Floor 96

We had such a good time with Julie, Tom, Abby, and Jake in Chicago. Luke was on cloud 96 when we went to floor 96 of the John Hancock Building. Now he likes it so much he wants to live there. We also took the train from Logan Square to downtown. We rode for a total of 1.5 hours and the boys wanted to ride longer. Eva loved having more playmates. They used every toy Jake and Abby had. We loved catching up with Julie and Tom.

Old Friends

Since college one of my college friends has lived in China and is now back and the other moved to PA and is now in Spain.  It just so happened that they were all at my house last Sunday.  It was so great to catch up with everyone.  It is great to see parenthood bring out the best in friends.  I wish we could be closer.

 Here is Eva fixing the dishwasher.  It now works great!  Drains every time and is clean inside.

Christmas Grace

"Acts of grace that go beyond the Christmas spirit, a sense of humor that is undeniably your own, a way of listening that always make me feel so understood, I am grateful for your kindness and understanding...
You have made my life richer, happier, and better in more ways that you can know.  Merry Christmas"

This is a Christmas card I recieved from a patient.  Its one card I just can't put away.  It is one of the reasons that I love my job.  I truly think I have one of the best jobs.  I know this because I would do it every day without getting paid.  I love everyone of my patients and learn so much from them.  I feel one of my gifts is the gift of mercy.  Helping people recover from pain and injury allows me to use this gift.

Some moms say their job is a great break from their kids.  I have never felt this way.  I would rather be with my kids.  At work I have more people to nurture and care for every minute of the day.  It is certainly not relaxing and I am challenged often. I am still grateful for those who helped me with my education so I can do what I do.

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day

We spent Christmas Eve with Alyssa's side of the family.  Both Luke and Eva got to be angels as a part of the church service we attended.  Eva actually made it through the entire service because she was able to sit on at least 6 different laps.  After a nice dinner we then got to open presents.  Luke favorite present of the night was the new Hot Wheels track and accessories.  Eva's favorite was definitely her baby stroller. 

Christmas Day we traveled to be with my family in the afternoon.  We had great food and opened gifts.  Luke's favorite presents were his puzzle map of the United states, bird feeder, and first official calculator (because he can make big numbers).  Eva loved her Mickey Mouse and pink dump truck.

I enjoyed five days of vacation to spend with my wife and kids.  This year both kids were excited for Christmas and somehow it made everything more fun.  We are lucky to have most of our family close that we can share the time with both families. 

My sister Jackie and her husband Riley are sitting with Eva wrapped up in the quilt Jackie made for Eva.

 Luke and Eva are trying to stand still for the picture by the tree in their matching PJ's - this is the best one I got.

 She's my babe...

 Grandma and Grandpa Krause...

 Eva with her new pink dump truck acting silly.

There is no Place Like Home for the Holidays

It certainly would not be Christmas with out time with the family.  I love spending time with our immediate family and extended family.  We started a new tradition of sleeping over at my sister's house on Dec 23.  The kids had such a great time.  We went sledding, hiking, out to lunch, watched a movie and played games.  The day before, Eva got her first hair cut.  She had her hair braided then put in pigtails with red clips and then finished with sparkle hair spray.  I loved it even more than her.

 These are pictures a few weeks back when we were putting up our tree.

Sweet Things

Christmas time is certainly wonderful. We just spent the weekend at a Christmas party for Dave's work and a Christmas party for our Church. We are so thankful for our friends. I will add the pictures once I get them. In the meantime we made a gingerbread village with Santa's shop, a bakery, a chalet, and a bank. On Saturday I spent the morning with some girl friends from church and we had a cookie exchange. I came home and Dave had made cookies with the kids. You can tell whose look much better, they are labeled below.

Dave, Luke, and Eva's cookies...

My cookies...

Do I have time to read one more phone book?

Well, I thought it was a little weird when Luke started reading phone books.  He started with one and now has a set of five.   He will read the numbers on every page and yell out when he gets to his favorite numbers.  This all made sense after I went to Luke's conference.  His teacher talked about his intense passion for numbers.  He can focus on one number activity for over two hours.  Miss Kim has only had one other student in 32 years that has completed some of the works Luke has in one sitting. 

 The four chain, it totals 4 cubed (64).  He counts every bead.

 This work helps the children understand the law of Pythagoras.

 The flags of North America.

...and grading shades of color

 Luke doing laundry.

One other accomplishment that made me laugh is that Luke can now jump over Eva's head in a straddle jump style just like Derek Hough.  He starts on a small chair behind her.  It made me laugh for at least five minutes.  We all watch "Dancing with the Stars" together and he has picked up some new skills.  Sorry, no picture of that one.