Merry Christmas to me!

Everybody- I would like you to meet Turner, my new puppy! He is eight months old and a Miniature Australian Shephard minus the miniature part. Scott says he's having a growth spurt! I got him on the 15th and it has really been an adjustment for me to go from being by myself to actually having something I have to go home for every night!
Turner (his name was Tyler but I decided to switch it) is a purebred but doesn't fit the requirments for a miniature so the breeder gave him to a gal who was interested in him. Well, the gal had him for a few months and decided she had too many dogs and knew I was looking for one so she called me up. I wasn't too excited about getting a dog in the coldest part of the year, but my friend Lexie talked me into just going and looking at him. Big mistake, I was pretty much sold when I saw him. We went and looked at him on Friday and after going back and forth a million times (I'm not exaggerating one bit, I went back and forth that many times) we picked him up on Monday. Now, Monday night was horrible. I didn't get to sleep until four in the morning and by Tuesday afternoon I was having a meltdown. I called my friend Lexie and first she told me to breath and then just told me to try it for a few more days and see how it goes (Kim said to give it a week and go from there.) Well, it's been a week now and Turner is truly an awesome dog. For coming straight from a farm to an apartment, he has been excellent. He has yet to make a mess in my place and really just wants to do whatever I ask of him. Him and Chester are on speaking terms now. Turner is actually quite scared of her and honestly I think Chester enjoys that power. I am excited to start teaching him some commands and tricks. He knows "sit" but that's pretty much it so the basics are what I'm going to work on next. I'm a little nervous because I've never done this before but it should be okay! Anyway..enjoy the pictures!
Love,
Kendall

If you look past the cuteness of my dog you can see my way cute Christmas tree! It's a little bigger than my one last year! And kudos to Kim and Kori for picking out the decorations!

Chester was not amused with my little present!

He's not a huge fan of toys yet- I don't think he really knows what to do with them, but he's learning!

You can't see it, but he's got one blue eye and one brown eye!

Wherever I am-there's Turner. He doesn't really leave my side which can be nice but also very annoying! He loves laying by the couch when I'm laying on it- I suppose it keeps him out of trouble!

And this is Chester the second day. Pretty sure she still wasn't too impressed- I don't think she moved from the windowsill for like three days!

Thanks-Christmas!!

Amelia with her favorite Auntie! She was so excited to see me if you couldn't tell by the expression on her face!

A very huge woodpecker that was sitting outside the window! I know all of you will be excited to see this picture-it's pretty amazing!

Amelia all bundled up for the cold weather up Nort'!! Which by the way, she told me that she loved the cold and wants to move up to Minnesota- I'm just throwing that out there.

Two of my way cute nieces!

Ella "not really asleep." She would be like that and when Chris would go put her to bed, she would magically wake up. Crazy.

Anna going back to her baby days!

Emma posing for the camera!

Here are a few pictures taken at Thanks-Christmas that I found on my camera! Sorry I didn't put any on earlier! Hope everybody has a Merry Christmas!

Love,

Kendall

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like...

...Thanks-Christmas! It took some pushing to get into the house on Monday! The UPS man has become a regular at our house, much to Ellie's delight (he brings her treats each time), but this was, by far, the largest shipment. Dad and Raylene shipped seven boxes full of gifts! Fortunately, they were already wrapped as Kendall and Scott were here by themselves yesterday, and one of them couldn't help themselves (and it wasn't Scott)! Much of my effort for this holiday goes towards keeping gifts secret from those two! It takes a lot of work and scheming!

I wanted to post a picture of the gifts I have stacked in our spare bedroom, but decided that might give too much away!

God bless!

Kim

Halloween, Baby Shower, and Misc.

Just a collection of pictures taken at Halloween, Kori and Amelia's baby shower, and after church on November 9th. Hope you enjoy!! Grandma Cooper

I thought Amelia looked cute in this outfit for Halloween....

but her mom thought she needed a "real" costume for her first Halloween.


This was after Amelia found out what department her mother found this costume in -- and I'm not telling!

Doesn't Miss Emma look quite grown up here?

Ella, our "Dorothy".



I had to get the ruby red (or is it red ruby?) slippers, too!



Our favorite clown in Illinois -- Anna!!!



Christine getting some practice in!!! She can always calm the babies and we're hoping she has just as much luck doing that when her twins get here!!! Of course, she'll have Kyle to help!!! We can't wait!!! Family get-togethers will be fantastic with all the babies we'll have!




Her baby shower wore her out!

This was after church and I wanted you people up north to see your little fashion plate in Illinois! She is a stylin' baby, that's for sure!!

"Happy Birthday, Mommy!!!"

"Today is my Mommy's birthday!!! Happy Birthday, Mommy!"
"Here we are when I was six days old."

"And here I am at seven weeks old!! I've grown a little, haven't I? (And it's all gone to my cheeks!!)"

JAMES GANG VACATION

I'm not going to write anything -- I think the pictures are self-explanatory and probably most of you have seen them! It may seem like a lot of pictures, but keep in mind that I went through about 300 of them to pick these out and I did it pretty quickly, too!! Hope you enjoy! Grandma Cooper

Watch out Rocky!

Okay, so I know this won't be that fun of a blog for everybody because it does not contain any cute baby or kid pictures, however, I accomplished something and am SO excited for myself that I had to post a blog. Drum roll please.......I finally ran a complete mile without stopping! YAY!!! I have been jogging off and on all summer long and today after work I went on my usual jogging route and when I came to the spot where I usually start walking, I kept going and going and going until I made it to the end of the road!!! I know I am a dork, but this really makes me happy! And really, if I technically added it up, I probably jogged a mile and 3/4 and only walked a quarter of a mile! YAY ME!!!! So anyway, that's all!

The End!

Kendall :)

Pigs Are Flying

There's a new post on the James Gang blog.

Amelia Kay Machlitt

Amelia Kay Machlitt was born this morning weighing in at a surprising 5 lbs. 12 oz. She's 18 inches long and has dark hair. Mommy and Amelia are both doing great and Daddy is extremely proud! Amelia is breathing well and was sucking on a pacifier tonight with her eyes open while lying in Ben's arms! We'll know more tomorrow after they've tried to feed her, but so far this baby has surpassed all of our expectations! If you didn't know she was a preemie you wouldn't be able to tell by the pictures! She is really filled out... just in a compact little body! What a blessing!

We'll try to post an update tomorrow! Thank you to everybody for keeping Ben, Kori, and Amelia in your thoughts and prayers! God bless!

She was starting to whimper when I took this picture.