Fruit Baskets

Well, I was surprised at Christmas when I got a fruit basket, and joked about feeling old, well for teacher appreciation every teacher and support staff member was given a fruit basket. I guess we are all old - or all live in fancy hotels :)

I did get the largest pear I had ever seen in my life from Korean student. In addition, I got some quiwi fruit, some oranges, some apples, some grapes, some peanuts, some peppermints, and a grape fruit. It all sounds so good since I am dieting. I do not have a scale right now (I threw it away as I was too frustrated with it last fall - I did not like the numbers I was seeing) so I am judging my weight loss by how a certain pair of pants fits.

Pray for will power as Monday was snack day and the teacher's lounge is full of snacks, snacks, and more snacks. Tomorrow is school supply day. At least that does not contain calories :)

R.V. and Boat Show

This evening we went to the R.V. and Boat Show. We heard an announcement that there was going to be a fashion show and cooking demo. (as it was ladies night) so of course that perked Emily's attention. On the way to the fashion show, we walked by a casting contest for kids. I urged her to try, even though she was hesitant. The woman at the desk, said come on, they will show you what to do, so she obliged and gave it a try. Much to our surprise, she ended up being the winner of the evening. She got 100 points and that won her a medal, a fishing pole, a target to practice with and a spot at the Kentucky State Bass Master's kids casting contest. Wow! It will be sometime this fall. Thus, she has plenty of time to really learn what she is doing. A friend of ours from school has a pond on their property, so I will talk to them about having her go out there and practice.

I also won a prize - the movie The Guardian. Sounds more like one that Doug would like, but will have to watch it one weekend night after the kids are in bed.

The movie, fishing pole, balloons the kids got, and coloring books more than paid for the admission price of $16.00. Of course the camera was in my purse, but it was dead, so we could not take any pictures of Emily or Michael casting or Emily getting her awards. Oh well, our memory will have to be good on this one.

We had been looking for some activitiy for Emily to do, since she decided not to play softball and swimming does not fit our vacation schedule very well, maybe fishing will be the thing :)

A Classroom Funny

Last week I was trying to teach my class about compound words. For some reason, they were having trouble grasping the concept. After 5 minutes of beating my head against the wall, one girl raised her hand and said "Father". I said, "No, fath and er were not words." She very seriously said, "Yes, fat and her are words, so it is a compound word." I laughed and said, "yes they are words, but would you call your father a fat her?" The whole class then laughed. "I said you might call him a fat him, but not a fat her. I then quickly said, I hope you would never call your father a fat him either." Wow! First graders sure keep you on your toes.

scrapbooking

Emily and I spent quite a bit of time this weekend scrapbooking. Doug and Michael were working on floors at Gene and Holly's house. Michael spent quality time with grandma and grandpa while Doug worked. Since Emily had a birthday party to go to, I stayed back with her. We watched movies and scrapbooked the weekend away. It was nice to sit back and relax, although now I have to catch up on laundry and all the other stuff that I neglected. Oh well. That is the way it goes sometimes.

Tonight I do have a great feeling! I finished scrapbooking 2006 :) Now my goal is to keep up with 2007 and spend time going back and finishing the years between 1998 and 2006. I have a good start on 2005 :) but still have some pictures to locate in albums and boxes. I sit back and laugh at myself now, as I got scrapbook stuff when Emily was born as a gift and I gave it away after a few years saying I did not really think I would have time for that or really enjoy it. Now I wish I had some of that stuff back, especially the good album I was given. Oh well. That is what I get for giving something away. :)

The kids have really gotten into scrapbooking, the only problem is getting 3 copies of pictures does get kind of expensive. I just picked up 160+ pictures from Walmart and have more to go as I realized I forgot a disk. Oh well. That is the way it goes. I guess they could have more expensive hobies. I just dont' know where we will put all the scrapbooks that they fill - they work pretty quickly.

100th Day of School

Well, here it is the end of January already. I am getting ready to celebrate the 100th day of school with my 1st graders. Wow! Where did the time go? Tuesday I will have my students bring in 100 of an item (m&m's, marshmallows, q-tips, leggos, Barbie shoes...) and we will do all kinds of activities with the items. In addition, we will explore the number 100. I wish we had done a 100 day celebration when I was in school - it is a lot of fun. Our Principal even dresses up as 0 Hero and leads the kindergarteners and 1st graders on a counting trip around our school.

School is not all we have been up to. This weekend was a girl's weekend. Emily and I spent the weekend scrapbooking and watching movies while Doug was helping Gene install flooring in their house. Michael went along to Grandma and Grandpa's house for some quality time. Emily and I have watched How to Eat Fried Worms, Hoot, and a BAbysitter's Club Movie. Today I think another movie is on the adjenda for after Church. I think I have almost finished scrapbooking 2006 :) All I have left is Christmas and I hope to finish that today. Then it will be beginning on 2007 and then the hard job - sorting and doing the years 1998 until 2005. It will be fun to relive the memories, but hard to decide what to take out of photo albums.

Other things that have happened this January include Emily playing intermural basketball. She is enjoying it. She especially likes guarding one of her best friends. It is funny to watch the two girls - they stick to eachother like glue. I dont' know what they care about most - sticking with one another and waving their arms around or catching the ball. :) Next week is their last game.

Happy 2007!

Christmas Re-Cap

middle - Playing Monopoly at mom and dad's house. Greg was the winner.

Right - two proud daddies - Gene, Andrew, Greg & Naomi

Left - Emily & Michael at alone creek



Well, here it is our first day back at school. It is hard to believe that Christmas break is over. We did many things over break - here are just a few highlights from the 23rd on:
* We traveled to mom and dad's house and spent time with Greg, Jamie & Naomi, Holly, Gene & Andrew, and Mom and Dad. We opened gifts, played games, ate, talked, and relived family memories. It was great to see Naomi again, as well as play with Andrew.
* Doug and I won the pinochle tournament!!!! We have been in 4th place for 3 years and now we moved to 1st :)
* Michael got the movie Cars, some cars to go with the movie characters, a Cars book, and Cars shoes. He also got the Curious George movie, Curious George books, Curious George stuffed animal, Curious George CD & a Curious George story DVD.
* Emily got clothes for her American Girl Dolls (she has 3 now), finger nail polish, American Girl books, and lots of books.
* Doug got lots of Cardinal stuff - including some World Series stuff.
* I got scrap book stuff, including a new scrap book suitcase.
* The kids and I enjoyed our time down on the farm. The kids walked down to the creek on their own and now call it alone creek.
* We were able to see Grandma and Grandpa's church with a finished remodeling. Wow! It sure was beautiful inside and out.
* While in St. Louis we were able to catch up with Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins. What a great time to catch up.
* Doug installed pergo like flooring in our kitchen and refinshed our bathtub. Without any "helpers" it went pretty smoothly. He finished the trim up this evening and just needs to replace the trim on part of the cabinets to be done.
* We spent New Years back in Indy with mom and dad. We went to Holly and Gene's house, but all went back to mom and dad's at 10:00 as we were all tired.
* We watched the Rose Bowl parade and the Nebraska game at the same time - as Doug got a splitter and split mom and dad's cable.
* School started today at 8:30. I needed another day, as we had a full day yesterday, but oh well. One is really not ever ready to come back after a break.

The Day Before Christmas Eve

Today is a day of anticipation in our house. We are going to open presents, as we will leave later this evening to go to my parent's house. Emily and Michael are waiting and waiting. They keep looking at the mound of gifts and asking when Daddy is going to be home. He is doing a good deed - pulling up carpet at Church. They have to replace it as it was damaged when the flood waters came in earlier this fall. He will be home later this afternoon.

Seeing them wait brings back memories of me and presents as a child. I remember getting a rub-a-dub dolly when we lived in Iowa. That was a prized gift which I remember playing with in the tub for many years. I also remember getting the game Sorry from an aunt and uncle. Today Emily and Michael play on that same sorry game. I remember going to Galveston beach on Christmas the year we lived in Texas and had friends in for Christmas. I also remember getting sun glasses from an aunt one year and all of the cousins wore them and thought we were so cool. Christmas programs and plays also fill these memories as well as Christmas trees, Christmas lights, and Christmas trips. Childood memories are great - and they do help us relive the joy of Christmas. The true memory though should be of the gift of Jesus. Jesus is the reason we celebrate and he is the one we should remember and reminisce about. I hope to create Christmas memories of Christ which can be remembered in my children.

Merry Christmas to all of you. Jesus loves you and I love you! God's blessings to each and every one of you.

Fruit Basket & Christmas Break

Today I got to thinking. I received a fruit basket from a student. This is the first time in my whole teaching career that I got a fruit basket. Fruit baskets make me think of fancy hotels, busy people, old people, and impersonal gifts. I will keep the fancy hotel idea in my head - and think about my home being a fancy hotel - instead of a simple 3 bedroom home. :)

The kids and I had a good time at the science center. We got to see 3 different demonstrations. The kids thought the shrinky dink one was the coolest. Made me think of doing shrinky dinks when we lived in Iowa. We did them at Christmas time and traced pictures from coloring books. Mom then taped them to the windows at Christmas time as decorations for the next few years. What a fun memory. I will have to find shrinky dinks so Emily and Michael can do some more. They both were amazed at the plastic and how it shrunk.

Tonight I got our Christmas letters ready to mail. Of course they won't get to people by Christmas, but shortly thereafter. It is the thought that counts right? We are mailing about 55 so far - will probably do more as we receive more.

Tomorrow both kids will have friends over to play. I hope to wrap Christmas gifts for family members while they are playing with friends. On Thursday I plan on taking them to the bat factory. Michael has been wanting to go and we have not been for a while. Kids have free admission during Christmas break - so what a great time to go. Should be fun.

Christmas break

Christmas break began last Friday :) What a great time of the year! I look forward to this break - a chance to relax and enjoy the birth of Christ as well as do extra activities with my kids. Today I baked cut-out cookies and ginger bread cookies with them. I also made 4 batches of fudge and a double batch of party mix. I still want to do an almondbark pretzel thing I found. Then it is time to enjoy all the goodies :)

Tomorrow I plan to take the kids to the science center and then Wednesday they will both have friends over for the day. Then on Thursday and Friday I plan on working around the house - doing some painting and helping get the bathtub ready to resurface.

Saturday was a great day! We went to The Christmas Carol at Actor's Theatre. We then walked over a bridge and ate at a restraunt in Indiana. We had never walked over the 2nd street bridge, so that was a great experience. The weather was beautiful - almost broke a sweat walking over the bridge. After dinner we went back across the bridge - by then it was dark and the bridge was lit up with purple lights. We then went on a carriage ride. The coolest thing (Emily is still on cloud nine) is we got the Cinderella carriage. It is a pumpkin made of lights. What a wonderful surprise for her as she did not know we were going to do a carriage ride.

Sunday we went out to eat with some friends from church and then went bowling. After bowling we did an annual tradition - letting the kids shop at the dollar tree for family members. How funny to see what they pick out when given the chance to choose things on their own.

michael and the dentist

Today Michael was a brave boy. He went to the dentist to have a tooth pulled. He had a baby tooth that did not come out before the permanent tooth grew in behind it. He noticed it on Saturday - he said all excited, "Mommy, mommy, I have a loose tooth." I looked and then responded, "It better be loose, as you big boy tooth is growing in already." The dentist wanted to see him - and remove the tooth. Two shots and a pull later he had his bottom front left tooth out. He was so brave - he did not even cry - he just squeezed my hand very tightly. Now the tooth fairy has to visit :)

cold season

Along with Thanksgiving and Thanksgiving break came cold season. Although the weather was in the 60's and beautiful, it was cold here - I mean virus cold. We are just getting over it :) but my classroom sounds like a infirmary. It is difficult to stay healthy when one has 22 first graders coughing and sneezing all over you, as well as leaving snotty kleenex sitting on their desks. While I do use clorox wipes as well as hand sanitizer it seems these must be making the germs grow and increase in intensity instead of killing them, as my students keep coughing and sneezing.

I am glad it is getting cold - although I hope it does not snow like they said it might - so maybe the cold germs will die or go pick on another classroom or school.

Thanksgiving Weekend

We went to the Light Up Louisville Christmas parade on Friday. It was a fun time - the kids had not been to a parade since Fort Smith when Emily was 2 1/2 and Michael was 6 months old. Seems kind of sad that they had not been to a real parade all that time. They enjoyed it - although there were no marching bands and not many real floats. Lots of people marching together and cars. After the parade we went to the car to eat turkey sandwiches and then went back for Light Up Louisville. It was pretty, but not very long. Santa came in at 7:00 and that sure did cause a stir. Who would have thought it would take 20 - 30 police officers to ward the crowd off of Santa. After that we came back home to play Disney Scene-It. The kids got that from Craig and Amber for Christmas.

Saturday morning we all slept in a little and then enjoyed everyone's company. We had another turkey dinner before taking Karen to the airport. Craig and Amber & Amelia stayed around for another round of Disney Scene It as well as playing a baseball game that Michael has. They left around 4:00 and then Doug and myself hit the Christmas lights. We have a pair of white trees, a holographic gift in front of them, a holographic train, blue lights on the bushes, and white lights on the house. It is very bright outside with all the lights on.

Today we spent the day relaxing and lounging. We did go fly a model airplane which Doug's boss gave the kids. After that we went to dinner at CiCi's Pizza (of course we have plenty food in the house but just needed a break from cooking). I won't have to cook all this week as we have plenty of left-overs. That will be nice but I am sure we will get tired of it. I plan on freezing some for meals later. We have plenty of turkey left as we got a 22 lb. turkey.

Tomorrow it is back to the regular routines. I hope my students are less active - last week they were very active and talkative. I know it will only get worse before it gets better, but I hope for 1 good week before the Christmas actitivities start.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving actually began on Wednesday with a Thanksgiving feast at school. Parents were invited to attend Chapel followed by a family feast pot-luck style. It was a great time! I was able to leave about 2:00, as all but two of my kids were gone. We then went to the zoo - a great day to go as nobody was there. The weather was great also. Then it was birthday dinner for Doug - at Famous Daves B-B-Q. After that it was a trip to Liquor Barn to buy wine and other beverages, followed by Thanksgiving worship at Church. Craig, Amber & Amelia got into town around 10:00, but since they were staying in a hotel we did not get to see them until Thursday.

Thank the Lord for family and for fun times with them. Yesterday we were able to celebrate Thanksgiving with Doug's mom, brother, sister-in-law, & daughter. It was great to be able to relax and enjoy time with them. Putting cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents together is priceless. For lunch I made a 22 lb. turkey, two kinds of stuffing, two kinds of sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, 4 kinds of bread machine bread, 2 kinds of cranberries, gravy... and then came dessert - a pumpkin gingerbread cake, pumpkin cake, and pumpkin pie. We played some games of Uno Attack, Candyland, Miss Liberty (an American Girl Game), as well as working on a Flat Emily scrap book (Emily's homework assignemnt which grandma had helped her out with - ever hear of Flat Stanley, well Emily sent grandma a Flat Emily to take on an adventure). The boys went to get our Christmas stuff out of storage, so after a dinner of turkey noodle or turkey rice soup (I was able to do both as we had two turkey carcases - one from our Thanksgiving, and one from a turkey I cooked for school's Thanksgiving feast. For dessert we had pumpkin ice cream pie - imported from Iowa on dry ice.

The kids, Karen & Amber made sticker turkeys then we all played pin the hat on the turkey. That made for a laughable memory. Emily read a prayer she had written at school while Michael read one he had written at home on the computer. Both really did well - I wish I had recorded it on the video camera.

I want to list a few things I am thankful for this year. It has been a busy but wonderful year:

* the birth of a healthy neice - Naomi
* finishing up graduate school - YEAH!!!
* healthy children
* enough money to meet needs, and even having some left over at the end of the month :)
* food, food, and more food ... too much as I have gained too much weight over the past year but I thank the Lord that I have had all that food I know so many do not have that blessing.
* technology - blogging, cell phones, computers, DVD players, CD players... WOW!
* a loving husband
* being close to family

The past two weekends

Above left: Emily, Michael, Naomi & Jamie

Above right: Jamie, Greg, Naomi, Tracy, Doug & Julie








mom, Holly & Andrew at the Pumpkin Patch


A trip to Wisconsin for Naomi's baptism was on the adjenda for last weekend. It was great to meet our new niece, but the highlight was to welcome her into the family of Christ when she was Baptized. Doug was her Godfather. Jamie's sister and a friend from college were her two Godmothers. While there we had the chance to visit a pumpkin patch, watch lots of football, visit with family, and meet new people. We drove up with mom and dad in our van and then mom came back with Holly and Gene. Dad drove back with us, to help out with the driving. Doug was still unable to drive, so having Dad along to help really was a big help. The portable DVD player was a blessing - the kids watched movies, colored, played with cars and were good the whole trip.

On Friday we watched Gideo - Tuba Warrier a new Veggie Tales video. It was funny, just as the others have been in the past. I would recommend it for any family. On Saturday we picked up the house, folded an obsene amount of laundry (how does one family create that much dirty laundry is my question) and racked leaves. Then on Sunday we were at Church from 8:00 until 4:00 due to two Church services, Bible Class/Sunday School, and a congregational potluck and meeting. Then it was grading paper and lesson plan time. The kids did fit in decorating their pumpkins with permanent markers (Emily's was rotting, so we threw it away after she decorated it).

Now, it is time for another busy week.

weekend fun

Michael just had his last soccer game. He has been playing soccer this fall at the Jewish Community Center. The past two years he played at the YMCA, but this year he is playing with two buddies from school. He really had a great time and did a lot of kicking. It seemed we were doing alot of cheering for Zach, Michael, and Joey. The school team has a lot to look forward to in a few years - all three really had a great season!

This weekend Gene, Holly, and Andrew came down. We went to the zoo for the annual Halloween event. Andrew, Emily and Michael had a great time. Emily was Ariel with legs, Michael was Dash, and Andrew was a puppy. All the kids got a bag full of candy. Since Doug had surgery on Thursday, he drove around the zoo in a wheel chair. Luckily Gene was there to push him up the big hills in the zoo. The Lord was with him though, that his ankle was not bumped or injured with all the people who were there.






We also had our fall festival at school yesteray. It was fun for all. Gene, Holly, and Andrew were there for that also. I had to sell tickets so they pushed Doug around in a wheel chair (he had orthoscopic ankle surgery on Thursday) and enjoyed the games with the kids. It was a typical fall festival - beanbag toss, tuck pond, sack races, cake walk ... I sure sold a lot of tickets, so hopefully it brought in a good amount of money. It sure brought in a lot of fun.

The Upside Down Show

When I was a child, mom and dad had a Vega automobile. It had a hatchback and my sister and I would ride in the back and lay on our backs. When we looked into the hatchback window we would see a reflection of the world and its lights upside down. We called this the "Upside Down Show". Today when I was flipping channels I passed a children's station entitled NOOGGIN. Since Michael and Emily were at school, I was quickly flipping through the channels that apply to kids. I had to flip back and double check what I was seeing when the title "The Upside Down Show" flipped up on the screen. Wow! Holly and I thought of this title in 1979 or 1980 so I think we should receive some royalties. What do you think? If I contacted them would I receive something for a copyright violation? I really think Holly and I own that idea :)

In Honor of the Cardinals

In Honor of the St. Louis Cardinals heading to the National Leage Championship Series I am posting some photos of our trip to St. Louis in September. At the game we attended, we were able to get "First Pitch Tickets". We had free tieckts from the Cardinal Kids Club, so we went into the stadium 2 hours before as well as attending a Cardinal Kids Club party and then came back out to get our "first pitch tickets". We got box seats - section 160 - so it was a very memorable game. Even Emily sat the game and watched without complaining. :)

Doug will be at the game on Sunday in St. Louis - a friend from Church had an extra ticket. Hopefully he will bring them luck.

Hello

Today I took my class on a field trip to see Alice in Wonderland. It was good - but kind of different. It was a psychadlic (? on spelling) version - not what I expected at all. The story started out sweet and traditional and then the curtain opened to a black area with neon props. It really got the first graders attention - but was not what I expected at all.

This week has been warm so far but it is supposed to get cool tonight and possibly freeze tomorrow. I just hope it stays nice for halloween and the weekend before. I will never forget my freshman year of college when halloween was cancelled due to a blizzard - of course that was Nebraska and not Kentucky, but I can't ever help but think it could happen again.

For Halloween this year Emily is going to be a princess - Ariel with legs since she was Ariel the Mermaid last year. I made her a pink princess dress which turned out too big so I had to alter it a bit. Michael is going to be Dash from the Incredibles. I found him a costume for $20, so I could not even begin to make it for that. It is nice to have it all thought out and finished well ahead of time. Last year I had planned on making a costume, but ran out of time (wonder why as I was balancing graduate school, teaching, parenting, cooking, cleaning ...).

We still need to plan our annual trip to the Pumpkin Patch, and take fall pictures. Maybe this Sunday we will go, as it is just about the only time we have to go. When I get pictures, I will place them on the blog.

I hope all of you are having a great week and enjoying the world which God created for us to enjoy. All the changes which fall brings sure remind me of the beauty of the creation.

Busy Weekend

This weekend there was a balloon glow in Louisville. Mom and Dad T. came down for it. We went on friday night, but the rain started just as the balloons started to go up. They got up about 8 balloons, before they took them all down due to rain. We went home and played some mean games of Uno Attack, drank hot chocolate, and ate snacks. We had fun, even though it was not as planned.

After a couple games of Uno Attack,we got a phone call from Greg and Jamie ... they were at the hospital. Jamie's blood pressure had been high, so the doctor said to come in. They were going to observe her and go from there. On Saturday morning mom wanted to call so badly and see how things were, but I helped her restrain herself. They guys went off to golf and mom, the kids and I went to do some garage saling (should have stayed home as it was fruitless).

We watched the Cardinal game and relaxed the rest of the day. In the afternoon we received a call from Greg saying they were going to begin inducing Jamie. Shortly there after Mom and Dad left for home.

Sunday we awoke for early church and headed off. When we left, we saw the balloons taking off for the balloon race - boy was it hard to drive to Church when around 100 balloons were taking off near the highway. They headed toward Church, thus the above picture of the balloons over school. It was beautiful with them flying over Church.

After a soccer game and working at school, we went home. Still not word from Greg and Jamie. Around 8:30 we got a call - Naomi - was born at 7:38 P.M. weighing 7 lbs. 12 oz. When we got word, they still did not know her length. I am sure we will know more shortly - but both mom and baby are healthy.

Praying Mantis

I have always been intrigued with Praying Mantis insects. Last night Emily found one and we had the chance to look up close. She was a praying mantis for halloween two years ago, so she also really is fascinated with them. Here is this wonder which God created.