Christmas Morning & Happy New Year!!!

She's figured out the gift process!

Drawing Transformers

Opening presents!

Bryce & his Santa gift.

Blake with his Santa gift

Caleigh with her Santa gift

Christmas morning

PlayDoh is my favorite of the day.

Bryce & his books....my little bookworm

Blake & his favorite of the morning....until he opened his gun that is!

Christmas morning is always loads of fun! The kids always get something off of their list from Santa & then gifts from mom & dad & from each other too....heck, even the dogs got them a present this year. The favorites this year were: Caleigh & her PlayDoh, Blake & his leatherman tool, Bryce & his Diary of A Wimpy Kid books. Caleigh got a fun new spring horse from Santa (who didn't think ahead about where to put it!) and the boys got 22s from their dad & hope to go to the gun range Saturday to try them out with target practice. The weather is dreary....no fireworks tonight. Happy New Year Everyone! Hope 2010 brings you all you may dream of & more! Tomorrow....Christmas at MaMaw & PaPaws house....hope to get those downloaded next!

Christmas Eve Fun

Things are settling down & I'm finally getting some pictures downloaded & edited....I've only gotten so far as Christmas Eve...it was fun! We had some snow during the day & we really enjoyed it. Snow in our area is rare & it's been so nice to have it twice already this winter! We went out & drove through a Christmas Lights Wonderland...all of the kids loved it! We came home & had dinner then let the kids open their traditional 1 gift on Christmas Eve before bed & set out cookies for Santa. Blake & Bryce got a cool Star Wars Pop Up Book & Caleigh got a new baby that "looks like me". Everyone was excited for Christmas morning.....

Merry Christmas!

May Your Christmas Be Bright!

Proof That I Can Turn off my OCD!

Well, another one of my "I want to do this with my kids at Christmas" has been accomplished! And, I must say, it was my favorite to watch thus far! I laid my OCD self aside...you know, the one that wants everything clean, perfect in it's place, etc., etc. (by the way, this rarely happens anymore!) and the kids went to town decorating their gingerbread house! And you know what? It turned out adorable! The boys are very proud of it and Caleigh liked tasting all the candy before it got stuck on the house! Tonight...I think we'll venture out to the drive-thru Christmas lights if it isn't raining...It's supposed to be 70 today & 50 tomorrow....gotta love East Texas weather!

'Tis The Season

Loving Christmas~time this year. Having fun cooking, baking, last minute shopping & all around holiday 'stuff'. The shopping is not really too bad since I finished up pretty early...just a few more things to 'top it all off'...I'm a wrapping, wrapping, wrapping fool! Now that I've gotten to the back of the closet I've decided I have enough....surely...I think! James took Blake today to buy his "secret gift" for Bryce & Bryce will go & shop tomorrow. We'll see if they can keep it a true secret until Christmas...they think the whole idea is pretty cool, so they just might pull it off! Maybe I'll let them exchange on Christmas Eve after Church...that might be fun! We put together the gingerbread house tonight before bed & are letting it set up....decorating will be in the morning! WOW! We'll start the day with a sugar rush!!! Please pray for our VN Travel buddies who are awaiting word from Ethiopia regarding the adoption of their new son...the court date is right now, Ehiopian time, and they pray for good news come morning!!! We are praying guys!!!

School's Out For Christmas Break! WooHoo!

On this day, Caleigh decided to dress up in the boys' shirts & bring them snacks from her kitchen while they were hard at work!!! She's so funny!

We are celebrating today because school is out for Christmas Break!!! We have learned so much in the past few weeks & the boys' progress has really shown me that we've done the right thing for now by homeschooling. They are reading so much better & with more fluency...it really is fun to watch. We are still struggling with Math, but I am hoping it comes along with a little more practice & self confidence! One thing that has been so nice is for them to be able to finish something in one day...they can write a rough draft of a paper, edit it & then re-write it nicely by the end of our school day. They can see their ideas come to life, jot them down, and have their finished product in one day....it really has been fun for them to see how they can "finish" a project with a little effort! Caleigh loves having them home...she is learning how to leave them "lone" when they're working hard or in their rooms reading. She brings me books to read & now has her own desk with her markers & crayons & colored paper. She likes to play school! The boys were invited to come to their old classes' Christmas Parties today at 2:00....so, I'm off to wake the little one & get her ready to go! They've been ready all day!!! Have a great weekend.

Wordless Wednesday...I Think I'll Try It!

School & Rashes

My titles these days leave little to the imagination, eh? Well....this is our last week of "school" before Christmas Break. We're finishing up our reader & preparing for the unit test. We've added Spelling as of last week, so we're working on our second set of spelling words. I've capped it at 15 per week for now as they seem to be handling that well. We're learning about money & how much we can buy with it. I think they did this in 2nd grade at school, but it must not have "stuck", so we are practicing & having fun with it! On another note, the antibiotic for C's ear infection broke her out in an all over body rash (sorry, no pic of this) so I had it changed today & we'll try again. She does feel better, just itchy, so we've started on Benadryl until it clears up. Hope you all have a good week! (Bryce's fake smile needs some work LOL!)

Presentations & Ear Infections

Just 'cause she's so darn cute in footed pj's (which she doesn't like!)

Her favorite "book": The photo album of our beach trip!

Blake giving his reading of his story...

"Pride"

Bryce reading his paper...

Weird title eh? Well, we've had both going on this week! Working on our creative writing & presenting our work. Blake & Bryce both have wonderful imaginations (sometimes almost too creative as James & I have joked that they've lived in 'pretend-land' for most of their childhood!!!). So, asking them to write about any subject usually produces a great story full of adventure. Myself, I don't like to get up in front of a group of two or more & talk or read or anything else for that matter! I would LOVE for my children to have the skill of presenting and voicing their opinions/research/work, etc. as they grow up.

On the ear infection front...yes, C has yet ANOTHER one! UGH! Poor girl! This marks #5 for the year so we are on 'the bubble' & discussing tubes. We go back in one month for an "ear check". Our regular pediatrician is in China right now bringing home his little girl. EXCITING! So, we saw a different Dr. today, but I really like him....so...I'll keep you updated about the tubes.

It has been REALLY cold here by Texas standards & we've been bundling up to do our errands. Thank goodness for on-line shopping & UPS is all I have to say!!!!! Have a great weekend everyone.

Homeschool Stuff from time to time.....

So, I thought it might be fun to add some homeschool 'stuff' on here from time to time. We are all adjusting to being home more during the day & together a lot more! There are good & bad moments, but I still feel as though the boys are really making the most of their time during our learning hours & my patience is slowly but surely growing. God is working on me!!! Caleigh loves having them here of course & our family time is so nice. I'm still working on a 'schedule' & hope to be a little more organized after the holidays. For now, it's the basics: Reading (lots), creative writing, math & spelling. We're throwing in Science at least a couple of days a week because they really crave it. Here are the boys with their 'project' yesterday. I have figured out over the last weeks that my island is for cooking & working with school projects; not for decorating! Who knew?!?!!!!