Meeting Little Liam

Kevan and Katie were in town for Christmas so we JUMPED on the opportunity to meet their adorable and precious little boy, Liam. He met every expectation and then some-- he was so sweet, and such a good baby. Hardly fussed at all, and was just so tiny and wiggly, and CUTE!! Congrats again, you too, he is sooo adorable. Praise the Lord for your healthy, happy little boy... can't wait to see you again! :)

Doesn't he look like he could just fit right in!? ha ha
Liam Joseph Riley

Happy Birthday Jesus!!!

Christmas Eve we went over to my parents house to make cookies and hang out. We all attended the 5p.m. service at our church, which was very nice, and then headed back to our house for some dinner. After dinner we all enjoyed opening our presents, and then we sang Happy Birthday to Jesus, and let the kids blow out the candles on the cake. Just trying to reinforce for the kids that although presents are fun and exciting, the real gift is Jesus, and His sacrifice for us all. BOTH boys were completely spoiled this year by everyone, and got lots of fun things. They opened one gift earlier in the day, because my mom happened to know it was a super cute outfit from my Grandma (Oma), and so they were able to wear it to church. They looked so cute. Thanks again Oma! ;) Christmas morning we opened stockings and then went over to my parents for the day, and enjoyed playing games together, relaxing, and having a delicious dinner. It was a very fun Christmas this year, hanging out with my family. The only thing missing was Linz, Jordan and Brayden!! :'( BUT, thankfully, we'll be seeing them soon in DISNEYLAND! YAY! :)

The finished product (got them decorated Christmas Day)
Getting ready for church

attempted a group photo... ha ha

Noe and the boys :)

Sooo excited to open presents ;)

Ooooooooo!

He's making a flying sound I think

Ta da!

If you listen real closely, at the very end I say something like, "Who wants some cake!?" and Tyler says, "Meeeeeeee!" lol.. it was so cute!

Lambdin Open House

Every year our good friends have a Christmas party at their house. It's partially to celebrate their anniversary, which is the 21st I believe, and to visit with old friends. Dan actually was my Bible teacher in high school, and I once babysat their kids, lol. We had a fantastic time visiting with old friends that we usually only see once a year, at their house. Thank you Lambdin family, for faithfully celebrating at your house and allowing us to be involved!! :)

They insisted on a family photo in front of their tree before we left

Ms. Sallee (a former teacher/mentor and basketball coach of mine, and friend!), me and Vicki (a friend from high school) It was so fun to catch up!!
Kevin and Jeremy stopped by after they started work, and Dan got a HUGE kick out of that!!

The Boys 1st Christmas Party

This year the boys were invited to their very 1st KIDS Christmas party at the Kent's house. Justice and Kayden, along with some other kids, showed the boys a fantastic time! Gifts were brought to be donated to local kids in need. There were all kinds of goodies, crafts, and goody bags to take home. They had a blast. Elijah has missed hanging out with Justice, and I've missed hanging out with their mommy, Julie, so it was fun for all!! Thanks again, girl, we had a great time! ;)

Elijah and Justice

Tyler and Kayden

Christmas Lights!

(I'm very behind on my posts!!!) The week before Christmas or so we went to Manteca and looked at Christmas lights... the reason we're willing to drive 25mins away is for this ONE house. It's AMAZING!!! The man used to work for PG&E, and so he must know how to arrange all these lights without blowing all his fuses!! The house is amazing, totally worth the drive out there to see it. Both boys were absolutely in awe. This picture doesn't even do justice-- there are lighted presents under every tree, and a train track with working train running all throughout his yard...

It's A Boy!!

Congratulations to our good friends, Katie and Kevan Riley on their precious little boy! Liam Joseph Riley was born December 17th at 7:23a.m., 7lbs 13oz, and 21 inches long. Mom and baby are doing well, praise the Lord! I am SOOOO excited for you both, and can't wait to see you soon!!! Love you guys, and will be praying for you all!

Funny E-mail We Got...

Well, there is good news and bad news about my Christmas decorations. The good news is that I truly outdid myself this year. The bad news is that I had to take them down after only two days. I had more people come screaming up to my house than ever. Great stories. But two things made me take it down. First, the cops advised me that it would cause traffic accidents as they almost wrecked when they drove by. Second, a 55 year old lady grabbed the ladder and almost killed herself putting it against my house and didn't realize it was fake until she climbed to the top (she was not happy). She was one of many people who attempted to do that. My yard couldn't take it either. I have more than a few tire tracks where people literally drove up my yard. I think I made him too real this time, but it was fun while it lasted...

Funny Sign

I tried enlarging this but it still is hard to read... The sign says:

My Next Door Neighbor wants to BAN all GUNS!

Their house is

NOT ARMED
Out of RESPECT for their opinions

I promise NOT to use MY GUNS

to PROTECT THEM.

Merry CHRISTmas!!!

Merry CHRISTmas!!! I find that many words come to mind right now, but the one that stands out the most is BLESSED. We have so much to be thankful for this year. As many of you know, the Stockton Police Department faced many cut-backs and lay-offs this year. Many different versions of these “lay-offs” presented themselves, and for months we constantly answered questions from concerned family and friends like, “Is Kevin going to get laid off, or is he safe?” Because the city went back and forth so many times, and even threatened extreme measures (they talked at one point of laying off 90+ officers!), we honestly didn’t know what the future held in store for Kevin. Thankfully, we remembered WHO holds our future! Praise the Lord, Kevin is still working with the police department, and his job is secure (for now!). He continues to work the same crazy shift, which leaves him sleep-deprived and often tired (the boys are almost impossible to keep completely quiet during the day!), but works so hard to provide for our family. He has also become involved in Awana’s at our church as a leader/listener for kids ages 11-13. He has enjoyed this very much, and the kids adore him. :)

Elijah has changed so much in the last year. Talking with him you wouldn’t even know that he is only 4 years old. He is incredibly smart, and will pop out with words or phrases that just make you wonder, “Where did he learn that!?” Just a few months ago Elijah asked Christ to come into his heart as his personal Savior. I can’t express in words how much this overwhelmed me. I am so grateful to the Lord that Elijah’s heart is open and willing to accept Christ’s love for him. We look forward to watching him grow and serve God throughout his life. He is still as energetic as ever, and loves to put on a show and receive attention (he is a true Hess!). He has grown to enjoy having Tyler around (not that he ever had a problem with him, but was so independent that he just didn’t pay Tyler much attention). Elijah also participates in Awana’s, and is absolutely LOVING it as a “Cubbie.” They are told stories, play games, and memorize verses… I can’t tell you how many verses he knows, it brings such joy to my heart.

Tyler is now 20 months old. He didn’t start saying much of anything until just recently, and it has been such a joy to hear him say new words almost daily. Still not really combining any words together, but saying single words like ball, fish, shoe, mommy, daddy, “I-sha” (for Elijah), and many others. He is much like me in that he is more reserved and shy around those he doesn’t really know, but completely like Kevin in his lack of fear. He has NO FEAR when it comes to climbing, stepping off things, sliding off things, etc. He’s split his forehead open, his lip open twice (once we took him to urgent care because it looked deep- thankfully, it was fine), and more bruises than we could even count. Thankfully, he is not dramatic when he gets hurt, in fact often I don’t even know where half of his bruises come from because he never complains! (Such a difference from Elijah!) He has such a silly and playful personality, and just LOVES to help. Tyler is also very affectionate, which is so sweet. He especially loves his DADDY!

I am so blessed to be able to continue staying at home with our boys. It is incredible to me that we can be a family of four with a house payment, car payment, and plenty of bills, yet God faithfully provides us what we need. It can be stressful at times, but I value my role as a stay-at-home mom, and pray that God uses me during these precious years. I decided not to volunteer at Awana’s with Kevin, but to take the opportunity to participate in some women’s bible studies. I can’t begin to tell you what a blessing they have been to me. It is amazing what the Word teaches and provides for us when we take the time to read and study it, and be willing to obey God in our lives. I’m learning these things daily, and am eager for the Lord to continue to chisel away the things of my life that are displeasing to Him, so that I may serve Him in a more fulfilling way. I’ve also been studying the Book of John in BSF (Bible Study Fellowship), which has been amazing. Elijah attends with me, and gets taught the same lesson I am learning each week, just toned down to a 4yr. old level. He enjoys this a lot, while Tyler enjoys some alone time with my mom. I find myself incredibly thankful this year, as God has brought MANY new friends into my life who have young children very close to the boys’ ages. It has been such a blessing to lean on them for prayer needs, or advice.
God is the reason we celebrate December 25th. It is His Son, Jesus Christ’s birthday. He came to this earth, led an example for us to follow, gave us hope for our future, died on the cross for our sins, rose from the grave, and lives in Heaven. He only asks that we believe in Him and what He did for us, and ask for His forgiveness. No one is perfect or without sin. We all need forgiveness. He offers it, and offers eternity with Him. It’s so simple, but so many want to twist it and make it difficult, or just plain refuse that it could be true. My prayer is that you all may come to know the Lord in the new year, whether it be for the first time, or in a new way that you never dreamed possible!!

In Christ,
Kevin, Katrina, Elijah and Tyler Hess

Christmas Tree Cutting

This year we decided to try a new place to cut our Christmas tree. We usually go up to West Point, a good 2 1/2 hour drive. This year we went up to Apple Hill, only about an hour and a half drive away. We knew a storm had come through (even snowed here in STOCKTON, imagine that!), but figured it'd be a beautiful drive, and we'd get to cut our Christmas tree down in a little snow! Well,................. SNOW yes, LITTLE no! The Christmas tree lots were all closed, in fact, the entire town was shut down from having no power since the night before!! The trees were buried in like 3 feet of snow! So, we found a parking lot off the road and played in the snow for about an hour, and drove back home and bought one from Home Depot, LOL!!! We were disappointed, but all in all we had a fun day, enjoyed God's beautiful scenery, and got a really nice tree! ;) Here are also some pictures of the boys decorating it.. they both had a blast- this was Tyler's first year decorating (last Christmas he was just barely sitting up by himself).

This is the Chrsitmas tree lot!!

Elijah had a blast nailing Kevin with snow balls
Tyler surprisingly enjoyed the snow alot! I figured he'd get upset... he was a little confused about it, but had fun :)

It was hard to make a snowman with such fresh powdery snow, but we attempted.. kinda hard to see in this picture

Elijah made a few snow angels

and a couple of surprise attacks on Daddy :)

Tyler was excited to see a familiar face (Larry the Cucumber!)

The Finished Product...

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving this year was spent up in Oregon with Kevin's family. All of his siblings but one were able to make it (Keith, Lorna, Alaethia and Sophia-- you were missed!!). We had a great time enjoying the VERY crisp weather (it snowed one day), and spending time together. On Saturday all of us girls were able to make our own wreaths (thanks to Karen and Grandma Preszler providing most of the materials!). I've never made one before, but despite my annoying perfectionism I managed to get one made, lol (and had FUN doing it!). The guys went out shooting during our wreath-making festivities.

We celebrated our Thanksgiving meal on Friday instead of Thursday (due to Kevin originally having to work Thanksgiving), and BOY was it DELICIOUS! Dan and Karen raised their own turkey this year, and when they cleaned it up and got it ready to cook it weighed 43 POUNDS!!! No, that is NOT a typo... this thing was ENORMOUS! I tried all kinds of angles to try and get a good shot of it, but because she went and bought an especially large roasting pan, no pictures does the size justice. As you can see from the picture below, the turkey was almost the size of her entire stove-top... it was gigantic.... and YUMMY! ;) It was a great time, even though Kevin spent the day Sunday sick, and then Tuesday (we came home Monday) Elijah got it and spent almost 24hours puking. :( Thankfully, all is well now in that department!

There were 25 people I believe... we didn't eat it all, don't worry. Ended up having some for lunch the next day, and then turkey enchiladas the next evening. Karen froze the rest :)

See how big the turkey leg is!?!?
Grandma Preszler cutting some branches for her wreath

Our newest neice, Sadie Phyllis Hess :) Soo cute, and tiny!

This isn't even HALF of our group :)

(From L-R: Grandma Preszler, me, Kelly, Danae, Danielle, Grandma Hess, Karen, Alicia, and Janay)... notice MY wreath is the only one being held crooked, lol

Elijah is a true Hess.... LOVES attention, and boy did he get it! ;)

Bubbles!