Welcome 2011!!!

Andrew and I celebrated the New Year with great friends!  We went to our friend's house, Terri (again you should check out her blog at http://www.life-with-tk.blogspot.com/).  There were several people there and we had a great time playing games while waiting for the countdown for 2011! 

2010 was a wonderful year for us, so we hope that 2011 will bring even greater opportunities and adventures!

Oh, and by the way... my brother proposed to his girlfriend on New Years Eve!!!  Congrats to J.D. and Libby!!!  They seem so happy together!

Terri with her baby niece



The P's on New Year's Eve

Cole and Michelle

A shout out to Weaver -- missing that guy

Terri playin speed quarters - nough said!  Ha, ha!

Waitin' for the countdown

Andrew eating while Terri is cooking at 1:30 am!  WOW!

My brother's proposal down at the Plaza!  How sweet!

MY FIRST CAR PURCHASE!!! #12 Complete

I FINALLY purchased my first car (with the help of my wonderful husband of course)!  YAY!!!  I couldn't be more excited!  After looking for vehicles for about 3 months now, we bought one within two days after finding it.  Yikes, this was scary for me because I really like to research everything about a car first!  But, since I was off work this week, I spent quite a bit of time driving around dealerships and "studying" information online!  I asked TONS of questions and I'm sure they were really annoyed with me by the end of it.  However, I can't be more pleased with our purchase and am SO, SO excited to have a new car after 10 years with my jeep.  I love ol' red and will sure miss her, but I think I'll get over it pretty quickly!  ;) 

Andrew did most of the financial work - - I am VERY blessed and thankful to have him.  I sure wouldn't have been able to get this car if he wasn't in my life!  I love my husband to death!!!  We really had AMAZING timing with buying a car too so I think God was helping us along the way.  He gave us the patience to wait 3 months until we could get the best deal possible.  We purchased it on December 30th so it was perfect being at the end of the month AND the end of the year.  They really wanted to sell it!  YAY to a new vehicle to begin 2011!!!

Christmas 2010!

Andrew and I had an amazing Christmas back in Manhattan this year with family and friends!!!  We spent Christmas Eve at my parents house in the afternoon opening gifts as a family.  It was just so cute to see Jaxon experience his first Christmas!  I know he won't remember it, but it was definitely a wonderful memory for us. 

During the evening on Christmas Eve, we went to my one of my grandparent's house in Manhattan.  There were SO many people there this year - - it was definitely a packed house full of joy with about 25 people! 

Christmas day, Andrew and I went to mass at our favorite parish in Manhattan.  The music was just beautiful and it was a great reminder of why we celebrate Christmas!  When we got back home, Andrew and I exchanged gifts between the two of us.  We are truly blessed and have had a wonderful year. 

Then, we immediately started helping my mom get ready for lunch with more family.  She made her awesome lasagna and we again enjoyed time with our family members that we rarely get to see.  After all the family on my mom's side left at about 3:30, we briefly rested and then got ready again for Christmas dinner with family from my dad's side!  My aunt, uncle, cousins, and grandma all came over to my parents' house for Christmas dinner.

Like I mentioned, it was a busy, filling, and wonderful Christmas!  Glad the snow held off for us and everyone had a wonderful time.  Thank you God for all the gifts and blessings You have given to me and my family.  And, happy birthday, Jesus!

I had to get some pictures of the Christmas decorations at our house!  :)

Christmas Eve ~ Jaxon playing.  He LOVES looking out all the windows in the sun room.

Nokona had to explore everything and see what was going on!

Daddy helping Jaxon open gifts!

He LOVES this new toy from Grandma and Grandpa

After mass on Christmas day

Opening our gifts to each other

Kona was right in the middle of everything, so we let her open her presents!  :)

Iowa and K-State!!!  Our teams!!!

Kathy (Andrew's mom) and Steve sent us a sweet package filled with Iowa gear and gift cards to Borders!  These will get some great use!

A king-sized candy bar that was cut in half and taped back together.  You can see who got the two halves!  Ha, ha, ha!!!  Oh grandma!