Sutton Christmas 2007!

Christmas was a little easier today than it was yesterday. It was lots of fun today. For lots of my family it was their first time to see Jackson! So all of them were quite impressed by him. Jaycee did much better opening gifts. She didn't even care what they were today. As soon as the wrapping was off of one she was on to the next. Jackson once again had no clue to as what was happening. They loaded up on more clothes today. Jackson is definitely set in the clothes department. Jaycee got Barbie dolls, a Barbie VW Bug, and a baby doll. Oh, I can't leave out some more dress up stuff, which included a red and white cheerleading outfit with pom-poms.

Jackson got lots of fun toys. He got lots of cars, dump trucks, and tractors. Before long I will have to watch where I am stepping so I won't fall. Both kids did great today and had wonderful naps after all the eating and opening of gifts!

We also played Dirty Santa with all the adults. There wasn't a lot of "fighting" over the gifts this year. I think almost everyone left with their own gift. So Byron got a new OU grill cover. I came home with the coffee bean grinder and coffee! (Byron and I are coffee drinkers now) So all in all it was a great day! It was a lot of fun to see all of my family! So another Christmas is in the books! The garbage men are going to have lots of fun tomorrow with all of the trash they get to collect from the Sutton households!

Update on the move to Oklahoma!

Just thought I would update you all on the our status in Oklahoma. Right now, we are living with my parents. The rental house that we thought we could rent really wasn't up to par. We rented it 3 yrs. ago and when we left it, it was in pretty good shape. It hasn't been kept up very well, and we just didn't think it would be a good place for the kids to be. So please be in agreement with us that God's favor will be shown on us, and our Nooksack house will sell very soon. At this point, we really don't see that renting a house would be good for us. The rental that we were looking at was relatives of mine and they were only charging us $200. There isn't a rental place that we could find that would be that cheap, allow dogs, and that wouldn't have us sign a lease. So we would really like to buy. We have already begun the process of looking. We really like the Sulphur, OK area. (Which is were our church is located) We have found one that we really love! Its in the process of being built. Its 2000 sq. ft. 3 bds. and 2 baths. It has an amazing view of a pond. Its on an acre of land. There are other possibilities but so far its our favorite. So we are excited about that.

So pray for both houses and pray for all of us living at my parents house. Its wonderful, but obviously its not something we want to do for very long. My parents aren't use to having 4 people and 2 dogs living with them. We aren't use to living out of suitcases. The kids don't have their own rooms and none of their belongings. We are very thankful that my parents are willing to keep us, but we don't want anything to damage the relationship. So please, be praying for that! We will keep you all posted! Thanks so much!

Christmas with PaPa and Mamaw!

Well, today was Christmas with my parents! I think the best word to describe it was OVERWHELMING! Jackson obviously had no clue as to what was happening. He played with the bows and the wrapping paper. He really didn't seem to care. Now, Jaycee on the other hand was just totally thrown for a loop. This is her 1st Christmas that she can actually remember. So thus far in her 2 1/2 yrs. of life, when it comes to opening presents its either been only her opening them or someone else. She didn't really understand the whole wait your turn. Also, once she opened a gift she immediately wanted to play with it. She had a ton more presents to open so therefore we wouldn't let her play with them. We didn't start opening gifts until 7:00 tonight. So mix that in with being tired and having a little cold it pretty much wasn't a great night. She got lots of fun stuff. She got a kitchen, with ALL the accessories. She also got her first Cabbage Patch Doll. She will totally love it all in the morning!

Jackson got so many clothes! WOW! I am so excited. Honestly, I will probably have to have him wear 2 a day just so we can wear them all! He also got lots of fun toys. He got a tool bench, guitar, pull along helicopter, and a pop up ball toy. Hopefully, by the time the kids get bored of all of their many Christmas toys, they will have their old ones to go back to. That is if Byron will allow us to keep that many toys in the house!

Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas! Hopefully, I can post some pics tomorrow! We have one Christmas left tomorrow at Ma and Pa's! It should be lots of fun!

Christmas Pics from Washington!

Jaycee opening her first gift!
Papa and Jackson
Bubby decides he needs to help!
Jaycee's dress up doll!
Jackson on his horse! YEE HAW!

Jaycee Ann Lohrer
Jackson's 1st Christmas!
All Smiles!
Nana and her princess!
Christmas 2007!

Good-bye and Hello!

Sorry I haven't posted sooner. The kids and I did arrive safely yesterday in Oklahoma. Everything went really great at the airport and with the flights!

It was just yesterday that we were in Washington saying Good-bye to family and friends. How dearly they are already missed. It was very difficult saying Good-bye to Papa and Nana yesterday morning. I honestly can't wait until we are all in Heaven and we will live together and be eternally joyful. That there will be no more sadness or sorrow. To some extent it was nice that Jaycee and Jackson didn't really understand what was happening. I think that probably helped us all a little. Papa and Nana are 2 amazing people and that will be greatly missed by all of us.

Our wonderful friends Nate and Kate made the drive at 4:00 in the morning to the airport. The kids slept to the airport which was really nice. I wasn't sure how that would go. We got checked in fairly quick. Then off throuh the security check we went. We thought it was going to be quite the wait, but God's favor was shown when one of the workers said come this way please. We were escorted past 3 lines of people. We were so thankful. We all made it through security with no problems. Then we had a little breakfast. To get to the gate we took 3 different tram rides. I really wasn't sure that we were going right, but we finally made it to Concourse B. We still had plenty of time for the kids to stretch their legs and play.

Jaycee was so excited when we finally boarded the plane. I kept telling her that she was going to sit in her own seat with her own seatbelt. So when she got in her seat and fasten the seatbelt she was so pleased. She looked at me and said, Mom I ready to take off now! So I had to explain it would be a few minutes before we could actually do that! They both took little naps on the first plane ride. As soon as we got off in Denver we did quick diaper changes and grabbed a little bite to eat. Jackson took a nap on the second flight as well. The flight from Denver to OKC was relatively short. Jaycee loved looking out the window. As we began to get closer to Oklahoma, she asked me what's that mom? I told her it was Oklahoma. She said Mam Mam and PaPa. So as soon as the plane landed she said I ready to go to Mam Mam's house. So we got off the plane and when Jaycee saw my parents she took off running. Its really neat when they remember people. Jackson stayed close to me, but would give smiles.

We arrived home last night and my mom was turning on all the Christmas lights for Jaycee to see. Jaycee didn't really care at that point, she just asked my mom, "Where are your toys Mam Mam?" So needless to say, in 10 mins. it looked like a tornado had hit the house! We had toys everywhere. Both kids were so excited to be able to roam around free. Both slept really well.

This morning I had to go down to the rental house to have the Gas Company turn on the Gas. So mom stayed with the kids. Jackson had a few moments that he wasn't happy, but he did well. When I got back, Jaycee told me that Bubby wasn't happy with Mam Mam. It was really cute!

Update from Byron, they are probably somewhere in Arizona right now. Its been several hours since I talked to him, but they were in Barstow, CA then. So they are doing very well. Scooby and Zoe are doing great, too!

Good news from Africa!

Just wanted to let everyone know that Phil and Amanda and kids will be coming home on Wed. Dec. 19th! YAY! We are so excited! It is awesome to see God's favor pouring out on his children! They pick their visas up tomorrow afternoon! Which is by God's favor that they are able to do that. The visas are only done on Fridays and a lot of the people working in the U.S. Embassy are temps b/c of the Christmas Season. So they "always" go by the books! We serve a Mighty God and He so loves to show up in moments like these. Not only to Phil and Amanda but to all of us who have been praying it gives us just a little glimpse of how amazing our God truly is! His love for us is unfailing and unconditional! Even though we don't understand things at time, God understands it all! WOW! God you are so good! Why we ever seem to think we can do things on our own blows my mind, but God is always there to forgive us and He is still there even after that to pour out His love and His blessings!

Jack Boy!

That is Jackson's nickname from Jaycee. Most of the time if you ask what her brother's name is her reply is Jack Boy! He is getting such a personality. He is one determined little boy. He is standing and can stand for a long time. He can climb all of the stairs at Andy and Marilee's house. So we have all of that blocked off now, so it makes it quite interesting to see everyone work around the blocked off area! He has discovered that he has a very high squeal and loves to use it in public places. So the first time you hear it, okay its kind of cute. After the 3rd time I want some earplugs! He usually does it when he is happy so we try not to get him really excited! He now has 3 teeth. He ate his first mashed potatoes last night and loved them.


Enjoy reading!