Our annual holiday lights limo ride through KC!

 Looking for the 1st REAL Dulin Family Christmas Tree!!!

Xander did not care to tell Santa what he wanted for Christmas! Of course, big brother did. He told THIS Santa that he wanted a HORSE. Really?? He saw several Santas over the Christmas season and this was just one of MANY different things he told Santa. I told him that he was confusing the old man. 

As I sit here, 2013 is just hours away. Why on earth does every year have to go by faster and faster?! Looking back on the year though, we have been truly blessed and we remember all of the great memories this year brought us. 

Jeremy and I both come from small immediate families (him and I each have one brother) but we have such a big extended family through Nate and Xander's birth families. So, instead of celebrating Christmas once, our boys got 4 different Christmases! Can we say spoiled???!!!!! haha! No doubt they are LOVED. Thank you to all of our family members who loved on our boys this Christmas season. 

We may receive physical gifts over Christmas but we are soo very thankful of the eternal gift that we have received through our Lord Jesus Christ. God sent HIS one and only Son FOR US so that we could be saved and spend eternity with Him one day. We are so grateful for this incredible gift and as I look at my children, I am in awe of the sweet gift of a baby boy. 

I was not able to get all of our Christmas cards out this year so if you did not receive one, please do not take it personally! We had a hectic few weeks with travel, sickness and family obligations and are now excited to relax and ring in the New Year. We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas season and many blessings to you and your family in 2013! 

Please keep in touch!

Love, The Dulin Family :)

 At the Pumpkin Patch with the Boston Family.
This is Xander and Journey. 

This picture cracks me up because the sun was in Xander's eyes but it looks
like he is saying, 

"Ewww, cooties!" 

 At the Faulkner Pumpkin Patch...on the hayride! So fun!

 The boys are getting so big and so....TALL! 

Crazy to think about how tall they will be next year!

Our 'SUPER' family! Me and my Super Hero boys on Halloween!!!

Today we got family Christmas pictures taken and it reminded me that the year will be over before we know it! It seems like every year goes by faster and faster. Nate is 5 and Xander is 17 months and even though I get frustrated at times (including this particular moment when Nate is tapping on my arm and computer because I told him to wait a minute) I feel incredibly blessed and SUPER lucky. Xander's Great-Grandpa made the comment today that, "These are the happiest times of our lives," and I would have to agree. So, I will do my best to cherish each moment even in the
midst of the busyness of life!

Before long I will be putting together our annual Christmas letter. It is so hard to believe that we are in the midst of the holiday season again! So, until then, have a blessed week!

HOW IS IT ALREADY OCTOBER ALREADY!!??? I have been such a slacker and have so much to blog about...Xander's sweet little curls that now engulf his head, my second trip to Africa, holidays, birthdays, parties, friends, family, big events, little events....SO MUCH! So, I will try and do better and get a few pictures and information up soon! Stephanie :)

LET'S CELEBRATE!

Holy cow! I didn't realize it had been so long since I had blogged and some big things have happened!!!! First off, on January 18 we finalized Xander's adoption. He officially became a DULIN that day! It was a really special day...the court hearing was quick and easy and Xander slept right through it! We then ended the day with a BIG party!!! We had so many friends and family that came to celebrate Xander's adoption. It was awesome to see a room full of Xander's birth family, adoptive family, along with many friends from both sides. He is one loved little boy that's for sure and we feel incredibly blessed.

We celebrated a second time in February when Jeremy turned NINE years old!!!! Yep, Jeremy is a Leap Year baby so he only gets a 'real' birthday once every four years! We had a great time as I told everyone to bring gifts that were 'nine' of something. He got some pretty unique and creative gifts...9 gift cards, 9 DVD's, 9 things to take on the Royals Opening Day, 9 yards of laughter (Laffy Taffy), 9 coins, 9 hugs and kisses, 9 baseball card packs, 9 bags of M&M's...the list goes on! So, his next 'real' birthday will be a SUPER BIG ONE! He will be "10" but yet the big 4-0! We are already saving our pennies to go on a Disney cruise!

Other than that, we are just plugging along and are busy as ever! Jeremy is loving his new office and enjoys everyone he works with. It has been a wonderful opportunity and we praise God for opening this door for him. I am staying busy with the boys and constant work with Frannie's and teaching aerobics. Nate is still in preschool and we plan on keeping him in preschool for one more year. He will turn 5 in July so we will wait until he turns 6 before starting him in Kindergarten. It wasn't our original plan but we feel that this is the best decision for him at this point. Xander is getting bigger and bigger and bigger everyday!!! It is crazy to think that he turns 9 months old this week! He has been pulling himself up and is a crawling machine. He LOVES his big brother and bath time is now fun-time for the boys to play together. Oh the giggles that are produced between brothers are PRICELESS.

Well, I will try and not let too much time go before I blog again! We hope everyone is enjoying 2012!

Love,

The Dulins :)