Just a few pictures from a recent sledding outing.....
B coming down...we had had good snow, until it warmed up and got soft.  Despite the bare spots, it was still pretty good sledding.

Jbird borrowed a bike sled

 The view

Jbird tried the sled snowboarding and got most of the way down the hill.

We hit the ice skating rink twice today.  Well, the first time I took Jbird to our local rink (the other two boys, after repeated warnings to get ready, watched me drive out of the driveway without them).  He played hockey with 2 other men and an older boy.  He was loving it.  Then later in the day we drove into 'town' to a rink we had not been at before.  It was huge and had a warming hut, bathrooms and water fountain.  We will be going there again!

Then we drove around and looked at Christmas lights. I finally got smart and did some research on where to go. We found this RV park, that is closed during the winter, and they decorate the whole park. It was so beautiful. We were the only ones driving through!

We drove by some residential areas. We went to this crazy, cool house in the country. You pulled into the driveway and around back. The had a barn where you could visit the horses and goats. Then the back, front and side yards were completely decorated. There was even Santa's workshop where they were serving hot beverages, snacks and a fire going. It was all free too. JB wanted his picture taken with many of the 'critters'.

The boys had a blast running around and playing hide and go seek. They could have stayed the whole night! This was the first time in probably 4 years that I remember this much snow before Christmas. So pretty.

Tomorrow night Granny arrives and the boys looking forward to the week ahead.

Just a bunch of random stuff......

Here is a picture of JB at preschool working on his gingerbread house!  (Sent by his teacher, so not able to enlarge it.....)

It seems that we have the privilege of taking care of the preschool stick bugs over the Christmas break. I guess they are pretty low maintenance and just need some lettuce every day or so.

JB asked me the other day if the sun and moon had a mom, dad, brother and sister. He cracks me up. Just about any day that the other boys are at school, you can find JB right here......

He loves playing with his super heroes/transformers and nativities. He will stand at the buffet all morning, just playing and talking away.

The other day I was in our local small town grocery store. They were really busy and I thought it was so cool that the head honcho-owner, carried my groceries out with a huge smile and a Merry Christmas. Only in small town living does that happen.

We did some moonlight skating during the full moon. The boys had a great time and I stayed nice and warm in the car! Once they are able to put their skates on and lace them up by themselves I will be a happy momma. Right now it almost takes as long getting ready and wrapping up than they do skating. We went again today after school. My goal is twice a week hitting the ice. Once they get their hockey sticks for Christmas, they will spend hours out there. I am thankful to the dads that show up and help 'coach' the kids on the ice.

The boys are very concerned because none of the Christmas presents have names on them. They are not sure how we are going to know whose present is whose. Little do they know, that every person has a different kind of wrapping paper. They will go on a treasure hunt Christmas Eve to find the envelope that has the answers to which paper belongs to which person.

Tomorrow is the last day of school and then they have off until Thursday, January 2nd. Seems like they could get the 2nd and 3rd off, but no...we go back.

Off to help boys wind down for the night.

This past week we went to the Lego Club at the local library. The boys had lots of fun building.

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Both of the boys had their Christmas programs this past week. I did not get any pictures but maybe can get a video downloaded in the next couple of days.

Last night B and I went and saw the musical White Christmas. We both loved it. We ate our traditional dinner at a Mexican food restaurant. B ordered off the adult menu - I think a first for him. He was horrified to see artichoke hearts on the menu. I quickly explained to him that it was not an animal...that it was a vegetable and they referred to it as the heart because it is in the middle. He had several refills of a Shirley Temple. Then for the theatre...he thought it was so neat how the conductor used a glow stick to conduct. I guess we were close enough this year for him to see the orchestra.

We ventured out to the ice skating rink today for the first time this winter. I forgot my coat so I hung in the car. We had brought to folding chairs and the boys did awesome. JB is almost too fast on his little skates, but he picked it up nicely for being 4.

B did well too, I just did not get a picture of him. They have been asking me for hockey sticks...they don't know that there will be some used ones under the tree. Also got Jbird and B some skis and boots. We will rent JB's skis and boots this winter - but all three of them are set for lessons this year!

It has been insanely cold the last couple of days. We have been in the negatives all weekend. Last night at 2am a truck hit a pole and knocked out electricity to our whole neighborhood. When we got up at 8am, it was 50 degrees in our house. It does not take long to get cold when it is -20. We were without power until about noon! Fortunately all is warm now! We are not suppose to get above 32 until Thursday. It will never have felt so good.

Last night was our communities Festival of Lights. We bundled up and headed out.
We stopped by and said hello to Santa at a grocery store.

Jacob wanted to be in the picture by himself (the really dry cold weather wreaks havoc with his curls....not to mention taking hats on and off...)

Then we went to a bank, where the boys made ornaments and had pizza.

Then, if you took your ornament to Dairy Queen, you got a free ice cream cone.  Nothing like ice cream when it is -10.  (I wanted to get a picture of the boys outside eating it standing next to a thermometer, but it was just too cold, your hands hurt after a few seconds.)

From there we ended up at the library where the boys had balloon animals made. At that point, I was over the cold so we headed home.

We also made cookies a few days ago. I was quite impressed with how long the boys sat and decorated them.

The finished product.....

This week both of the older boys have their school music programs. On Friday B and I are continuing for a second year, with what he says is now a tradition, and that is going to the local theatrical Christmas production. (Last year it was The Christmas Carol, where B got scared with the ghost part and then the man threw up behind us.) This year it is White Christmas. Beforehand we will go out to one of his favorite Mexican food restaurants.

We had a very, very quiet weekend. JB has had a bad cough so just been laying low.

We did get the tree up. We bought a tree off of a lot. I love it and it smells wonderful.

JB is going through some 'phases' right now. Whenever someone leaves, he insists on telling them goodbye. If they don't respond with goodbye, then he melts down. He also loves to ask about time references. If you tell him later, in a bit, in a little while, etc...he insists on knowing how long it will really be.

This year I finally got my act together to do the 12 Days of Christmas for the teachers this year. Starting on Thursday B and J will take a small present into their teacher. The first day will be one item, the second day will be two items, etc. The hope is that the boys will be able to sneak them onto the teachers desk sometime during the day. Not sure that they can stay anonymous the whole 12 days. (Especially if the teachers talk...I think their teachers only have one other sibling group that have the same teachers.) It will also be a fun way for the boys to countdown until Christmas break (and when Granny arrives). We are giving them...1 hand sanitizer, 2 post it notes, 3 packs hot chocolate, 4 dry erase markers, 5 bags microwave popcorn, 6 magnets, 7 packets of crystal light, 8 (have not figured it out yet), 9 jolly ranchers, 10 (x10) paper clips, 11 peppermints, 12 pencils.

I have also come up with a list of special activities for the month of December. Last night the boys each drew 2 of them out of a jar. We will do one a day over the next 6 days. Today is a rip-roaring game of Hide n Go Seek, then decorate cookies, build a card house and eat pizza, games with hot chocolate and whip cream, dominoes with a fun snack and then we will finish Day 6 with a trip to the library for their Lego time. They supposedly have tubs and tubs of Legos for kids to sit and build.

Speaking of games, I introduced the boys to the card game War over the weekend. They loved it. Every night they have played cards. Even played by themselves, without arguing! The highs the next couple of days are in the single digits with the lows below zero. Sure do love that I don't have to be anywhere and can stay home!

Happy Thanksgiving!
So hard to believe the holidays are upon us again. It is so easy to be thankful for the big things...health, house, job, etc. I have been reflecting lately on the smaller things that I am very glad I have in my life.
Like.....
crock pots
gloves
my comfy chair where I sit every morning before the rest of the house stirs with my bible and cup of tea.
toilet plungers
my electric blanket (along with my bedspread and wool blanket - all 3 of which I sleep with every night)
light bulbs
drive thru pharmacies
running water
spray bottles
candles
technology

And can't ever forget the freedom we have along with my faith - that keeps me going when the going gets tough!

I spent 6 hours in the kitchen on Wednesday, so I would not have to do anything on Thursday. Sweet potatoes, green bean casserole and stuffing ready to go in the oven. Pecan pie already cooked. As is the turkey...found a recipe to do it the day before. So it is cut and ready to be warmed tomorrow. I can tell you I will never cook a 23 pound turkey again without buying one of those huge foil roasting pans. (A local business was giving away free turkeys, so that is why I had such a huge one). I managed to get butter all over the bottom of the oven and it took 20 minutes for the butter to burn off. Meanwhile the house filled with smoke and smoke alarm went off. Several fans along with open doors and windows finally cleared it out. So thankful I did it all on Wednesday, so I can just enjoy the day Thursday. Everything was homemade...down to the stuffing, pie crust and cream of chicken soup I used for green beans.

No plans today. Just hanging with the family, hopefully watching the parade, football and playing some games. We will see what other things the day holds.

Have a blessed Thanksgiving, enjoy family and friends. I know I will! (B just asked me why I typed 'I know I will' when we don't have any friends or family coming over...I quickly reminded him that he is my family :-) )

It has been very quiet week!!!

Just a few pictures from last nights robotics class.

The robot is suppose to be programmed to roll up to the 'cow' and pick it up.

The younger two each have a birthday party on Saturday to go to. Other than that, not much on the docket for the weekend - besides church.

Teacher conferences were this past week.  All in all, just about what I expected.  Jbird's teacher made a very interesting observation.  He said that Jbird is amazing with math.  He gets concepts easily and quickly in his head.  (I am amazed when I do mental math with him and when I listen to him count money.)  However, his teacher was shocked when they took their first test.  Jbird missed about half of them.   Whenever he had a straight math problem (12-3=9), Jbird always got it right. However, when there was a word problem or picture attached to the problem, he usually got it wrong.  He explained it as when there is room for creativity in how you look at the problem, Jbird tries to go about it through the back door and gets it wrong. He said this works in some situations but can be very dangerous with math.  Something to watch for in the future.

Speaking of Jbird...after almost 1 1/2 years of school, he has finally decided that jeans are not that bad.  He has worn sweats his entire school year, until 2 weeks ago.  I think all his sweats were finally dirty and he had to wear jeans.  (I have thrown away 2 pairs of sweats so far this year because of holes in the knees.  I have found jeans are cheaper and easier to replace than sweats, so a welcomed thing at our house).

JR and I are starting to get things in place for him to fly solo and enter the world of self-employment the end of December.  God is going to bless this venture, I know it.  Just this past week, 2 different people approached him about opportunities that would be about 10-20 hours per week.  (He already has 20 hrs per week secured.)  One of them has presented an opportunity for us to bring on some work that would require employees on our part.  It seems daunting and overwhelming, but if we want a larger business (other than just JR) this would be a great opportunity to get our feet wet and would not require a long term commitment.  We have even been offered for someone to walk us through it all and help us lay it out, how to plan for employees, etc.  We meet with our accountant on Monday and then hopefully within the next 2 weeks, we can solidify (at least a short term) direction of the business.  Fortunately he has been in the resort community long enough that lots of people know him and are coming out of the woodwork when they know he is going out on his own.  It also helps that it is a resort community, so services are inflated and everyone is okay with paying that.  (As it is, some of the services he offers on the side he is already $10 below the going rate.)  Just exciting to see the potential.

No plans for the weekend - other than church.

Just a few pictures.....

I recently came across this picture and had to laugh. This was taken sometime late summer. We were heading out the door and I told the boys to get their shoes on. This is what I got. (Notice the wool socks with tennis shoes, not to mention the obvious - mismatched socks, one on backward and the shorts that are several sizes too long.)

On Saturday the weather was beautiful. The younger two were outside all day long. At one point they were across the street with some neighbor hood kids. I just cracked up when I saw JB sitting on his 'throne', watching over everyone.  (I think all the neighborhood kids were laying on the sidewalk just behind the trash can.  One of the girls had brought her blanket outside, so he decided to follow suite.)

We headed out on Sunday to try to get a picture for family Christmas cards.

Then we let B have the camera....it is rare that JR and I actually get pictures taken together....After some cropping, he took some pretty good pictures.