Thanksgiving in MI with family

Thanksgiving this year was extra special because we had Nicole and the grandkids in MI with us. Aubrey loved the Rhino and when we took her riding, she would say "Go, Go, Go!". She got to see deer in the backyard in the evenings eating bird seed out of the feeders and to my delight on Thanksgiving morning it was snowing and I was able to show it to her. When I told her to look out the window at the snow, she literally dropped her mouth open and babbled something at me and pointed at it. I took her out the front door and let her put her fingers in snow on the wheelbarrow and listened to her squeal in delight! What a great thing childhood innocence is! The children were a wonderful addition to our normally rather quiet Thanksgiving.

More of our CO hunt trip

More pictures from our hunt in CO with Pam and Randy. What a great time and such beauty all around us. The picture of the pool of water is actually a hot spring that Mark and I made it down to from our camp the first night there. We were really glad we did as it soothed our sore muscles from the hike in.

Hunting in CO

Hunting for Elk in CO was probably one of the best vacations that we have had as we got access to so many of the things that we enjoy! Family, the outdoors, hiking, camping, hunting and each other! Pam and Randy (Mark's sister and her husband) brought their trailer in from TX and we flew in to Denver and drove down to meet them in Pagosa Springs. We spent a couple nights in base camp getting prepared and then hiked 6 miles & up 2000 feet into the mountains to where we camped and hunted. It was a spectacular place to see and walk through while we were there. It rained, sleeted and snowed on us. Of course on the way out, we had sunshine.....LOL. No Elk but a great trip which we would do again!

October and hunting in MI

October is always a great time as we go hunting in MI for whitetail deer. Mark and I love the woods in the fall and this year was no exception. We were able to spend time with our good friend Ralph whom we love dearly and spend time getting ready for our next hunt out in CO with Pam and Randy for Elk. Mark put a deer in the freezer before we left MI.

Christopher comes home too!

YEAH!!! Christopher gets to come home today! Now we will have both of the boys home together. Aubrey is so excited to have Thomas at home. We are wondering how she will do with both of them at home. Now Nicole's real work starts! Please pray that she will have the stamina to do what she will need to do for all three of her precious little ones.

Thomas comes home first

Thomas is getting to come home and we are very excited! Although we wish both could come home together, it's nice for Nicole to have one at a time to get used of it. They will both come home on monitors to watch their heart and respiration. We're just very glad to have him coming home!

Aubrey meets the boys

I have to say even though I'm her grammy that Aubrey is one of the most best behaved children that I know. Everyday we go to the NICU so Nicole can feed the boys and Aubrey goes with us. I know that the nurses were skeptical when we first started coming in because of the way other children have acted in the past, but Aubrey proved all their concerns to be false. She never gets loud or tries to run around or fusses whenever we are in the NICU. She knows when we go into the NICU that she needs to wash her hands, then she says "hi" to the nurse at the front desk and then she heads right straight for "her babies" in the back of the unit. Nurses say hi to her while she is on her way through and she has her favorites and will stop to talk to them and play with their badges. Once in the back by her babies, I need to lift her up so that she can see that they are both ok and if they are awake or not. She loves to give them kisses and hugs and we even figured out a way for her to hold them. She is a great big sister and worries when they start to cry. She will go "OH...." and point to the incubator of the baby that is crying and she expects that you will get up with her and see what is wrong with them. She will be a great big sister when they come home. I have been having sooooo much fun with her. We have been working on baby skills while we play at home (like being gentle, feeding them the bottle, wrapping them up in the blanket, rocking them, etc.)

Meet Christopher and Thomas

July 18, 2009 Meet Christopher Joseph (named after his Grandpa Mark Joseph) 4 lbs 6 oz. and Thomas James (named after his Great Grandpas Thomas and James) 5 lbs 1 oz. born by C-section. Nicole is doing great and the boys are in the NICU as they are premmies. They will probably stay in hospital for about 4 - 6 weeks (which is when they should have been born). They are cute as can be!!! Vicki started to drive down to get Aubrey when Nicole called to say that they were going to be taking the boys by C-section so she will stay with Nicole to help for about 4 weeks depending on how the boys and Nicole do.

Not much happening

Not too much has been happening since Mark's sister Pam and her husband Randy came for a visit at the end of April. Mark has been traveling quite a bit for his job and I have traveled to visit with Nicole and Aubrey a couple of times. I was able to go to one of her ultra sound appointments and see the twins. AMAZING! She is doing well and we are hoping that she can make it to at least 37 weeks with the twins.

Our plans for the fall are coming along. We are planning to go bow hunting in MI and considering Elk hunting with Pam and Randy. Thanksgiving is being planned at home in MI as well as Christmas too. Other than these trips, Vicki will be in VA when the twins are born to help Nicole with Aubrey and the babies.

Pam & Randy come for a visit

Mark's sister Pam and her hubby Randy came for a visit at the end of April and stayed on the boat with us one night. We had an opportunity to go to dinner in Little Italy with them and then Pam, Randy and I explored Fort McHenry the next day while Mark worked and headed for VA for a visit with Christine, Mick, Taylor, Nicole and Aubrey when he got off. It was really nice to see them and be able to spend some time with themsince we had not seen them since November of 2007. Family is very important to us all.

Aubrey is One Year Old!!!

Aubrey turned one year old on April 10th and it is hard to believe that she is already a year old! By the way, Nicole (her mom) is pregnant with twin boys and is due Sept 3rd. God give her the strength to handle three little ones under the age of 2!
Pictures are of her birthday party.

Time to visit VA

March 2009 Since moving to Baltimore, we have been able to go to VA to visit with Mark's sister Christine, her hubby Mick and our niece Taylor several times. Nicole and Aubrey (whom they had not met yet) came to visit while we were there and of course we had a great time! Taylor couldn't wait to "walk" Aubrey who had started to walk around the furniture and loves to walk with someones help. Aubrey also got a chance to meet Goldie and Molson (the dogs) while she was there.
Pictures are of Mark and Aubrey (of course only Grandpa matters), Taylor and Aubrey, Aubrey, Great Aunt Christine and Aubrey, Aubrey, Nicole and the dogs and Great Uncle Mick with Aubrey.