Gingerbread House

Our wonderful neighbors brought over a gingerbread house kit for the kids to make. What a treat! It was a new experience for all of us, and everyone had fun decorating - and eating - our delicious gingerbread house!

Happy Belated Birthday!

Remember my last post about how busy we've been around here? Well, sometimes when you get this busy, you forget very important dates. This morning I noticed that my "Events Calendar" I have hanging in my kitchen was still set on the month of November. So I flipped the page over to December and there it was.... My father-in-law's birthday. Over a week ago!!! I feel so bad! I'm sorry, Bill! We didn't mean to forget your birthday!!! So from all of us, happy belated birthday! We love you!!!

Don't you just love those bare feet?!? Didn't realize how huge they look! :)

Busy Times

That's what these are... VERY busy times.

As we near Christmas, things only seem to get busier. Sad, but true. Last night we had our Fall Showcase for our home school co-op. I put together a display for the class I taught this Fall, and Nathan and Amy got to perform on stage with the other preschoolers. There were many other presentations and everyone did a wonderful job.

Yes, I know this picture is dark... Our camera was acting up. Can you spot Nathan and Amy?

Then earlier today Amy did her little Nutcracker dance in her ballet class. They have been working on it for several weeks now, and today they let the parents and family come into the room to watch as they performed it for us. They danced to the Sugar Plum Fairy music and it was just too cute for words!

Nathan is currently at his new gymnastics class (Bill took him). He was promoted from his regular preschool class. I am anxious to hear how he likes his new all boy class!

Tomorrow we begin the fun of Christmas baking. The kids are excited and I'm looking forward to just staying home all day and slowing down enough to enjoy this Christmas season!

Snow!

In this part of Texas, really cold weather is rare, especially the kind that brings snow. But last night we were blessed with a somewhat heavy downpour of beautiful white snow! I saw earlier in the day a forecast for possible snow but I didn't believe it. Afterall, it's been several year since we've had any. That year we actually had a "white" Christmas (it collected on the ground somewhat), and that seemed like a miracle as it was. But the snow we received last night lasted much longer and gave us probably a good 2 inches of snow. It was a stunning sight. I found it hard to pull myself from the window when it was time to turn in last night. I couldn't believe it was still snowing several hours after it had begun!

The ones who really got a kick out of the snow were the kids, of course. Alex and Nathan were especially overjoyed by the cold, fluffy snowflakes. They took to poking their tongues out to try and catch the snowflakes, when they weren't busy making snowballs to throw at each other that is. At one point, Alex stated, as though he'd made a sudden discovery, "Oh, that's why it was so cold today - because it was going to snow!" Interesting way to look at it.

This morning we were all pleased to see that quite a bit of snow was still there. It was melting quickly, however, so we rushed to put on our warm clothes, coats, hats, gloves, and shoes and headed out the door. It was by far more fun playing in the snow in the daylight hours! We made snowmen, snow angels and had snowfights. It was a great time. It didn't last all that long, though, because when you aren't used to that tingly numbness that overtakes your frozen toes and fingers, you tend to tire quickly of it.

And as you might expect, now that we have warmed our bodies with fresh dry clothes, hot cocoa and warm cinnamon rolls, the kiddos are all asking to go out in it again. I guess it would be cruel for me to delay them any longer. Out in to the cold we go! Hope we don't run out of warm clothes to change into!!!

The Nutcracker Ballet

Today Amy and I went to see The Nutcracker. We wore our semi-dressy attire, making the outing all the more fun. We also went with several other mother/daughter friends, a tradition I hope we continue in the future. There is nothing like an excited group of little girls, all aglow over the beautiful costumes and amazing choreography of the ballet. Amy was mesmerized by the performance. Her eyes were glued on the dancers the entire time. She only became a little squirmy after intermission, at which time I think she just lost some of her focus. But even then, she continued to watch with delight. It was such a treat to experience this with her. Afterwards, we all went out to a tea room for lunch.

And don't think the boys were being left out of all the fun. They spent the day with Granny, who took them to have lunch with Paw-Paw, followed by milkshakes and playtime at McDonald's, and ending with a trip to the store where she bought each of them a remote-controlled dinosaur. I think it ended up being a special day for all!

Field Trip to the Texas City Prairie Preserve

Yesterday we went to the Texas City Prairie Preserve. There the kids learned about water quality, marine seining, and prairie life, with bird and plant identification as well as insect sweeping. It was a long day for the kids - and me! And there were times when they seemed totally lost in the discussion. But Nathan told me he loved "hiking" through the prairie and they all loved going down to the lake, especially the boys who got very wet and muddy playing in the lake. I think they could have done that all day!

Nathan's Tooth

Nathan has lost his first tooth. I can't believe it! He still seems like my little boy, too young to be losing his baby teeth. But sure enough, he showed us the other day that one of his bottom front teeth was loose, and in the wee hours this morning, it came out. Unbelievable. And oh, how excited he is for that tooth fairy to come visit. I have a feeling she'll be showing up tonight. :)

Below is a picture of my little guy with his missing tooth. It's a little hard to see because it was a very tiny tooth; this was my fourth attempt at obtaining a picture to show off that toothless grin!

Nathan's Birthday Continued...

Yesterday was Nathan's birthday, but it was a busy day as all Friday's are. We tried to make it as special for him as we could despite needing to get things ready for his actual party (which occurred today). He opened his presents when we got home from our homeschool co-op and then we ate our lunch. After that, party preparations began - and Nathan went outside to play with his new set of real tools!

One of the biggest tasks for me when it comes to preparing for the birthday party is the cake. And yesterday afternoon as I was trying to decide what size pan I'd need to bake Nathan's cake I made a discovery. My ovens in this house are tiny, tiny, tiny. I have a large Wilton square baking pan that I have used many times for the kids' past birthday cakes. I never dreamed that it would not fit in my new home's double oven. So for the first time, I had to take all of my baking ingredients to my mom's house (thank goodness we live only a mile apart!) and bake the cake there. It worked okay, and it also gave me some relaxing time visiting with my parents while I waited for the cake to finish baking. When it was done, I took it home to cool.

Nathan's requested birthday dinner was a happy meal from "Old McDonald's" (that's what the kids call Mc Donald's) and a picnic dinner in the den while we watch "Quest for Camelot". Sounded great to me - a dinner at home without me having to cook! After dinner the kids played, but Bill and I set back to work. Poor Bill ended up putting the kids to bed while I began my lengthy challenge of decorating the cake. This ended up taking several hours to complete, though for the most part I did enjoy it. I just wish I had a "helper" to mix all of the buttercream frosting, color it for me, and wash up when all is said and done. I'd bake a cake for anyone's celebration if they'd just do that part of the job for me. :)

Since I was busy with the cake, Bill did all of the decorating and planned all of the games. I also had to get the party favors together and label the bags for collecting the pinata goodies. I think I was so tired that after awhile, I just moved in slow motion. Bill just became more energized as the night wore on; he claims it was the coffee we made at one point but considering I drank from the same pot of coffee and it was doing nothing for me, I kind of doubt that was it. I did find "October Sky" on television and I think that may have been what did it. It's probably one of his favorite movies and I think he was determined to stay up and watch all of it (even though we have it on DVD and VHS tape). So we didn't end up going to bed until close to 3:30am. Nothing new for us. Actually, compared to many of the previous late nights preparing for birthday parties, I'd say 3:30 wasn't bad at all.

Today's party was great. Nathan had chosen a knight theme so we had the kids decorate shields, play a three musketeer race, go on a scavenger quest, and use an amazing wooden sword made by our very own Daddy and Nathan, to slay a pinata dragon. Then we ate pizza, opened presents and ate cake, which I had made to look like a knight's shield.

We are all a little tired now and I'm looking forward to turning in early tonight. But I so enjoyed seeing family and friends and watching the excitement of the kids as they all played together. And hearing Nathan say that his favorite part of his birthday party was every part of his birthday party made all of our hard work and little sleep well worth it! Happy birthday, Nathan!

Happy Birthday, Nathan!!!

My little boy turned 5 today...

Nathan, you have grown so much. You're excitement and enthusiasm in everything you do brings joy to all around you. I love you're beautiful smile and the sparkle of your eyes. I can't believe you are 5 now. But then again, you've been doing big boy things for a long time, always wanting to do what growns ups can do. And you are just like your Daddy. From your inability to sit down - always needing to be doing something - to your interests in rocks, hiking and tools. There is no denying you are your father's son!!! You beg almost daily to go outside so you can "seesaw", which to those of us who know you realize you are referring to using your daddy's saw to cut wood. I am so impressed by how well you can hammer nails with your daddy's hammer, and amazed by those occasions when you've accidentally hit your own hand and fought so hard to ignore the pain, not shedding even one tear. You're such a tough little guy, but you have such a compassionate heart. You are always looking out after those who are younger than you. What a special little boy you are and I thank God everyday that He trusted me to be your mom. I love you - Happy Birthday!!!!!!!!!

In the Blink of an Eye...

You became 3 years old.

A blink of an eye... that's how it feels. I remember bringing you home from the hospital in your lovely white gown. You were so tiny and sweet. Before we knew it, you were smiling and jabbering, crawling and climbing, walking and talking... You potty-trained all by yourself at 2. We've joked in recent months that you were 2 going on 5. How quickly you've gone from our baby girl to our big, "I can do it all by myself" girl. You bring us joy each and every day and bless us in so many ways. We love you so very much. Happy 3rd Birthday, Amy!!!

Amy, home from the hospital

On her first birthday

On her second birthday

Today, 3 years old

We've all been battling illness this week, including Amy who was still running fever yesterday. Unfortunately, November is too busy of a month to reschedule, so the party went on. Thankfully, Amy woke feverless and had a wonderful day as we celebrated her birthday. God even served up beautiful weather for our little girl's special day. Even though we were missing some special friends (you know who you are :) ) and all feeling a little under the weather, it was a wonderful day at home with family.

Pink roses from Daddy

A ballerina birthday, including a small personal cake for one sick birthday girl!

Happy birthday, Baby Angel - We love you!

Why we did not go to ballet today...

Oh, why, oh, why, did I choose to gab with my friend instead of paying attention to the tire changing lesson in driver's ed all those years ago???

Back to Normal...Pretty Much...

Today we began our home-schooling again and life pretty much returned to normal.

We didn't get home until our power was restored Wednesday night, just in time to put the kids to bed. I was still feeling sick from whatever bug we'd all been passing around, starting at my brother's house during the evac. (my parents are currently suffering from it - sorry, Mom and Dad!!!). Therefore, nothing was accomplished on Thursday. I didn't even unpack our suitcases. But thankfully, I woke up feeling better on Friday and was able to not only unpack and put away the suitcases, but I also found the energy to do all of the laundry and put away some of the other various things that we'd either packed up or taken with us when we evacuated. I still wasn't feeling great, though, and took on most tasks at a slow pace. But I felt even better over the weekend and we were able to get a few more things done, including painting Amy's room - finally! I say "we", but all the credit goes to Bill. I simply went to bed with the kiddos while he stayed up until 3am painting. And he did an amazing job, might I add; I'll post pictures of her lovely girly room soon.

I'm still a little congested and woke with a headache today, but we did get through our school work and even did more than I'd planned. I was proud of the boys, who were more than ready to begin once we finally sat down to our school desk (we took our time getting started, after fresh baked cinnamon rolls and some t.v. down time :) ). In a little while, we'll be heading out for gymnastics. I feel a little overwhelmed when I think of our agenda for the week: school catch-up, two gymnastics classes (one a make-up), ballet, art, co-op, and the multitude of housework that still needs to be done, not to mention yardwork. But I really can't complain. We still can't go anywhere without lines of traffic at unpowered traffic lights, or blocked off sections of the neighborhood where workers are still picking up debris. But things are improving and I am just so relieved that, in general, life is back to normal.

Hello, Ike

How odd that when I went to post this message, I found that my last post was entitled "So Long, Gustav". Thus, the reason for this post's title "Hello, Ike". Unlike Gustav, we took a direct hit from Ike.

Last week we boarded up our windows and fled to San Antonio. We managed to book the perfect hotel for our evacuation. Not only did it provide a free continental breakfast every morning, but there were even some nights where they offered free dinner. I think this is a typical offering by this particular hotel, but I still wonder how much of the incredible hospitality we received came from the knowledge that most of the residents there were evacuees. We met people from all over the Texas gulf coast. It felt as though we were all part of one family - all waiting as patiently as possible for news on our homes.

Based on what I was hearing on the news as we watched the arrival of hurricane Ike, I thought for sure my house was going to be flooded. And even when it appeared that we'd been saved from the huge storm surge originally predicted, Bill continued to warn me not to let my guard down. We needed to expect the worst so that nothing would surprise us when we finally made it home.

At this point, we still haven't made it home. At least, not to stay. We are staying with my brother right now while we wait for power to be restored to our home and for the gas and food situation to improve. Bill has been back to our house and found it to be in good condition. We lost some of our fence and many branches from our main backyard tree. We also had one of our trees partly uprooted and leaning on our garage. Though there was a lot of debris in our yard, our house was in great shape. Unfortunately for many others, this was not the case. The pictures at the bottom of this post show some of the devastation in our neighborhood.

For the most part we are doing okay. Alex has a stomach bug and they're all a little hoarse, which we feel is due to the change in weather. Though I believe the cooler weather is a blessing to those who are still at home dealing with the lack of a/c. We are so grateful for our safety and for the condition of our home, but we're all a little anxious to get home and get back to some level of normalcy. My prayers go out to those who were not as fortunate as us.

Pictures of our home and yard:

All the pictures below were taken of either our neighbor's house, or around our neighborhood: