ONE !!!

Our Colton turned ONE on December 17th!!!!
Here he is enjoying his birthday cake...yummm!
I made a separate cupcake just for him to enjoy! He cupped the cupcake and went to town on it!
He didn't stop until it was ALL gone!!
The party was at Grandma and Grandpa's house, so that all the family could come! (we had also invited some old friends of the family and Melissa brought her daughter Elise to keep our kiddies company, she was so cute!)
Mommy made birthday CAKE!
Me with my sweet 1 year old!
The "feast" and an anxious big brother ready to "dig in"! :)
Happy 1st Birthday our sweet, sweet Colton!!!!!!!!!!!

* My birthday is in December also (Dec 18th). We celebrated my birthday by going to Nicole's mom and dad's party. Jeanne and I share a birthday, and this year she had a fabulous party at their house. There was a DJ at the party, so we danced all night! We had a great time with family and friends!
Here are a couple of pictures from the night!
Sisters--Nicole, me and Kate
Brett and I
During the party, Jeanne and Jim renewed their vows. They have been married almost 29 years!

Above are Brett's parents, Bryan and Jill, and grandparents: Bill and Dodie (i just have to say I married into a good looking family. ;)

Christmas program

Sunday was the Christmas program at our church...
Grandpa, Grandma, aunt Nicole, and uncle Bryce(pictured) met us at the church. After the program, we all came to our house to hang out, have lunch and set up the kids' new bunk beds! (thank you Bryce and Nicole for the bunk beds- K and B lOvE them and have NEvER been this excited to go to bed!)

Grandpa with Colton...

Grandma with Kylie (Nice poze Bryce, glad you finally decided to accept my excessive picture snapping and cooperated!!!! hahaha)

The kids did a great job singing and reciting their lines-- how fun!

* If you just received our Christmas card in the mail and are looking for our Christmas letter, please scroll down and read the post "Merry Christmas"!!

Merry Christmas!

I have decided to write our Christmas letter on our blog this year, since most of the "happenings" that I will be writing about can be backed up by pictures and more details on our blog!

2009 has been a good year for our little family!
Kylie will be turning 5 in January! She started Preschool in the fall and is loving it! She took swimming lessons in the spring and fall and enjoyed every minute of it! Kylie has been attending AWANA for the past 2 years, and this year she moved from being a "Cubbie" to being a "Spark." When Kylie earned her Sparks membership card, she came home and announced to her dad that she now has a credit card! Kylie loves playing with her brothers, reading books, playing house, dress-up, and she is quite the little artist!

Brayden turned 2 in July and is a very active little man! He loves to follow his sister around, watch football with his dad and yell at the top of his lungs" Let's Go Hawks!!!" no matter who is playing. He loves to play with his trucks, cars, and "shoot baketball". One of the favorite things to do is going to "gwandpa's" farm and ride the four wheeler to do chores, the tractor or the combine! He misses Kylie when she is in school and asks every other minute "where did Kylie go?". I love watching them grow up together and create a bond!

Colton will be turning 1 on December 17th. I can't believe it's happening. This year has gone by in a blink of an eye and so much has changed about my sweet baby boy. He is no longer a light little bundle...he is now a somewhat "heavy", squirmy little man. He has the cutest facial expressions, a charming smile, he mumbles words like "dadda" and "mamma" and "hiii" and he now officially has 5 teeth!!! He is not walking by himself as of yet, but it looks like it will be happening in the very near future!

Brett and I have been busy raising these little bundles of joy and they keep us busy let me tell you!! It's a good kind of busy, we are so grateful they are healthy and happy. Brett continues to work for University of Dubuque and is enjoying the time he spends flying. He will be going to Florida for work in February and we decided it will be nice for me to tag along. He will be busy during the day, but I will be able to have lunch with him and we'll have the evenings all to ourselves. I am looking forward to spending some quality time just the two of us while the kids will be getting spoiled at Grandma and Grandpa's. I have been loving being able to be a full time stay-at-home mom. I treasure and enjoy every minute I spend with our children, I know it will not last forever.

You can keep up with the events in our family on our blog year-round, so please don't be a stranger!

I will end all the bragging now, but not before I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year filled with many blessings.

Brett, Iuliana, Kylie, Brayden and Colton

Christmas 2009

Recently I....

* have been thinking about and praying for young girls and boys of Congo...
* have been listening to Christmas music
* have been reading Romans
* went to see the movie "Blindside" and I loved it!
* have been watching the TV series "Gilmore Girls" (thanks Anna)
* want to read the book "Half the sky" by Nicholas Kristof
* decorated the house for Christmas! (Brett did the outside :D )



* made a variety of Romanian desserts
* I have been reminded of how AdORAbLE my sons are!!

* had taken a picture of our kids with their great- grandparents.

* had the pleasure of meeting Carley, Dakota's girlfriend!

Recently, I have also been changing lots and lots of poopy diapers and have been doing lots and lots of laundry. :D

Today and always I am grateful for...

* My husband-- my patient, caring, loving, smart, modest, funny, sometimes silly, other times serious, positive, confident, compassionate, God fearing, always willing to land a hand... Brett. I admire this man for many reasons and I am grateful to the Lord for making him my husband. I always learn new things about Brett who never fails to surprise me with his witt.
* My children -- my heart is filled with joy as I say the words "my children"! I love these little people to pieces! Kylie's intelligence and caring spirit, always asking questions well beyond her age. Brayden, my spirited, loving, huggable, energetic, handsome son. Colton, oh my baby Colton...his smile could cure a broken heart or any other kinds of hurts. He is the most expressive baby and the most stubborn as well. I am grateful to the Lord for entrusting them to me, for keeping them healthy, and for helping them know HIM.
* Grandparents -- my children have the most amazing grandparents. They spoil them, they build them up, they always do fun things with them, they shape them, they LOVE them!!! My parents(the other set of gparents) don't live close but I know how much they brag about them and how much they love them.
* Aunts and uncles-- again, my children have the most incredible aunts and uncles, who never fail to show them affection and how important they are to them.
*Great grandparents-- not many children are lucky enough to meet and know their great grandparents. Ggma Dodie and Ggpa Bill are patient and loving. They are involved in my childrens' lives and I know they are making an impact every time they spend time with them or talk on the phone.
* My grandparents --They were my rock as I was growing up. They have offered me comfort and showed me what love means, and for that I will always remain in love with them and forever grateful. I miss you mamaie si tataie!
* People who made a lasting impact --This list will most definitely start with my grandparents and could include many, many people but I am going to just mention the ones that first come to mind. My aunt and uncle in California for giving me a chance at a new beginning. The Neitring family, for taking me into your home and welcoming me into your lives. Mrs. Weigert for being a mentor. My best friend growing up and always (Alina) for always being there(even when distance could have been an issue--US and Switzerland) and for being a strong, no beating around the bushes kinda' woman.
* Last but not least - Thank you LORD for giving me a future and a hope. For saving my soul and for blessing me abundantly. I LOVE YOU!

The list could be endless but I will stop here. Happy Thanksgiving, and I hope that we all find the things we are most grateful for, today and always....

Little artist..

She may not be working on a painting for Queen Elizabeth, like child prodigy Alexandra Nechita http//www.youtube.com/watch?v=GE_eoOPWwqc ... but in my book, at almost 5 years of age, she is my prodigy... :)

Date night!

Brett took me on a surprise date last night!!! ...And by surprise I mean that I didn't know where he was taking me. I was really excited and insisted we pretended we were on our first date ever...and had random conversations that any normal people would NOT have on their first date!! It was funny!
We went to Iowa's oldest restaurant..."Breitbach's Country Dining". I remember reading in the paper last year, that this restaurant caught fire 2 years in a row and both times was in October. I am betting the owner was relieved when October was over this year, and we were glad we went there in November.

My grandparents used to have one of these in their home. We used it to cook food in the winter and to warm up the kitchen. I feel really ancient as I write that I used to cook food on a stove similar to this one....

I am betting Nicole would have loved this!

ME, all nervous on a first date...

Brett telling me what to order ( a DON'T on 1st dates, or any dates for that matter).

Fun filled Fall days...

Fall Festival

Kylie's preschool class had a fall/Halloween party last week. It was a lot of fun for the little munchkins! The festivities started with a game of trick-or treat...

...and continued with games like: "pin the heart on the skeleton" and bean toss.

Halloween 2009

For Halloween, Kylie was Belle, Brayden was a pirate, Colton was a bee (this is my baby Halloween custome, all my kids wore it!), I was a cat, and after the big win on Saturday, Brett was the #1 Iowa fan, wearing a big Iowa sweatshirt ;).

Trick AND treat!

Now, it"s time to get tricked playing a round of: "who's who".

Picture 1: Colton(10&1/2mo.) Picture 2: Kylie (10 mo.) Picture 3:Colton

And this is why I call them "my twins"!!! What a treat!!!

Go Hawks!!!!

The "heart-attack hawks", another big win!!!! It wasn't pretty but a win is a win(long liveth the 4th quarter)!!! We are Iowa Hawkeyes fans and our team is having an amazing season 9-0 so far!!!

Dressed for the occasion!
Kylie is smiling pretty for the camera, while the boys are talking football.
- I hope the Hawks win today!!
-Ohh yeah!!! I'm sure they will!! We'll be 9 and 0 after we beat Indiana!"
Baby hawks with daddy Hawk!

Kylie was doodling during the game. She drew a football field, pretty good, i say!