Christmas Smiles and New Year Wishes

Well, we had a wonderful Christmas surrounded by tons of Tharp Family, which was so much fun. We hope you all were filled with joy and wonder also. I am just so amazed at how much fun it is to have an older child like Natalie who finally understand what the season is all about. It was great to watch her and Madison play and get excited about everything. Natalie even stayed awake the whole way home from church Christmas Eve so she could feed Santa's reindeer. They must have been hungry after their trip around the world because they ate it all! It was just such a true joy, I can't wait for it again next year! Beckett was a trooper and just went with the flow of everything. He is such a special, content baby.

We headed to Hyattville for visiting and church Christmas Eve, then to Great Grandma Phyllis's for dinner...here is a catalogue of the last two days!

Grandma Jill, Grandpa Guy, Madison and Natalie at Church.

The girls showing off their new church clothes...

Great Grandma Phyllis and Great Grandpa Elmer with their great-grands.

Madison couldn't wait to hold Baby Beckett. She's very gentle with him.

We did Christmas morning at our house, which isn't hard to do before we go back to Hyattville because a certain little miss still likes to get up around 5:30 or so! We got up early and looked at Santa's gifts and made a little breakfast. It was a beautiful, relaxing morning. This is the first year I was completely content and absolutely happy for the Christmas holiday. Our family just feels so complete and is the best blessing I could have wished for. Maybe that feeling comes with age (he he he) but I really can't describe it other than completely content. What an amazing feeling! That sounded way too cliche, but that's all I could say.

Grandma Jill and Grandpa Guy got the girls (Beckett got a puppy) these very real looking kitties that actually have batteries inside and "breathe." Their sides go in and out and they look very real! Natalie named hers Sammy, but I think it has since changed.

Here she is LOVING the horse music/jewelry box that Nana and Papa Brooks sent her. I've had to take it away and put it up in a safe place because she just wants to carry it around everywhere!

Daddy with the babes...

Opening gifts at our house...

And the added bonus to a perfect morning was Kyle's gift. I had no idea what it was, but he designed a mother's ring for me at a jewler in Bllings! He remembered I said a while back I would like one some day, and I was thinking for a 10-year anniversary gift or something! Anyway, it is absolutely beautiful, alternating my birthstone (diamonds) with one for Natalie, Beckett and himself. He said it would need to be sized, but it fit perfectly. It took my breath away. I'm so lucky to be married to such a loving, thoughtful guy!

After the gift exchange at Jill's later that morning, we all headed across the road to give our horses a little Christmas treat...a bag of juicy apples. Here is my favorite four-legged boy of all time. Joey is the one horse I could never sell. He's18 years old this year and is still so sweet.

There's something so simply beautiful about seeing horses in a field of snow...it just captures winter in the wide open spaces.

Grandma Jill and Madison feeding my mare Roxanne.

Nataile feeding Grandpa Guy's beautiful colt Beuford.

And here is what we woke up to this morning...a whiteout and blizzard conditions! We had dinner at Aunt Pam's house in Hyattville with about 25 other family members, which was a lot of fun, then we headed home with every intention of going back out today to visit some more. But unless this blows over soon, the weather report says no unnecessary travel for our area.

We missed seeing my side of the family, but we talked with everyone on the phone and hope to maybe get some of them out this way next year! We hope you all were as blessed as we were yesterday and may you all have a safe and happy New Year! Many, many, many hugs to all.

Christmas Magic

It really is the most wonderful time of the year!


It is so wonderful to have two amazing kids in the house, with it all decorated and watching tree lights and reading the Nativity Story. I just feel so blessed every moment lately. I've been spending a lot of time with Natalie when I put her to bed because it seems like that's our good quality time when I can pay attention to only her. Beckett is usually dozing then, so it works out very well. We talk about the day, read stories and sing a song (her favorite Christmas song hands down is "Jingle Bells"). Well, last night Natalie brought tears to my eyes. We don't say prayers every night, mostly because sometimes it's a struggle just to get into bed and be quiet, but on the good nights where everything goes smoothly we've started to get into the routine of bedtime prayers. I feel it's just a nice way to be thankful for the day and focus on what's really important, and I do most of my own praying in the quiet of night. Anyway, I knew thay had been working on prayer in Sunday School, but last night was a pleasant surprise. She imediately folded her hands and said, "God bless..." and continued to list our whole family, grandparents included, and her friend Jeremiah that works with Jill at the store. It was such a touching moment. Usually I explain what prayers are and do most of the talking because she doesn't offer anything to say, but last night she took over, which was magical. SHARON, know you are making such a wonderful difference in these kids' lives at Sunday School! Thank you for being such a great teacher.

OK, now that I've cleared the tears from my eyes, here's the school project Nattie brought home last week that is hanging in the kitchen.

And I managed to catch Little Man Beckett in the middle of a belly laugh the other day. Hard to believe he's going to be 4 months old in a couple of weeks! He is so close to rolling over on his own that is should be any day now. He can get almost all the way over, just needs to work on that last little kick!

Work has been on the slow side for Kyle this week, so I'm hoping he doesn't get sent to North Dakota again around Christmas. They are super busy and always need help up there. He is on call Christmas and has the next 3 days off after that, so we'll keep our fingers crossed. We are so excited to see Madison, Karrie and Chad next week, and Daddy will turn the big 32 Dec. 30. We are also so excited to meet the new Griemsman baby due any time now! I'm sure he'll be adorable. Speaking of adorable children, looks like my prayers about getting a trip to Columbus will come true in January! Kyle has a 3-day weekend at the end of the month and wants to go to Billings, so Smith Family, here we come! We'll finally get to meet Gracie and catch up with "my college mommies" Suzi and Lauren. It is so fun to have kids the same age!

We hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday, and we'll post Christmas pictures next week!!! Love and peace to you all.

Ho Ho Ho

Well, we've now got our shopping complete and most of our cards ready to mail out, so we're in good shape! We really cut back on gifts this year, which is so nice. I agreed with most of our friends to just do little things like cookies and photos, and it is such a joy to not have a lot of shopping stress. I've heard rumors that this economic crisis is going to get a lot worse over the next few years before it gets better, so it feels good to put our extra pennies into service projects around town to help those most in need.

Today after church the Sunday School class and parents went on a field trip to Pamida to buy gifts for children off the "Angel Tree." The angel tree helps kids locally get gifts when their parents can't do it. It was quite the adventure to take so many little ones at once to shop for things they couldn't have, but it was a great lesson for them and good fellowship all around. After we spent the alloted funds, we took the kids to the local pizza parlor to wrap the gifts and have lunch. We had a great age range, with the two youngest being one year old twin girls (I guess Beckett was technically the youngest, but we spent a lot of time in the car changing messy pants and outfits while Daddy was in the store). It was so fun to visit with the other parents (including some daddies) and see the kids get excited about helping others. Sharon, our super-amazingly-awesome Sunday School teacher, explained to the kids that Christmas isn't all about gifts, but that we use the gifts as a symbol for each other as we remember that Jesus was God's gift to us. I thought that was a great way to explain how the gifts fit into Jesus's birthday. Anyway, here are some pictures from yesterday...

Sally's Classic Pizza looked a little like Santa's workshop...


Natalie helping Katie put tape on their packages...pizza was a little more pressing for Natalie at the time, but she did help me wrap gifts for Daddy and Grandpa at home this week.

Baby Beckett hanging out while supervising the festivities...

Nattie and her pizza...she ate three pieces.

And here are all the kids standing with their gifts. It was a lot of fun!

We hope you all are staying warm and toasty...when I went to the gym at 6:30 this morning it was -17, and I think we may get up into the 20's today! The weather hit hard this weekend. We didn't make it to a baby shower we wanted to go to on Saturday in Hyattville after we turned around when we slid through a stop sign in town. With no more play time outside for the little ones, we're already getting a bit stir crazy inside! These days just make us so thankful to have warm homes and good jobs so we can keep it heated. We went up to Billings to get one last gift Monday while Kyle was off, and we had every intention of getting to Columbus to meet Baby Gracie. However, wouldn't you know it that Kyle got called back to work early and ended up going to North Dakota until Friday! He barely beat this storm back, and for that we are truly grateful. But I'm dying for some Mommy time with Suzi and to meet Gracie...so a good visit to Columbus gives us something to look forward to in January!!!

Natalie made the most adorable Christmas tree art project at school the other day, so I will try to remember to take a picture of it to share with everyone. It just warms my heart. I'll sign off with a beautiful poem her teachers sent home this week that really captures the magic children bring to our lives if we just slow down and listen.

GIVE US THE SPIRIT OF THIS CHILD

Give us the spirit of this child; Give us the child within.

The child who trusts, the child who imagines, the child who sings.

The child who receives without reservation, the child who gives without judgment.

Give us a child's eyes, that we may receive the beauty and freshness of the day like a sunrise.

Give us a child's ears, that we may hear the music of mythical times;

Give us a child's heart, that we may be filled with wonder and delight;

Give us a child's faith, that we may be cured of our cynicism;

Give us the spirit of the child who is not afraid to need; who is not afraid to love; who is not afraid to believe in miracles. ~Sara Moores Campbell

"Joy to the world and peace on Earth."

December Is Here!!!

WOW... What a trip! We had a lot of fun visiting friends and family, but we are glad to be back in our own beds after 11 days on the road. The kids were really good for the most part on the plane ride, but it is definitely something I'm not ready to tackle on my own yet with two babes! We spent the first part of the trip in Washington with my dad and the second part in Oregon with my mom. All along the way we got to visit with friends and shop, even eat great shushi (as always, thanks Karen and Seth for the goos times and laughs). I was, however, very disappointed that Beckett and little Leyah couldn't meet. The weekend we got there she was hospitalized with meningitis, which was very scary. She finally broke her 104 fever and got to go home after a few days, but she wasn't to be around kids or held by others much for two weeks. We'll have to try again this summer! I did get to have a wonderful visit with her momma and LOOK at her, though, and she is beautiful! Anyway, we are now gearing up for a fun Christmas at home with a visit from Aunt Karrie, Cousin Madison and Uncle Chad. We got the tree up yesterday, and for the first time Natalie helped me decorate. It was great. We hope you all had a blessed Thanksgiving, and here are some of our pictures...


Aunties Sumner and Hannah...it was so much fun to see my sisters!!! Congrats Auntie Hannah on scoring an A on her big nursing exam this week.


We took Natalie to ride on the carousel (spelling?) in Washington. It is the fastest one in the world at 10 miles per hour! I actually got a little dizzy.

Beckett got to meet Great Aunt Shirley and Karen in Vancouver.

Here is the "10th Street Gang" the day after Thanksgiving...what a fun time!

Here is Natalie with her special friend Nannie Evie...

And here we are with Ipa and Jimmilea.

Grammie's house at Thanksgiving.

Our 3-month old boy!

Yes, Beckett is 3 months old today. I can hardly believe it. He's over 13 pounds now adn loves to laugh. Hope you all are doing well and getting into the Christmas spirit! Many hugs and much love to all.

Happy Thanksgiving

Well, the last week and a half have been absolutely crazy, but tons of fun. Just wanted to take a minute for a quick update and to wish everyone a HAPPY THANKSGIVING next week. We're headed to Portland this Wednesday to visit my family for the holiday and won't be back until the 30th.

In addition to getting packed and the house cleaned before we go, I've spent the last two weekends at craft fairs with my jewelry, which went well. I managed to get some more stuff made in between, so that was nice. Grandma Jill and Grandpa Guy were huge helpers by taking Natalie for both Saturdays, so the only one I had to tote around was Beckett. He's sure a draw to get people to come to my table!

Anyway, we also had company this weekend. My good friend Lauren from college came down to visit with her new baby girl, Blake. They live in Montana, and Blake is almost exactly one month older than Beckett. She was born Aug. 5 and he was Sept. 4, so it was really fun to get them together. Natalie kept calling her "Baby Two." I guess she expects we're just going to keep collecting the little ones, so we'll have to number them! Lauren and Blake spent the night Friday and headed to the craft fair with us Saturday morning, and we had a lot of fun. Lauren is such a good new mommy!

Speaking of new mommies...welcome Gracie Ella! Our other good friend from college, Suzi, had her second baby girl last Monday, and we can't wait to meet her! We miss you guys tons and hope all is going well at home. We'll see you soon!!!

Kyle had to head up to North Dakota for a few days but came home last night. Iwasn't lonely though, because I had a hot date Saturday night! After we got done cleaning up the craft fair, my friend Amanda came over for dinner and a movie, which was so much fun. We've had no big snows here yet, but probably will have some by the time we get back. Well, here are a few pictures from the last two weeks (thanks Brune!). We hope you all have a wonderful holiday and remember how truly blessed we all are! Hugs to all.

Jess with Beckett, Lauren and Blake (Beckett wasn't up for a photo)

Miss Natalie made us a picnic on the coffee table in the family room...she's a great chef!

Here she is in her new Ladybug raincoat we gave her for her birthday...Yes we have had rain.

And here is Daddy with the kiddos.

"Whether you think you can, or you think you can't, you're right."~Henry Ford

Let's Catch Up!

OK, so I've been a bit behind. We'll give you all a quick re-cap of the last week! Belated Happy Halloween. We had a fun but short evening, and the weather was really nice. Grandma Jill and I took the kids to Mandy's neighborhood to trick or treat with Taylor (Kyle was working). I knew from the get go that it would be a short night because Miss Natalie had not napped. We went over a little after six and were home a little after seven! Grandma ended up carrying her the last half of the block while I pushed the stroller, but she did really well with saying the trick or treat and thank you, so it was all good.

Princess Natalie...I couldn't get her to wear the princess gloves or crown, but she had fun.

Little Man Beckett...he wasn't in full constume, but this onesie glows in the dark!

OK, time for the next update: We celebrated Beckett Lee's Christening this weekend with family and good friends at church, and it was such a joyfull day! The only hitch was a major poo explosion that came out of the diaper five minutes before the service started...and he was already in his gown. We cleaned it up as best we could and wraped a blanket around him, so maybe not everyone saw it! But you can tell in some of these pictures. He he he. What else can you do but laugh about it! Anyway, it was a beautiful day spent with wonderful people, adn we are so grateful to be raising our kids in such a nurturing and caring church.

Pastor Jack Christening Beckett...

Beckett Lee with Great Grandpa Chauncey Lee

Momma and Daddy with their beautiful boy...

And with both of our beautiful kids...

The whole extended Tharp family who could celebrate with us...

Here's the next update: Beckett is smiling and laughing now. His smiles are getting pretty regular, but his laugh is just at its beginning stages! Natalie can make him laugh really well, and he usually smiles when I lay him on a pillow to nurse (go figure). When he laughs it's usually one giant breath with a short, loud laugh when he lets the breath out. It's so much fun to see him start to respond to Natalie and how much she likes to make him laugh. She's started calling him "sweetheart" and "big boy" like I do.

2 months old!!!

Mr. Smiley

Laughing at Sister...

Well, now for the latest update: We took Natalie off her acid reflux medication last week to see if she had started to outgrow the problem as we'd hoped she would. I'll tell you now the answer to that one is a big fat NO! She started throwing up again a lot at night and while eating, so I took her to a pediatrician in Cody Monday. He said he was concerned she may have a growth or hernia that was preventing her stomach from doing its job, so we did some tests and x-rays and there is no growth. That was a huge relief. However, her stomach acid is too strong and there is too much of it, which is something her body does naturally. She may eventually outgrow it, he said, but she may very well be on medication the rest of her life. That I can live with, especially since he said if she's not on medication and we don't repair the damage to her esophagus and stomach lining, she could get esophagial cancer at a very young age. Give us those pills!!! He put her on a new medication and she has not thrown up in 2 days! He said if we can keep her from doing so for 6 months her body should heal itself, so that's what we're praying for. She was a trooper through the whole ordeal and all the tests. Jill went with me to help since I had to take Beckett, and she was such a huge help. Thank you Jill!!! You are a blessing.

Anyway, things are looking better at our house this week, and I'm now trying to get ready for two straight weekends of craft fairs (Christmas money!). We're still waiting for news of Suzi's new baby girl due any time now, and maybe we'll get a visit soon from Lauren and Miss Blake!
We hope you all have a great week. Hugs to all.

"We all live in suspense, from day to day, from hour to hour; in other words, we are the hero of our own story." ~Mary McCarthy

Fun On The Mountain

I headed up the mountain this weekend with the kids and Jill to visit Daddy and Grandpa Guy at hunting camp. They needed toilet paper and hay for the horses...I'm not sure which need was more pressing! The weather was absolutely beautiful, and the ride up was pretty nice in the new pickup...Jill and I both took advantage of our seat warmers in the morning. That in itself is worth a few extra bucks when buying a new vehicle! Anyway, they had the stoves going for us so we stayed toasty warm, but that didn't stop Miss Natalie (now a big 3 year old) from wanting to ride a few times.

Grandpa and Natalie on Buford, Guy's colt. He has turned out to be a really special horse.

Taking a peek at the elk quarters they packed out that morning...

And here is the birthday girl in her new butterfly wings from Auntie Sumner. She loves to put them on and run around the house like crazy flapping her arms. I also got good video of it.

My beautiful butterfly...

We had fun at play group this morning and made chili with fresh tomatoes for dinner. Nattie is my helper by dumping the cans of beans in! I got some tomatoes canned this weekend with the help of my neighbor Cindy and thanks to Grandma Jill taking Natalie for a night. Kyle has been up the mountain for about a week, so I have not been getting much done on my own. He'll be home tomorrow, though, and we can't wait! I'm busy helping to organize a craft bazaar for the middle of November, which I'm really excited about. We're also excited about Beckett's baptism this coming Sunday. We wish you all from far away could be with us, but we know you'll be there in spirit. It is such a special time, and we really love our church and are excited to officially bring Beckett into our extended church family. Not much else is new here, just enjoying the cool fall weather. We hope you all have a wonderful week!


"Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing is like shoveling the walk before it stops snowing." ~Phyllis Diller