::a long december (post)::

After reading Caroline's blog, I decided to do a big December post too so I don't leave anything out. Here we go...

So let's start with Coopie being 1 month old (on Dec. 17th). Who does he look like??

Cooper @ 1 month

Porter @ 1 month

Chloe @ 1 month

Chloe had a PJ party at school on her last day before the Christmas break. She got to wear PJs, slipper, and take her pillow. They watched Frosty the Snowman, had snacks, and the teachers did their quarterly progress reports on the kids...Chloe got great marks! Mastery on EVERYTHING!!

Then the next day she had a little Christmas recital at the middle school. The kids sang 10 songs and Santa came afterwards. It was SO cute! They were to be in their "best dress," so Chloe got to get a new dress for the occasion. We thought she looked pretty cute ;)

Every December 23, Matt's mom and Aunt Deanne and Amberlee go over to Grandpa Halling's house to make fry cakes (sort of like a scone). It's fun to go over and talk to Grandpa and keep the tradition of fry cake making alive.

On Christmas Eve, we get together with Matt's family (his siblings and all their kids and his mom and dad) for a little party and gift exchange.

We had a party with Matt's extended family on both sides (mom and dad), but I didn't get any pictures of the Jeppsen side (sorry-forgot my camera). Papa with the guitar came for a visit too, but I didn't get any pictures of that either (JEEZ!! I'll do better next time).

The Halling side was fun too-all the great grandkids do a gift exchange, Matt's Uncle Steve plays his guitar while everyone sings Christmas songs, and we have a great dinner.

On Christmas Eve, we all open presents from eachother (always jammies).
Christmas Day!!!

Grandma Kitty's house

watchin' some Kobe


opening presents

new toys!


Whew!! We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!!

::next year::

Now that the prep time is over for Christmas, I've gotten an early start on my New Year's resolutions. I've decided that next year I will not be at the post office on the nationally proclaimed "busiest day of the year"

(I've been there on that day for the past 2 years trying to mail boxes to all my grandparents).

Next year, I'll finish ALL of my Christmas shopping the week before Christmas, not Dec. 23. I had to go to the store last night to get some last minute things (mostly stocking stuffers), and most everything was picked over and gone!!

It's been a fun season so far. The kids are SO excited about Santa (more Chloe than Port, but probably cause she's older). They try to be good so Santa will bring them some presents. We've talked about why we give presents and what Christmas is about, and Chloe understands pretty well (for a 5-year-old). It's been a little stressful this year, but also REALLY fun! I LOVE Christmas shopping and giving gifts. We have a family Christmas party today and Santa comes tonight!! We're so excited!

Merry Chirstmas to all! We love you all!!

::papa's birthday::

Happy Birthday, Papa!!

We celebrated "papa-with-the-kitty's" birthday on Saturday with lunch, some cake, some presents, and some time at the kangaroo zoo.

Papa had LOTS of help with the candles :)

So the Kangaroo Zoo has some new rules that say you can't play on the inflatables if you're over 150 lbs! That ruled Matt out!! He was really sad! He loves that place! The kids were sad too; they love when we go down all the slides with them. I went down a few slides with the them, but I don't jump over the edges and flip around like Matt, so it wasn't the same. It was a fun day anyway, I just don't think we'll probably go to the Kanga Zoo for a while.

::so this is Christmas...::

Don't you LOVE this time of year??


We decorated our tree...


...saw Santa...





...and wore a cool Santa t-shirt

::big ol' hahoe::

For Saric (and anybody else who wants to see our new car :) )

Here's our new car! We couldn't all fit in the Cadillac :( so we had to get something bigger. And it's definitely bigger! Matt's brother said "that's a lotta car for Amy" haha. I'm still getting used to driving it. It's nice to have all the room-it can seat 9 if we need it to. The kids like it too. Portie calls it a "Hahoe," and Chloe calls it the "big ol' Tahoe." We don't look cool anymore (drivin' down the road), now we just look like a big family...but that's okay :)

See where we bought it?? Denam Auto Brokers

Chloe thought I was taking her picture :)

::lost & found::

So we sold our Cadillac a few weeks ago, and tonight the guy that bought it called us and said he found my wallet under the front seat!

How long has it been missing?? 2 YEARS!!! I took Chloe to gymnastics one morning, and shoved it under the seat while we went in, and it was gone when we came out. I looked and looked ALL OVER that car for the stupid thing, and never found it! I looked again when we sold the car to make sure we didn't leave anything in it.

All this time it was right there!! I had worried about who had my wallet and drivers license and ss# for 2 years, and it was in my car the whoooole time!! I'm probably the only person in the whole world who would lose her wallet in her own car for 2 years!

::coop's first week::

This last week has been nice-calm & comfy. We've been home since Thursday, and everything's good. Cooper's breathing, eating, and sleeping well, and the other kids are just in LOVE with him. He's a week old now, and everything's great!

Papa-with-the-guitar came for a visit to see the new guy. The kids had lots of fun with him...he brought 'em lots of toys from Dollar Tree (his fav), and he took Chloe shopping to get some clothes and things for all the grandkids. She's a good shopper-wonder where she gets that from...

I guess the flash was a little bright :)

She always wants to hold "Coopie"

a snuggle with daddy...

...and one with mommy ;)

(Chloe took the picture-pretty good, right?)

they're good helpers

wiiiiiiiide awake :)

::Lord give me strength (???)::

We've all heard the advice "don't ever pray for strength." Well, I didn't (I'm complete Jello inside and I'm okay with it!), but my strength was tested anyways.

This week baby Cooper was born! Things went well for about the first 12 hours. After that the drs and nurses began to get concerned about his rapid breathing and elevated heart rate. After getting some extra fluids through IV, he had a chest x-ray that revealed fluid in his lungs. So then he was treated for pneumonia and received 2 different types of antibiotics through IV. He also had blood cultures drawn to monitor any bacterial growth in his blood that would indicate infection. Anyway...long story short...we had a loong, sad, emotional week. It was SO hard to see our sweet new baby hooked up to machines and IVs. It was SO hard to say goodnight to my other two babies at the hospital and watch them cry as they walked away. We finally got to come home Thursday night, and all is well.

I know this is minor compared to what some parents go through with their sick babies, but it was hard nonetheless. I think I've been strengthened even though I didn't ask for it. The Lord wants to make something of the Jello that's inside. We're glad to be home as a family again and are enjoying our new baby :)

Cooper Lee was born on Monday (11-17) just after 4pm. Weighed 7lbs 15oz and 21 inches long.