The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

I just wanted to put a quick post about our Christmas this year...We had such an awesome time...It was a very stress-free holiday this year. We had some friends over Friday night for dinner to hang out & kick off the holiday weekend and it was very nice.

Then on Saturday (Christmas Eve) we went to Dan's mom's and had a really great time. The kids were so excited to see her tree and all of the presents under it ~ They got to open one each right away, then we had our dinner and then the wrapping paper was flying everywhere! Jack, Mary & Bobby came over, too and joined in the fun...I have shared some pics (courtesy of Jack & Mary... ) We also got to watch the movie "Elf" which we never saw - I was cracking up!

Christmas Day was also wonderful; however, I was totally shocked when I went into the kitchen to make my coffee and looked at the clock & it said 7:42am. The shock was because we had already finished openiong EVERYTHING~stockings included! I couldn't believe that all of that work & preparation was all over for another year! But the kids had a great time & loved all of their presents. We went to church and then over to my mom's. We got to visit there with my parents, John, Jimmy & his family & my aunt Gina & her family. We had a really great time there, too.

Monday morning was a different story~Jake & I both woke up with colds! Yuck! I had the whole achy muscle, stuffy head thing going on...we just took it easy all day. Then my aunt Doris & my cousin Sammie brought us dinner & presents. We all hung out and had fun cathing up with each other. Then Danny stayed with the kids & I went to the movies with the girls...It was nice to get out.

Christmas Love...

I received this via e-mail and just wanted to share it with everyone ~ I know Christmas has passed, but most of the ideas and thoughts in this can be carried out through the whole year...

Christmas Love…

If I decorate my house perfectly with plaid bows, strands of twinkling lights and shiny balls, but do not show love to my family, I’m just another decorator.

If I slave away in the kitchen, baking dozens of Christmas cookies, preparing gourmet meals and arranging a beautifully adorned table at mealtime, but do not show love to my family, I’m just another cook.

If I work at the soup kitchen, carol in the nursing home and give all that I have to charity, but do not show love to each person I serve, it profits me nothing.

If I trim the spruce with shimmering angels and crocheted snowflakes, attend a myriad of holiday parties and sing in the choir’s cantata but do not focus on Christ, I have missed the point.

Love stops the cooking to hug the child. Love sets aside the decorating to kiss the relative. Love is kind, though harried and tired. Love doesn’t envy another’s home that has coordinated Christmas china and table linens.

Love doesn’t yell at the kids to get out of the way, but is thankful they are there to be in the way. Love doesn’t give only to those who are able to give in return, but rejoices in giving to those who can’t.

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. Love never fails. Video games will break, pearl necklaces will be lost, golf clubs will rust, but giving the gift of love will endure…

Quick Bowling Post...

Hello there...Don't have anything great to blog about right at this moment, but I did want to post that the kids did very well at this weeks bowling session...Becky bowled a 79 & a 70 (she even got a strike!) ~ Matthew bowled a 75 and a 70 (he got a spare). They are really getting into this bowling...

I was also proud of Matthew who is really trying to work on his self-control & listening skills. I am tired of feeling like everywhere we go people know his name because I constantly have to say "MATTHEW!" But, on the other hand, I also feel that I am very critical of my children's behavior sometimes, because I am constantly getting comments from people about how well behaved my children are...Sometimes I feel proud (my hard work is paying off!) and sometimes I feel shocked (really? These kids?)

When I wasn't feeling well a few weeks ago I had an appointment with an ENT & brought all three kids with me. I just figured why not? After the initial evaluation by the Dr. he said I had to go downstairs & have a hearing test & "Well, good luck getting that done with the three kids..." I had no idea what this doctor visit would entail, but we ventured downstairts with the skeptical, but nice lady to perform my hearing test. Well, all three kids (even the baby) were quiet and we were able to complete the who hearing test. After we saw the doctor again he asked said this to me: "You homeschool, right? Wow~ I just have to tell you that you have the three most well behaved children I have ever seen. If my kids were here for this they would be bouncing off the walls! Can you come to my house to teach us what you do?"

Oh well, I went off on a tangent. Really just wanted to post about bowling...have a good rest of your weekend!

May I Have A Gallon Of Milk Chocolate?

For those of you who are chocolate lovers, I know you can relate to how cool it was the other day for me when I went to Home Depot to get the new paint for my bedroom! Let me explain ~ I had a million paint chip/swatch cards all over my room to decide which shade of brown I was going to pick. It had to be not too dark, but dark enough to be noticable; coordinate with the colors in the comforter on my bed and also look nice with the wood furniture that we have in our bedroom. Anyway - after days of having these cards taped all over my walls so I could examine them in all differnt angles, daylight, nighttime with the lights on, etc...I found THE color I just had to have! When I looked closer to the color swatch I cracked up because the name of the color was MILK CHOCOLATE. No wonder I picked it! I even thought about the fact that if it looked so good, I may just want to lick my walls!

Anyway, I went to Home Depot to get the paint and I almost cracked up after I ordered it. The guy said, "May I help you?" I said, "Yes, I'll have a gallon of milk chocolate". He said, "Okay" and I proceeded to crack up at myself ordering a gallon of milk chocolate. Now, I DO realize that it was just paint, people, but let me tell you ~ It was still a cool thing to order it.

Last Friday Danny went to the men's Christmas dinner at church & I decided to paint our bedroom - I know I'm crazy, but when I get something in my head I just have to do it! Well, I was a little nervous about painting my room such a bold color, but I really like the way these darker colors look in my friends' homes and decided to go for it. I am very pleased with the final result. Even Danny said "Wow, it looks a lot better than I thought it would" [Thanks Dan.]

Check out my finished product...Now I just have to wait for my new lamps & pictures to come in then it will be totally done!

My Little Angels

This past weekend at church they had the Christmas Program during the Sunday morning service. It was mostly a youth production, but they tried to showcase many of the younger children in it as well, mostly as angels. The younger children (Matthew is one in this category) were all dressed up as angels and came on stage to sing Away in a Manger for the scene where baby Jesus was born...it was very cute!

Becky was the "Main Angel" because she had the only speaking part of the younger children. She came on stage and spoke her lines into the mic like a pro! She had to tell Mary, Joseph and the shephards on separate occassions about the birth of Jesus...Then later in the production, she played the part of a dead girl whom Jesus healed (they were doing a scene about some of the miracles He performed). Then during the scene where Jesus was coming to be crucified she was in the "crowd" - Some were yelling "Crucify!" and some were yelling "No! Please, no!" Becky was one of them...I couldn't believe her acting abilities because she is usually soft spoken and sometime a little shy and to see her on stage in front of the whole church gave me chills! Okay...enough of the proud mother ranting...Here's some pics...

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Yesterday we had a Christmas Party with one of the groups we belong to...We had a lot of fun~The kids did crafts, played and ate~We also all helped in a service project to make 1,000 goodie bags for underprivileged children who will be attending a Christmas Party in their honor this coming Saturday in Philadelphia. It was really nice to be a part of that and to be able to teach our children first hand that as nice as it is to receive presents this holiday season, it is also just as satisfying to give to others...

As part of our homeschooling lessons this week we are participating in a Christmas card exchange with some other families we have become friends with through our other homeschooling group. Each child will make Christmas cards and write in them and then learn how to properly address an envelope and send the cards to each child in the other families. This way they will all be able to receive their "own" cards through the mail this year. The kids love to get their own mail! They ask me every day when I get the mail if there is anything for them!

Tonight I have my Women's Group Christmas Dinner at a local restaurant. It should be a nice time of fun and fellowship out with the ladies! Dan & the kids are planning on having a movie night complete with popcorn and candy!

My Youngest Homeschooler...

I just had to post these pictures of my youngest homeschooler, Jake, who already wants to be one of the big kids...This is our old computer which currently isn't working. (but don't tell Jake) He types away at that keyboard everyday - The other kids say that he's e-mailing my baby niece, Lindsey, who is 1 year old...They all crack me up!

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Today was the first day of our Homeschool Bowling League...we will be going to a local bowling alley every Wednesday...the kids get to bowl 2 games each ~ They even had a nice college student (Tracy) who "coached" them the whole time...She was so nice! The second game Becky bowled a 43 & Matthew bowled a 53. Becky was upset because she really tried to bowl correctly & Matthew just put the ball between his legs & gave it a shove each time & he ended up 10 pts higher both games. I told her not to be discouraged & to be proud that many times she didn't even use the bumpers! We'll see what happens next week.

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What else has been going on in our life:

Last week we had Co-Op & also picture day (which I was in charge of) for school portraits & yearbook pictures (Which I am also in charge of ~ the yearbook, that is). Jake had his first cold-lots of coughing, mucus, etc...he's just getting over it now! Becky slept over my brother's house last week to watch the premier of the American Girl Movie Felicity. She and her aunt Suzanne have been doing a homeschooling elective "class" on the Felicity series of books & they just finished up the last book/lesson in time for the movie. they had a blast hanging out, watching the movie & even discussing what was different from the book to the movie. We went over Dan's parents house on Saturday to visit with them & my father-in law's cousins came with their 2 year old twin boys - That was fun! The boys had a great time running around & playing with Matthew. Danny & I got some Christmas shopping done & on Sunday we had our first snowfall of the season, Dan had to work some OT & my brother John came over for a visit.

I got my MRI results back last night & they were negative. My symptoms have gone away & all is well.

Becky had her horseback riding lessons last night...She did really great! She seems to really enjoy it, too!

This weekend is the Christmas show at our church - Becky has rehearsal Saturday morning from 9-12...We are having a small get-together with some friends from church Sunday afternoon so I am busy preparing for that, too. Of course when we are having company it motivates me to get projects done in our house. I plan on painting our bedroom this week (a very nice chocolate brown color) I can't wait! Dan is in charge of the Men's dinner at our church (which is this Friday evening) - He coordinates all of the food, does the food shopping (he went out with his buddy last night to get most of that done - I'll get the last few things from Sam's Club tomorrow) & he also does a lot of the cooking...I will have to meet him at the church on Friday with the turkeys & the oil, etc...He'll go there right from work so he has time to prepare everything for the dinner at 7:30pm...We also have to put up our christmas tree - We got a fake tree a few years ago - It's nice & all but I miss having a real one...Now I want to have two trees - the fake one in the den (the back of the house) & I'd love to get a small real one for the living room (front of the house) because last year we only had one tree & it didn't look Christmasy when you first came in because there was no tree there. Anyway, I digress...I better not waste my precious few minutes left while Jake is sleeping - I have lots to do...See ya.