Santa likes Sugar cookies, we know.

wishing for: new clothes for the baby doll she has had since her first Christmas. (This is the doll she was crying about yesterday because she couldn't take it to heaven with her when she dies).
wishing for: a new baby doll and a baby house. (this from the girl who only wants to play with Goose's favorite doll despite having plenty of her own).
wishing for: the Lego house building set (the tooth fairy let us down) and he was asked by Santa if he would like his two front teeth.
wishing for: way too much - let's see I heard remote controlled Lego dinosaur, Lego Aqua base set, remote controlled crashing helicopters and a crashing Lego #13 car. I think he memorized the Lego catalog as it went on and on.
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Tis the season to visit chubby old men. We offered this trip to the kids and of course they wanted to go. On the way I asked the kids to think about what they could tell Santa they wanted for Christmas. Goose was distraught as she realized she forgot her baby Becky doll and Santa wouldn't know what size clothes she wanted for her (I pointed out she could show him the right size with her hands and she felt better). She was also the bravest and willing to approach the jolly old man first. Next went Boo and Spiderman (who really wanted to go up but definitely wouldn't do it alone). I was so impressed when my majorly shy guy begrudgingly climbed onto Santa's lap as if it was the most embarrassing thing he's done yet but hey, at least he was willing. Boo told Santa what she wanted and then skipped out on Spiderman once she got her candy. Spiderman by now was getting into it and listed exactly what kind of Legos he wanted for Christmas. Jaybird was convinced he was too big to be allowed on Santa's lap so he opted to sit on the arm of the chair instead. Everyone was content with their chat with the big guy until Goose realized she had not asked him what kind of cookies he likes so we can leave some out for him (this is not something we've done before but she is insistent). The news is out, it's sugar cookies, make a note everyone.

I did find this funny on the way home. I told Spiderman I was proud of him for being brave and going up on Santa's lap for the first time (this is a whole new concept for him). He said matter of factly, "no I didn't". I reminded him that I just witnessed it with my own eyes and he said, "that wasn't me. It was someone else."

The Big Chill

This tree is normally upright and you'll notice the main trunk is actually broken. :(

Well, we were part of all that weather news that you heard this week. The ice storm hit us Monday night and Tuesday it just kept coming. The kids thought everything was fine and dandy until we lost electricity the first time. All of a sudden, it was a big deal that there was no Christmas music, videos, Christmas lights on the tree and no hot cocoa after sledding! God was kind and we had electricity in time for a hot dinner that night. It got really interesting when the power again went out while the kids were taking baths that night. Even with candles, they seemed unsettled and Goose announced to reassure the others, "this is how the Amish live". Spiderman was not impressed with this development and I was amazed at how quickly someone can become dependent on electricity when living in America. The kids had a campout in the girls room to conserve body heat as we had no heat until about 10 am the next day. Wed and even Thurs we played "how long will it last?" - trying to guess how long the electricity would stay on for the next round. We really can't complain though, so many in our county were without electricity for days and as the boys learned, you can sled much faster on ice!

Slip, sliding away...

We finally got the snow Spiderman was desperate for and boy does he love to sled! To add to the fun, our good friend (who arrived in her forever family one week after Spiderman did - from the same orphanage), was at our home when the storm hit. I was blessed to watch her try sledding for the first time and just like Spiderman, she loved it! Can you tell by these faces? Making snow angels and throwing snow balls, how fun to see these kids experience something we all take for granted. In fact, she called 2 days later to ask if she could come over for sledding again. :)

Jaybird, the speed demon of the snow.

Goose and "friend" (I don't have a code name for her)moments before wiping out hard!

Now as for the old timers, Boo really could care less about sledding as it's "scarey" so she'd rather wander around and eat snow. Goose can take it or leave it but when others are into it, she's right in the mix. Jaybird is obsessive however. This boy lives to sled and without fail is the last one in the house. In fact, the evening of these photos, he was out past dark and upset that everyone else had given up already. For him, Spiderman is a sledding partner from above as they are both adrenaline junkies for speed (they spent the summer riding the red wagon down these same hills - with no brakes). The boys definitely outlast the girls and other than competing for the "favorite sled", they were made to play together.

Sledding has become a daily event and considering the ice storm hitting us right now, I'm curious to see what tomorrow holds. It may be a bit too fast for Mom's comfort and not nearly soft enough for safe landings. Of course, it's been great to have them blow off some energy outside, we'll have to wait and see.

Ballet anyone?

Last week we were blessed with some free tickets to the Nutcracker ballet. I have taken Goose to the ballet before this one but it was a first for Boo. The girls were so excited and had watched Barbie's version of the Nutcracker earlier that day (I bet some of you didn't know Barbie is a moviestar). It was a packed house so our seats weren't the best but that doesn't matter to 4 & 6 year old girls. Goose chose to stand in the aisle for the entire performance so she could see better and Boo sat on my lap, oooing and ahhing over the costumes and especially the "Sugar Plum Princess". (After all, she wore her own ballerina skirt that has lights and music) It didn't phase her at all that we could only see from their knees up (second row seats). The girls spent the intermission dancing in the aisle and dreaming of their future fame as ballerinas. For those of you wondering, the men folk opted to go to the high school basketball game. :)

Just for laughs

Many of you know the man I married and today he made me laugh with some "inspirational photos" on my computer. In an effort to bring more humor to the world today, I just had to share these two with you. Enjoy!

Learning, growing, building, inventing

This weekend we spent some time in St. Louis with friends but the kids had begged to go to the Science Center so we made sure to squeeze in a few hours there. Watching them marvel at the wonders of the world, the laws of science and the miracles of God's creation was thrilling as a mom. It was another reminder of what a gift it is that God has allowed me to home school my children and get to watch the learning and transforming taking place. It has been fun to learn right alongside of them. This little visit did get me thinking though of the recent passions they have had around the house and I know that at least the grandparents love to see things like this :) so here are a few.

This was our project on this cold Sunday afternoon. A K'nex roller coaster that actually works. As you can imagine, the kids were enthralled despite that the age range is a bit older than they are. With some help from mom we put it together (the last 2 days we just made things from our imaginations with the set) and each had a part (even Isabel who helped sort and pile the pieces). They plan to keep it up and running for awhile but we'll see, these boys of mine love to invent new things.

As for building, this set of Lego's was given to us a couple weeks ago by some friends. This was actually a 2 day project and when all was said and done, we didn't even have all the pieces. That didn't keep the boys from enjoying this model of the U.S.S. Kitty Hawk aircraft carrier. I love to listen to their imaginations as they play.


This final photo is the best one yet. We recently rented the movie "Meet the Robinsons", which we love for many reasons. My favorite one is the beautiful adoption message woven through the story. The kids however, think it is so cool for all the INVENTIONS! The boys found these old video games in the basement and proceeded to dismantle them to create their own time travel machines. The sweet thing was watching them tape the wires and pieces to various electronics in the house (after promising me each time they would not take apart anything that still works) including the tape player, RC jeep and battery charger. They were truly surprised when their inventions did not work (Louis in the movie used toasters and such and travelled through time!). We talked alot about perseverance and how the great inventors like Edison and Franklin had thousands of failed attempts before success came. They just worked harder. To cement the inventing passion even more, we picked up the video "Jimmy Neutron" from the library a few days later (not as impressive in Mom's book) and the boys' brains were on fire. There is no end to their vivid imaginations and when they make it big someday with one of their ideas, you heard about them here first!

All I want for Christmas is my 2 front teeth....

- - - One down, one to go (notice our outfit)

- - - - -TA DA!

Well, it finally happened. Spiderman has a new grin. He was so anxious to have the tooth fairy visit that he kept threatening to punch himself in the mouth. Turns out his big brother was willing to help him out as some rough housing resulted in a tooth in hand. That night he was determined to catch the tooth fairy in action but sleep robbed him of the opportunity. The very next night the second front tooth was gone so he determined to try again. The verdict was that she is too "sneaky". He is thrilled with his money though and daily reports that he's planning to buy a helicopter, vacuum cleaner or a truck. Yep, he loves to think big!