The Christmas Season...Part 2

On the 12th, my mom, Cole and I headed down to Disneyland for a look at what they do for the "Holidays." This was the first time my mom had been to Disneyland in about 10 or 12 years. She bought and annual pass so she could join us as often as possible! :) Cole and Grandma had a blast going on rides together and hanging out. Here are some pics of our fun afternoon/evening at the DL!

The castle at night....SO pretty!

































Cole and Grandma on the tram ride, ready to have fun!



















Grandma and Cole waiting for the Dumbo ride!



















And here they are getting ready to fly!!!














And they're off....














It's a Small World all lit up...AWESOME!




















































We were also able to join Summer and Todd, Ashlyn & Jeremy and Summer's sister, Breezy for a couple of the hours....always a blast with the Rought's...this was probably their last trip to DL for a while as they are moving to SLO in 11 days!!!! We were glad to be able to join them for a while and I snapped this cute picture of Cole and his "best friend," Jeremy walking out of the Buzz Lightyear ride...















The cold tram ride home after waiting for 30 minutes for it! BBBBRRRRRRRR!!!! Grandma wrapped both of them up in G-Pop's big jacket and kept them warm...except for their noses! :) And there were still smiles from them too! :)



















Last Friday, Emilie, Brice, Katy, Beau and myself were hired to be "Carolers." We sang at a Christmas party for Janice Simpson from Grace. It was a lot of fun preparing and practicing and I hope and pray that all her guests truly enjoyed the songs we sang and really listened to the lyrics of the music. We were able to sing 8 songs, 3 with accompaniment, and 5 acapella, and we think it turned out pretty well! After singing, we went to my parents house and surprised them by caroling at their door too! They loved it! And they were able to watch the Colester overnight so Mike and I, along with Emilie and Brice, could go see I Am Legend! All I have to say is...WOW. I seriously had a headache for 2 days after the movie because it was so FREAKIN' intense. I enjoy thriller and suspense flicks, but this was over the top in my opinion. The story line was pretty awesome and definitely left a lot to think about, however, I will probably only watch that one once!

On Saturday morning, I headed up to my parent's house to meet up with them and head out to Wrightwood, CA for our Davis Family Christmas! We had a GREAT time chatting with my cousins and aunts and uncles and ALL three kids had a blast playing in the snow that was still there from a storm the weekend before! Cole really had a blast and thought it was REALLY funny to throw snowballs at people and mama's car! Here are couple of pictures of the kids enjoying the cold weather....the girl is my cousin, Dusty and his new bride's daughter, Savannah or Sav, and the boy is my other cousin Steve, and his wife Morna's son Zachary...


All three kids on the sled...no way were we going to be able to get all three kids looking at the camera at the same time!!! :)














Cole making use of EVERY part of the toys!



















Zachary posing in the snow!!! SO CUTE!



















"Aunkey" and Cole playing Lincoln Logs...well, Aunkey is building and Cole is shooting...



















Probably the biggest hit of the night...this puzzle that made sounds...very entertaining!



















Zachary with his spoon...Savannah lookin' around, and Cole running and jumping in the snow!














Cole, Sav, and Zach with "Uncle Steve" or "Daddy"














The three kids throwing snowballs over the balcony...Cole's favorite part.



















We really enjoyed ourselves and had a wonderful time with family!! Thanks to the Nish Family for opening the Wrightwood house to us all and allowing us to actually see snow this Christmas season!!!

So...what do you think???

So...what do you think of the new blog page??? Give me some feedback people. I also did a poll on the right...check it out! I think it's purrty

A Concert, Cuteness and Cole!

Last night we were able to attend the Grace Baptist Annual Christmas Concert. As always, it was amazing. It's something I look forward to each and every Christmas season. This year, Brice & Emilie joined the adult choir, so not only did we have my mom playing harp to look forward to, but we had Emilie and Brice to watch and hear! We went with my Uncle Tedd & Aunt Cheryl and Cheryl's mom, Vi, and had a great time. Cole unfortunately sat through the first 30 minutes only, but Mike was nice enough to take him to the lobby so I could enjoy the entire concert! We then headed over to Stonefire Grill for some good eats and had a nice time visiting with my family. Here are some pics from the Concert and Uncle Tedd with Coley...

Uncle Tedd & Cole hamming it up for the camera!



















The choir...Emilie is in the third row up and third person in on the left wearing a green sweater and Brice in on the top row towards the middle wearing a blue dress shirt and suit.















Our amazing choir director, Peter Beers, doing what he does best!



















Robin (the narrator) & our Sign interpreter...



















The end of the concert and everyone including the orchestra getting a standing ovation! Mom is standing up on the left hand side behind her harp. :)















And I just had to take this shot. Cole is just starting to try and put his own clothes, shoes, etc. on and he came stumbling in my room wearing his new thermal pj's and MY ugg boots. :) Too cute.

Many Updates Needed!

Hello everyone! The Koegle household has been busy, busy, busy! We celebrated Thanksgiving here at my house with my family (Mom, Dad, Em & Brice) and Mike's sister Katy & her husband Beau (Brice's brother). If you don't already know the craziness that is our family...there it is! :) We had a wonderful time. Here are a few pictures from Thanksgiving that I'd love to share with you...
The beautiful table that Emilie & I set up












The cute idea I thought of by putting a leaf from my persimmon tree tied onto the napkins..












The bird...it was SO tasty!












The whole family filling their plates with the yummy Thanksgiving feast!













In other news...the night before Thanksgiving, we found out that I was pregnant and we were so excited to tell our family the next day. We planned everything out and had a great time telling our family on Thanksgiving and some close friends that weekend at church. However, the following Monday evening, the Lord decided to take the baby up to heaven and we miscarried. That evening was more than emotional and we were very saddened by this as we have been trying for a second baby for almost 2 years. But we know that the Lord's timing is PERFECT and His plan is PERFECT for our family. Although we may not understand His reasons for things, we know He has our best interests in mind and knows what's best for us and our family. We finished out the week with our hearts in the right place and praising the Lord for the trial that He has put upon us. We are also grateful that the Lord put the hope in our hearts and minds that we CAN get pregnant again. That was a great feeling. Please continue to pray for our hearts that they would not be hardened later on and that we would continue to find joy in the situation.

On a lighter note, this last weekend, we (the entire California Koegle clan) made a last minute trip to Columbus, Ohio for a HUGE family reunion for Michelle's (Mike's mom) side of the family. We had a blast and were so grateful that we were able to make it back there. Many of the family members that were there, I had never met before. There were about 115 people in this amazingly awesome mansion belonging to Michelle's cousin, Jim Cullinan and we all fit with plenty of room for more. We flew out there on a red-eye flight on Friday night, arrived at 6:15 a.m., the party started at 3:00 and (for us) ended at 12:30 a.m., we got up at about 10:00 a.m., went out to lunch with Bob's family, then headed back to the airport at 5:00 p.m. to catch our flight out at 7:30 p.m. We arrived at LAX at about 9:45 p.m., got to the flyaway at about 10:45 p.m., drove home and finally fell into bed at about 1:00 a.m. And Mike got up to go to work the next morning at 5:45 a.m! So, are you tired just reading that....I am!!! :) Thanks again to everyone who made the weekend happen for us...we had a GREAT time! :)

This week, besides catching up on sleep, has been pretty uneventful. We got our Christmas decorations all put up and the house feels homey finally! I'll take some pictures this weekend and post them next week!

Now begins the crazy busy Christmas season. As I sat at my Titus 2 Bible study last night, I was reminded that we need to slow down and not be so out-of-control during this season. Just because it's the "holiday season," does not give us the right to be crazed, frenzied women. And I need to remember that! I hope and pray that this amazing season that is upon us will be filled with quiet moments with your family and loved ones and you will be reminded of the REAL reason we celebrate Christmas...the birth of MY & hopefully YOUR Saviour, Jesus Christ!

Wow...How Times Flies!

So, I didn't expect it to be this long before I could get my bum in the chair and write an update. Sorry folks! There have been a lot of goings-on in the Koegle family over the last several weeks.

As far as Tux goes, he's doing GREAT! He was able to get his stitches out last Tuesday and was also able to take his "lampshade" collar off! He was definitely a much happier camper! And he was such a good boy for the vet techs each and every time we went there. When I took Tux in for his stitches out, I also had an appt for Neo and Trinity to see the vet for a well check-up and to get their first set of shots. Thank goodness my mom was able to come with me and corral Cole while I was with all the animals!!! They were looking a little on the skinny side as they had kind of stopped eating when we fed them. We were stumped with this as puppies usually chow down anything you put in front of their little noses. The vet, Dr. Aaron, an AWESOME lady, said that most puppies are born with worms, so that may be the problem. And we also got them some "Missing Link," which is a nutritional supplement to add in their food. When we got home, they still weren't eating as much as they needed, so we got some canned dog food and that was the end of that. So these little buggers are high maintenance. And to that, I say, "Dang it!!!" Oh well! Cole is really getting to love them and calls them "his" puppies. And he is getting better at not freaking out when they are trying to play with him.

More good news on the homefront...when Mike and I got the dogs, we did not tell our landlord right away. We were definitely not comfortable "hiding" this from them, as they have been SO great with us up to this point. So, Mike finally called Jun, our landlord, and told them that we picked up two puppies last week. He was a little concerned, so Mike said, "Why don't you come over to the house, check everything out and we can show you that we are really taking excellent care of the place." In other words, "Renelle, start cleaning like crazy!!!" :) The house floors get DISGUSTING in a matter of about 2 hours once I wash them, so I was up at about 5:45 a.m. the morning he was to arrive to come check things out (and fix our master toilet) cleaning my bum off! The place looked great and I really think he was pleased!! :) I talked to him yesterday, and asked him what they had decided about the dogs. He said that he and his wife, Tess, spoke to the realtor that helped them rent this place out and she said to charge us a $500 additional deposit. Jun and Tess told her that she was crazy and they are only requiring us to put down a $300 deposit and they were nice enough to let us pay it in installments. We were thinking that this was going to happen and he was telling me yesterday that he loves us staying here. I also asked him what they were thinking about us staying longer, as our 1-year lease is up in February. I figured I'd ask now in case they wanted to boot us out with the farm we now have. Jun said that we were welcome to stay as LONG as we would like as they really love having us as tenants. And I asked him about the rate we are paying and if it's going to go up when the lease is over. He answered that very quickly with an emphatic, "NO!" Yay! I really feel that the Lord is blessing us for being honest with them and upfront. So, it looks like we have the place until we eventually find a house to invest our little "stash" into. :)

Lastly, I would like to congratulate Mike's sister, Katy, on her recent marriage!! Katy and Beau decided on November 2nd, that after 1 1/2 years of being engaged and MUCH family drama with them getting hitched, that they needed to just do it and they were married the next morning!!! They were married at the Ventura County Courthouse, which by the way, has beautiful grounds and a really nice building, and there were about 20 people there with them. Mike, Cole and I were the only family members from the Koegle clan there, and Mike was able to give her sister away. And when the ceremony was over, Mike was able to pray over them with everyone surrounding them! Beau's mom and stepdad, Barbara & Mike, treated everyone to a wonderful lunch at Mimi's in Ventura and (my) Mike was able to read some scriptures with them and have their first meal together be communion. It was a pretty emotional day and weeks following, but I know the Lord is doing GREAT things and is ever present in their lives. Our relationship was strained with Katy over the last 2 - 2 1/2 years and much has been restored and we are working on it being better than ever!!! It was pretty amazing seeing my husband really taking a leadership role and being such a godly example for his sister and her new husband!!

My family is having Thanksgiving together this year, which is rarity as we normally celebrate with Mike's parents all together. This year we decided to keep it smaller and more intimate and have my mom and dad, Brice and Emilie, and Katy and Beau over for Thanksgiving dinner...here at my house!!! We figured it would be way too much to ask anyone if we could bring our puppies with us, as they shouldn't be left alone for more than about 3-4 hours right now. So, we are going to be cook, cook, cookin' here on Wednesday and Thursday!!! I'm really excited!!! I'll write another update after Thanksgiving with pictures of our feast!! Happy Turkey Day! :)

My Poor, poor kitty!

So...this is not for the faint of heart. Tux came home yesterday after his surgery in the morning. So, it turns out that his injury was much worse than all of us has anticipated...the vet had to do an incision about 6-7 inches long! She was supposed to just clean the original wound and stitch it up so it would heal properly, but as she was doing the surgery, she found that the wound we were seeing was the "tip of the iceberg." She had to enlarge the incision and remove some debris and hair from under the skin, which is what is in the plastic baggy. He now has a drainage tube to help with swelling and infection. And he does NOT like the lampshade he is wearing for a hat right now. We brought him home from the vet at about 6:00 p.m. and almost had to take him back to the vet at 11:00 p.m. because Tux kept finding a way to get the "e-collar" off. After managing to get it off for about the 6th time, he bit through one of his stitches...the one holding the top of the drainage tube in place. NASTY! There was blood and fluid all over the floor...not a pretty sight. So we finally were able to get him to keep the collar on and I stayed up with him until 4:30 a.m. to make sure he didn't take it off again. The emergency vet clinic that I called said that I just HAD to make sure it stayed on...regardless of what it takes! I finally crawled into bed at 4:30 a.m. and the dogs woke up at about 5:45 a.m. Needless to say, I freakin' exhausted, but glad Tux is doing better this morning. I was semi-successful in getting his antibiotics down and he was finally able to eat some food this morning. He's been napping on Cole's bed for about 2 hours now, all calm and quiet. When Cole woke up this morning, Tux was resting on the couch and Cole said, "Mommy, mommy...look, there's Tux. And he has an owie! May I go kiss him?" Such a sweet boy! Please pray that I am able to keep it together over the next few days. We have an appt for the vet to take out the drainage tube on Saturday morning. However, I've been super emotional about the whole thing and that's just not the way to handle it. I need to have super-strength right now...to deal with Tux and his injuries, to continue to train and pay attention to Neo and Trinity, and, most importantly, tend to my little Cole-man!

Sad note...this is the first year I can remember that I did not get pumpkins from Lombardi's Ranch! We don't have any pumpkins to carve, no candy to give out, no costumes to wear. What a bummer Halloween this will be. Hopefully I'll figure out something so Cole can at least walk around our neighborhood and get the experience. We were going to go to Grace for the Fall Festival, but I don't think it's a good idea to leave Tux for very long! Anyway...Happy Halloween and have a fun and safe night!

Introducing...

So, we finally have names for our new family members! It took a while and we had a few friends with input, but Mike and I chose these names at about midnight on Sunday night! Our little boy's name is...














Neo...and our little girl's name is...














Trinity. Just like from the Matrix which just so happens to be one of our favorite movies! Let me know what you think! They are doing pretty well!

On the other hand, our (favorite) cat, Tux, was in a cat fight on Saturday morning and got a GIANT gash under his armpit. We took him to the vet and he is having surgery this morning to close the gaping hole in his side. I was definitely sad to leave him overnight and to hear that he has to have surgery, but the vet said it was the best thing to do as almost every wound from a cat fight gets infected, and that can turn ugly very fast. I did take a picture of the wound, so here it is...it's pretty gnarly in real life.


Tux was great at the vet and was purring on the vet table and at one point, even fell asleep. What a good boy! His surgery will be at about 9:30 this morning, so if you read this around that time, please pray that everything will go well! I know he's just a cat, but he's part of our family and has been since right after we got married. I'm sure he'll do well...he will have to have one of those lampshade things around his neck when he comes home...that's what I'm worried about. I'm sure he'll be trying his darndest to get that thing off. :) I'll try and do an update when we bring him home.

Our new addition...s!!!

Yes...you read correctly. We have TWO new additions to our family. On Thursday night we picked up our two ADORABLE puppies from Ryan & Tammy! They are 6 weeks old and are actually really good babies...we've had about a 60% success rate with going potty outside on command! I think that's pretty great considering they are only 6 weeks. :) Here a couple of pictures that we've taken over the last day or so. We do not have names for them yet...if you have any ideas, we are trying to think of cute brother/sister names...like Luke & Lea, Donny & Marie...you get the picture. We just haven't found the right fit yet!

Bringing homes the little ones!

Our boy plays peek-a-boo out front!

Our little girl

Our little boy

Their cute little furry dog bed with the new toys!

Ashlyn and the little man posing for a pic!

The boy showing off his goatee! And sleeping all over his sister! :)


Remember...send us your suggestions! :) Have a great weekend and GO BUCKS!

Our Trip to the East Coast!

Well, we've been back almost 2 weeks and we are just now recovering from the awesome vacation we had back East. We went to Pennsylvania for my cousin Dusty's wedding and ended up making a 10-day trip out of it. We were able to visit the Pocono Mountains, Allentown, PA, Bethlehem & Nazareth, PA, Allensville, PA, Manhattan, NY, New Jersey...and lots of little townships and cities in PA as we got lost almost everywhere we went! I've put a few of my favorite pictures from the trip below, but if you have access to Facebook, I'm going to try and post most of my "favs" on there. We had an awesome time!!!











To view the rest of the pictures from the album...click here

Poconos Favs