playing in the snow. I think Joey was losing the snowball fight.

Christmas 2007

We had a full Christmas day. We got up at 5:30 and opened presents with just the four of us at home. We met my brother and family at Mom and Rick's house at 7:00 (this was Chad's decision).

For lunch, my aunt and uncle joined us. We spent the afternoon watching a Christian movie called Fly Wheel (I think). It was made by the same church that made Facing the Giants.

In the evening, we played poker, which got a little heated. We then played the Family Fued game using the TV, which got even more heated because the "old" folks beat the "young" folks in all three games.

All in all, it was a good day and we were all exhausted by the end of it.

Christmas Eve 2007

We spent Christmas Eve at my (Angie) mom's house. We opened a couple of presents and played Family Feud on the TV.

I got Joseph to say "Merry Christmas" for the camera - it's too cute not to share. Please forgive the fact that it's sideways (I can't figure out how to rotate it like I can a picture). Turn up the volume on your computer!

House Update - Final

On Dec 14th, we closed on our house. We have spent hours and hours putting things away. Here are some final pictures.

Living room

Kitchen

Dining Room

Joey's room

Katherine's room

Master bathroom

Master bedroom

Dunham Family Christmas

On Dec 9, we had Christmas dinner with my (Angie) dad's side of the family. My great aunt and uncle get us together every year. It's amazing how the family seems to grow every year. We didn't have any new additions this year, but there will be one next year from my cousin Andrew and his wife, Wendy.

Here are the kids sitting with Grandpa Dale.

Katherine the Ballerina

Katherine is in a pre-dance class at the YMCA (tap & ballet). She performed on Dec 8 in an informal recital in the gym. She and Joey had breakfast with Santa before the dance.

House Update # 13

We are getting close! Dec 14 is the closing day. Here are some updated pictures.

This is the dining room and part of the kitchen. You can see we have the wood floors complete and the lights are hung and working. We can now see it after work in the evenings without a flashlight!


This is the vanity in the master bathroom.



They just laid the carpet today. It's amazing how much more complete it feels with carpet.


The exterior has been painted. I was nervous to see how this would look (after picking it from a little piece of paper), but I like it. It's different from the other houses in the neighborhood which are mostly brown.

Branson 2007

Again this year, we took a weekend trip to Branson, MO. The kids love Silver Dollar City, the moms like the shopping, and the dads like the fishing.

We went to the Dixie Stampede for the first time. It's dinner and a live show with singing and animals. The kids loved it.



We spent several hours shopping at Branson's Landing.

On the way home, we stopped at the Precious Moments Chapel.

Christmas Preparations

Every year, the weekend after Thanksgiving, we go to my mom's house for dinner, tree decorating, and pictures. Everyone even gets to open a present!

As you can imagine, it's not easy getting a good picture of the four kids. There's always at least someone who doesn't want to cooperate.



Joey was trying really hard to smile like we told him to.

Thanksgiving 2007

We spent Thanksgiving day at my Aunt Evelyn's house. My cousin and his family came up from the Dallas area. They have 3 kids, so there were 7 kids all age 7 and under.

We gathered them together for a picture. They were surprisingly cooperative.

They played together pretty well.

House Update # 12

They have finished the vinyl, tile (not sealed yet), and counter tops. The oak has been delivered for the dinning room and kitchen. They will be installing it this next week. Everything is really dusty and dirty, so it doesn't look as good as it could.

This is the tile in the entryway.


The kitchen counter tops and backsplashes are in. It's hard to see them in the picture.

Here is a close-up of the counter. You have to look through the layer of dust.

Family Pictures

A couple of weeks ago, I posted a link to our latest pictures. Here are some of my favorites.

Joey the Big Boy

It's funny how sometimes kids have physical growth spurts - one day you realize that all of their jeans are too short. But sometimes kids have "growth spurts" that aren't so visible. Joey just turned 2 on Oct 20, and in the last few weeks, he seems to have grown up a lot. He's has become very independent. His new favorite phase is "do it!" - which means he wants to do it. He's learning how to do things like buckle his car seat, and get dressed on his own.

The biggest change is that he is no longer wearing diapers during the day (he is still sleeping in one). We started putting him in big boy underwear 2 weeks ago. We had 8 very long, frustrating days of cleaning up accidents every couple of hours. On the 9th day, it was amazing. He suddenly figured out what he was supposed to do. I'm sure he'll still have occasional accidents, but he is doing VERY well. I'm so proud of him!

House Update # 11

The trim carpenter has been working at the house this week. All of the cabinets are in.

Here is the kitchen. There will be a small island in the middle, but that won't go in until the floors are down.

Halloween

Last Sunday night we went to Night of the Living Zoo. We've gone every year since Katherine & Kyler were very young. They wear their costumes and walk a path at the zoo getting candy and playing games.

Joey is pumpkin bowling. (It's not a real pumpkin.)


On Halloween night, we spent about 2 hours going door to door. The first hour was with the 4 of us and Grandpa. The second hour was with Kyler, Kenndie, Chad & Shawna. The kids had a lot of fun but were exhausted by the end of the night. Even Joey yelled "Trick or Treat" at every door.

House Update # 10

More progress...

The brick is almost done. I'm glad to see that it looks good. The brick choice was the hardest for us to make, and I was a little nervous.

We had them add some stone accents - a stone ribbon and keystones over the garage doors.

The drywall is almost done.
This is the living room. The kitchen is on the other side of the wall to the right.

Here is the entry-way and stairs.


They have also finished the deck, which is off the dining room.

Pictures

We had the kids' pictures taken last weekend. You can see them all at Audra's Photography. The password is 'family'.

Birthday Party

We had a birthday party for both kids last Saturday (10/20) at Pump it Up. It was a great party. The kids had a blast.



Joey wasn't sure what to think of everyone singing to him. He had an Elmo cupcake cake.

Katherine knew exactly what to think of it - she loved having everyone sing to her.

House Update # 9

Here are some interior house pictures.

This is from standing in the kitchen and looking through the house.


And this one is from the master bedroom.

Birthday Girl

Tuesday (10/16) was Katherine's 5th birthday. She spent the afternoon with Grandma and Grandpa at Build-a-Bear and the zoo. Tuesday evening we all went to her favorite restaurant - Shorty Smalls. They introduced her to everyone and sang to her. We came home and she opened her gifts.

House Update # 8

They have almost finished the siding - the north side is the only side not finished.



The siding on the front is finished - the rest will be brick (which you can see piled in the driveway). They will soon begin spending more time inside. I'll post interior pictures soon.