Happy Holidays!

I can not believe that Christmas has come and gone so quickly. The past few months have been so busy and packed full of fun for us that we have hardly had any time to just veg out. I am taking full advantage of my time off and plan to relax with Ben as much as I can!!!

So much has happened since my last post. I must say that I did have good intentions on doing one post a month, but with my busy lifestlye that is just not happening. I do appreciate all the teasing from my so called best friends. You know who you are!!! This should keep you all quiet for a month or two!!! :)


Halloween was very interesting for Mr. Benjamin. When I asked him what he wanted to be for Trick-or-Treating he answered "Pirate, Mommy!" I went online and found the cutest little pirate costume I could find that didn't deplete our bank account. When it arrived I was so excited and couldn't wait to try it on him, but decided to wait. Halloween finally came and we were getting ready to go Trick-or Treating with Leighton and we pulled out the pirate costume. An hour later Ben was ready to go, but not as a pirate. He went as a boy in a white shirt with red, white and black torn pants. He wanted nothing to do with his pirate hat, sash or sword. We tried everything we could think of to make him wear them, but nothing worked. He still had a blast ringing door bells and saying "Happy Halloween! Trick-or-Treat! Thank you!" My friend Korin and I only made it to 15 houses because it was such a workout with the two little ones. Who knew it would be that difficult!

Ben turned 2 on November 10th and had a special surprise arrive that day all the way from Germany, Opa!!! My dad had some business in D.C. that week and when he finished he headed down to sunny Florida for Ben's birthday. We had a small Thomas the Train party with just close family and opened lots of presents. Ben was so cute and very excited about opening his presents. One present was his absolute favorite and I will never forget the look on his face when he laid eyes on his beloved Train Table! It was priceless! Omie and Opa spoiled him rotten! He plays so hard with his trains and he even dreams about his train table. Seriously, he does. In the monitor at night we hear "My train table! No, Train table!" It is halarious. I have enjoyed him so much and I can't believe that my baby is two. He is my life and my heart!

Thanksgiving was really special this year because we took a trip up to Kentucky to see my family. We left Friday the 16th and drove all night. Autumn, Nick, Jeff and I couldn't believe how well Ben did during the drive. He was an angel. We spent the next week hanging out with our many cousins, aunts and uncles. We shopped, ate tons of good food, watched good basketball games, went to some crazy Meade County parties, rode fourwheelers, played in the woods and leaves and just enjoyed being around family. We are so blessed to have such a big wonderful family. It was so good to see all of you and we love you all very much.

This Christmas we stayed here in Florida. It was nice to be home, but I did miss being in Germany and my parents too! All month long we were busy with parties and get togethers. We have so many great friends and enjoyed spending time with all of them. Things began to slow down once I finished with a my school work and started my break. Then little Ben came down with the flu! It was awful. He ran 104 degree tempature for 5 days straight and slept all day and all night. We knew he was sick because the kid never sleeps. We were happy to see that he did feel much better on Christmas day. Santa did very well this year and made Ben a very happy little boy. He brought Ben exactly what he wanted CARS!! Thanks to Omie and Opa Ben's new favorite thing (besides trains) is the Movie Cars. He loves them and for Christmas Santa's helpers went a little nuts and tried to collect the entire set. They did very well and found all but four. Ben opened his first gift and decided that he wanted to play with it and that was it for the present opening. He finally finished three hours later. Kids are great. Ben is also terrified of Santa and would not go near anything with a santa on it. We now use that to keep him from going into places we don't want him to go. I hope we don't scar him for life!!! It is too funny.

Jeff is doing well and has been working long hours the last few months. His boss became very ill and had to have major surgery. Jeff took over everything during one of the most hectic times in the golf year. He kept his cool when things were tough and did an exceptional job. He is so good at what he does and the course looks great because of all the hard work the crew did during that difficult time. Jeff was named Duran's employee of the month because of all his hard work.

Well, I think that is it for now. I hope you all enjoy hearing about Ben. His is such a doll and I wish all of you could see him more often. 2006 has been a very interesting year and I learned a lot of life lessons. Experiences make us who we are. I am looking forward to 2007. I wish all of you love and great joy for the New Year. Enjoy the pictures! Take care!

Love always,
April, Jeff and Ben