Holiday Update...

Kurt and I and the kiddos spent the holiday at home this year. B/w the economy and the stress of traveling with 2 toddlers, going back to OH just wasnt in the cards this year. We had such a relaxing few days.

The kids opened some gifts on Christmas Eve and the rest on Christmas day. They were both soooooo excited, but this was truly a magical year for Keegan. He was so excited about everything...Jesus' bday, Santa Clause, lights, presents, stockings, Christmas caroles etc.

We had Christmas dinner at our house on Christmas Day and it was soooo wonderful to spend the evening with good friends and some yummy food. I am pretty sure I consumed a billion weight watchers points thanks to the Boudreaux's garlic butter injected, deep fried turkey!!!! The kids stayed up late and ran around with their friends and the adults had time to talk too.

Kurt and I just did stockings this year...but we both somehow managed to get some pretty cool things for each other. My favorite was a coupon from Kurt for "whatever I wanted". Sounds like Kurt could be in trouble when I finally decide what that is:)

We were so blessed to have a holiday together as a family. This is 2 in a row which kinda makes me nervous!!!!

Aunt Lisa will be here in a few day and we will continue the celebrating, ring in the New Year, cheer on the Buckeyes at the Fiesta Bowl and then celebrate our favorite little guys 3rd birthday.

We hope everyone had a great holiday and has a happy, healthy 2009.

Love

Annie, Kurt, Keegan and Reese

Decorating cookies for Santa...well, at least Keegan did:)

Jack with his presents...he wouldnt even give them up so we could take the tags off!!!!

Reese checking out the presents...

Keegan in the cutest Christmas PJS EVER opening his presents...

Our cute stockings so beautifully monogrammed by Felicia...THANKS!!!! What will be do without a friend with an embroidery machine in a few months:)???

The tree on Christmas Eve after Santa visited. Doesnt look like much...but this DOES NOT include the presents from Grandparents, Aunts and Godparents (Aunt Lisa will be here in a few days, Steph sent gift cards and we heard a rumor that Aunt Melissa was a slacker this year and they are still in OH...ha ha!!!!). You are not seeing Keegan and Reeses new kitchen and picnic table, tool bench and doll house, baby stollers and power tools and the new wardrobe!!!! And to think Keegan has a bday in a little over a week!!!! They wont need a thing until next Christmas!!!!

Our Christmas Newsletter...

We are once again putting out Christmas Newsletter online. I will once again claim that it is an effort to go green...but it is really b/c I had a hard time writing it, ddint really think it was Christmas card material, and couldnt have gotten them printed and stuffed into envelopes in time anyway...
Oh...and the pic at the top of the blog was the one that was supposed to make it into the cards. Instead I printed 100 copies of the wrong picture. I guess that is what happens when you order prints online at 2am:) Ultimately, this just sums up our life...chaotic, far from perfect, yet somehow wonderful none the less!!!!


Family and Friends...
I have sat down to write this letter about a dozen times, and I just couldn't figure out what to say that would sum up the past year in the Distelzweig house. Then I was inspired by two friends. So, here we go...and we will see where this ends up.
A friend mentioned that when writing her holiday letter she compared their life in the military to living in a snow globe. Everything is nice and peaceful and then with one quick shake everything is tossed upside down and you just need to give everything time to settle into place again. Another friend had commented that she was thankful for all the little things in life that put everything else into perspective.
So, being a military family makes it difficult to write the traditional Christmas letter that shows everything in life as being ideal, yet at the same time it is difficult to complain when we have so much to be thankful for and cant imagine our life any other way.
Kurt has an amazing job doing something he dreamt of since he was a little boy. I am still in awe of the fact that my husband goes to work every day an straps himself into a jet. I try to keep this in mind when he works 12 hour days and then goes to class after that. Life in the military is not absent of stress and worry, but we have the most amazing military family that after several assignments and moves spans across the globe. We can honestly say that we could not make it through a single day without these amazing people!!! I blame all of you for my ridiculously long Christmas Card list!!!! :)
I am lucky enough to stay at home with Keegan and Reese. Two toddlers are just about the most amazing and exhausting thing in the world. I truly thought I knew what being a parent meant before having kids, and now I understand that we still don't completely know how to be parents. We consider ourselves very blessed to be given the opportunity to try to figure out how to be someone's mom and dad and say a prayer every night that we don't mess up!!!! I am still trying to convince myself that sleep is overrated (not working so well!!!) and there are days when I am pretty sure all brain cells associated with being a functioning adult have been replaced by ones that only allow me to know where every park in the neighborhood is, memorize children's books, and come up with creative things to do with a toilet paper roll. Despite sleep deprivation I can't think of anything more rewarding that watching a child grow.
Keegan will be 3 in January and Reese is a year and a half old. They are beautiful and mischievous. In one second they can make you laugh so hard you cry...and in the next moment, well, they can make you actually cry. They are so smart and full of energy. Keegan loves to sing, ride his tricycle, and read books. Reese loves to run, climb and say hi to everyone she meets. They adore each other and can't stand when the other sibling is not around, yet also torment and tease each other unmercifully. I have had people tell me that just watching them in exhausting.
This year we have spent time with family and had a few vacations. Living away from our family is one of the most difficult things we have ever done. We are homesick countless times during a year, yet when we are all together it is like we never left. Absence truly does make the heart grow fonder. We have tackled a few projects around the house and then at other times decided that things could wait and we just took time to relax. We have spent countless hours pushing kids in swings, playing with sidewalk chalk, and swimming in the pool.
We have said farewell to old friends and made a few new ones. Sadly we have suffered the loss of a fellow F16 pilot and a future brother in law. We have been thankful for our family being together, yet when thinking back on Kurt's time in Iraq and losing a good friend there, realized how many families are not as fortunate as us. Please keep all of our troops in your prayers all year long.
Life is not always easy and perfection is impossible....but when the snow globe gets shaken we always land back on the ground together as a family. It really is all the little things that put everything into perspective. We have so much love in our house and as difficult as it is to remember at times, that is all that really matters. At the end of every day we have countless things to be grateful for and so many smiles and giggles to reflect upon. Our life is perfectly chaotic and we wouldnt have it any other way. We look forward to the adventures that the New Year has in store for us. We have been in AZ for almost 2 years so a new assignment is on the horizon. Our heads are spinning with all of the possibilities. We are hoping to make a trips to San Diego, Mexico, Washington DC, Ohio and Texas in 2009. We hope that you and your loved ones are just as excited about what the future holds. We would like to wish you a wonderful holiday season and a happy, healthy New Year.
Not sure if this even makes sense...but naptime is over so this is what you get this year:)
Love,
Annie, Kurt,Keegan, Reese and Jack

HO HO HO....

We had our squadron childrens Christmas party this weekend. For those of you in the F16 community you will all see the humor in the fact that the jet broke and Santa was towed into position:) Gotta love the Viper:) Reese was not a fan of the fat (well, actually tall and skinny) guy in the red suit and Keegan only approached him b/c he understood that he was going to get a gift. Instead of sitting on his lap Keegan gave Santa some knuckles and said thanks:) The kids colored, made reindeer cany canes and decorated cookies. As you can tell from the pics Keegans favorite activity was without a doubt the cookie decorating.

Both kids are loving the Christmas lights and love the idea of Santa at a distance. They love helping me wrap presents and loved all the baked goods. I am so proud of Keegan though. This year he not only understands the idea of Christmas but is also showing that he undersatands sharing and charity. We have been going through the toy room and he has been picking toys to donate to less fortunate kids and have even asked me if he can use money from his piggy bank to buy things for friends. It truly is so much fun to celebrate the holidays with little ones!!!!!

Next post will be our holiday newsletter and some of our family pics we had taken last week...so check back soon!!!!

Love

Annie, Kurt, Keegan and Reese

Even the boss sat on Santas lap:)

Keegan CAREFULLY approaching Santa:)

Grace LOVED Santa and even gave him a hug!!!!

Reese trying to escape...she wasnt Santas biggest fan this year!!!!

Keegans cookie masterpeice!!!!

Who Needs Reindeer...

As far as we are concerned, Santa gets around in an F16. Flying in a Viper is much faster than Comet and Cupid:) We will have more pics this weekend as evidence for those of you non beleivers!!!!!

70 degrees and snowing...

We had our neighborhood holiday festvities over the weekend...and they even truck in some snow. Keegan was hesitant at first, but soon warmed up to the idea of throwing snowballs. Reese of course just needed to do things on her own terms but also loved it. Hopefully a sledding trip up to Flagstaff will be some fun family time. The next few weeks are VERY busy...so check back often for new pics:)

ROCK ON!!!!

Here are Keegan and Kurt's favorite new toys...

It is hilarious to watch these two play Guitar Hero...then Reese comes along and disrupts their concentration. Gotta love the dynamic of 2 toddlers in the house.