2011 Christmas Letter

Tiemann Family Highlights & Memories of 2011

-David & Briana went to Two Harbors, MN for 3 days in February to celebrate Briana's birthday & Valentine's Day.

-Clayton turned 4 on March 6th & Connor turned 3 on July 21st!

-David's Grandpa Ruter went home to be with Lord on March 23rd. He was a special man and is greatly missed but we look forward to seeing him again in heaven!

-Took the boy's to an indoor waterpark for some family fun in April.

-David played softball again this year with his Dad, brothers, uncle and cousins. They were undefeated all year! He also played on another team with Briana's brothers. The boy's and I didn't miss a single game to cheer him on!

-Celebrated our 5 year wedding anniversary :D

-Welcomed a nephew, niece, sister-in-law & brother-in-law to the family.

-Tiemann Family outing to a friend's cabin in Park Rapids, MN. Lots of fun, food & memories!

-Found out we are expecting baby #3! Baby is due to arrive in mid-April.

-David & Briana traveled to Mexico for Ryan (David's brother) and Zelina's wedding in September!

-David & Briana had the privilege of being in Linnea (David's sister) and Jason's wedding in October!

-David went up-north for his annual deer hunting trip. They tried a new area but had little success. He still enjoys this time of being with the guys!

-David resigned from his job at the City of Corcoran in November. He is currently working for his Dad while looking for a new job. We would appreciate your prayers for a new job, the Lord has been so faithful and He has blessed us beyond our imagination already!

-Family trip to Texas to visit Ryan & Zelina, Galveston, TX to see the "Ocean," Mississippi to have Thanksgiving with Briana's Grandparents and Moline, IL to see John Deere headquarters. We had a wonderful time and it was a definate highlight for all of us!

-Celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior this Christmas with both our families.

We thank God for each and everyone of you! May you have a blessed and wonderful year in 2012!

Much Love,

David, Briana, Clayton, Connor & Baby Tiemann

Strawberries & Cousins

Yesterday I had Coleton & Sarina for the day so that Sarah could have the day off and spend some time with her new little baby. At about 8:15 in the morning my cousin called me to see if I wanted to meet her in Delano to pick strawberries with her and her 2 little girls. I made arrangements to have my sister Lydia come with to help us. Here is the picture of the 6 little ones and our 25 lbs of fresh picked strawberries!

Clara, Connor, Sarina, Lola, Clayton & Coleton

They had this cow train that the kiddos could ride in, I definitely think that was the highlight for them! It was super cute :D

And of course, you wouldn't be David Tiemann's son if you didn't notice the John Deere Gator that pulled the train!

After our drive home, I put all the kids down for a nap and took a little rest on the couch myself. At around 7:00 last night Chase and Sarah brought little Willow over. We watched her so Chase and Sarah could have a date night. It was so fun! Here's a picture of the 5 kiddos!

Sarina, Coleton, Willow, Clayton & Connor

Sweet Baby Willow!

POTTY TRAINING

I think that I have decided that potty training is my least favorite part of motherhood. Last Monday night I decided to take on the task of potty training Connor (he is 2 1/2). So on Tuesday morning when he got up we put underwear on (he was sooo excited!) Well, I didn't have the same level of excitement especially when I cleaned up 4-5 accidents that morning (thank goodness for naptime!) As much as I dislike this, I keep reminding myself of how much money we are saving by not having him in diapers or pull-ups. Yesterday we had a lot of progress and I went to bed last night feeling very positive about how well he did, only 2 accidents in the whole day! Unfortunately, he has already had 2 accidents today. Both boy's wear diapers at nap and bedtime, and this week Clayton wants to work on staying dry at naps and bedtime so he can wear underwear to bed. So I am trying to do better about having dinner ready early enough so he can be done drinking by 6:30 at night. So all this to say, I haven't gotten anything else done in the past week, it is amazing how much time goes into putting kids on potty, cleaning up messes, washing clothes and trying to stay calm and positive (I struggle with this one the most!) Well, need to go, Connor just informed me that he pooped in his underwear! (make it 3 accidents :P)

Some Winter Picture's

We have had REALLY long and snowy winter this year and we have all been beginning to wander if spring is ever going to arrive. But this weeks "warm" spell has almost melted all of our snow. The boy's have had a lot of fun in the snow this year, here are some picture's:

Clayton, Connor and Daddy under our big pine tree

It was fairly cold all winter so when it warmed up a bit, the boy's begged Daddy to make a snowman.....

...but he didn't even last for a day. That night we had extremely high winds so Mr. Snowman blew over! :o(

Dakota loves all the attention he can get!

This is a random picture, but I just had to post it. On my birthday my brother's gave me this red scarf. Connor loves scarves and wanted to wear my other one, as you can tell by the smile on his face- he loved it!

Come on spring!

Kids Kwotes

Yesterday I was filling a water pitcher and Clayton asks, "who made the water?" Connor answers, "God made the water," then a thoughtful pause-he continues, "and probably Daddy helped him!"

Remembering Clayton's Birth

Every year at this time, I reflect on the birth of my first born, Clayton David. He was born on March 6, 2007. He was 6 weeks premature. My water broke so we went to the hospital. When we got there we found out that he was footling breech (feet-first). One of the biggest concerns with footling breech and a preemie is that their head is usually quite large compared to the rest of there body, so their head can get stuck. I ended up needing to have an emergency c-section. I was in full transition by this time as they began to prep me for surgery. My doctor was out of town so we had the on-call doctor. She wouldn't let David come with during the surgery which was really scary. I had to depend on the Lord and trust that He would take care of me and my unborn child. I was very afraid for my baby. He was totally in the birth canal and he was stuck. They ended up needing to do what they call a T-incision to get him out. We are grateful that the doctor was able to get him out safely.

They told David before they took me in to stand right out side the delivery door but to stay out of the way because they would probably be rushing the baby out to get him to intensive care. They instructed David to just follow them. David waited for what seemed like an eternity. Finally they wheeled the baby out, it was a boy! He was perfectly fine and breathing on his own, this was such a miracle!

Here he is minutes after being born in the ICU. He was so wide awake and alert! He is holding on to Daddy's thumb.

Daddy holding Clayton for the first time!

Because I had to have an emergency c-section, I had to be put out. It took about an hour for me to wake up. My Dad was with me when I woke up and remember asking him if my baby was okay. I will never forget the huge smile on his face, I knew everything was alright! Then David came up to my room to tell me we had a beautiful baby boy! This picture was taken in the ICU, I had just seen my baby for the first time! Words can't describe how I felt!

Holding Clayton for the first time and being wrapped in my husband's arms, life doesn't get much better than this! We felt so blessed!

March 10, 2007-Going home from the hospital!

HAPPY 4th BIRTHDAY, CLAYTON!

Clayton turned 4 on March 6, 2011. It is hard to believe that my little one that started out at 4 lbs. 9 oz. is already 4! We celebrated with family on Friday night. I took a little time to share with Clayton about his birth. At one point I told him that Daddy and I got to meet our little baby. He then says, "now you have a kid?" Yes, it is sad but true, he is no longer my baby but my kid! We are so grateful for his life and he brings us so much joy! We love you, Clayton!

Coleton, Clayton, Grandpa T. and Papa Elgard

Clayton on his 3rd birthday

Daddy & Clayton at 2nd birthday

Daddy, Mommy & Clayton on 1st birthday

Clayton newborn

Where does the time go?

New Wood Flooring!

Before Christmas we decided to tackle to project of tearing up our laminate flooring in the kitchen and half bath and the carpet in our eating area and entry way. You see for almost 5 years we have had carpet in the eating area and that doesn't work the greatest with 2 little boy's. We found a good deal on hard wood flooring and took on the very long project of installing it. Even I got trained in and I actually enjoyed it! Here are some pictures:

My brothers, Tanner & Jon, helped David with the tear out and a couple of days with the installing.

Our eager little boy's who always love helping Daddy! The boy's and I were gone most day's. We went to Mom & Dad Tiemann's to bake Christmas cookies one day, Chase and Sarah's to care for Sarina another day and to my parent's twice and made more Christmas cookies (which explains why we STILL have cookies in our freezer!)

Grandpa (Mark) was a huge help and the boy's loved trying to "help" him :D

Here is my new hard wood flooring in the kitchen! I just love the fact that I can sweep it or wipe up spills so much easier! Plus isn't it BEAUTIFUL!

My Dad, Jon, Wyatt & David - being goofy!

Others that helped that aren't pictured: Chase & Peter. Derek loaned us his tools which was a huge help. We couldn't have done any of this without you all! Thank you for your help! Now I just need to do more entertaining!