Ornaments

One of my favorite Christmas traditions is to sit down with the kids and tell them the story of each and every ornament as we hang them on the tree.  Each year PK and I get each of the kids a new ornament.  It usually has to do with something they are interested in that year.  These are some ornaments added to our collection this year.  Aaron received a Lego Darth Vader.  I don't know why I don't have a picture of it.

Each year it is a bit harder to find a special ornament for Rachel.  She likes peace signs and this one is glittery.

 My lead teacher, Lorraine, gave me this one for Christmas.  I almost cried because she had no idea how much I love my ornaments.  It has all of our names on it.

This snowman was given to me by one of my preschoolers, Lilah.

 Hannah has been in swimming lessons this year and really enjoys it.  Just like this bee, she never swims without her goggles.  I am looking forward to sitting by the pool this summer and reading a book without worrying about Hannah.

I am a co-leader with Maria for Rachel's Cadette Girl Scout troop.  She gave me this for Christmas.

 One of the other preschool teachers, Jessica, gave me this glass Christmas tree.  She bought it at an antique shop in Tennessee where her grandmother use to work.

The women of MVUMC have an annual ornament exchange.  I came home with this one.  I don't really like the snow, so this would NOT be my Christmas wish.  We moved south to get away from the white stuff.

I smiled thinking about reliving memories each year as we unpack these new ornaments.

The Christmas S.O.C.C.E.R. Team

The kids at our church put on a Christmas musical this year.  It was called The Christmas S.O.C.C.E.R Team.  S.O.C.C.E.R. stands for the Society of Christmas Carolers Emergency Rescue.  The story is about a group of soccer players who mistakenly show up for try-outs for the S.O.C.C.E.R.  The S.O.C.C.E.R. is made up of geezers who are on a mission to save traditional Christmas carols.  Because their was an old geezer choir, the parents of kids in the play were asked if they would like to participate.  Not being one to miss out on a little fun and also being willing to make a fool out of myself for my kids, I joined in.  It was SO...MUCH...FUN!




Rachel, Aaron and Molly at rehearsal.



Stan and Chrissy showing us all how it is done.

Jody and Terri

Aaron and Hannah

Molly, Montana, Galen and Rachel before the show.  Montana actually performed a clogging routine during the show and Galen was checking out her taps on the bottom of her shoes.

Jody in character.

Ms. Tracie all decked out.  She was really in character as she was putting copies of the script she had blown up so she could see in a binder.  Ha!

 Hannah and Jody

The cast of kids...Aaron...third from left, Matthew, Adrienne,  Rachel...fifth from right, Galen, Montana, Hannah and Molly...what a great group of performers!

Aaron and Rachel both had lead rolls.  They memorized their lines and weren't afraid at all to strut their stuff.  Hannah sang with the kids and had a Bible verse to recite at the end.  She was given another rather long verse the night before the performance because one of the other younger kids backed out.  She rocked it.  I couldn't believe how quickly she memorized it. 

I hope Mr. Adam and Ms. Rebecca will spearhead another youth drama soon!

Hannah's Homework

Hannah's class was assigned to write a summary of what they did over Thanksgiving Break.  I thought Hannah summed it up well.  I will try not to edit as I type.

During Thanksgiving break I went to  Kentucky to see my cousins.  It was a long drive to their house.  When we got there I went in my cousin Noelle's room.  I climbed into Noelle's top bunk and looked down at the floor then I hopd on to her bottom bunk.  Night time came soon so we all played a little big planet untill bed time.  The next day Rachel and Lori made breakfast bureedos.  After we ate I went to go play little big planet.  Later Lori and Rachel took us to the park and we got very muddy.  On Thursday I helped my mom make sausage stuffing.  Soon it was time for Thanksgiving dinner.  My favorite foods were the cranberry sauce and baked pinapple.  About one hour later it was time for bed.  In the morning like usual I went to play little big planet and get breakfast.  After that the dads took us black frida shoping.  I bought sanitizer, a filterd water bottle, and a flash drive.  after shoping I played marbles Rachel won.  Then it was time for the bonfire.  That night all of the kids stayed up all night watching full house.  The next morning it was time to go.  We said bye and went home.

What Time Is It?

According to the clock on the mantle, it is 6:00 in the morning.  This may sound early, but for seasoned Black Friday shoppers who have been out the door at 4:30 in the morning in years past, this is a late start.   I think last year was the year that Shannon and I decided we were too old to make it out the door at 4:30 just to watch the crazy people.   

We usually have a list of things we would like to find, but we don't fight for the items.  There is something about pulling into the store parking lot and not seeing a parking spot in sight, seeing the line of people down the sidewalk waiting to get in the building, walking to the back of the store to find the end of the line, standing in line with my arms loaded because there are no available carts, the lack of feeling in my arms from holding that stuff and the ache when I can finally put my stuff down...that is loads of fun and makes me smile.  Crazy, I know.

This year many of the stores opened at midnight or earlier on Thanksgiving Day so there weren't any over crowded parking lots or lines at our first couple of stops.  As for me, I am not going to spend Thanksgiving Day shopping.  We have so much fun together.  There may come a day when none of my kids are "home" for Thanksgiving, but for now they are and I love the memories we make when we are together as a family and with friends.  I also hate that the retailers have become so greedy their employees not only have to work the day after Thanksgiving, but now on Thanksgiving Day.  Sad.  We talked to one lady who works at one of the stores and she had been there since 11:00 pm on Thanksgiving night.  She was scheduled to work until 11:00 a.m.  Jobs are hard to come by these days, so I'm sure some of the employees are happy to have the hours, but where do we draw the line?

Most days I wouldn't miss the crowds, but on this day I did.

I managed to make a very small dent in my Christmas shopping and as much as I love the thrill of Black Friday, I do not enjoy the rest of the shopping season.

You Speak LEGO?

Aaron has always been extra excited when he found out Uncle Brian would be part of the Thanksgiving celebration.  Brian is super kind to all the kids, but I never quite knew why Aaron felt that special bond until...I realized they both speak the same language.

After dinner, Brian was showing Aaron pictures of a LEGO convention he and Cynthia had attended.  Aaron was in his element.  Little did Brian know this would lead to a two hour period of Aaron following him around talking about LEGOs. 

Here is a portion of the conversation that was overheard...

Aaron: I used one of those grey cylinder things and put it on another grey cylinder and put that on another grey cylinder.

Brian:  Oh, yeah.  The one with the four things.

Aaron:  Yes.

Me:  (Laughing to Cynthia)  They speak LEGO.

Brian was nice enough to show Aaron a website where he could construct his own LEGO design and then order it as a kit.

We Speak In Tongues

Not really.  And if you speak in tongues, please don't be offended...more power to ya.

We arrived at Doug and Shannon's for our annual Thanksgiving get-together yesterday afternoon.  The laughs start as soon as we get out of the car and don't stop.

Shannon surprised me with a scrapbook she had made of our past Thanksgivings together.  Beautiful!!  It is one of the BEST GIFTS EVER!

When it comes time to get all the kiddos down, we do a joint pray and tuck.  If the adults sit in the hallway, we can see in both of the girls' rooms.  Aaron is on an air mattress in the hallway this year.  We follow the Simpsons' prayer because the Ray "Nice Things" just takes way too long with 11 people.  They do Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep.  At the end they add, "God bless Mom, Dad, Lori, Noelle and all of our loved ones."  Of course, they add the names of whoever else is in the house before they get to "all of our loved ones."  This is where we are thankful that God has a sense of humor because we all start with our own family...out loud...at the same time.  The names fly and we have Aunt Cynthia and Uncle Brian here, too.  It ends in lots of giggles and I love it!! 

Imitation is the Highest Form of Flattery

Our church youth group is holding its annual chili cook-off today.  I am contributing a pot of chili, but it isn't an award winning recipe.  My friend is in charge of the cook-off and needed some more chili so there is plenty to feed everyone.  I said I would make a pot.

However, there is also a dessert competition.  I made a...

Pumpkin Pound Cake and...

Apple Bars.

When we lived in Great Lakes, Rachel and her friend, Anna, had many playdates.  One day Rachel came home and said, "Ms. Jen is always baking."  Jen loves to bake and that was and is a very true statement.  If you ever find yourself in northern Illinois, stop by her house and see what is waiting.  You won't be disappointed.

Forget Betty Crocker, I was Jen last night.  Flour was flying, every measuring cup was dirty and my house smelled yummy!

Jen Locklear, when you read this, know that I thought of you as I rolled out the homemade crust and let Hannah help me cut up the apples for those apple bars.  I know that you put love into everything you make for your family and friends and as I type this and think about your sweet spirit and the blessing of your friendship, I have tears in my eyes.  Miss you like crazy my dear friend!!