Haircuts

All three boys got their hair cut last night. They all three needed a haircut but b/c Benjamin cut his bangs we had to find time to get it done. I could not believe he cut his hair. He said it was in his eyes so what else could he do! That sounds about right for him! They all look precious. Kaleb got so much cut off. He's been letting his grow long but found a picture in a hair book that he liked so he took the plunge and got it cut short. It looks great.

Indoor smores!

This weekend it was too cold to go outside and build a fire but the boys have been wanting smores so we made indoor smores! Mom bought the boys a smores kit for Christmas. We put up candles and had a ball. Remember, when making smores - the more burnt your marshmallow is...the better!

Advent

This post is out of place but I don't know how to put it in the right order. Every year we do Advent with the boys. Years ago I made Advent stockings. Inside each stocking is a Bible verse and enough room for a small treat. Each morning leading up to Christmas we read the verse and talk about what it means. Then the boys open the small gift. One day I got them the funnies suckers with lips on them. I had to post this picture.

Fun with Austin

We have a dear friend, Austin, who Rusty and I have had the privilege of watching grow up. His dad is one of Rusty's closest friends and we just love their whole family. Well, once Austin went away to college he never returned...for more than a visit. We all knew it would happen but we sure miss him. So just about every time he comes home he makes time to visit with our family. We see him less now that he is a minister in Guam so this visit was especially nice. The boys love him (even though he teaches them very bad things). This year Austin, Kevin (his dad), Rachel (Kevin's fiance), and James (one of Austin's friends from Boston) all came to dinner. One of the traditions the boys have with Austin is some kind of battle. One year it was marshmallow shooters - which ended up in my Christmas tree!! This year all three boys got an automatic Tommy 20 Nerf gun from my parents for Christmas. They were so excited when I told them Austin was coming because they couldn't wait to blast him with their guns! So after dinner the boys brought each of the men a single shot Nerf gun while all three boys had their automatic Nerf guns. The boys went upstairs and the battle began. It was hilarious! It went on forever and I found many Nerf bullets in my tree and one on my ceiling! The two funniest moments were when Austin shot Benjamin right in the forehead and the bullet stuck - so funny. And the funniest moment was when Kevin ripped his jeans in the battle! I laughed til I cried! He had to take off his shirt and wear it like a skirt - pretty pretty! We are sad that Austin is back in Guam and look forward to seeing him again.

Room Makeover Mom Edition...

For part of the boys Christmas I gave them an envelope with a card that I made on the computer. It says "Extreme Makeover - Mom Edition....coming to a room near you!" I told the boys that I was going to redo their rooms. They are going to go to my parents house one weekend while Rusty and I spend the weekend getting their rooms ready. We are tearing down walls and painting and buying furniture and linens! It's gonna be so fun. The best part is that the boys have no idea what their new room is going to look like. I haven't told any of them what I'm going to do - as in they don't even know what the theme is going to be. I can't wait!!
Sooo in preparation for the makeover I started cleaning out attics. In the two upstairs rooms there are 2 small attic spaces. The ones in Matthew's room have Christmas decorations and the air conditioning unit. The ones in Kaleb's room have sporting equipment and teacher stuff from when I taught first grade. The plan is to clear these out so we can make a nook for them or another closet. I started on the Christmas closet - got it done then moved on the one of the two huge attics. On either side of our house we have a huge (way bigger than a bedroom) walk in attic. Great for storing stuff but a pain to keep organized. Well, in order to put the Christmas stuff in there I had to first get it organized and cleaned out. We decided to get rid of a bunch of stuff. Rusty rented a storage building for a month so I'd have a place to put all of it. I finished the one side of the attic, finished the Christmas closet, am finished with my half of the other big attic (the rest is Rusty's tools and stuff), and am almost finished with the sporting equipment. Are you ready....the storage building a full! And we have 8 boxes in our entry way!!!
About mid way through some friends of mine decided we should take a girls' trip to Utah to go snow mobiling and stuff. They suggested I have a garage sale to help pay for the trip. That motivated me to really get rid of some stuff. We are planning a sale in a couple of weeks. I still have a lot to do to get ready (haven't priced a thing) but boy does it feel great to have so much stuff gone. And I'm going to get rid of bedding and furniture and decorations from the boys rooms to get ready for the makeover next month! Woo Hoo! I'm on a roll!!

Upward basketball

This year both Matthew and Kaleb are playing Upward basketball. We love this program. They play through a church in Marshall. Kaleb played last year and it was such a good experience. This year Matthew decided he wanted to play. Again, it has been so much fun. They play every Saturday for 6 weeks. And they only practice once a week so it doesn't take too much time. Benjamin stays with Mom and Dad sometimes because he gets bored being there that long. We end up being there about 4 and 1/2 hours each Saturday because Kaleb plays before Matthew but there's not enough time in between games to come back to Harleton. I haven't taken many pictures yet this year because we still have games to play but I'll post a few.

Letterboxing

Letterboxing - the funnest family activity to do. You can learn more about it a www.letterboxing.org . Basically it's like a treasure hunt. People all across the US and other countries hide these boxes (think small Tupperware containers). Inside each box is a stamp and small notebook. You get the clues online. You bring with you a stamp, ink pad, pen, and a small notebook. Once you find the box you press the stamp you find into your notebook and press your stamp into the notebook in the box. That way you have a record of all the boxes you have found and the person who hid the box has a record of every person who has found their box. You need a compass too.
We love it! We have went letterboxing in Tyler, Harleton, Jefferson, and all the way to Colorado on our vacation last summer. So we decided to go to Dangerfield State Park and find the boxes that were hidden there. We had such a good time. We found all but 2 of the 8 or 9 boxes hidden there. Here are some pictures of our fun day.

Christmas

Christmas Morning the big boys woke up early and came to our room (they know not to even peek into the living room until they wake us up) bright and early. Of course, Benjamin was still asleep. We talked to the boys and wrestled in our bed until we couldn't wait any longer for Benjamin. We have had to wake him up every year on Christmas morning! We all gathered on our bed to read the Christmas story and then to pray. Then it's off the living room to tear into the gifts. Here's a run down of what Santa brought.

Benjamin got a fully stocked art table, an EZ Bake oven (his daddy wasn't thrilled with Santa), a sword (to go with the ten other swords in his room), a bath toy/soap maker, a sleeping bag set with a flashlight that he wanted, Wii Nerf game, and some Spy gear.

Kaleb got an awesome electric scooter, Guitar Praise (like Guitar Hero but it has all Christian music), a remote control car that drives on the ceiling, air gun, and a portable DVD player.

Matthew got an IPod to replace the one he messed up, a safe for his baseball cards (to keep his brothers out), baseball cards, a remote control R2D2, Scene It Nickelodeon game, Wii Mario cart game, and an antique dime bank he has wanted for years.

They got way too much stuff. Rusty was not happy with Santa this year! :)

After the boys opened gifts and called the grandparents to tell them what they got we played and played. Usually I go into crazy mode getting ready for guests for lunch. Not this year. I decided that I was going to enjoy playing with the kids' stuff. I didn't even shower and put make up on for lunch!!! Can you imagine. And I didn't make the house spotless like I always do. And I didn't make fancy food. Soooo not like me. I was just exhausted and decided that if I did all of those things I wouldn't have the energy to play with the boys. So there you have it. Family came over for dinner and no one fell down because of my frightening appearance and no one complained about not having a gourmet meal. I don't plan on making a habit of looking my worse on Christmas day but this year - well this year - it's just what I needed!

Cookie Party

I have a tradition that started many years ago...I love to bake and decorate Christmas sugar cookies. Love it! So when I got married I did it with Rusty (he felt sorry for me so decorated cookies with me). One year like 14 years ago Traci mentioned to me that she dreaded going home and decorating cookies with her kids. My ears perked up. I said "Let them come to my house. I'll do it with them. I love it and Rusty will be so happy to have a replacement." She was more than happy and so it has been that way for at least 14 years. The party has grown from just Kristen, Adam and I to 13 kids (yes, I'm still counting Kristen as a kid even though she's married) and 5 adults. I was worried last year that Kristen wouldn't want to come b/c she was married but was thrilled when she came with her sweet husband, Mark, in tow! One year I made everyone an apron to wear. This year I bought chef hats for everyone. Super cute! This year I took time to really watch Adam. He is in college and could probably come up with 10 things to do other than come to my house and decorate cookies. But he comes - every year he comes. And he never complains. And he doesn't leave early. I pray that my boys will be as kind of a man as Adam is. He is a great role model for my boys.
Some years we have prizes for the prettiest and ugliest cookie. This year we decorated gingerbread men in addition to sugar cookies and did a white elephant gift exchange. Each year it's a little different but it's always the same people and we always have a blast. I love looking at pictures from past years. It always makes me thankful for the wonderful friends God has blessed me with.

Matthew's bday

I can't believe Matthew is 12! When did it happen? It seems like he was born yesterday. It makes me so sad. 12 is way bigger than 11. Rusty says I say this about every age!
One of Matthew's friends, Hailey, has a bday close to Matthew's so this year we decided to do their parties together. They're both in 6th grade and have the same friends. Hailey invited 8 girls and Matthew invited 8 boys. We went to the Slone Ranch, in Marshall. It's Hailey's grandparent's ranch. They just built this retreat area for friends and churches to use. It is beautiful. There's a beautiful cabin with a loft. Then there's a 3 story play area with a rock wall and slide and rope swing. They have a lake with jet skis and a fishing boat. It's just amazing. And they have an indoor swimming pool that is just stunning. The kids had a blast! We told the kids not to bring gifts but Matthew came home with gifts and almost $200 dollars. My camera was messed up that night so I'll post what I have but they are not good pictures.

Our Cruise

So Rusty and I win this cruise, well, not really win, it was one of those if you come see our time share we'll give you a cruise things. Anyway - of course we have to go in December - what other time would they send you for free! It was a cruise to Cozumel, Mexico. We were so pumped! We had not been anywhere by ourselves since we had kids. Well, we went to California when Matthew was 2 but that's it. Anyway...about 2 weeks before the trip Matthew gets a mean stomach virus. He misses some school and we think all is well. It's wasn't. Kaleb gets the virus BAD (bad as in threw up over 20 times - so so sick)...Benjamin gets it....Kaleb gets it AGAIN... Rusty gets it...Matthew gets it AGAIN (Yes you are reading this correctly). It was days and days of throw up and other stuff you don't wanna know about. So one day I throw up once. I'm thinking "Wow, I got off easy". We were so nervous about going on the trip b/c Matthew wasn't really feeling up to normal and neither was Rusty. We were to leave on Thursday and as of Wednesday neither Rusty nor Matthew had even kept down any soup. We didn't know what to do. We decided to go ahead and go and pray for the best. We so wanted a few days by ourselves. And it was FREE! Well, we get on the ship on Thursday and all is well. We're excited. Rusty's still not up to par but he's feeling much better. Friday at about 5 am I rush the bathroom (the very small bathroom) and start throwing up! It was terrible! I threw up all day Friday then was miserable the rest of the time. And the ship was moving so much (rough seas). It was a combination virus/sea sick. Thankfully we brought some of the Zophran with us so I had meds. And just FYI - there are no crackers or Gatorade on a cruise ship. I felt a tiny bit better by Sunday night so we ate in the dining room but I just had a baked potato. No lobster or steak or scallops - no watching the great shows or shopping - and no snorkeling in Cozumel! Can you believe it! And I won't be going back. I'm done with cruise ships!

A Texas Christmas...the last student program

Whew! I'm pooped! The 2nd grade program is the last one. This one is so funny. It takes Christmas songs the kids know and changes the words to western words. For example, instead of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer we have Randolph the Bow Legged Cowboy; we have Jingle Bells "in Texas", Twas the Night Before Christmas "In Texas" - that one is super cute. The kids act it out as it's being said. Let's see, what else....oh Up on the Housetop "in Texas" - cute motions to it. The best song of all is The Twelve Days of Christmas in Texas. It brings the house down. I have the kids sit down on the risers. Then as we sing each verse the kids stand up with their prop. For example, when we sing "8 Stetson hats" 8 of the kids stand up and take their hats off toward the audience then they sit down real fast so "7 big bluebonnets" kids can stand up a smell their bluebonnets. They look like jack in the boxes! We end with We Wish You a Merry Christmas. The kids all wear jeans and long sleeved red or white shirts. They also wore red bandannas. I'll post some pictures if I can round some up.

Matthew's deer

Well, Matthew shot a deer. I don't get it - go freeze in the woods looking for cute animals to shoot. I know, I know, it's a boy thing. So Matthew and his daddy go over and over. Matthew shot a doe and now the real hunt is on - the one for the big Daddy. Because some guys don't pick up their processed deer we end up with deer meat. So we don't need the meat - and I don't cook it. Gross. So for my guys it's all about the big one - the one they're convinced is out there waiting to be shot and hung on a wall (a wall other than one at my house I might add). This weekend is the last weekend Matthew can go - youth hunt one last time. Maybe he'll get the big Daddy...

Thanksgiving

This year we had Thanksgiving at my house again. It was a smaller affair than normal, which was nice. Mom, Dad, AJ, April, and our family were together. This fall has worn me slap out so it was a nice relaxing day. I love to cook very much. Last year I made foods that the Pilgrims might have had. We researched what they really had and it was so much fun and educational. And I cooked things I had never made before (leeks, roasted chestnuts, etc.). This year I was too tired. I just haven't been able to pull together this school year. The Spring has to be slower than the fall or I'm gonna lose it!

Benjamin's 6th bday

My baby is 6! How can that be? It was just yesterday that he couldn't say "Kaleb" and started the name "Tub" which has stuck all these years. Wasn't just potty training him and rocking him during the night? We've had quite a journey with this little one and to say he is our miracle is an understatement. I look at him and listen to him sound out words and I think "Is this the boy diagnosed with autism?" "Is this the boy who screamed for hours on end and did not speak?" Oh, God is so good to me. He is good indeed. And all my life I will have my feisty Benjamin to remind me that my Savior loves me so very much and always gives me more than I could ask or imagine.
Now, onto the bday. Benjamin decided he wanted a carnival party. I had started making big plans for a carnival complete with sno cones, cotton candy, popcorn, and carnival games. We'd have a horse and a face painter and carnival prizes. Then Benjamin went to a party at Gym Fit. Gym Fit is a gymnastics center that rents out on Sunday afternoons. They have trampolines and a rock wall and big blow up equipment. So before I could buy any carnival stuff Benjamin makes a big change - he wants to go to Gym Fit. So, only because I was swamped and exhausted from all the programs at school did I jump at the chance to have a stress free party. I told him I thought it was a great idea and I put down a deposit before he could change his mind.
The kids had a blast and the adults had fun too. I even jumped on a trampoline or two myself!

The Little Red Hen

The first grade play was The Little Red Hen. This was like the play that wouldn't happen. Things kept happening causing us to postpone the play. It was so nice to finally let the kids perform what they had worked so hard on. Each grade level performs their program twice. Once for the school during the day and once for their families at night. Everyone said this play was their favorite this year. The costumes were awesome and the kids did such a super job of telling the story of The Little Red Hen. Almost every child had a speaking part or solo. It is no small feat to get that many first graders to know when to come to the mic and what to say. I was so proud of them. I can't wait to show you the pictures.

The Three Piggy Opera

Kindergarten's program was The Three Piggy Opera. It was so cute. Each child wore a pig mask made out of a pink paper plate. We had a mother pig, the three little pigs, the straw peddlers, stick peddlers, and brick peddlers. And of course the big, bad, wolf. This year in kindergarten we have 2 sets of twins so I put them as peddlers. Well, I needed another set of peddlers so I looked at all 60 kindergartners to find the 2 that looked most alike. Believe it or not it was Benjamin and his best friend. They were so cute! Each set wore matching outfits - wait til you see the pictures. The kids sang song after song and solo after solo. The crowd loved it!

Football!

Football season is back again! Matthew loves football and really looked forward to playing again this year. This is his 6th year to play. This year he had a good coach and he learned a lot. And I actually learned a little about football! Matthew did well and of course looked great in his uniform (which is so important - he would be so irritated if he knew I wrote that). Their team didn't make it to the playoffs but they had a great season. I can't believe he'll be playing junior high football for the school next year! I wish I could remember his position. He will be so disappointed to know that I can't remember. I'm going to guess and say linebacker.

Jefferson Corn field maze

The day after Halloween Keli, Beth, and I took our kids and a few of their friends to Jefferson for dinner, the scary corn field maze, the fright train, a scavenger hunt, and back to Randi Carol's house for snacks. We had such a great time. This is the 2nd year we've gone. We first went on the scavenger hunt. It was so much fun. We split up into 4 groups then took off all around Jefferson seeing the main attractions. Beth made up the hunt and she did a great job. The group to the restaurant first won. And....my team won! Of course, I had Julie withe me and she lives in Jefferson so we had an edge. After eating we went to the maze. It was fun. It's cool how they make a maze out of a corn field. The kids had fun trying to scare each other. We then went on the "fright train" which was anything but frightening. The only semi scary thing was a guy dressed in all black sneaks around on the train as it goes. He randomly picks people to sit by or stare at. You don't know when he's coming so that's kind of fun. After that we went to Julie's house for dessert. Her home is just beautiful and the kids had a blast. It was such a fun evening - I look forward to going again next year.

Halloween fun

Well, for Halloween this year Kaleb was a 1920s gangster - super cute!!! And Benjamin was an FBI agent - precious! So we bought Benjamin the Darth Vader costume - he loves Star Wars even though he's never even seen it. They have a Star Wars lego game for the Wii so I guess that's why he likes it. Anyway, Halloween fell on a Friday and the school had "Career dress up day". I asked Benjamin what he wanted to dress as. He said an "FBI agent" - oh really - well let me just pull out my FBI agent costume! So I start thinking and his costume was just too darn cute. I made him a badge and he had shiny sun glasses on. And I told him to flash his badge all day and say to the teachers "It's alright Ma'am, I'm with the FBI." Of course he hammed it up which made it way funnier. Kaleb went to school as a major league baseball player (which he thinks he will be one day). After school I told the boys to get their costumes on so we could go trick or treating. Benjamin had way too much fun being the FBI agent so he forgot Darth Vader and kept the FBI agent (which I was happy about). Anyway - we get ready to go trick or treating and Matthew says "Um, momma, I really think I'm too old to go trick or treating." Oh really! Oh no you're not. I said, "Matthew - had you told me last year that it would be the last time you'd trick or treat I would have been prepared for this year. I would have had my time to be sad that you are growing up. But you didn't give me warning so you have to go." To which he replies "Seriously, you're gonna MAKE me go trick or treating." You betcha! He thought I had lost my mind. So I told him that I was sentimental and was having a hard time with him being in junior high and if he would please go one last time I would take them to Longview so no one would see him and I would let him dress scary (something we argue about every year). I told him he could be Frankenstein. He had always wanted to be Frankenstein. And I reminded him that Mrs.Lori had a Frankenstein mask so no one would see his face. He felt sorry for his obviously unstable mother and agreed to go one last time. So we get to Longview and Kaleb and Benjamin work out this thing - Kaleb goes up to the door and holds out his toy Tommy gun and says "Give me all your candy and no one gets hurt." Then up walks Benjamin, FBI badge out and he says "It's okay Ma'am, I'm with the FBI." To say they were a hit in an understatement. The people just cracked up. All three boys had a great time and I have one more memory of trick or treating with Matthew...

School House Rocks!

Our third grade program was in October. It was School House Rocks (remember those cartoons). It was a fun program. This one had many more speaking parts than the other programs. There were 23 speaking parts plus solos and dances and other smaller parts. See if you remember these songs...The Preamble (of course our Founding Fathers were in attendance all decked out), Three Is a Magic Number, Interplanet Janet (we had all nine planets, Janet and her 3 member comet team, and the Sun all on stage moving at the same time), and Interjections. Kaleb was in this one so it was extra fun for me to direct. Kaleb was Benjamin Franklin. I'll post pictures soon.

At The Hop!

Next came the fourth grade program - At The Hop. It was so much fun to prepare for. It was made up of dane hits. I had a grandparent volunteer to make poodle skirts for the girls! I had some in my costume closet and some girls got their own but she ended up making like 15 skirts for me to keep! I am thrilled! So the girls all wore poodle skirts and the boys wore blue jeans and white t shirts. Some had leather jackets. It was awesome. The kids sang and danced to the following songs: At The Hop, We Got The Beat, The Locomotion, Twist and Shout, Yakety Yak, and Rock and Roll is Here to Stay. I was so proud of the kids. They danced with partners (no small feat for 4th graders), sang solos, and acted out Yakety Yak (which was hilarious). This program is a crown favorite because the music is so good.

Patriotic Ponderings

As music teacher I am responsible for putting together 6 student performances ... all before December! Yes, you read that right - all 6 of them before December! We have to do the TAKS grades first so that means 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades go first. We start with 5th grade. The 5th graders did an excellent job performing "Patriotic Ponderings". It consisted of 7 songs, The PreAmble to the Constitution, and John Wayne's "America, Why I Love Her". I was so proud of the students. They only had a few weeks to learn all the songs. They all wore red, white, and blue hats. The Founding Fathers dressed the part (knickers and all) and John Wayne, well, he was a tough looking as the real John Wayne. Again, once I figure the photos out I'll post one.

Dirt Dauber fun

Watching Kaleb play on this fall baseball team has been so much fun. He is learning so much and making many new friends. The team is made up of such great people. It has been such a positive experience for him. I hope he'll choose to do fall ball again next year. All the running around playing in different towns has been so worth it. I love baseball!!