Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to you! We're so sorry that all of you couldn't be here to share a wonderful Christmas with us. We were thankful to have Kathryn's sister, Kerry, with us as well and Grandma and Papa Gray. We had a wonderful celebration.

We spent Christmas Eve together going to Church, having dinner, and swapping stories. The boys actually went right to sleep. Christmas morning started about 7:15 a.m. (not bad!). Hudson and Landon got to see their two unwrapped presents (a battery-powered Mustang for Hudson and a Cadillac Escalade scooter for Landon) and play with them for a few minutes and then we all ate breakfast. Then we opened gifts. Hudson was of course really into it. He ripped apart the paper and couldn't wait to see what was inside. Landon was pretty overwhelmed. He didn't get into ripping wrapping paper and just wanted to play with the first toy and didn't really care about checking out anything else for quite a while. Overall, they had a ball and so did we.

The best part of the day, though, was the afternoon of Hudson driving the new Mustang in the cul-de-sac. Landon decided he'd try being his passenger and ended up loving it. Hudson taught him how to shift for him. He then discovered that at one end of the cul-de-sac if he turned quickly and hit the brakes, he could get the Mustang to skid sideways. The sight of the two of them cruising in that little car together was priceless.

In case you aren't aware, you can "click" on the photos above to view an enlarged version of the image. We love you all.

Christmas is Coming

Hello everyone. Merry Christmas to you all. The Arizona Grays are doing well.

Grandma and Papa (Gray) arrived in Arizona two weeks ago. We have enjoyed having them over as have the boys. They also traded in their old car for a Honda CR-V and Hudson went with them to the dealership to make the final deal. He was really helpful.

We're excited for Christmas. Rick will have the whole week off (sort of) and we're looking forward to spending a lot of time as a family. Kathryn's birthday is next Thursday, too.

We had a recent "snow day" in our neighborhood park. They hauled in a truckload of snow and the boys and other neighborhood kids had a blast.

We love you all and wish the blessings of CHRISTmas for you all.

Funny Hudson Quote of the Week

Hudson likes to have the whole family pretend we're other people or things. When we're the Oppers, Hudson consistently wants to be Callie. We've also been praying a lot lately for Aunt Bonnie's herniated disk and Uncle Steve's kidney stone. Hudson suggested that the family pretend to be the Oppers, and Kathryn (to tease him) said, "OK, I'll be Callie and you be Uncle Steve." To which Hudson said:

"Hey!! I don't want to have a kidney stone!!"

We're slacking on the blog!

We have really been slacking on blog updates - I can't believe it's been almost a month since we've posted here. Sorry to those who check regularly! We really do have the goal of updating the blog once per week so don't give up on us!

We're doing well. Kathryn's belly continues to grow but she's feeling well. Rick is in the middle of interview season for the new surgical residents at Mayo Clinic. It's a fun but busy time. Hudson is doing well. He is still a stickler for rules and order, as any good firstborn would be. He's become pretty sweet to his little brother instead of just trying to annoy him most of the time. Landon continues to be our little ham. He never hesitates to put food on his head or do anything that will draw the attention of the crowd.

We've been doing a lot of decision-making with our house we've contracted to build (probably part of the reason we've been lax in keeping up the blog). We've now finished the planning of all the appliances, the lighting, the flooring and counters, the cabinetry, the color schemes, and the wiring. It took us seven 2-3.5 hour appointments to get all that done, so we're happy to take a break for a while. It's been fun, excrutiating, exciting, and frustrating all at once. We're happy how the plans are coming along.

Grandma and Papa arrived in Arizona last Sunday. The boys (and us) have been really excited to have them here. They've been able to spend a few afternoons with us and we've had a great time.

We're excited for Christmas. We love you all very much and wish God's blessing for all of you in this season.