A Relaxing Day, Part 3

Well, our three little girls didn't make it to midnight. I wish I had been one of them; the day is catching up to me. Here's a picture of the Lego catapult Aaron made and some of the candle and bell cookies we frosted--bells to ring in the New Year and candles to help light the world for Jesus. We had a fire in the fireplace with one of those "Pine Mountain Logs." I'm not sure if I like them or not; it seems that they must have a lot of chemicals or something to burn for so long and produce such black ash.

A Relaxing Day, Part 2

I did some writing in Laura's baby book today. Though I thought I kept up quite well, I can see places where hers is lacking compared to the other children's books.
In Tracy's book today I finished putting the pictures on her "fall" page but still have to do the writing.
This evening I made a pan of finger paint and let the three little girls paint in the tub. They didn't seem to have as much fun as the older set of three did, but I took a picture anyway. I'll have to see if I can scrounge up a picture of the older set also and post those tomorrow.
We had pizzas and pop for supper and just now had some popcorn and chips and dip. We played a few card games, another Scooby Doo movie is going right now, and the little Legos are out.

A Relaxing Day

I found the SD card out in the van. I've done dishes twice today and even got served breakfast in bed. I have laundry going and the house is basically clean.

At the moment the four middle kids and Mike are watching Scooby Doo movies.

We're gearing up for a small New Year's Eve party at our house. It will just be us unless we get some surprise company. I have some makings out for nachos, a pizza, smoothies, cookies, and of course we'll have pop for the kids and Mike. We were planning to go to a friend's house, but we have kids with sniffles.

One of the grocery stores up here has peanut butter for $.99 (the name brand) so I'll be heading to get some of that sometime this week.

In today's mail I got a letter from a friend whom I haven't heard from in years. I'm printing some pictures for her and will send her Christmas letter along with my regular writing.

Here's a picture of Laura "eating" her food yesterday. She still has leftovers in her hair even though I washed it!

Last Day of the Year

The year of 2007 has gone quickly for me. Many things happened, and I'm sure 2008 will have more in store for us. My first agenda for today is to find my SD card for the camera. I'll write more later.

Christmas Thank You Cards

I know it's Saturday, but I couldn't resist adding a picture of our thank you cards the kids made. I have sent nine, have one ready to go, and still need one more.

Bookshelf Swap

We decided to swap bookshelves so one of my bookshelves from the kitchen has gone to Tracy's room. The "big" one came out to the living room. I found some books we can get rid of and some that have been "hiding" for years.

Snowflakes and Kitchen Picture

I didn't bother cleaning anything, but here's a picture of the snowflakes we made this morning and a picture of them on the cabinets of the kitchen. We had quite a mess of paper scraps, and it wasn't easy for the vacuum cleaner to pick them up. Now the kids are watching a movie; we need to work on thank you notes after that.

A Few Christmas Pictures

We have everything put away from Christmas except the tree and the lights on it. I try to get things put away right away because we have a birthday at the beginning of the year. Here's a new family picture of us, one of the three little girls in the aprons Tracy made for them, a picture of the baby and her gifts (most of them from my friend,) and one of my husband peeking around the corner I thought was cute.

I went shopping today and brought home six and a half gallons of milk, some juice, three dozen eggs, some sour cream for chip dip for New Year's Eve, and a splurge of some peanut butter/chocolate swirled chips on sale to make cookies. We have tacos on the menu for Saturday and I about died when I saw the price of tomatoes. They were over $3.00 per pound so I only got one instead of the two I normally get. Common sense told me to skip them altogether, but I didn't because my family really enjoys tomatoes.

The kids went out and made a tunnel through the snow pile my husband made shoveling the driveway. He couldn't get the snow blower started and normally doesn't like piles so surprised me when he made that!

I'm having trouble uploading my pictures so will try them again later or tomorrow.

Christmas Blanket--Other Side

After getting all the handprints on the blanket, there was no room for the verses I wanted to write out so I just put the references on it. Here's a picture of the other side of the blanket. My husband's grandma seemed very pleased with it when we brought it to her. Tracy also played some violin pieces for her and she clapped. We caught her on a good day because she remembered us; the next morning she didn't remember us even being there.

Christmas Decorations

These are two of our Nativity sets; the third is porcelain and didn't get up this year. One some friends gave us many years ago, and the other I made out of plastic canvas for my husband even more years ago. :) We just celebrated 15 years of marriage this week.

On the mantle we put all the candles and burn them as the month is happening. The sleigh is a gift that came this year; I'm not sure if it'll get a place of honor or if it will get filled and used as a gift for someone. We've hung our stockings "by the chimney" but not always with so much care. Often times they end up on the floor.

My friend sent up five boxes of gifts for the kids and us. They filled the tree and then some. Thank you, Kim! The kids always enjoy the gifts she sends. She shops year-round and gets the bargains. We don't have many stores up here to bargain hunt from.


The wall space is where I'm putting cards this year. Usually I pin them to the ceiling beam you can see in the picture. Each year, some later than others (and I think this past year is the only one I've missed,) I pull the cards down one-by-one around the end of February and send a postcard to let people know I'm thinking of them.

Merry Christmas!

We made it home this evening after having car problems on the way down. Our children are officially spoiled by their grandparents (as am I) so we have to get back to our normal routine, whatever "normal" is. I hope everyone had a good Christmas. Good night.

Haircut

I wanted to share these pictures of the baby before any haircuts,





after I trimmed her bangs,







during the one her 3 year-old sister gave her,







after I finished it off because she looked so funny,







and now that it's had a chance to grow a little bit.





I had always heard that kids gave each other kids haircuts or cut their own, but it took children numbers five and six for it to happen here. I guess I need to pay more attention to my children. I am so guilty of this so many times; I get off into my own little world of things I think I need to get done instead of paying attention to them. Live and learn...





This will be my last post until we come home from our Christmas vacation. Merry Christmas, Everyone!

Christmas Blanket

I went around and around trying to think of what to give my husband's grandma for a Christmas gift. She went into the nursing home last year and has quickly gone downhill. She also has a hard time seeing. I decided to make this blanket so did that while I should have been in bed last night and this morning (I should be in bed right now; my husband leaves for work in 1 1/2 hours!) Later this morning I'll decorate the pink side with the kids' hand prints and names and a Bible verse for her. I'm going to use the puff paint so she should be able to feel it. It's just a small lap blanket but the love that is put into it by the kids and me is what counts. We used to give her stamps and a certificate to a restaurant as a gift so she didn't have any "clutter" around. So...I'm turning tables this year and am giving a tangible gift instead of a clutter-free gift. I also want the children to sing songs for her and say some Bible verses (and possibly play instruments if we are able to bring them down.)

A Warm Day

I had planned to take the kids sledding today but we didn't make it. For us, the nearest hill is 1/2 hour away so sledding takes planning. I'll try again tomorrow before the rush of the weekend comes upon us.

Saturday we have the annual meeting for the place my husband works. Most of us enjoy going to that, mostly for the doughnuts, cookies, and pop they serve. Last year they served sub sandwiches also.

Sometime over the weekend we'll be heading to Brainerd; my husband would like to make it in time to watch the Vikings game at his dad's house.

I took some pictures tonight of some of our decorations for Christmas so will post them tomorrow after getting them loaded on the computer. Thanks for visiting!

AWANA

Today was the last day of AWANA for the year. It was candy cane night so the kids got one candy cane for coming and one for each section signed.

Schoolwork

Today I managed to get one of my children caught up with his schoolwork. He was happy about that as he's my normally "poky" one. If I could just find things for him to learn that he's interested in, life might be a little easier. I applaud all the moms and dads out there who are able to teach hands-on learners. I can't stand the messes (although my house is far from clean.) Now to get the other boy caught up...he's my whiz in school but doesn't like to apply himself.

Mitten Pattern

Here is the mitten pattern I posted about last week. I still haven't taken time to try it, but I've included the instructions if they're readable. I hope to be able to make some of these. It would be good to use up some old material/old sweaters. I don't keep a lot of stuff on hand since we don't have storage space, but I'm sure I could come up with some material somewhere, even if it's just from old clothes.

A Busy Day

I got the story wrong yesterday. The baby was crying because I put a hat on her after her bath and she didn't want it on, not just because she was sick.

Today we did our cookie exchange, decorating cookies, caroling at the nursing home, and then did a bunch of errands in town. My daughter is in the midst of her party and seems to be having fun.

My husband has the two girls in the bedroom watching a movie he got for Christmas last year and just opened this morning! I have the baby asleep on my lap at the moment so it's fairly quiet in the house.

The kids made a "four square" game with tape on the living room floor and have been playing that. I've added a couple photos of that just for enjoyment. Sorry about the red-eye; I just loaded them and transfered them without editing.

Sick Baby

Our baby has been sick today. I noticed she was wheezing a bit when I put her to bed last night but didn't think too much of it. She's been unable to breathe well today, has had a runny nose, and hasn't eaten much. I pulled some milk I had pumped at the end of the summer out of the freezer and gave that to her in a cup this evening. She was able to breathe and drink that and then perked up for a while. Tracy took a picture of her crying so I'll have to post that once I get the card loaded onto the computer.

Tomorrow will be a busy day. We have school work to do, a cookie exchange and decorating day to go to, and we are caroling at the nursing home in town. Tomorrow night Tracy invited some friends over so I'd like to get the house cleaned a bit for her. Needless to say, not much got done today.

AWANA

This week at AWANA we had a much warmer night. In fact, the secretary was even hot! Next week I get to be the secretary as our regular one will be gone. My five-year old finished reviewing her handbook so got a workbook to work through. Though she seems excited, I don't think anything will compare to her excitement of actually getting to go to Sparks for the first time earlier this fall and then the excitement of finishing her book. I didn't bring the baby tonight, which was a first. It's the first meeting she has missed because she was even there when she was one day old! I sat up in the balcony and watched while my husband brought her all around so the kids could see her.

We bagged up some Christmas cookies and gave them out to a few friends while we were there. The girls stamped on brown paper sacks earlier today, we filled them with cookies, and then we stapled them closed. It worked very well and I'll probably do that again for next year. Usually we try and use small plates, but the Saran Wrap always sticks in funny places so cookies fall out.

Another Day

Today my daughter had her violin lesson. During that time, the teacher's mother was showing me some mittens and hats she had made out of old sweaters and polar fleece. They're quite economical and appear to be easy to make. I'll find the patterns and take pictures of them to post in a couple days.

I'm posting a few of the pictures we took while celebrating Christmas with my side of the family over the weekend. One is all the "girl" cousins on this side of the family. They're putting lights on the tree. Melissa's putting the angel on the tree they cut down from the woods. The dog and cat were sleeping together; we didn't get the picture snapped soon enough before the dog woke. We went on a sleigh ride and these are the horses.

A Little Here, a Little There

We made it home safely and had a lot of fun. Today I've been working on laundry, dishes, cooking meals, making cookies, school work with the kids, and the general things that a mom needs to do. While we were gone, we got to see a lot of friends at church we hadn't seen for a while and got some books back I had loaned out. When my friend handed me the bin, it was very heavy! I hadn't realized we loaned so many. :) (Either that or I've gotten weaker.) Now I need to enter our figures into our budget book. We did get a couple gifts needed for my husband's side of the family so that was good. I need to remember to check my fluids in the van tomorrow before I take my daughter to her violin lesson.

Leaving Tomorrow

Tonight we're packing to leave town tomorrow. We're heading two and a half hours away to celebrate Christmas with my side of the family. I need to remember to bring the camera. We have a few treats for gifts, and I'm giving some of our meat for gifts. My sister wants a card box, and because I don't use mine much anymore, I'm going to give her mine with some new cards and stamps in it. Do you suppose she'll write to me if I address some envelopes to myself? Have a great weekend, everyone. I won't be writing tomorrow.

AWANA

We're heading into town for Awana again. My 3-year old has Cubbies snacks tonight so we made these baby Jesus figures out of Nutter Butter cookies and chocolate chips with smiles (and glue for the eyes) of almond bark. The hay is the haystack cookies we make for Christmas out of chow mein noodles and melted chips only flattened them. I just quickly made a "stable" out of a couple cereal boxes and put all the babies in it for the kids to enjoy. We'll also bring some grapes to make it a tiny bit healthy. The other picture is a Nativity scene my son made of Legos this afternoon.

Another Day

I missed posting yesterday. We got a little bit of snow, nothing like the 18 inches they have where Mike's parents live, but enough for the kids to play in, maybe 5. We made some "Christmas" cookies yesterday and the day before. Here's a family picture of us in the leaves before the snow came to stay.

To the Mill

Today I made a trip to the mill to pick up some flour for myself and a bunch of different things for other people. It takes around 1 1/2 hours to get there, and I had both little girls with me. They were both very good during the trip. On the way home I went to two different grocery stores and loaded up on the sales they had. Have a good night. I need to go feed my cat.

To Town

Today we made a quick trip to town. My oldest daughter went to a class at the Christian School and some friends brought her home so I didn't have to stay. The other kids and I hit the library and Post Office before heading home. The two youngest napped while we were gone so that was a nice and quiet trip. Once we got home, we did a bit of cleaning. To look at the place now, a person could never tell we did that though. I guess my husband told the kids they could put up the tree once he gets home from work tomorrow as long as their rooms and the living/dining rooms are clean.

Smiles

The baby learned to pull herself up on objects and has been enjoying emptying her clothes bins, the crayon bins, the art bins, and bookshelves. Here's the picture I said I'd post of her turning nine months and I added another of her emptying her clothes bin. Have a great night; it's another cold one up here.

AWANA

Tonight my husband bribed the children to go to AWANA. He said they could get out the Christmas lights after they got home if they went. Everyone did well saying verses, but they were excited to get home--especially the 12-year old. The five-year old has five verses left to finish her book and then she'll get a workbook to work on.

Our baby turned nine months old yesterday. I totally missed that so forgot to take a picture. I did get one this morning of her with a big smile. I'll have to post it tomorrow after I get the pictures loaded to the computer.

Another cold day

The cold doesn't stop the children from going outside, especially when they've been waiting so long to play on the pond. We have a small pond in our backyard that freezes over. They would like to use it as a skating rink, but it's not big or smooth. We do have an arena about three miles from us so I'd like to try to utilize that more this year. We had plans to go one more time last year, but the birth of our baby prevented that from happening. Today's been quite calm, especially with the phone not ringing.

The kids made forts in the bedrooms today and also have the Legos out for playing.

On the way to healing

A friend brought me to the chiropractor today, and he popped a couple bones back into place in my ankle. I am now able to walk on my foot, though slowly.

We got a couple inches of light, fluffy snow this evening so some of the kids were outside. They made snow angels and paths around the yard with the shovel. Overall I think they had fun even though it was quite cold outside. Right now it's 0 degrees F with a wind chill of 23 below. Brr...our furnace has been running a lot even though it's only set at 66.

I hope you have a great week. Thanks for stopping by.

Hurting Foot

Tonight my foot has given me the worst pain I've had for a while. It's been hurting for a couple days but nothing like this. Last night I hauled everything from my boys' room into boxes and rearranged the furniture to the way I like it (they had changed it) plus vacuumed the room. They've been playing in there all day today. I think they enjoy it clean but have just too much stuff to manage. I'll have to have Flylady come to the rescue. Today I've been working on laundry and sitting keeping my foot still.

Pictures of the 2nd and 3rd projects

This morning we didn't do very much school work. Instead we finished our turkey projects and played several rounds of cards. Some of the children did manage to finish or do some of the schoolwork planned for the day though. I went shopping this afternoon and bought a couple things for tomorrow plus some flour so we could make some bread and rolls and such. It won't last long, but I do have a trip to the mill planned for the first few days in December. We made a pepperoni pizza for supper served along with peaches, potato salad, salsa and chips, pop, and lettuce salad. I rarely let my kids have pop so that was a fun treat for them. We have no AWANA tonight so the kids are racing around the house with cars, skateboards, and trucks. It gets noisy but whatever works... I sent my son out this afternoon to break apart the pumpkins we carved for the deer. We live in the state forest so I had him throw them across the street into the woods for them. I hope they get eaten. If not, they'll be good compost, I would imagine. A friend bought some potatoes for me so I'll have to pick them up Sunday when I see her. Last year we went potato field gleaning with some friends but didn't have the opportunity to do that this year. Buying them from the store on sale was cheaper then getting them from a farmer up here. They're selling them 60# for $15.00, and I got them from the store for just under $6.00 for 60#. Have a happy Thanksgiving tomorrow! I may or may not post depending on what is happening.