Dad sleeps while the rest of us check out the new stuff and take a few more photos. Wonder how the green bow got on top of his sleepy head?? The "Russian" hat was fun, but J's not sure he would really wear it, so, it's going back. What was Mom thinking?

The Gifts

Of course, we model the new clothes.

Justin plays with his little MP3 player.

Momma Claus gives gifts from under the tree, unaware that there's a diamond necklace in the little green gift bag (way to go Mark).

We displayed a new nativity that we bought in Bolivia this summer. It was a constant reminder of the little family far away.

Such a manly pose. Looks like it's no-shave December too.

Merry Day!

The gals, leaving a space for Juliane. WE MISS YOU!

The Tree

With Mark's knee surgery, we didn't have a tree. Our friends, the Johnstons, gave us this awesome tree. It's our cute little stocky tree, perfectly shaped. We usually have an 8 foot tree, so this was a switch for us. Thanks Jim J. for the special delivery!

Holiday Cheer - Christmas day

"Hi everyone!"

Yeah, we had a lot of fun taking a family(minus the Kozels) picture. The timer on the camera was great! So have a look at our Christmas 2006 photo album

What you've all been waiting for....

This is Mark's incision. [Yuck!] It's about 4 inches long, a little swollen and all stapled together. The doctor always signs his work - the JD on the side. Since this photo was taken the swelling has come down some.

He's home with a NEW KNEE

Mark is home from the hospital and finally has a little smile on his face. He had a partial knee replacement on Monday, December 4. Today, Wednesday, he was released. The knee is doing well, the stomach not so good. His pain medication has been causing an upset stomach.
He's been resting a lot since coming home and is glad to be back in his big comfy bed. He's hooked up to the ice machine to help keep swelling down.
Most of the day he's been felling pretty punk, now he's doing better and ready to be in charge of the remote:) Stay tuned for tomorrow when we show you the small incision on his knee........

Old McDonald...

Another birth in the barn. It's a Black Angus heifer. Mark shows off his fine stock!

Mark, the farmer, gets the barn ready for winter. Karen will soon be in charge of the ranch while he takes some time off for knee replacement surgery. Don't ya love those stomper boots?!

It's a Birthday! 20!!

Friday, Crystal's birthday! We celebrated in the evening. Four of us, Mark and I, Crystal and Aaron drove to Wichita to eat at Olive Garden, Yum! Then bought a Midnight Chocolate cake at Coldstone Creamery for her cake, another yum! We took it back to Karmen and Eric's place (they were gone for the weekend) where she opened her gifts. I think her favorite was the $$$cash from her grandparents. The gifts we brought weren't quite right, wrong size on one and different taste on another. We made it up the next day on a girls shopping trip, exchanging the gifts for better ones. Crystal and I did some Christmas shopping as well. Later that night Mark and I headed back to the bus for the overnight trip home. The weather was great all weekend and the the trip went well, even the long bus ride. We were glad to be able to be there for her birthday and to spend time together.

Thanksgiving Trek to Kansas

Wednesday evening we boarded a charter bus and headed to Kansas, arriving on Thursday morning. After a short nap we headed to Hesston College. We took Crystal to Newton (WalMart) to get a few props for the talent show acts later in the evening. We ate a Thanksgiving buffet in the cafeteria with about 600 people. Later we went to a choral program and then to THE TALENT SHOW, the highlight of the evening. Crystal is a member of the "Normas," a four girl comedy troup, who perform with the "Bills," a four guys comedy group. They introduced all the acts and did several sketches during the evening. Crystal also sang a duet with Tony Brown. It was fun and we laughed a lot! Crystal was relieved to have that responsability over with and to enjoy the rest of the weekend.

"No-Shave November"

I just returned from spending a few days in Virginia visiting my parents and our son, Justin, a junior at EMU. He's rooming with his grandparents. When I arrived I learned that it was "no-shave November" for a group of guys on campus, Justin being one of them (as you can see on the pictures). He is being well cared for, although my parents don't see much of him as he spends a lot of time on campus. On Saturday, we watched the BIG Ohio State and Michigan game and cheered for the Buckeye win!!!!! A little too close for comfort but our team won in the end. It was great to have time in Virgina and to see the ones I love. Next week we travel to Kansas to see Crystal and celebrate her 20th birthday.

New life on the farm...

One of our Belgian Blue cows had a calf today. It's a Belgian Blue X Black Angus. By the way, it's a girl. Her mother is all white with black ear tips and this calf has a rather interesting pattern of black and white all over, as you can see on the photo. She has a white teardrop shape under each eye and markings that are rather symmetrical. We have another Black Angus cow that is HUGE(!) and should pop any day.

Becoming GRANDPARENTS

Julie and Alex are in the process of adopting Tatiana. She's nearly three and has completely stolen our hearts after just one meeting. Sometimes becoming a family and becoming grandparents takes longer than 9 months and the pains can be stronger than labor! It's hard to describe how much we miss Julie, Alex and Tati. Emails and phone calls are great, yet we long to see all three of them face to face. Tati will celebrate her birthday on November 20. We're not sure when we will be able to visit Santa Cruz, Bolivia again. I hope before too long!

GREAT-aunt and uncle week

This past week our niece, Deanna, and her two small boys stayed with us for several days. Our nephew, Eric, is back after spending the past 4 years serving with the Peace Core in Ecuador. Deanna came to see him and visit with family, including grandma Steiner, who is now in a nursing home. It was a lively week keeping up with three year old Deacon, and Jude, an on the go 15 month old. Of course, their momma did most of that. Mark and I just had grandparent practice. Our house does seem a tad quiet today.

We're Off....

Look out! We're starting a blog. We hope to share what's happening with our children, family and friends. It may be tuff to come up with lots of exciting posts since it's "just the 2 of us."

With that said, I'll admit that going to Tampa, Florida was great. We went last weekend to the MEDA convention. Mark and Dallas spoke at one of the seminars, sharing about the family business. It was great to leave 29 degree weather and in a few hours be enjoying warmer temperatures. 70's and 80's warmed the soul. The Marriott provided great accommodations and it proved to be a nice break (at least for me-I think Mark was thinking about his speech). We left Tampa Saturday evening and spent the night at brother Glenn's. I insisted that while in FL we had to at least stop at the beach on the way to the airport, to see the gulf, and walk the beach a bit. I had to have my beach fix!