Christmas & Birthday Update

We had a really nice Christmas and New Year's. We were able to make it to the Christmas Eve service at church, and Chloe chose to sing with the children's choir. It was a really nice service and a great way to start the evening. My parents and Wayne's mom & step-dad came over for dinner and presents. Wayne and I gave the kids a karaoke machine on Christmas Eve, and it provided a great deal of entertainment before they headed to bed. Wayne and I stayed up until 3am working on putting together Christmas gifts. Then the kids were up and ready to roll at 6am. I guess that's how it works when your kids are still young enough to get gifts that require assembly!

Wyatt turned 9 on the 28th, so we had everyone over for the customary pizza dinner that evening. Wyatt requested buttermilk pie, though, instead of a cake. He's a country boy at heart, I guess!

Here are some of the photos from Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Wyatt's birthday and the day after:

Happy Almost Christmas!

I can't believe that Christmas Eve is tomorrow. It seems like yesterday I was fretting about the Halloween party. But here it is. The presents have been bought, most of them assembled as needed and/or wrapped. I've baked and delivered gifts for the neighbors and friends, and even hosted a cookie exchange a couple of weeks ago.

At this point, I'm feeling pretty relaxed about everything. We'll spend the day at home tomorrow, preparing for Christmas carols at church then dinner with my parents and Wayne's mom & step-dad. Then it'll be time to exchange gifts and put some very excited kids to bed. It should be a relaxing, enjoyable evening.

I'm not looking forward to kids waking us up in the wee hours of the morning on Christmas Day, though. Last year it was around 4am when Wyatt woke to discover that Santa had indeed visited. I'm hoping we make it until at least 6am this year! I did a lot of lounging on the couch last year once the gifts were opened and breakfast was over.

I hope our friends and family all are safe and able to spend time with your loved ones. I know I'm thankful to have so many that I hold dear so close to me.

Just a Quickie

It's been a busy month - we hosted our fourth annual Halloween party at Wayne's shop the weekend before Halloween. The kids (and lots of adults) dressed up and had a great time. Candy, cookies, Kool-Aid and more candy. What more could a bunch of kids ask for? It's a lot of work, and some unsure moments, but always worth it.

On Halloween night, Wayne stayed home and passed out candy while I walked the kids through our neighborhood then took them to the neighborhood across the way. Wyatt and I got a real kick out of a huge guy dressed as Darth Vader passing out candy. When Wyatt walked up to the door, Wyatt said to the man, "I'm Anakin Skywalker" to which the man replied, "SO AM I" in his best Darth Vader voice. So unexpected and a real laugh!

I'm putting my November desktop on here for you to see a couple of pictures of the kids. The one of all three is pretty obvious - Halloween costumes, ready to trick-or-treat. The other is not so clear what's going on. Edie decided a few weeks ago to gather up some toys to get rid of. And she didn't want to take them to the local outreach. She wanted to sell them in front of the house. So she set up a bag, made a price tag, and settled herself on the front steps. Such a cutie!

The house is nearly done - we'll be sliding into home just in time for everyone to arrive for Thanksgiving dinner. The cabinet for the TV is being finished as I type, and the new furniture and fixed-up pool table will be delivered on Tuesday. This whole house renovation thing took on a life of its own, and it's been worth the trouble and inconvenience.

Pumpkins, Pumpkins, Pumpkins Everywhere!

First, a couple of photos from the Girl Scout outing to the pumpkin patch on Saturday. Edie had a great time on the hay ride, and she and Chloe picked some really nice pumpkins.






Monday, I ran and picked up pumpkins for Wayne and me, and his mom & Bill came over for dinner. Then we got down to the business of carving pumpkins. Nana made a face with hair, Bill made a witch, I made a Spongebob, Wyatt made a Pikachu, Edie and Wayne made a cat, and Chloe made a cute face pumpkin. Sure was fun, but I really underestimated the amount of time and work it takes to carve pumpkins. Better start a lot earlier next year!



A couple of other things. You might notice the Video Bar on the right side. Over there ======>

If you click on any of the videos, you'll see the YouTube video that we've uploaded. The most recent video is a very short "film" that the kids and Wayne made at mom & dad's recently. Some find it "disturbing" but we find it funny. See for yourself.

Also, if you go to the bottom of the page, you can subscribe to this blog and have emails delivered when I post updates.

Take care!

Here, There and Everywhere

At least I feel like that's where I've been lately. In actuality, it's been in a big circle...school, soccer practice, piano lessons, soccer games, Cub Scouts, Girl Scouts.

We have had some fun doing different things, too, though. We took the kids to the State Fair of Texas a week ago and had a great time - Fletcher's corny dogs, Hans Mueller German sausage, plenty of rides for the kids on the Midway. Going to the Fair is an event that all of us look forward to each year. There's so much to see, and so many things to do. Instead of loading a zillion photos on here, I made a Slide show. In case you can't quite figure out what's happening in the photos, just move your cursor over the picture and a caption will appear.

Aside from that fun, my Brownie Girl Scout troop went to the local pumpkin patch/animal farm this past weekend. The girls had a great time seeing all of the animals (everything from chickens and geese to zebras and alpaca), going on a very bumpy hay ride, and choosing just the right pumpkin. Edie is now involved with the group as a Daisy Girl Scout, so doing things with the Scouts really is a family affair!

Wayne and Wyatt went on a Cub Scout camp out - Cub O Ree - this weekend. Wyatt has joined a new Pack and really enjoys going to Scouting events. Wayne really likes the new Pack and I feel like there will be many Boy Scout activities in our future.

An Update...Finally!

It's been a while since I updated here - life's gotten in the way of frequent blog posts.

School is in full swing and I think everyone's getting accustomed to working again. The first 6 weeks will come to a close at the end of the week and we'll get the first report cards on October 1st.

In the meantime, all three kids are now taking piano lessons. I think they're enjoying it - they're all willing to sit down and practice, and to even do the theory work. Wyatt got the music for the "Star Wars" theme and is pretty excited about it.

Edie is taking dance again and started back to classes a couple of weeks ago and is having fun. I'm having headaches, though - it seems like every other girl in the class has a younger, louder sibling who likes to run in circles in the waiting room while screaming at the top of their lungs. Maybe I should hit Wayne up for some earplugs!



Both girls are now playing soccer, too. So our weekends have gone from leisure time to very hectic. Okay, so there wasn't much leisure time anyway, but they definitely weren't so booked up! Anyway, Chloe's team is the Burn and she had her first game on Saturday. She played a bit of defense near the goal, so her playing time was pretty limited. I have a feeling she'll be doing a lot of running this Saturday.



Edie had her first game on Saturday, too. Her team is the Red Titans and since there aren't many kids on her team, she played a lot. She even got to try out being goalie.



And just for grins, here are a couple of other photos that I liked:





Take care, all!

School Daze

We made it back into the house last Thursday, just in time for Chloe's 7th birthday and the first day of school Monday. We're still living out of a lot of boxes (or around them, as the case may be), and the workers arrive each day at 7 to put the finishing touches on most everything.

I thought I'd share a few first-day pictures of the kids. They're all getting so big, and were very excited to start a new year. Wyatt is our trailblazer and he started 3rd grade with Mrs. Francis this year. She'll be his homeroom teacher and will teach him everything except for English and Reading. He'll move to another teacher's room for those subjects, so this is his first time to work with two teachers.



Chloe started 2nd grade with Mrs. Austell. Wyatt was in her class last year and just loved her - she's such a patient, kind teacher. I know Chloe will have a great year.



Edie is a big kindergartener this year. She was very excited about starting school, and has Mrs. Williams. Mrs. Williams and her sister and niece are the owners/principal/directors of the school and is a wonderful teacher. Wyatt and Chloe both had Mrs. Williams for kindergarten, so I wanted to be sure that Edie had a great kindergarten year, too.



We had a few tears after that photo was taken. I guess Edie was a little overwhelmed at the idea of school again, but Mrs. Williams was able to handle the situation with her usual grace and kindness. Edie was all smiles at the end of the day and has been happy to go yesterday and today.