Happy New Year!

Wow, has it really been an entire month since I have posted an update!! A LOT has happened in the last 31 days. Katie turned 7! Happy Birthday, my sweet girl! On the big day we went to dinner at her favorite restaurant, Texas Roadhouse (a.k.a. The Peanut Restaurant). Then went bowling the following afternoon. The next weekend we took 9 children ice skating at the QC Sports Center. Everyone had a great time, and we look forward to more ice time!! Katie's birthday, December 14th, also happened to be Patrick's final day at Doyle & Keenan. He wasted no time in starting his postition with Clifton Gunderson on Monday 12/17. While the commute is not much fun (especially with the Iowa winter weather we've been having), so far the job is treating him well. We had a chance to start meeting everyone that Friday at the office Christmas party. Of course the next week brought a visit from the famous man in the big red suit! He disappointed no one! Katie got the Littlest Pet Shop set she asked for, and the Operation game. Jacob got the Hotwheels playsets he wanted. And Emily's one wish, a "purple baby Georgia", was granted! All she wanted was a new baby doll, dressed in purple, that she named Georgia (after my friend Betsy's dog!). Oodles of other presents were piled under the tree from us, and they have been having a ball with everything. Our plans to move to Clinton are speeding along! Once the holidays were over, we started getting more serious in our search for a house, and a place to build. We visited several open houses last weekend to get some ideas, and found a house that we fell in love with. We are 99% sure this is the house we want, with a few minor modifications. Now the search for a lot continues. We have a few options on the table, and are researching schools, etc. to help us finalize our decision. We have high hopes of trying to get this project completed before the next school year begins. Last week our baby boy turned 5!! Happy Birthday to you, my sweet Bubby!! He chose The Machine Shed for his dinner, and next weekend we'll be taking several of his friends to Jungle Bungle for pizza and playing. I hope the new year is kind to all of you! It is certainly going to be an adventurous year for our family! We hope to know more about the house in the next couple weeks. I will try to keep updating as much as possible!