Our Thoughts & Prayers with the Cold Spring Police Department!

Jake and I received terrible news early this morning that a Cold Spring Police Officer was shot and killed in the act of duty late last night. Our brother-in-law Eric is okay, but we are sending lots of prayers to Sarah & Eric and the rest of the Cold Spring Police Department. Such traggic news and such a thoughtless act...God bless all those who are suffering right now, especially during this Holiday Season!

http://kstp.com/news/stories/S2851012.shtml?cat=1

Let The HOLIDAY Festivities Begin!!!!!

Ah, our family Christmas festivities being this weekend and will go every weekend now through January 12th! I'm so excited for Christmas this year, the kids are at PERFECT ages for Christmas and Santa this year. The kids and I enjoyed hanging the ornaments on the tree last weekend...needless to say, we are quite "bottom heavy" on the ornaments this year, ha!

Andray loves wearing his "I Believe in Santa Claus" hat!

Our special Nativity Scene from my Gpa Shorty and Gram - a cherished wedding gift 7 years ago.

 We took family photos at the mall last weekend and afterwards we got in line to see Santa for the first time this Holiday season.

 Waiting in line to see Santa...the kids were very patient.

 Roslyn told Santa that she liked Dora and Boots better than Diego...too cute.

 Andray was scared to death of Santa - priceless.

The kids loved the North Pole set-up at the Mall though.

 Sweet...Sibling Love.

 I hope all your wishes do come true this Christmas Season
Little Man!

 Our family stockings are hung!

 All the presents are wrapped and under the tree.

 Andray and Roz were excited to hang their CARS and DORA ornaments this year!
Thanks to Papa Larry & Grandma Carol!

Our Christmas Tree topper doesn't fit on our tree, so we displayed it with the kids' photos in our kitchen. Here's hoping for an incredible Christmas Season with our children this 2012!!!

Deepest Sympathies to Megan & Her Family!

Deepest sympathis to my sister-in-law Megan and her entire family...they lost her Gpa Bill unexpectedly on Sunday morning...Megan is giving the eulogy today at the funeral...God grant her the strength to speak in front of everyone and say all that she wants to say to honor her Gpa...Isa and Amelia will truly miss their Great Gpa Bill!

We Had a Great Thanksgiving Weekend!

We had a great Thanskgiving weekend...was fun to see Jake's relatives and the kids and I were able to decorate our xmas tree, get all the xmas decorations up in the house, wrap presents, take family photos and even see Santa...got a lot checked off the "to-do" list...I love 4-day weekends!

All dressed up for Thanksgiving Day - 2012

The great grandchildren playing cards with Father Mark after mass on Thursday...precious.

Thanks to Jenny for reading books to our kids!

Jake with his Dad and two Sisters Sarah and Rhonda after the delicious meal.

Was a sad day on the farm without Great Gpa Stang there. Gma Stang was in pretty good spirits considering it was the family's first official holiday without Gpa Andy. There were quite a few tears shed during the mass for Gpa. Gma Stang enjoyed watching the great grandchildren play outside in the snow fall!

Andray with his cousins Ella and Brody.

Andray LOVED being outside in the snow...he kept calling it a Snow Storm!

Andray loves his Big Cousin Ella so much!

Our beautiful Rozzy in RED!

Roslyn with her sweet cousin Neely...they loved being outside in the snow with their dresses on, too cute!

Meet the "newest" member of the Stang family...Sheeba! The grandkids love her!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!!!!

Hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving with your families this weekend! I will miss seeing my family over the long weekend, but am so thankful for a great Stang gathering on Thursday and a Rausch gathering on Sunday. Hard to believe this will be our first Thanksgiving Day without Grandpa Andy, he will truly be missed! It's going to be a tough day on the farm tomorrow! So much to be thankful for, especially the health of my own family.

Andray with his Great Gpa Andy Stang on 11.11.11 - 2011 Thanksgiving Celebration

Happy 6th Birthday Isabel Lucia!!!!!!

 Happy 6th Birthday to our beautiful niece Isable Lucia...we are so thankful to have you in our family!

Mom and Dad with their 4 grandchildren.

Jacob & Isable...the November birthdays of the Frank family!

Love this photo! Dad teaching Andray how to play chess.

We all got together in Rochester at Aaron and Megan's new home a couple weekends ago to celebrate both Isabel and Uncle Jacob's November birthdays. Isa decorated her own butterfly cake...I was very impressed!

I love these photos...all the younger grandchildren watching Isa light her candles...priceless!

So funny how Roz and Amelia are leaning over the table...too cute.

 Happy 6th Birthday Baby Lu...

May all your wishes come true in 2013! We love you!

Had a Grrrrrrreat Weekend!!

Ah, I had a great weekend...got all my Christmas shopping done with Jake's mom and sisters. Then on Sunday Andray and I drove to Roseville to spend the day with Adam, Heather and Mason. Heather is 10 weeks pregnant, so we get to be pregnant together, pretty awesome! Plus, they are officially moving back to Minnesota in January 2013...amazing news!

Our handsome boys!!

Best Friends and our Big Boys...love it!

Happy Birthday Grandma Sandy!!

 A very special and Happy Birthday to Jake's mom...Grandma Sandy! We love you and appreciate all you do for us! Have a super day, you deserve it!

Happy Veteran's Day Dad!!!!

A very special Happy Veteran's Day to all those who have served for our country, both living and gone. Thank you for serving for our country Dad...you are my HERO and I'm so proud to be your daughter!

Veteran's Day 2011 - was awesome to watch Papa Larry carry the flag at Redwood Valley High School!

Dad sure does love his lil' Andray!

Last year on Veteran's Day...11-11-11...a special day!

God Bless the United States of America!

October...What a Month!

Wow, the month of October had quite a few ups and downs and seemed like such a long month, yet time is just flying by!  Andray continues to LOVE pre-school. Last month he had his school photos taken and he got to ride a school bus to a pumpkin patch...he was so proud to walk off the bus!

Our BIG BOY!

I went to Andray's first school conference yesterday and he got GREAT reviews from his teacher Mrs. Swanson. We are so grateful that Andray loves school, he has really come out of his "shell" this fall!

The first week of October we celebrated Gram's 85th bday with a small gathering at the Lingl farm. It was such a beautiful day to be on the farm with Gram and the rest of my family...very thankful for that time.

 

Roz of course loved the table with the cake and all the treats on it! She loved playing the Birthday Bear song as well!

 We announced to the Lingl family at Gram's party that Andray & Roslyn would be Big Siblings in March of 2013. Everyone was surprised and excited, all at the same time.

 I told Gram a week before her bday party that her 13th great grandchild was on the way. I gave her a bouquet of 13 roses...8 pink roses (for her 8 great granddaughters), 4 blue roses (for her 4 great grandsons) and 1 yellow rose to represent Baby Stang #3.

Gram with 11 of her 12 great-grandchildren...we were just missing Whitney.

Gram with 8 of her 11 grandchildren...just missing Sam, Stacy and Adam.

Gram with her children...sure do miss Gpa Shorty!

The following weekend I was fortunate enough to watch my nieces Amelia and Isabel...the four Frank cousins had a blast all weekend. Thankfully our neighbors didn't mind the kids playing in their HUGE leaf pile!

We had a great time preparing for Halloween and enjoying the trick-or-treating festivities with the kiddos.

On October 11th we welcomed our beautiful new niece Emery Sandra to the family...we are so thankful for another healthy baby in the family! Congrats to Rach and John!

Our family even got to enjoy a "Buggy Ride" from Uncle Eric...you could hear the kids laughing from the end of Eric and Sarah's driveway...fun times with the cousins.

Andray's older cousin Mya has so graciously shared her red and green glasses with Andray. He loves wearing them in the van, even when he's too tired to keep his eyes open! Too sweet.

On October 13th Jake's Gpa Andy entered heaven...we think of him every day and know that the nearing Holidays will be difficult without him around. I am just so thankful that I was able to know Gpa Andy for the past 12 years and I will forever cherish the photos and memories that Andray and Roslyn have with their Great Gpa Andy!

 I'm looking forward to the weekend...we are heading to Rochester to celebrate Isabel's 6th bday a couple weeks early! Hopefully the weather holds off and we're able to make it on Saturday and Sunday! Can't wait to see Aaron and Megan's new home out in the country!