Merry Christmas!!

"Ok Jeremy....Christmas Card Time. Be relevant, be interesting, and don't be long-winded."

Some family highlights for 2015:

- We both turned 30....it was fun celebrating this milestone since we both planned some way to make it a little extra special for the other.

- Max was born in April. He's been more than loved, especially by Big Brother. It's been an adjustment but we're excited the boys get to grow up close in age.

- It was a crazy health year for us. Max's birth, Maria's pneumonia, and my kidney & knee issues has made us feel very in tune to the healthcare system. 

- Demands of balancing good things in life. Jobs. Family. Extended Family. Vacations. Kids. All that makes the year go fast. Check out the rest of our blog for more specific happenings :)

It's our goal to keep posting life happenings here on our blog so feel free to follow along throughout the year....many of you we haven't seen lately but just know we miss you and are so thankful for all the relationships we've had in the past!

As I am once again surrounded with the Holidays, I've been thinking about what we really celebrate in Christ's birth. We celebrate the life of Christ and this is just the beginning, but we celebrate the start of something that ended at the Cross. Without Calvary there is nothing special about Christmas. The celebration of the birth is because we know what the life following means to us.

I love Christmas. The gifts. The food. The music. The nostalgia. The family time. The tree & stockings. But I love it more now than ever because of The Promise that fulfilled it.

Our God is good, ALWAYS, and praise & glory is what we give back to Him!!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Jeremy, Maria, jones, & max

Max Month...

Like his older brother, Mr. M gets a list of months too...

April

Day 1 @ the hospital

May

Mr. Smiley

June

July

Grandma found one of Daddy's old outfits. 

August

One nice thing about 2 boys in a row is saving J's clothes for Little Bro..

Nap time w Daddy...

September

Big Brother loves Max and loves playing with him. This is playing.

This got to be a fav hobby come Sept when M got big enough to ride...the classic keep the boys happy and get exercise at the same time. 

October

Finally, a hat like brother's

November

Backyard picnics in November!!

December

"If you've got your health, you've got your wealth."

The title was something my Great-Grandpa used to say. I realized that more this year as my body did things it doesn't usually do. I did turn 30 in May.

I woke up one day peeing blood. Now I'm learning that lots of people deal with GI problems but for 30 years I didn't, so I was kinda freaked out. At first I barely noticed it and just assumed I was dehydrated or something. But after a day it got worse and I new it was worse than anything I'd ever seen before (see pic below). I'm not quick to go get medical help but my nurse wife assured me it wasn't normal and could indicate something really bad, so I ran into the ER that night for some testing.

This isn't a plug for Starbucks, it was just the handiest cup for a quick sample :)

Short Story:

- ER found elevated blood and creatanine levels in my urine and sent me for more tests.

- I saw a bladder specialist first, everything looked fine. Praise God.

- I saw a kidney specialist next, everything looked fine. Praise God. 

- And then the blood stopped. Obviously it's hard to find problems when there aren't symptoms so next step was a kidney biopsy. I found out later kidney biopsies are a bigger deal than first thought.

- I just had follow-up labs last week and everything appears normal still. Praise God.

My kidney specialist had a few guesses but with zero other symptoms they were just that, guesses. My last appointment she just shrugged and admitted she didn't know why the blood stopped but was glad it did. 

I'm 100% convinced I was healed, and I know who my Healer is. Our bodies our incredible works of art, and I believe our health (especially for me) is what we take for granted most.

Jeremy

The month of Jones!

Kids develop fast. For my memory and your viewing pleasure, here's a few pictures of Jonesy Boy from each month of 2015.

January

February

This was when he started getting into accessories...


March

Trying on Dad's work clothes.

It isn't Movember but a good mustache is OK in March too...

Possibilities are endless....and an extra 3" doesn't hurt either.

April

Hanging out on the Jones Rock...you can check that out HERE.

April was the start of the 4-wheeler craze....brought to Jones in most part by Gpa Tucker.

In April Jones became a certified humidifier technician. His desire to learn is limited only by his mobility/flexibility.

May

Jones got his first "out-of-the-carseat" experience at The Junkyard. First of many because we all know how fun a junkyard is.

June

Olive makes a blog debut , sometime this summer these two got big enough to play together...

Translation: this on vacation and means, "I want to go ride the 4-wheeler."

July

Garage sale special.

August

One of our prayers has been to connect with our neighbors. Jones of course was the facilitator for answering those prayers. We've met Jack & Barbara at the fence more this summer than the last 4 years. They love seeing him and for whatever reason he loves seeing them. Their dog helps too.

September

October

He was so excited he didn't know what to do, a real live horse.

November

The November snow was perfect for packing....and also the first real snow experience. In typical Jones fashion he screamed when we took him out because he didn't want to go, then screamed when he had to come in.

December

Jones and Max were fussing till finally Dad had enough and took them out to the garage. Didn't hear a peep for 2 hours as we messed around. Here's some standard fridge repair going on.

Jones got to golf with Dad for the first time...it actually went pretty good.
You can read more HERE.

Golfing in December

There's a short list of people I'd love to hit the links with that I haven't already. Two weeks ago I got to check off one of them. It was perfect....62 and sunny in December and the course was empty. I was a little nervous but figured worst case scenario we got home. He much rather wanted to ride the cart than go home so this was one of his more obedient 2 hours. 

Yes he uses a wedge to putt. 

Fuzzy hat with ears. Monkey backpack. Sunglasses. Just standard golf equipment. 

As you can see the golf game lacked a little. Rusty putting plus no time to look for lost balls for fear of my caddie ending up in the lake or a wrestling match with the geese.

This was the only time things didn't go well....when we had to leave.