Christmas Letter 2011

“Go Big or Go Home” that was the motto for the Strobel’s in 2011(and we decided to do both)!

 

We started 2011 off by purchasing our first home.  We were excited and scared about this new adventure. 

For the first 3.5 years of our marriage we lived in a 500 square foot apartment that was completely furnished so moving into a 3000 square feet home with only our wedding gifts and a mattress set seemed a bit crazy. 

We moved in January (not my best idea ever).  We were blessed enough to have so many friends that helped us.  My brother Dathen and our friend Ryan helped Eric load the truck and moved everything.  My friends Jessica, Jenny, and Kristi helped me put everything away and clean.  We had it all done in one day.  I guess that is the good thing about not having much you can move and put it all away in the same day!

We made due in our new home with few home furnishings.  We used a card table for our dining set, plastic tubs as end tables and TV stands, and folding chairs as our recliners.  

Over the last 11 months we have spent countless hours in furniture and home decor stores trying to furnish our home.  I have enjoyed decorating our home and finding our own style.  We still have a lot of decorating to go but I think in the last 11 months we have made great progress!  We are enjoying being home owners!

The Living Room The Day We Moved In

New Paint & Our Fancy Furniture

 It Is Coming Along

 In May Eric and I joined Risen Savior Lutheran Church.  We feel right at home with our new congregation. We are slowly starting to be more active with the church.   We look forward to joining in more activities at Risen Savior and sharing our gifts with the church this next year. 

"Top Gun Crew/Best Friends"At the IU Football Game in Sept

Ryan, Jessica, Kristi, Adam, Eric, & Me

or better know to each other as:

Ice Man, Hollywood, Cougar, Maverick, Goose, & Merlin

This was the year of babies! Eric’s brother Ron and his wife Mary had their first son Benjamin! My sister Jennifer and her husband Drew are expecting their second child who will be here any day now.  Big sister Alivia is excited to have a little brother!  Our best friends Adam and Kristi had their second child, Annabelle Rayne.  Two of my girlfriends from high school Heather and Tiffany both had their second baby.  Last week my cousin Allison gave birth to her 3 child Bevin.  Bevin could not wait for Christmas and came a little early.  She is getter stronger daily but could use lots of prayers. 

Ben's Baptism Day

Eric and I also had a busy year with our nieces and nephews.  We have 4 nieces and 2 nephews which will change to 3 nephews within the next couple weeks!  Alivia 8, Kinsey 6, Liam 5, Layla 3, Addison 3, Ben 8 months, and Baby Clark 37 weeks in the womb!  Alivia is in the 3^rd grade and is active in Girl Scouts and plays soccer.  Eric and I also had the pleasure of watching her receive her first communion this year.  Kinsey is in the first grade and is active in mini 4-H, tee-ball and gymnastics.  Liam is in second year of pre-school.  Liam played soccer this summer and was the star of the team.  Layla started her first year of preschool this year and is doing very well.  Addison enjoys playing with all her friends at daycare and is having a blast in gymnastics.  Ben is busy growing and is moving to Wisconsin in a few weeks. Eric and I also had the pleasure of being present during Ben’s baptism this year.   Baby Clark should make his debut within the next 3 weeks; his arrival is highly anticipated by his family.  Our nieces and nephews bring us so much joy and I look forward to watching them grow and explore the world!

Alivia, Kinsey, Liam, Layla, and Addison!

This year Eric celebrated 4 years with Lorillard.  He continues to enjoy his job and looks forward to moving up within the company.  I have now been at DAC for over a year and continue to enjoy my work. 

In October Eric and I celebrated our 4^th wedding anniversary and we finally felt like we had enough furniture to host a House Blessing.  We invited our friends and family in our home for food and fellowship.  Dan Eric’s father preformed a wonderful blessing for our home.

This summer Eric was a referee for the local flag football league.  He enjoyed working with the kids and working with his best friend Adam.  Eric also joined a winter church basketball league.  Every Thursday he heads to Huntington to play ball with my brother Dathen and his friends. 

Max is now 4 years old! He is doing very well with his epilepsy.  He has only a hand full of seizures this year and is still full of energy!

 Of course I am saving the best for last. 

After 17 months of doctors, testing, treatments we are finally EXPECTING OUR FIRST CHILD! We could not be any more excited!  Every day I tell Eric I still can’t believe I am pregnant! I am now in my second trimester and enjoying every minute of it.  Strobel will be joining us in June!

October 8th The Day Of The House Blessing "It's Positive"

Our Halloween Costume 

Baby Strobel

So this year the Strobel’s went BIG…A HOUSE AND BABY IN ONE YEAR!

We feel so blessed!

From our family to yours, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Little Brother Clark

Jennifer and Drew asked me to capture the love they share for their baby.   I am so excited to be an Aunt again and watch Drew and Jennifer parent together.  In less than a month there little man will enter world and change our lives forever!

Thanksgiving

This year we had a busy Thanksgiving holiday. On Thanksgiving morning we headed to Michigan to spend the day with Eric’s family. Eric’s brother Ron and his family live 12 hours away so we rarely get to spend time together. My sister in-law Mary’s parents hosted Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings. We all enjoyed spending time with Ben! He is growing so fast. We all had a wonderful visit and are excited that Ron and Mary are moving to Wisconsin which will be only 6 hours away. I know 6 hours is still far but much closer than 12.

This year we had the Sparks Thanksgiving on Saturday. I was so busy that morning I forgot my camera….eeekkkkk . My Mom has always been more than generous about the holidays. She always gives all the in-laws the chance to spend the actual holiday with their families. We all had a great day with enough food to feed an army. Speaking of army we are working on building our own. My family just including my siblings, spouses, kids, and grandparents is a now 22 and next year with baby Clark and baby Strobel we will be up to 24!

12 weeks

 I can’t believe 12 weeks has went by so quickly already!   I still go to the Dr. almost weekly and get blood drawn several times a week but now it is just part of my routine. The baby look healthy and all is well.   The baby is about the size of a lime this week.  I think it is so funny how they always compare the baby’s size to fruit!  I still have morning sickness but not as often or intense.  I started going to the Chiropractor because the little lime is pushing on my S-nerve which is causing a lot of pain.  I am enjoying every moment of this journey (even the pain).  I have bought a baby book and started filling out what I can.  Eric could not contain himself and bought a rocking chair for the baby.  I often find him in our room watching sports rocking Max “I think he is practicing for the real thing, he claims the chair is just comfy”.  We also started buying diapers.  I really wanted to use cloth diaper but since the baby will go to daycare that is not realistic to ask them to do that.   We are buying an economy box each week at Sam’s club.  Our excitement grows more as each day passes.  I want to savor the moment as we prepare for the birth of our first child!

Simmons Family

Amy my co-worker asked me to snap a couple pictures of her kids for the yearly family Christmas photo.  With the weather being a little chilly we had to find an indoor location.  We decided to go to the Botanical Gardens.  It was decorated to prefection and had great lighting!

Baby McCartney

Last week I had the pleasure of taking Camryn’s newborn pictures. 

 Congrats to Kylie and Adam! 

Baby Clark

Baby Clark is on His Way!

Last weekend we celebrated the upcoming arrival of Jennifer and Drew’s son!  Baby Clark will be here in a little over a month.  I can’t wait to hold him, he will be a great addition to our growing family!