snow

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow. Today we had a little snow. Enough for the kids to build snowballs during recess. I hope that is not the only big of snow we will get this year - as it was only about 1/2 in. If it is - at least we can say the kids got to play in it at recess. It was fun to see the kids kick balls around and try to pick up snow on the balls - to make a big snowball. One boy actually got the snow to cover the soccerball. They also built 6 - 12 inch snowmen.

fossil or faucet

The other day in science we began talking about rocks and fossils. I asked if students knew what a fossil was? One girl raised her hand and said, "The thing that water comes out of by a sink." I had to smile as I corrected her and said, "That is a faucet, we are talking about fossil - they do sound a lot a like."

Christmas Vacation

Christmas vacation is getting closer and closer to being over. Today Michael is having a friend over to play with - he and Josh have been playing Star Wars, legos, and remote control cars. Emily could not reach any friends - so she has been doing crafts and using her sewing machine.

Tomorrow Michael is going to have a sleep over at a friends house and Emily is likely having a friend over for the evening also. It is hard to believe that we go back to school on Monday - that 2 weeks have gone by this quickly.

It has been a good two weeks - going to St. Louis, Indianapolis, going shopping, playing games, eating, cooking, watching the kids play with their new toys... I am glad that Doug was able to tazke off some of the time with us also. They enjoy being with their daddy.

Last night we went to see Disney's Enchanted. It was a good movie - even Doug enjoyed the movie. There was good humor and spoofs on Disney movies. Emily and Michael really thought it was a good movie also.

The 5 grandkids with grandma and grandpa

Emily, Noah, Andrew, Naomi, Michael
All 5 kids pile on Grandpa

Noah, Emily, Grandma, Andrew, Grandpa, Naomi, Michael

Christmas and New Year

opening gifts - what fun!
Cardinal fan hats and scarfs - made by grandma :)
grandma made a ping pong ball drop game
let's all dance to High School Musical songs
Mom, Dad, and their kids



We all got together to celebrate Christmas over the weekend. Emily, Michael, Naomi, Andrew & Noah all got lots of goodies - as well as everyone else. We started out with a devotion and Christmas Carol singing. Michael especiall loved to sing - he is going to be my musical child.

Over the weekend we played lots of Operation (Michael's gift), Don't Break the Ice (Andrew's gift), Outburst, Taboo, Carom, Pinochle (Greg & Jamie won the tournament) and lots of other family bonding. we ate lots of good foot and just enjoyed one another's company.

Merry Christmas!

Greg and Michael
Jamie, Naomi, Xavier
Jon and Jamie - the newlyweds
Singing on Christmas
Naomi helping to "decorate" Aunt Dawn and Uncle Craig's Christmas tree

Well - here it is the 26th of December. We spent a wonderful few days celebrating Christ's birth. On Sunday we went to Church and then celebrated Christmas at home with our family. Emily got some outfits for her American Girl dolls & Michael got many Star Wars figures. Emily also got two pair of pajamas, a Hannah Montana CD, and a nightlight. Michael also got baseball cards and a Darth Vadar video game. I gave Doug a replica of new Busch stadium as well as an Ozzie Smith figurine doing a flip and a baseball book. I got a nice robe and a GPS divice to help me not get lost so much :)

On the 24th we left for St. Louis - and arrived in Belleville, Illinois in time for Church. We went to Aunt Dawn's Church with mom, dad, grandma and grandpa. Then we traveled to Aunt Gayle & Uncle Laurence's house for the evening. After a light dinner a game of Gin Rummy took place. Mom and Laurence beat Dad and I - but it was fun anyway. Winning isn't everything right?

We slept in as much as the kids would let us on Chirstmas and played games until around 2:30 when we left for Aunt Dawn and Uncle Craig's house. It was great to spend the day with Grandma, Grandpa, mom, dad, Aunt Dawn, Uncle Craig, Justin, Leyna, Aunt Kathy, Uncle Kirk, Rachel, Xavier (who we met for the first time - he is so cute!!!), John and Jamie, Aaron and Katie, Riley, Erica, Aunt Gayle, Uncle Laurence, Jamie, Greg, & Naomi. The kids spent most of the time playing with Justin's Wii in the basement. Michael especially enjoyed it - and would love to have one. He knows what we have to say about video games though.

After a great afternoon of visiting and singing Christmas songs - we headed to the Drury Inn for the evening. We decided not to go all the way back into St. Louis - but to stay on the Illinois side so the drive home would not be as long.

Today we got up, ate breakfast - they are always so good at the Drury - and watched the kids swim. We then stopped at Target - and did not see anything we could not live without. Then we headed home.

After arriving home we unpacked and got ready to go hit a few places for couch hunting - in fact we had looked a few places that were on the way home. After looking at 5 places we found one at a place that made their own furniture in their own factories - so anything could be personalized for no extra cost. We could choose from any fabric they had for the cushions and throw pillows. We were very impressed - especially since they also had a sleeper sofa in our price range which we could personalize. :) We had about 100 fabrics to choose from for the base fabric - and then another 100 for throw pillows. Wow! We ended up with a blue for the sofa and a blue and creme pattern for the throw pillows. It should arrive in about 4 weeks since it is custom built- they will let us know when it comes in for sure.

Tomorrow I plan on purging Emily's rooom - it should be a long project but one which will make both of us feel much better. We will add a shelf from mom and dad after new year and we need to clean a space for it - instead of just adding to the clutter. Then I will hit michael's room - but that should not be as bad (at least I don't think so).

I will post pictures later - just wanted to catch up on "news" first.

weekend fun

We excaped the weekend "storm" which was predicted. We got rain and some sleet - but no snow. Mom and dad came down on Friday evening, instead of Saturday morning, which was good as they got snow in Indy and places in Indiana. It also kept us from hiring a babysitter - free babysitting is always nice :)

On Saturday we decorated cookies in the aftertoon - after Christmas program practice for the kids. We bagged goodie bags for the Sunday School kids (peanuts, oranges, candy...just like when we were kids) and then Doug helped get props and the sound system ready for Thursday evening's school program.

Sunday was the Christmas program. Michael was a shop keeper (baker) and Emily was the lead angel. She got to lead the procession around the Church for the entire program. Quite a big job :)

I will post pictures later - Michael and Emily want to play computer.

Michael's Gingerbread House

Since I made a gingerbread house with Emily - Michael wanted to make one too. Thus, tonight we sat down and got crafty. Emily wrote out Christmas cards for her school friends while Michael and I worked on his Gingerbread house.

Boo doing tricks

Boo knows how to sit, stay (sometimes), shake, jump, and dance. Here are a few pictures of him dancing. This was hard to photograph - as he moves quickly.

gingerbread house making

This is the Gingerbread House kit we used - it was great and came from WalMart. Look in the holiday candy section - not the Christmas stuff or the craft section.
Here is our final creation - wow! This sure looks sweet. We had to make sure to keep it in a high enough place so Boo would not get ahold of it. He loves candy.

Here are some pictures of the gingerbread house Emily and I made. I would highly recommend the gingerbread kit with the white plastic tray to hold the house. It made all the difference in creating the house easily. It stayed together without any extra support. It also came with stiff icing that really stuck together quickly. After 15 minutes it was dry (I only had to hold the roof for 1 minute to make it stay in place). Wow! What an improvement over ones I have done in the past.

Christmas Survey

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? I love wrapping paper. Unwrapping makes such a fun sound - rippp!

2. Real tree or artificial? Fake! After turning our carpet green when our real tree tipped over (due to the food coloring we were told to put in the water) I will not have a real tree again!

3. When do you put up the tree? Thanksgiving afternoon

4. When do you take the tree down? Probably after New Years when we return home

5. Do you like eggnog? Yes indeed - especially with a little spiced rum

6. Favorite gift received as a child? my rub-a-dub dollie

7. Do you have a Nativity scene? many! Michael has them have "Church meetings" and loves to play with them. He wishes I would leave them out all year.

8. Hardest person to buy for? My dad!

9. Easiest person to buy for? Emily

10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? various knick knacks from students. Once I got a brown ceramic squirrel.

11. Mail or e-mail Christmas cards? Mail! It's the only time some people get real mail from us.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? I love Charlie Brown's Christmas

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? January ...try to buy all year when things are on sale. Some years I do better at this than others.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? I'll never tell

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? chex mix, dill oyster crackers

16 Clear lights or colored on the tree? Clear

17. Favorite Christmas song? Silent Night

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Travel

19. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer? Yes - I thnk just about every early childhood teacher can!

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? neither - we have a cross

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Whenever we're together with family. Not necessarily Christmas Eve or Christmas morning

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? All the santas, reindeer, snowmen, and elves you can find - but not many nativity scene items.

23. Favorite Christmas tradition? making Christmas cut out cookies

24. Up early or sleeping in? I always like to sleep in when it's an option

25. Who hands out the gifts? We take turns.

26. Does Santa wrap your gifts? No santa in our house!

27. Do you tell the Christmas story? Someone does sometimes

28. Do you leave cookies for Santa? No santa in our house!

another December weekend

This week sure flew by. We had the Messiah sing along on Tuesday. That is a city wide event at our Church where people sing the Christmas portions of Handel's Messiah. It is a beautiful evening of music. Emily sat with me and Michael with Doug. Emily sang on the Alleluia chorus - and said, "I know this one, it is easy". I sang into her ear and helped her follow along in the music and she really stayed with us.

Wednesday evening was church with a fish fry dinner. Now our school smells like fish - and well for the next 3 weeks as we are having a fish fry each week.

Thursday was handbells and choir.

Tonight the kids and I had pizza, popcorn & movies. We watched The Hero & Meet the Robinsons. Michael had a gift card for Blockbuster which was going to expire next week - so he got to pick out two movies. He also got 2 20 oz bottles and a bucket of popcorn. He was excited as he got to pick out two sodas - he picked out sprinte and cherry coke. He drank a whole 20 oz. bottle of cherry coke.

Tomorrow Emily & I have a mother/daughter gingerbread house building event at Church. Should be a good time. Michael is going over to a friend's house to play while we are there. Then we are invited over to our friends - Chris & Sue's for their son Sam's birthday. He will be a big 1 year old.

Then on Sunday we are helping the youth put up the Christmas tree at Church.

Wow! In addition we have to catch up on laundry, pick up the house (the kids have to cleeeeaaan their rooms) and do all the usual stuff.

What a fun - but busy time of the year.

Early Christmas

Karen came in for a quick visit this weekend. We celebrated Christmas with her - as well as having a Thanksgiving dinner today at lunch and going out for Doug's birthday. We crammed a lot into about 28 hours.

We played games (uno attack, mexican train, trouble, othollo, chinese checkers), created with Michael's new erector set, made crafts with Emily's new craft kits, ate at Rocky's on the river, went downtown to watch the Christmas lights by the courthouse, went to Church & Bible class, and ate a Thanksgiving dinner. Wow! We had a fun time. Here are some pictues from our busy weekend.

Home Extreme Make Over

Two weeks ago the show Extreme Make Over Home Edition was in Louisville. Doug had the opportunity to "volunteer" on that Sunday afternoon. We went over on Saturday to watch - and the kids and Doug went again on that Tuesday to see the almost finished product. The "Move That Bus" occurred on Wednesday afternoon.

Here are a few pictures of the house in progress from Saturday. Although the kids did not want to stay long - it was exciting to see a show in progress. It will show in February sometime - will let you know when for sure.

On Thursday afternoon - after a lunch of Turkey, dressing, potatoes, sweet potatoes, cranberries, rolls, and pumpkin dessert - we got ready for Christmas. The kids and I put up the tree while Doug put up lights outside. The kids did help him out with the lights - and even ventured up on the roof. They are all syked for January when they get to help take the lights down. :)

Come Ye Thankful People Come

This week I have been doing a lot about thanking God for all his blessings with my students. We made murals, wrote prayers, made acronyms... Yesterday one student said we sure are talking about thanking God a lot (the student was Michael). I said Yes, we were, but we were still not doing it enough. God gives us so many blessings! More than we could ever count! I reminded them of Solomon (we had that story two weeks ago) and all his blessings. This Thanksigivng take the time to Thank God for his blessings - and then do it again - and again - and again! God loves it!

Today we will do it again at school - and again - and again!

Thank you God!!!!

Braces

Emily had a new occurance on Monday. She got braces on her top teeth. She also was fitted for her bottom bracket. They will call us when that comes in & then they will put spacers back into her mouth and then schedule a visit to put the bracket in. With the holidays it was difficult to guess when things would be back. She has a sore mouth for now. I keep telling her in time she will get used to it. Until then it is jellow, pudding, yogurt, noodles, ... soft foods. Hopefully she will be able to eat turkey. Otherwise it will be more potatoes & pumpkin pie :)

Veterans' Day

In recognition of Veterans' Day - November 11th I had a Veterans' Day open house today. I had 7 different Veterans who shared with my class about their experience in the military. I also had 2 students who brought in items from family members who were unable to attend. What a great day to celebrate the wonderful country we live in and to thank our Lord for giving us people to fight for our freedom. I praise the Lord for all the members of the military - who helped to make America the country it is today. Thank a Veteran - and make Sunday a special day for them!

More about Indy

On Saturday we also went to the Children's Museum. Michael was a little disappointed - as they had a Star Wars show in the planetarium. We had tickets and were seated waiting for it to start. They tried to start it twice - and had technical difficulties. Due to the All Pro Dad activity he and Doug were going to later int he day - we were not able to attend a later show. He was sad, but I told him we would try to go again over Christmas break.

Andrew loved the trains and Emily and Michael loved dressing up as scuba divers and sea creatures. I enjoyed watching them play and have fun being a kid.

After everyone was back home the kids all enjoyed climing on and wrestling with grandpa. No wonder he has back trouble sometimes - what a load he had on his back.

Michael and Doug

On Saturday Doug and Michael had a wonderful bonding experience. They were able to attend a ProDad event at the Indianapolis Colt's practice field. Activities were done at stations - and they came home with free stuff. Michael got an autograph of a previous player - as well as a picture with an autographed helmet. They were two numbers away from winning an autographed football helmet. Dad and Gene were "volunteers" for the event - and did not enjoy it as much.