Before we go here are a few recent pics..

On the road we go..

We had a very Merry Christmas. The kids recieved SOO MANY gifts. Just to name a few, Chase; Leap Frog Tag Reading System (with four books and cards), Tonka Helipcopter, Lots of clothes, Little Tikes Digital Tough Camera, Geo Trax the bonus package...and more. Madison; Little Mommy Doll (Fisher Price), Leap Frog Little Touch leap pad with books, Clothes, Ride-On car, Mega Blocks, Mellisa and Doug puzzles, Dora Book, more dolls and more stuff.

Andy got alot of clothes, new shoes and razor. Andy made me a jewelry box made of of real Oak wood. He handcrafted/hand made the whole thing all by himeself and it took him about a week. I also recieved Guess Perfume and bvlgari perfume, scarves, UGG Cardy Boots and Vera Bradley make up bag and purse with wallet. Andy and I also recieved new furniture for our new home, baskets full of goodies and gift cards/ We are so greateful for everything.

Thank you to everyone for everything.

We are leaving Monday early morning. We have bags and bags of toys and books and etc for each day for each child for this trip. We also had a dvd player installed this summer to the ceiling of the van, so the kids will also be entertained by that. Our van is only 2 years old, so there will hopefully be no breakdowns on this 2400 mile journey through, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennesse and Finally North Carolina. We are doing 12 hour days from 7am to 7pm. We are also bringing our bird. We have tons of dvds for the kids also, boxes of food and cases of water, extra blankets, pack-n-play, stroller, laptop, and 5 suitcases. So much stuff to bring. Pray for us on our liong three day journey to our new home.

Our truck driver also called us today to tell us he will be here at 8am on saturday to start our loading. He will be ariving in N.C between Jan. 2 and Jan. 8. So we have to be there by the morning of the 2nd just in case. We will make it though. Mapquest said 2400 miles/ 32 hours to get there. 2 12 hour days and one 10 hour day and we will be there. We can not wait to get into our new home. Plus our dish and reciever boxes are being installed on the 2nd.

Our next update wont be until my house is completely unpacked and everything is in its place. That way we can post some pictures. I have been talking to our landlords at least once a week. They have installed new apliances and freshly painted. Its funny because I thought our new home is only 4 bedrooms plus the basement, but our new home has 4 bedrooms and an office and the basement. So 5 bedrooms. :) We can not wait.

We will update sometime towards the end of January, so no update for while. I can recieve and write back to e-mails at our yahoo e-mail on my cell, so write us that way. Talk to you all soon and happy new year, we will be bringing the new year in, in Nashville!! WooHoo.

Following slide show below..

12/13/2008 We celebrated Chase's third birthday today at Chuckie Cheese.One month before his actual birthday (01/13/2006).

Chase's classmates came, lots of cake, pizza, food and GAMES. It was alot of fun and I am pretty sure everyone enjoyed it all.

Chase was very quiet and content the whole time we were there. He is a pretty shy guy. He looks miserable in the camera shots, but all was well.



Here are a couple of pictures. Chase also got alot of very crafty and wonderful presents. He is already digging in with a smile.

Happy Early 3rd Birthday!!

A couple of shots...

Here are a few pictures of yesterday that I took before Andy left. Don't mind me in the pictures. I didn't put any makeup on because I knew I was going to cry once Andy left.

Mini Update

Happy Thanksgiving to Everyone. I am a bit late but my hands have been FULL everyday. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is about giving and being Thankful. My Dad's Wife's family gave Andy and I a used but new Washer and a great Twin- Bed for Chase. We were going to buy Chase a new twin bed when we got to N.C and now we have recieved a great twin mattress,box spring and bed frame for FREE. Also the Washer. The Dryer we will get new in N.C. But we are so greatful. VERY GREATFUL. Everything always works out. I baked a Macoroni and Cheese Casserole and two loafs of Pumpkin Bread. Andy made his Pumpkin Bars. Everything turned out great and everyone loved my casserole. We had a great Thanksgiving. Andy and I got up early yesterday and went to Target, Sears, the mall and Toys R Us to see all of the Black Friday deals. We got all of our Christmas shopping done and we save ALOT of money. It was great and we are glad our Christmas shopping is DONE.

The kids are doing fabulous. Chase was so thrilled to see Andy come home. Madison was very happy too also including myself. It has been great having help again with everything. Andy leaves tonight and will be back in 20 days. Then we will all be together again for Christmas, New Years (which we will be on the road traveling for), Andy's birthday and Chase's birthday.
Andy's mother and grandmother are meeting us at our new house on the 3rd of January and leaving on the 11th to help us with the whole moving into a new house process plus two kids. Having them there will really help Andy and I out alot. Plus we haven't seen them in 2 years.

Andy helped me pack alot while he was here. Everything is pretty much packed now. We both have countdowns to the 28th on our phone. Right now there are 29 days left. This move could not come soon enough. We are very excited.

Since we have been very busy, I haven't forgotten to take pictures of our busy week. Sorry for that. Pictures will have to wait for now. But we are all doing well. Happy December to everybody!!!

Not too much longer...

44 more days until it is time to say goodbye. Thanksgiving is in 13 days. 41 days until Christmas and 8 days until "daddy" will be coming home. Disneyland is also in two weeks. Andy's 26th birthday is two days after Chirstmas. Chase is having his 3rd Birthday party on the 13th of December (His real birthday is January 13th, but we will be in N.C). My mom's birthday is January 15th. Along with all of those fun festivites, we have get togethers, Chase's pre-school class once a week, the kids last checkups and shots before we leave, pacjking and just enjoying the time we have left here in California.

For those of you that have forgotten, we packout on the 28th of Decmeber and Start our big drive from California to North Carolina on the 29th of December. Andy is going to be joining the Navy Reserves while working in construction. Andys last day in the Navy is July 09, 2009. Right after Andy gets out, he will be coming home to us for good for at least two years. Then we will be traveling to Indiana to see ALL of Andy's family. We haven't seen most of them in 3 years. We will also be attending Andy's best friend's ( Whom Andy grew up with) wedding. Andy will be the bestman.

Since Christmas is right around the corner, I have the Madison's Christmas list and Chase's Birthday and Christmas list set up on Toyrus.com under wishlists. http://www.toysrus.com/wishlist/index.jsp

You type in Madison Kraus and Chase Kraus. You can order online or go to the store. Also Madison wears 18month-2T clothing and Chase wears 4T. Books are good gifts too. Chase and Madison LOVE books. We are always reading books.

Don't forget about their aboutmybaby.com pages online.

Madison- http://babygirlmadison.aboutmybaby.com/ password sweetangel

Chase- http://babyboychase.aboutmybaby.com/ password littlesunshine

Let me know if the passwords don't work. They should be working though.

E-mail us at abcmkraus@yahoo.com if you need our mailing address.

We won't be sending out Christmas cards this year due to our move and I always send Chirstmas family photos out with our cards every year. We won't have the time to do all of that this year. We do wish everyone a Merry Christmas. Christmas is about the lord and the time to be with one another. With the way the economy is we don't expect much at all. Hopefully the economy will turn around and next year will be better for everyone.

Here are a few recent pictures of the kids....

Halloween!

Halloween was great this year. The morning of, I drove the kids up to my moms. My mom had made some very yummy Halloween cupcakes, she took the kids for a walk to look at all of the spooky houses. I took my mom and sister and my kids out to lunch. It was nice seeing my mom on Halloween and showing her the kids costumes.

The kids then took their naps when we got home. We ate some dinner and I got the kids ready for the night of spooktakular fun of Halloween.

I took the kids first around my dad's street, where I grew up. We saw all my old neighboors and the kids got some extra candy.

Then my dad and his wife found out about these houses in Agoura that go ALL out on Halloween. So we went up there and it was alot of fun. They had all the streets blocked off. By seeing these houses you would think the owners were in the movie bussiness. This one house, had a bunch of actors and props, it was really cool. It was just all around fun. Chase and Madison were not scared just in aww all night. They had never seen so many people at once before. As soon as we got in the car, Madison passed out, she was so tired. It was mentally draining for her I am sure.

So as you could tell in the pictures, Chase was a dinosaur and Maddy was a ladybug. Chase wore the same costume last year, but it was to big. To save money we had him wear it again this year.

Halloween was fun, and it was our last Halloween and first in California!

<---- Chase's Pumpkin he helped carve!

Now Andy arrives in three weeks. Then Disneyland and Thanksgiving! Yippie!

I haven't posted pictures of the kids in awhile, so here are a few pictures of the kids over this past weekend and some I took today. Also a video of Maddy!

The kids had their flu shots last wednesday and on thursday they got sick with a cold. Which they still have. My poor babies. They are getting better though.

This past weekend I drove up to my mom's and we hung out and went to the Santa Barbara Zoo, which I don't have any pictures of yet, my mom is going to put the pictures she took on a disc for me and then I will put some of them on here. We had a good weekend and we are now ready for Halloween, because once Halloween is over, then we know Daddy will be here in a couple of weeks! :)

Our Countdown to us leaving CA and on our long 4 day roadtrip adventure to N.C is getting closer, about 8 weeks to go. We wish we were leaving tomorrow.

Our Countdown to Disneyland is getting closer too. That we can not wait for. The kids are going to be in "AWW"..hopefully with good attitudes that day too. Lets keep our fingers crossed.

I have been selling stuff on ebay and craigslist. With alot of luck, everything I have put on, has sold.

Getting boxes and packing is also what I have been up to.

Chase is continuing his pre-school class once a week for an hour and a half. He really loves it.

Iam thinking of having Chase's 3rd birthday a month before his actual birthday due to the big move and not knowing anyone in N.C. So I am thinking about having the party at Chuckie Cheese on Saturday the 13th of december. No family really..it's just for his friends in his pre-school class. A short and content little party for my baby chase. I feel bad since we will be in a new place, that Chase won't be having a REAL birthday party. So this will be nice.

We Got Our First House

Wohoo! I thought this day would never come. As most of you know we are moving to N.C December 28th. We have been looking for a house to rent for awhile and God has given us a home. Thankgoodness. We signed up for a one year lease and then if we like the home after the year is up, they are giving us the chance to by the home for $174,000.

The home is in Granite Falls, N.C The home is 4 bedrooms,3 bath and 2800 sq feet. 3 car garage. Huge finished basement. Hardwood floors in the dining and kitchen area. The house is on a half acre of land. Plus the house is in walking distance of the lake.This home is perfect for our growing family. We got the word tonight and we are still in utter shock. Its the best news.
Everyone is so friendly back east its very welcoming. Our relator and the home owner are all nice. We can not wait to get on with our new lives.

Congrats to us!!!

North Carolina in December

Thats right! We will be residents of N.C. We will be leaving California and on our road trip way to North Carolina. Rutherfordton to be exact. December 28th is when we leave. We have a moving company coming to pick up our stuff. Then the kids, Andy and I will be in our van, driving, site-seeing and watching dvds. We are super excited to start this new chapter in our lives as a family. After this no more moves. Just one more block to block move in a couple of years when we purchase our first home. But other than that. No more military and no more out of state moving. YAY!
Andy will be here for Thanksgiving and then coming back for Christmas, his 26th birthday and then the move. Then after we are settled Andy will be heading back to Hawaii to finish up for a couple of months and then back home to N.C to us.
It will be perfect because Chase turns 3 in January and I might be able to get him into a preschool in January, we will see. I haven't looked into all of that yet. But when he makes friends, I won't have to worry about us moving again and Chase losing his friends.
So much to look forward too. Just 3 more months!!! The countdown begins. :)

Fun in the Sun

The kids played out back today Great-Grandma has a big backyard, and now since Madison is walking, Chase has a buddy to play with outside. They had fun going down their slide, playing in the dirt and chasing after each other.

The kids had so much fun and they got so dirty.....that when they were all done, they had their baths and dinner. Now they are ready to fall asleep at 6:30pm

New Shoes

You know those hidden, in the corner, child/baby boutiques? They always have the hippest and stylish things in the store.The clothes, shoes, toys, etc, that are always so unique? The cute things that celebrities would by for their babies? Well I found one of those stores today, well I'll give the credit to my madre, even though I have driven by the store and wished to go in, but they were closed. This store was adorable. Although, in these types of stores EVERYTHING is on the pricey side. Just like the store "Smooch" the Kardashian's own in Calabassas, CA. I walked into their store and actually saw Kourtney working in there. But everything was too pricey. The store I went in today might be closing, so they had 20% off one item you buy. Well I bought Madison two pairs of shoes. These shoes were SO CUTE. They had tons more and I wanted them all. I have to say Madison will be so stylish.

I have the "mommy brain". I am always forgetting things. Which means I forgot to post about Andy and I's trip to Laughlin, NV and the Colorado River. The mini honeymoon/vacation that we really needed. There would have been pictures but we forgot our camera.
We took this trip a couple of weeks ago. We stayed at the Harrahs Hotel and Casino. We had a nice room on the 15th floor. Half of our room looked over the River. Nice King bed, flat screen tv on the wall. It was just all around great.
We rented jet ski's while we were there. Andy and I took turns driving. Well while my lovely husband was driving and I was clinging to his back, a boat drove by and made some extra waves. So on top of the current of the river and the waves that the boat had made...and the speed we were going...WHEW...we flew into the air about 3 feet. Then BOOM we landed. I am suprised Andy didn't have any marks on him for how tight I was holding onto him. My neck got tweaked up a bit, a minor whip-lash. My neck hurt for about a week. But it was fun. When I drove the jet ski it was like I was flying..so I had alot of fun. The river water was cold but the temp outside was about 109 degrees if not, hotter. Since it was that hot, the water was nice to be in and to be in the AC rooms of the casino was nice.
I don't know how to gamble and hubby has a few years of experience. The slot machines were not bringing us any luck, so we hit the tables. Andy is pretty good at blackjack. He lost a couple of times, and won a good share of a couple more games. There are hand signals of playing these games and lots of rules. I didn't feel like looking stupid, so I let Andy do all of the playing. We didn't win much, and what we did win we lost by playing again. Thats how gambling goes.
The hotel has singers that play there, so while we were there Earl Turner was playing. He sings blues and old school songs. He was VERY good. I loved all of the songs he sung.
Andy and I had such a good time. We can't wait for our next mini honeymoon.
Once we came back home, it was the greatest feeling in the world to see our kids greeting us with love and smiles.

Happy 1st Birthday Madison

The Birthday cake above Grammy (my mom) made for Madison's birthday. Yummy! It was so good. White Cake with two layers. In the middle was vanilla pudding. Along with the yummy pink frosting and sprinkles. Shhh...I even had a little slice for breakfast.

After the cake, then came the yummy homemade ice cream with cookie dough chunks. That was very tasty too. Chase loved the ice cream.

Then came the presents. Madison recieved alot of clothes. For those of you that have kids-Babies, you would know how FAST they grow out of their wardrobes. I love Carter's Clothing because they look so comfortable. Plus all of there clothes are super cute. My mom and step-dad got Madison a couple of outfits and some pj's, and Chase recieved some clothes too. A BIG thank you!

Here are some pictures from Madison's Chuckie Cheese Birthday Party!!!