Our Christmas Letter- 2007

Greetings to all! We hope that this letter finds everyone well and having a wonderful holiday season! We have enjoyed a very eventful year, and looking forward to more excitement next year! Our lives have truly been blessed this year, and we hope that yours has as well.
Kenny had a very busy year. He graduated from dental school in June, and was accepted into the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Residency in the Army. He is looking forward to starting the residency next year, and right now is working as a dentist in the Army. Kenny loves working with the soldiers, and he has become the "go-to" guy for pulling teeth (especially wisdom teeth).
We found out in the beginning of the year that we would be stationed at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, and we anxiously traveled cross country this past July! We arrived in North Carolina in the middle of summer (not a good time). It was hot and humid, and it had us rethinking the whole thing. Then we moved into our first house and we didn’t seem to mind the weather any longer! We have grown to appreciate this place, and we have made some great friends. We still miss all of our family, and our dental school friends, but we have become accustomed to living far from them all. We are excited for this opportunity to live in a new and different part of the country.
I (Missy) have stayed busy this year planning for the big move, searching for our house, and helping the children with all these changes. I was very excited to move and be done with the managing of apartments. It’s nice not having a "real" job! I was also very anxious to move into our first house! It was a fairly smooth move, and the kids were great sports about it all. We tried to make the week long trip fun by stopping often to see the sights along the way.
Maddie turned 7 this year and she is in the 1st grade. Maddie loves living here, and she has made some great friends. Both her and Katie have neighbor friends whom they get to play with. They love their PINK room! Maddie has adjusted quite well to all the changes. The kids finally got their puppy once we moved here, and they named her Kasey. Maddie has grown to love her, and she is taking on the responsibility well.
Katie is 5 ½, and she started Kindergarten this year! Katie was very excited to finally go to school this year. After seeing Maddie go last year, she didn’t seem scared at all! She loves school and her teacher, and she is learning so much. She loves all the friends she is making here, and loves playing outside all of the time. She too has adjusted well, although she still thinks that we can go to Pa pa’s house at the drop of the hat.
Cole is all boy! He is in the middle of his terrible 2s, and he is the complete description of that phrase. He loves to get into everything, make messes, fight, and act crazy. Cole is becoming very independent and wants to do everything for himself. He is curious about everything, and he loves to discover and explore. He loves having a backyard with a swing set that he can play in anytime he wants!
We have had a very full year, and next year I’m sure we will stay busy (hopefully not as busy however). We hope that everyone is blessed as much as we are, and that you all enjoy these wonderful holidays! We miss you all and wish everyone good health!
With Love,
The Careys

Merry Christmas!

OK- so sorry I haven't been writing lately! I wanted to share our Chirstmas photos, and explain the story behind them:) I have been taking a photography class at a nearby college with a friend, and I thought I would use Christmas time and a good opportunity to experiment with my new skills! Well, let's just say it may never happen again, but it was somewhat a successful experience. We started off well, and despite a few "hang-ups" with Cole, we were able to get the picture we wanted. You can tell as you scroll down, that by the end Cole was in tears (and so was his mommy)! I hope you enjoy these because they may be the last!!!!!

Our Little Models

These are just a bunch of pictures that we have been taking of the kiddies! They have the prettiest fall colors here (and by fall, this was taken in the middle of November!) I love this weather!

This really make her look small now!
Ofcourse we always have to be posing!
Cole calls this one the "Baby Plane"!
They were having one heck of a time holding this up!
The jungle gyms here are a little different then anywhere else:)

This is a huge plane from the 82nd Airborne. Cole calls it the "Daddy Plane" ! It's actually right next to the clinic where Kenny works, so we get to see it all the time! That's how Cole knows we are at Daddy's Work!

Maddie's getting serious with the artillery!
The next Bob Barker girls!
Cole thought that this was a BIG Truck!

This is an actual piece of the World Trade Center after it colapsed. It's part of a steel frame.
This is a real part of the Berlin Wall!
The kids in front of a statue outside of the JFK Special Warfare Museum.

Katie REALLY looks small next to one of these!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
OUR 3 LITTLE TERRORS!
Maddie was a terrifying vampire!
We searched all over for a Unicorn costume for Katie, and we finally found it on ebay!
Cole was a football player (no surprise there) and ofcourse it had to be the Seahawks.

Corn Maze

This is our trip to a corn maze before Halloween. We went with our friends, the Mackeys. The kids had a great time. And by kids I mean Kenny of course! We started it when it was still light out, but due to Kenny's superb navigational skills you can see we were still lost when it turned dark!
Maddie, Katie, and Jenna! They make such cute pumpkins!

Our fearless leader (Kenny, ha ha) leads the way! We only got lost 1,372 times in 2 hours!
Luckily we only lost Cole once, but he was always running out ahead of the group.
Choosing the "right" pumpkin!
One of the bridges that allowed us to cheat!