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ok, so underneath each blog entry and to the right is a little place called "comment". I was made aware today that some of you are new to blogging and didn't even notice you could comment - so now is your chance!! :) Also, out of the past 4 days, I've had like 6-7 people say wow, nice blog - YEAH, someone's reading it!! So, if your out there and if you've read our blog...please encourage us by letting us know. Writing to noone is kinda boring! ;) We love you family and friends!!! (ok, so mom told me to write this Aunt Debbie so you would know) :)

Nathan 2 yr Doc update

Nathan had his 2yr well-baby visit today and the pediatrician said he's doing fabulous! He was a little ham and told his pediatrician his name and how old he is, counted to 10 for her and played the drum with tongue depressers. She said that his speech was excellent and above average for a 2yr old. Our boys definately love to talk!! His stats are 50% for height, 40% for weight (27lbs), and he's still 90% for his cute head!! It's funny, we get the comment all the time, "wow, he's y'alls little brute", or "he's gonna be a linebacker"...but when you take all his clothes off, he's just this skinny little toddler with round little cheeks and a fluffy head of hair! That's just our adorable little Nathan!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NATHAN!!!

Our little Nathan is already TWO! It really is amazing how fast time fly's by when your having so much fun! Nathan is such a great joy and full of smiles!! Not just any smiles, but contagious smiles that go from ear to ear and can radiate an entire room with laughter and joy! He is still our outgoing "people" person who loves to grab others attention.

We had his birthday party a week early this year since his Grandpa and another friend also have the same birthday. Nathan had a wonderful birthday party with his friends. Since he loves characters so much, we decided to go with a Puppet Show Theme - He LOVED it!!! Daddy & Mommy built a puppet theatre out of boxes (with much tape!!), and Mommy painted and decorated it. It was a big hit with both Nathan and Brady! Daddy was the main puppeteer at the party and then the kids got to put on puppet show's too. It was really cute! Nathan also had a puppet theatre cake created by Mommy and then we served hotdogs, cheetoes and the adults were blessed with fried croppy (fish) and homeade french fries provided by Grandpa & Grandma! THANKS!! The party was alot of fun - Nathan got lots of books, a cool sound activated soccer goal and ball, a shopping cart, the Veggie Tale characters, a neat stage microphone set, and a fun-sounds play Bar-B-Q grill...and lots of other things too. He is definately set for the year to come with fun!

Today...his actual birthday...well, it's 2p.m. and the three of us are all still in our P.J's!! It's been a fun day! Nathan woke up earlier than usual at 7:15 and since Friday is my day to sleep in until the boys wake up...we snuggled in my bed until Brady got up at 8. Then we hopped in the van and wen't thru the McDonald's drive thru...grabbed Nathan a Sausage McGriddle sandwhich and then we've just been playing the rest of the day. Very relaxed, very non-productive and very Nathan focused! Brady has been such a Fabulous Big Brother! He did so wonderful at his party helping him and has told him at least 25 times today "Nathan, it's your birthday...Happy Birthday!!" It's been really heart-warming watching Brady mature into such a thoughtful pre-schooler! So, it's nap-time now and we're still all in pajama's... Tonight is going to remain even more low key - we're heading to the mall playground (one of Nathan's favorite places) and grabbing his favorite food - Pizza!! Seriously, he loves healthy food too (even baked fish), but give him pizza and he can eat more than we can!!

Some of Nathan's Highlights for the year -
1.) He is a major copycat!!! He loves to follow other children and do what they do...make sounds they make and even laugh when they laugh!! It's really funny!
2.) He's learned all his shapes, most of his colors, learning letters, can count to 20, talks mostly all in full sentences now, can sing MANY, MANY songs, can jump on 2 feet, can do a somersault, and the most exciting of all - he decided to potty train himself!!! Over the past couple of weeks, he just decided to try to go on his own. Then, this week we decided to start the process fully and in the last 3 days he's only had 2 accidents. AMAZING!!! (I must admit though it makes me a little sad...I'm missing our little "Baby" Nathan!)
3.) Nathan loves to play ball - basketball, soccerball, baseball, he loves to wrestle and box Brady /Daddy, his favorite things to do are playing with character people (Veggie tales, Wiggles, PooH characters) and helping them pretend to do things, play outside - especially in his sandbox, read books, play chase, play with cars, play trains, SING and DANCE, and mostly - just PLAY and SNUGGLE.

Nathan is still our little cuddler and man, it's really awesome to have two little boys give you hugs and kisses and tell you numerous times a day "Mommy, I love you"!!!! I get that from Nathan at least 10 times a day at random - he's such a sweety!! We are so truly blessed by Nathan and praise God daily for this awsome priviledge he's given us in not just being parents, but being "their" parents! Watching them grow is definately the most rewarding thing I've ever done and I can't imagine anything else topping it!! So, Happy Birthday Nathan - We love you!! and "We love you and Thank You" from the deepest part of our hearts, Sarah and Joel (his birthparents), for your sacrificial love for him and choosing us to be his parents. His "birth"day 2 years ago and your love will forever be etched in our hearts!

Brady's Adoption Celebration

This year (Jan 19th), we celebrated Brady's adoption day (the day of his final adoption hearing) by taking him to a nearby mall with a Carousel Horse Ride and for dinner at the RainForest Cafe. He was in Awe at all the animals in the rain forest, especially when the storm(pretend) started and all the animals came to life. They also had large aquariums and one with clown fish - he was SO excited to meet Nemo!! (and he's never seen the movie!) It was a wonderful celebration getting to talk with him about his adoption, go through pictures and telling the story of his birth and his birthfamily, and just to rejoice in God's beautiful plan of him being our chosen son. It was a precious day and evening for all of us and one he is still talking about! He had lots of questions this year too about his adoption and he was smiling from ear to ear when he saw his birthmom introducing him to bear at just 2 days old (HE LOVES HIS BEAR AND IS GREATLY ATTACHED - seriously, he doesn't sleep without him!!)

We love you Brady and are so thankful the Lord chose us to be your parents!! To Donna (Brady's birthmom...and to Judith - his birth grandmother) - Thank you from the bottom of our heart for bringing this little joy into our lives, for making all our dreams of being parents come true, and for your selfless and sacrificial love. We love you and Brady will always grow up knowing how much you love him as well.

Nathan's 2yr Portraits

We got Nathan's 2yr pictures taken yesterday and he was the perfect little model. The photographer said that she has never had a 2yr old follow instructions so well and be so cooperative!! He was SOO cute!! At one point, she said ok, now come over here, lie on your back and put your hands behind your head - he did it perfectly! She said that was her 1st ever! :) Such a proud Mommy moment! Enjoy the pics!

SKEEK '06

"SKEEK"- the college students spelling of Ski Conference!! :)

After missing the previous 4 yrs of our ministries winter conferences due to schedule conflicts and having babies, we decided this was the perfect year for the Tyler family to venture into the wild unknown and attend this years Ski Conference. (held at the YMCA of the Rockies near Winter Park, Colorado). Several college church's from Texas and one from Missouri all came together to "Shake It UP!" The theme for this years conference was Shaking it up in your relationship with God. We were just one of three families (all from our church) who were scheduled to attend with 75ish other college students. We actually ended up being just one of two families due to the other's illness.

We left out on January 1st at midnight for our 16 hr journey north. A couple of friends of ours, Glen and Melissa, decided to brave the trip by riding with us. It was a joy getting to know them better and we were so blessed by their help with the boys, driving and just bringing so much laughter to our family! Our boys did wonderful and slept until sunrise. We ate breakfast, they watched a DVD, then we ate lunch, and soon after we entered into the breathtaking mountains that awed us all for the next couple of hrs until we safetly and peacefully arrived at the lodge. Our room was just a few steps away from the main hang-out area of the lodge, which really blessed us by having a space for our boys to run around and play freely. Oh, they LOVED it!! Plus, they made new friends with everyone in there and would just randomly say "hi" and start up conversations with people. Including sometimes Nathan just making himself at home on a couch next to someone (or ON someone!) Our Nathan is quite the social character!! Having our room location also enabled us to put our kids to bed, set up the baby-monitor and play games with friends until late into the night!! I have to say, the nights were SOOO awesomly refreshing for us getting to hang-out with the college students. We've missed that side of life since we moved into the Married Couples ministry 3yrs ago.

Although we didn't get to really attend the conference sessions (we each attended one!), the trip was very renewing, refreshing and reviving! We got to play with our boys without any other responsibilities - no cleaning, no cooking, no administration of the event...just pure wonderful fun time with our family and others!! Seriously, for the Tyler family who seems to always be in the midst of administrating and planning events, this was a breath of fresh air!!!

On the two ski days, we chose to go sledding/tubbing with Brady & Nathan. On one of the days we also got to hang out with the Rogers and their daughter who is almost the same age as Nathan. They all had so much fun! It was such a Blast playing in the snow, attempting to build a snowman, throwing snow balls at each other and just relishing in the beauty of God's creation's - both in nature and our children. It was a time to sit back and rejoice in all the Lord has done for us and others over the past year and build excitement for the year to come. We give all the praise to God for his provisions in allowing us to be able to attend this trip and refresh our hearts!! We had a fabulous time!! OH, and did I mention that Brandon & I got to take 2 hr naps everyday with the boys!!! Can't beat that!! OH, and Thanks Mom & Dad (Christi's) for bravely letting us borrow your new mini-van!! We seriously got to travel in style, luxury and comfort - a major blessing!!!

I have to admit, once we left the snow topped mountains and entered into the flat plains of Kansas and Texas, my heart sank back into dwelling on all the responsibilites that lie ahead once the van hits our driveway. I had to fight almost hourly to regain that tranquil feeling I had in the mountains. My prayer this year each morning is for the peace of God, which transcends all understanding to guard my heart and my mind so that those mountaineous feelings of bliss remain a daily part of my inner joy & peace regardless of the flat plains of daily chores and responsibilities that will always lie ahead. For the monotonous routine of life to never be boring, always be faith filled and always, always be filled with the abundant joy that the Lord desires our lives be filled with!! So, here's to an AMAZING New Year!! They say that the way you begin your year is the way your year is going to go -all I have to say is AMEN, it's going to be a fabulous year!