Praise the Lord!!!!

Her cast!!

Yesterday Anja got her cast on! It looks very cute - in a sad way!!

We got a HUGE praise report when she went to get her cast on. The orthopedic Dr. said it would only be about 4 weeks till she gets her cast off, verses the original 8-12 weeks we were told by the ER Dr!! Actually, because the Dr. will be on vacation in 4 weeks she gets her cast off in 3 weeks from tomorrow!! An amazing answer to prayer!!

Anja has been doing well with having to sit still - and we've been finding creative ways to keep her entertained! She has also been sleeping really well at night and her cast doesn't seem to bother her at all while sleeping.

A close-up of the cast.

Thank you for all your prayers!! We greatly appreciate them!

Anja Lu

Her splint - she gets a cast on Monday.

Yesterday Anja broke her left leg. I wasn't home, so here is an excerpt of what Ike wrote about it on his blog:

"She was crying ALOT, and that is very rare for her (this was after falling off of the bathroom counter - where she wasn't supposed to be). So we brought her to Mom, and she wouldn't put any weight on her left leg. So Mom called our Family Dr. and he suggested bringing her in to have it looked at. So we took her in to the ER and had some X-rays done, and found out that she has a small fracture in her tabula, and in the fibula behind it. It is a normal injury for toddlers between 1 & 2 years old. It will take approx. 8 - 12 weeks to heal. Right now she has a splint on it and will get a hard cast on Monday, from the same Dr. that Zack and I went to (Ike broke 3 bones in his foot 5 years ago and Zack broke his finger 2-3 years ago). Right now she can't put any weight on it and has to keep it elevated, which for her will be REALLY hard. She likes to be on the go all the time."

It's a good thing she loves reading books, because we've been doing an awful lot of that!

As well as playing cards . . . .

. . . . and she's still managed to dress-up!

Yesterday was pretty tough, but I think she's getting used to having the splint and not being able to move around. She doesn't seem to be in as much pain today either, which is an answer to prayer!

A few prayer requests are:

• That her pain wouldn't get too bad.
• She would continue to have patience to sit still.
• For a fast recovery and that she would heal well.
  

They're Home!!!

"Welcome Home Dad and Mom"
(Emmy, Elsie, Grace & Aleks)

This afternoon Mom and Dad got back from their trip to Colorado. They left Tuesday afternoon. The trip was in honor of Dad's 40th birthday and their anniversary next month.

All of us children went to the airport to pick them up, and it was priceless to see the expressions on the younger ones' (especially Anja's and Jacob's) faces when they saw Mom and Dad!!

Anja was so excited to see them!

Jacob missed his Daddy!!

Jacob really missed Mom too!!

The whole family (except me!).
Clockwise from top: Mom holding Jake, Grace, Aleks, Emmy, Elsie, Dad, Ike and Zack

We really missed Mom and Dad, and it is so good to have them home again!

Happy Birthday!!

Happy 40th Birthday, Dad!!

Mom and Dad in the fall of '06
(we all think Dad looks like Motel the Tailor from Fiddler on the Roof in this picture!)

Making Christmas cookies - a family tradition!
Emmy, Grace, Elsie & Dad

Dad and Jake
Jacob absolutely adores Dad!! Whenever he comes home from work Jacob goes crazy!! And if Dad happens to put him down, we all hear about it!

Some interesting (and possibly unknown) facts about Dad:

• When he was younger he couldn't grow a beard - things have changed!
• He got kicked in the ribs by a horse about 7 years ago.
• Shortly after, he got kicked in the jaw by a different horse and broke it!
• Because of which, he has a fake tooth!
• Since being married (20 years in March!) him and Mom have moved approximately 21 times! (I lose track of the exact amount!)
• And has lived in 4 different states.
  
• Eight years ago he said he never wanted to be a dairy farmer. Hmm . . . . :)
• Since becoming a dairy farmer he has worked for 3 different farmers!
• He has had many different occupations: Physical Trainer, Electrician, Horse-Logger, worked for a friend, worked at a dairy processing plant and dairy farming.
• He has been dubbed "Super Dad", "Super Ted" and "Incredi-Ted" because he never asks for help and is always able to "do it" on his own!
  

And then, the very well-known facts:

• He loves the Lord with all his heart - and it is very evident!!
• He strives daily for a closer relationship with Him.
• He always encourages us to seek the Lord in EVERYTHING.
• He is an amazing example of being content with where the Lord has us.
• He loves his family SO much and does everything for us!
  
• He is so self-less and concerned about others
• He is a Mr. Visionary (as if you couldn't tell by all his different jobs and moving a lot!).
  

We love you, Daddy!!! We hope you have a GREAT day!!

Noah and Elizabeth

The beginning of February we received a visit from Aliisa's pen-pal (and close friend) from Kansas, Elizabeth, and Elizabeth's brother Noah. This was the first time any of our family (besides Ali) got to meet Noah.
Elizabeth and Mom had been planning the visit for a few weeks and were hoping to surprise Aliisa, but told her 2 days before they came. We did keep Noah's coming a surprise from Isaac & Zack. The looks on their faces when he walked in was great!!

Sweet Elizabeth!!

The little girls had a blast playing dress-up with Noah!

Here Noah is a guard, Elsie is the Queen and Grace is another guard.
(note: the guards are very grim, and standing at attention, ready to protect their queen!)

This time Noah is the Queen (isn't he lovely?!) and Emmy and Grace are the guards!

Of course you must have a princess!!

Anja, Noah and Grace

Every time Noah sat down he had at least 2 girls on his lap. Once he had 3 on his lap, which resulted in . . . . .

. . . . . the chair tipping over!
(Emmy had already climbed off!)

Elizabeth holding Jake, who absolutely loved her!

The Poker Players: Isaac, Noah, Zack and Aleks
The glasses were supposed to help hide your reaction . . . but they soon found out, sometimes you can see the other person's cards in the reflection from the lenses!

Elizabeth & Aliisa

Well, we were trying to get a nice picture of the guys, but it wasn't working!

Noah, Isaac & Zack - this is as good as it got!

We also . . . . .

• Went to the Golden Corral (yum!)
• Taught Noah 1/2 of the square dance moves in about 2 1/2 hours
• Went to a square dance (which was a BLAST!)
• Stayed up till 1am, 2am and 3am each night (well, the girls did anyway!)
• Watched movies
• Had an interesting car-ride
• Were saddened when our visit was unexpectedly shortened due to bad weather
• and talked, talked, and talked some more!!!

We had so much fun with you guys!! Hope to see you again soon!

Let it snow . . . . .

Well, after having a couple weeks of warmer weather, we are supposed to get dumped with snow today! Last night we only got about 4 inches of snow, but today we are supposed to get about 9 inches before 6pm.

Everything has been canceled, so we're looking forward to a nice, quite day at home!

Note: These pictures were taken after a snowstorm last month. I wasn't brave enough to venture out this morning!