We have had an amazing Holiday season and I am so behind on telling you about it that I have no idea where to start. Instincts (the easy way out) would have me show you with pictures instead of using my hard to come by words but, there are literally thousands of pictures. My words and a few photos will have to do. I will try to keep my words few also….bare with me!
Christmas was awesome of course. Ken (my brother) and Julie (my sister-in-law) were here for the whole week of Christmas. Our family was literally at my parent’s house every single day and night, we rarely made it home before mid-night. We spent the evenings playing games and hanging out. I adore time with family, we were together every waking hour and even many non-awaking hours and yet it still does not feel like we had enough time. I am counting the days till we are all together again! Christmas was incredible. We spent the day watching our kids light up with smiles and cheerful squeals, and praising God for his most perfect gift. Seriously, we could not have asked for a better day. I hope that most of you received our Christmas picture and Poem, if you did not though I am including it here……if you received it, or are about to (Bets) just pass it by.
Darr Christmas Poem 2008
This time of year has found us again
A time we remember with family and friend
We pray this letter finds you secure in His grip
With a warm mug of hot cocoa to enjoy and to sip
Our year has been blessed to say the least
We thank the Lord and to him our hearts feast
Our little gifts are growing like mad
They are funny, smart and rarely sad
They are cute, witty and extremely shy
Dare we say it, they sometimes lie
We truly love parenting our amazing dears
The overwhelming joy can often bring tears
This year Jacob went from toddler to boy
He changed liked crazy but he still remains coy
He is constantly talking and playing make believe
There is forever something up his sleeve
He is so cuddly, so loving, so kind
Except of course when he doesn’t mind
He loves to learn and try as he may
He can not keep us and the camera at bay
From Letters and months to songs and rhymes
Jacob mantra for learning is, “in my own time”
He constantly surprises us with what he may know
Despite his attempt to NOT let it show
Our little Annika is about to turn two
She is willing and able to try anything new
This year for her was just the beginning
She learned to walk, talk, run and even started singing
She potty trained herself four months ago
and she is still a huge master of the word NO
Annika is often the damsel in distress
She loves to squeal, boss, and wear a princess dress
She embraces her role as little sister well
She gets Jacob aggravated and then comes to tell
We really adore all the little girl stuff
Pink is a word we can not hear enough
Their imaginations are beautiful works of art
It is hard to tell where their make believe ends and reality starts
With our two amazing gifts in tow
This house has more love than we thought we could know
We feel humbled and grateful to the Lord above
For blessing our house with unconditional love
Our year has been full of blessings big and small
And pray the same is true for you all
So from the Darr’s; Jacob, Annika, Krista and David
And we can’t forget the one and only three legged
We send you our love and great cheer
And wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
This time of year has found us again
A time we remember with family and friend
We pray this letter finds you secure in His grip
With a warm mug of hot cocoa to enjoy and to sip
Our year has been blessed to say the least
We thank the Lord and to him our hearts feast
Our little gifts are growing like mad
They are funny, smart and rarely sad
They are cute, witty and extremely shy
Dare we say it, they sometimes lie
We truly love parenting our amazing dears
The overwhelming joy can often bring tears
This year Jacob went from toddler to boy
He changed liked crazy but he still remains coy
He is constantly talking and playing make believe
There is forever something up his sleeve
He is so cuddly, so loving, so kind
Except of course when he doesn’t mind
He loves to learn and try as he may
He can not keep us and the camera at bay
From Letters and months to songs and rhymes
Jacob mantra for learning is, “in my own time”
He constantly surprises us with what he may know
Despite his attempt to NOT let it show
Our little Annika is about to turn two
She is willing and able to try anything new
This year for her was just the beginning
She learned to walk, talk, run and even started singing
She potty trained herself four months ago
and she is still a huge master of the word NO
Annika is often the damsel in distress
She loves to squeal, boss, and wear a princess dress
She embraces her role as little sister well
She gets Jacob aggravated and then comes to tell
We really adore all the little girl stuff
Pink is a word we can not hear enough
Their imaginations are beautiful works of art
It is hard to tell where their make believe ends and reality starts
With our two amazing gifts in tow
This house has more love than we thought we could know
We feel humbled and grateful to the Lord above
For blessing our house with unconditional love
Our year has been full of blessings big and small
And pray the same is true for you all
So from the Darr’s; Jacob, Annika, Krista and David
And we can’t forget the one and only three legged
We send you our love and great cheer
And wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
The day after Christmas is David’s Birthday and the celebration is usually pretty low key. Sorry sweetie. We had dinner at my patents, opened a few gift, had four different kinds of cake (yum) and then David, Julie and Ken headed out to see a movie. As might be expected his birthday sometimes is a little under the radar. All I can say though is this day is one of my favorite days solely because it is the day this amazing man was born. I appreciate him more each year I have with him and this year was no exception. Ugh I love this husband of mine.
The 27th we had a surprise Birthday party for my Mom. Yep…her 30-30 Birthday! Man was she SURPRISED!!!! Her real Birthday is the 1st of January but in order for Ken and Julie to be here as well as my Uncle Terry and Aunt Cindy we decided to have it early. Ken and Julie were suppose to be home leaving for Ohio but they changed their flights and we never told my Mom, so fun. There were of course tears and then an amazing evening. A fun night of Great family, friends and food, I can say without a doubt that she really enjoyed her Birthday. In true Darr fashion, I wrote her a poem for the toast. So please celebrate with me this remarkable woman that I get to call Mom!
Mom’s 60th Birthday Poem/Toast
Glad you could all celebrate this joyful Event
So relax, pull up a chair, sit back…pitch a tent
Whatever you choose please come celebrate
The life of someone we can not recreate
For our lovely amazing Jenny Sue
Is for all of us a dream come true.
This wife, mother, sister. aunt, Mother-in law and friend
Is one we give thanks for again and again.
Life for her started 60 short years past
When she was born into a family that was simply a blast
A father with a strict military mindset
But a heart so soft it could often be bent
Her mother was wise and decidedly so
She taught her much of what she may know
She had two bothers who entertained her well
That’s right; a crocodile pit is where she fell
You can asked her that story though, I won’t spoil her fun
For this life she could tell you is a miraculous one
She experienced great loss with untimely deaths
And her brothers are missed with her every breath
What is amazing to watch is how she chooses to stand
She finds strength in God and his mighty hand
She mostly decides to keep her emotions inside
But one deep look in her eyes and she has nothing to hide
Stay with me here we have a little more looking back
To a time when a great love was merely a shack
I know Mom and Dad would agree
The depth of their love was not one they could foresee
For each year together has brought more than attraction
Now their incredible love resides in a love mansion.
It started out small and grew into much more
Even if working together is still sometimes a chore
More often than not they look at each other with fondness and affection
For their marriage has developed into almost complete perfection
So a daughter, sister and wife we did cover
Now comes her incredible journey as Mother
First came her genius, witty, handsome son
Followed by an even more perfect one
Our credit though must go back to her
She’s a Mom who radiates impeccable character
She is courageous, smart and full of unconditional love
A mother who came from up above
Her role as spoiling caring Grandma suites her well
She has mastered the phrase “do not tell”
She teaches them, bakes with them, loves them and more
She takes great care of the two I adore
She is always willing to offer support
She is good with advice and the truest of sports
Now lets talk about the friend that she is to you and to me
For in her the best of ourselves we do see
She is always ready to listen to ramble
She is often there when we take a big gamble
Let face it she is loyal and as true as can be
She will always be there for you and for me
So please join me now by raising your glass
And celebrating this woman who has so much class
Jenny Sue you are a remarkable one
Our lives without you would not be as fun
You bless us and love us more than you know
Our appreciation for you we desire to show
We are toasting you now to show our thankfulness
To let you know, all of us you have blessed
We love you Mom!!!
Glad you could all celebrate this joyful Event
So relax, pull up a chair, sit back…pitch a tent
Whatever you choose please come celebrate
The life of someone we can not recreate
For our lovely amazing Jenny Sue
Is for all of us a dream come true.
This wife, mother, sister. aunt, Mother-in law and friend
Is one we give thanks for again and again.
Life for her started 60 short years past
When she was born into a family that was simply a blast
A father with a strict military mindset
But a heart so soft it could often be bent
Her mother was wise and decidedly so
She taught her much of what she may know
She had two bothers who entertained her well
That’s right; a crocodile pit is where she fell
You can asked her that story though, I won’t spoil her fun
For this life she could tell you is a miraculous one
She experienced great loss with untimely deaths
And her brothers are missed with her every breath
What is amazing to watch is how she chooses to stand
She finds strength in God and his mighty hand
She mostly decides to keep her emotions inside
But one deep look in her eyes and she has nothing to hide
Stay with me here we have a little more looking back
To a time when a great love was merely a shack
I know Mom and Dad would agree
The depth of their love was not one they could foresee
For each year together has brought more than attraction
Now their incredible love resides in a love mansion.
It started out small and grew into much more
Even if working together is still sometimes a chore
More often than not they look at each other with fondness and affection
For their marriage has developed into almost complete perfection
So a daughter, sister and wife we did cover
Now comes her incredible journey as Mother
First came her genius, witty, handsome son
Followed by an even more perfect one
Our credit though must go back to her
She’s a Mom who radiates impeccable character
She is courageous, smart and full of unconditional love
A mother who came from up above
Her role as spoiling caring Grandma suites her well
She has mastered the phrase “do not tell”
She teaches them, bakes with them, loves them and more
She takes great care of the two I adore
She is always willing to offer support
She is good with advice and the truest of sports
Now lets talk about the friend that she is to you and to me
For in her the best of ourselves we do see
She is always ready to listen to ramble
She is often there when we take a big gamble
Let face it she is loyal and as true as can be
She will always be there for you and for me
So please join me now by raising your glass
And celebrating this woman who has so much class
Jenny Sue you are a remarkable one
Our lives without you would not be as fun
You bless us and love us more than you know
Our appreciation for you we desire to show
We are toasting you now to show our thankfulness
To let you know, all of us you have blessed
We love you Mom!!!
Next came the New Year which we celebrated with a penguin party. My Mom and I make matching PJ’s every Christmas for family and friend kids. This year they were penguin print! We decided to have a penguin party to get the kids together for some nostalgic (dorky) picture opportunities. Yes my friends, I am one of those…….a bit nerdy. I remember loving it as a kid though and I know for at least a few years mine will also. We dearly missed two of our fellow penguin PJ buddies but they were sick and had family in town. The rest of us made gingerbread houses, ran around the house like crazy, ate our gingerbread houses, ran around like crazy some more, watched a couple of movies and then stayed up till midnight to toast in the new year with some apple cider. Jacob had his first slumber party in his own room! This for us was the perfect way to start the New Year!
1. We are great Friends, the best of friends really.
2. We love to make each other laugh! We sometimes try a little to hard J
3. He calls me “gorgeous”, I call him “Sweetie”.
4. We grow closer each year….God is working really hard on our behalf!
5. A great night out for us is reading at Barnes and Noble with a cup of coffee.
6. We have very different tastes in Movies….makes life interesting.
7. We love new adventures.
8. We love spending time outside together.
9. We both like to snuggle ( not sure he would want me to tell you that)
10. We can finish each others sentences as yet more often than not I have no idea what he is thinking.
11. We still hold hands and he still opens my door.
12. I love that there is still much to learn about each other!
Happy Anniversary my Sweet Man! Here is to another 12!
3 comments:
Congratulations...on EVERYTHING! What a great memory for your mom. I'm sure everyone loved your toast! And happy birthday Annika!
I love your family poem from Christmas. So sweet! Congratulations on 12 years!
Yay! I am so glad you all had so much fun! Your pajamas are amazing Krista!
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