Tinkertoy Fun

We got Levi some Tinker Toys for Christmas. Jason put together a guitar and microphone stand for him and he started singing All the Earth Will Sing Your Praises by Lincoln Brewster. It was so funny! And that song must have just been on his heart because we hadn't heard it in ages.

Story Time with Mrs. Clause

Mrs. Clause came for story time at the library today! He enjoyed "helping" her and I'm not sure what this face is all about... except once I put the camera down, THEN he smiled. Typical! :)

A Bittersweet Birthday

Well, I celebrated my 33rd birthday yesterday. It was a very unusual day. First of all, it was rainy and cold which around here is pretty much unheard of and it's been this way for about five days which is really unheard of. So I definitely was missing the sunshine. Then of course, Levi chose to be pretty defiant and I had to discipline him several times before lunch. Didn't he know he was supposed to be nice on my birthday!!! :) Anyway, we went to Wal-Mart and I noticed I had a voicemail. I listened to it while Levi was watching the fish in the pet department. My good friends from Good Shepherd Preschool where I worked for five years while living in Illinois, called me and sang Happy Birthday! I immediately started crying and seriously couldn't stop for most of the day. I just miss working with them and seeing them almost every day so much. Later in the day, I tried to lay down for a nap while Levi was napping thinking it would help with my crazy emotions when two more good friends from Illinois called and sang Happy Birthday to me too! I visited with one of them for quite a while and couldn't help but bawl my eyes out after we hung up. So much for napping and trying to get my emotions under control!

Later that night, some of our life group came over and they brought me a Baskin Robbins cholocate mint ice cream cake which is my absolute favorite birthday cake! Jason didn't know they were bringing it and he brought me a Snickers cake with "Happy 33rd Kelli" written on it and everything! How thoughtful! So even after a sad day of missing my good friends in Illinois, I was blessed with an evening of hanging out and playing games with my new friends in Arizona. Overall, this morning as I write, I'm just overwhelmed with thankfulness that I have so many friends across the country. I've been addressing Christmas letters to people in Nebraska, Kentucky, Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma, Illinois, and New Hampshire. Thank you for your friendship! I am so blessed!

On my way to bed last night, I'm pretty sure I said "Boy, I'm glad this day's over." Heeheehee. And another year begins...

Catching up

Well, it's been way too long since I blogged last, so I thought I'd take some time to catch you all up on the going's on of the Price house.

Levi was a cowboy for Halloween and we went to church for a costume party, games, hay ride, etc. He had fun and looked really cute. I'll get pictures up at some point... camera issues. For Thanksgiving we had some of our staff from church and some college students come over for lunch. All of us were kind of "homeless" for the holiday and it worked out really well for us to be able to host Thanksgiving dinner. It's such a blessing to have a home that is more conducive to having company.

We joined the YMCA last week so it's been nice getting to work out again. Of course, I'm seriously sore but I remember the end result and boy am I ready for that! Slipping on my clothes instead of stuffing myself inside them! :) Levi gets to do tumbling once a week and this last Tuesday was his first day. I think he'll really like it once he gets the hang of it. I did a lot of redirecting but he did well. Hopefully, I'll get to take some pictures once he doesn't need me so much.

It's been fun talking about and planning for Christmas this year with Levi being older and able to understand and talk about Jesus' birthday. We're looking forward to Christmas morning with little man and beginning our own family traditions. He's so much fun right now, two year old fits and all. We'll drive to Texas after Christmas to be with my immediate and extended family. We've not all been together at my Granny and Papaw's house since before Levi was born and it's such a special place for me. I am looking forward to it more than I can say....

Well, I'm certain I'll have pictures up after Christmas. I hope that all of you know that, regardless of circumstances, we are all so very blessed, and I pray that we can truly enjoy the fact that it's during this time of the year where most people might actually think of Jesus the Christ. Christmas always brings tears to my eyes and a knot to my throat because no matter what one's belief, people can't deny the CHRIST in Christmas and hopefully God's word can be proclaimed again even unto those not looking for it. For example, we went downtown this last Saturday night to the courthouse lighting. We had been told about it and wanted to experience it for ourselves. To our amazement, the narrator began reading the Christmas story straight from Scripture with Christmas hymns being sung intermixed with the reading. I could tell the lady standing near me was not amused but it didn't matter. God's word was being proclaimed not in a church building, but right there on government property! I found myself praying that His word would not come back void and that those people would be able to truly experience the Christ.

We love you and miss you all... May this Christmas hold many wonderful memories for you and your family and may we all truly experience Jesus as we give Christmas back to Him.

Flagstaff Skyride

Last Friday Jason took me and Levi up north a little bit to Flagstaff, AZ. His intention was to let me see some changing of the leaves but because of a cold snap earlier in the month, they mostly had already fallen off. (But wasn't it great that he was thinking of me! He's such a wonderful husband!) So instead, we got to ride a ski lift up the mountain. It was a bright, sunny day just a little brisk but beautiful. It was a little nervewracking sitting on the lift with Levi but he loved it and did great. We went up to 11,500 feet and wow, what a view!

Potty Training Update

Well, I can positively say that Levi is fully potty trained! Hurray!!! He has done a fantastic job and does both duties in the potty with no problems. I'm so proud of him and can't believe he's so big. Thanks for all the encouraging words! Believe me, I needed them! :)

Pumpkin Festival

Today we took Levi to a Pumpkin Festival in Chino Valley. It was a chilly, windy morning with an overcast sky, which is unusual around here. But it finally feels like fall and we had a wonderful family time. The festival had kiddie jumpers, pumpkins, pony rides and a feeding/petting zoo. Levi's favorite part was feeding and petting the animals. He was so comfortable amongst them that he just picked up bunnies and chicks and loved on them. It was so sweet! The people there were very nice and let us have lots of time with the animals and the pony. It was the first weekend for it to be open and we got there right at opening time so we pretty much had the whole place to ourselves. Hope you enjoy the photos! Happy Fall!