Lots to catch up on

2009 has come and gone and we have been very busy since then.  Once again we went chugging down the railroads tracks to North Dakota to be with family over the holidays.  Blessedly, we were able to spend about a week with both sides of the family!  It was the first time in three years that Tyler's entire family, plus two new additions (Caleb and Trevor's wife, Kristen) have been together.  Needless to say the Lord provided just an amazing time for us to all be together and celebrate the birth of our Savior.  It was even more difficult to leave this year, knowing that we will not see Tyler's family for a long time and that Caleb will not get to be spoiled by his grandparents very often!  Family is so precious, this we are  being reminded of every day now that our family continues to grow.

Tyler has now settled into his internship position at Spokane Turbine Center (STC).  However, he never exactly knows what he'll be doing each day!  There are still a lot of things that need to get done as STC gets on their feet, and he is assigned to a variety of tasks.  One of the main projects he has been working on is developing a curriculum for the Kodiak systems.  The men that come and study will soon have a workbook to use for study and to take home for future reference.  This has been a challenging but fun project for him to be working on.

Renae just recently chose to take a leave of absence for the remainder of the school year so that she can stay at home with Caleb.  God's timing could not have been more perfect, as Caleb came down with an awful virus just a day after she finished her final day of teaching and performing a choir concert with her kids!  He has been a pretty sick baby for the last week, but is finally acting like his normal self except with a bit of a cough still.  She is so excited to stay at home and focus on being a home-maker, wife, and mommy.

Caleb is such a joy in our lives!  Nothing makes us smile more than hearing him laugh and seeing him growing and happy.  He loves to play on the floor with his toys, putting everything in his mouth!  He rolls over all the time, and has tried to get his knees under him...but still has some work to do there before crawling.  He loves his baths, jumping in his jumping johnny, eating vegetables, kicking his legs almost constantly, touching our faces, and so much more!  We are just so thankful to have a healthy baby boy to love and experience life with. 

We are enjoying being the hosts of the STC guesthouse.  It has been a huge blessing to us, allowing Renae to take this leave of absence to stay home.  Recently we are renovating our kitchen to give us a little more room for the table.  Tyler is enjoying the hands on work and learning about construction.  He also loves having a garage with plenty of space for him to get his hands dirty working on different projects, one of which is his love for fixing airsoft guns!