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:

So Long, Gustav!

I feel so thankful that once again, we have been spared from the onslaught of a hurricane. Hurricane Gustav not only missed us, but it stayed far enough away that we haven't even seen a drop of rain. We did have some strong winds yesterday afternoon that I feel certain were related to the big storm, but nothing like what they are experiencing over in Louisiana. But I am relieved for them, too. What could have been a devastating category 4 or 5 hurricane weakened to a 3 and quickly to a 2 once making landfall. It also came in so quickly that it didn't produce the big storm surge everyone feared, nor did it drop the multitudes of rain that come with a slower hurricane.

Early on there was a possibility of Gustav coming our way, so we of course had our eyes glued to the news the last several days. My family almost skipped going to our annual family reunion this weekend because we weren't sure what was going to happen. We didn't want to be away from our house and not have enough time to prepare it should the storm head our way. Thankfully, Sunday morning, when we needed to leave for the reunion, we were able to make a fairly confident decision to go because it seemed definite that Gustav was not going to hit us. And even if it did, we believed we'd still have time to leave if necessary - we even had our reservations at a far away hotel just in case. I am glad we didn't end up needing them.

Bill spent all of Monday cutting plywood to fit every window of our house. So next time a storm does decide to strike, we won't have to worry so much about preparations. Now we just have to turn our attention to the other storms currently brewing out there and pray that they, too, stay far, far away!

First Day of School

Today we had our first day of school, and though it was a slower day where much of the material was review, I'd say it was a very successful first day back.

In preparation for "back to school", we had a movie night last night and let the boys watch Star Wars for the first time (Amy was in our room watching Noggin'). We popped popcorn and Bill watched with them so he could fast forward through any scenes we felt might still be a little inappropriate. And as expected, they loved the movie!

For the most part, I just listened to their excitement as I worked to clean out and set up the sunroom as our new home-school room. After the kids went to bed - a challenging task now that they were pumped up and having light saber battles - I set out their new backpacks and school supplies. It was almost 1am before I finally got to bed, and even later before I could fall asleep... A little anxious about the first day, I guess.

The morning went well. I got up at 6:15am and made coffee and finished preparing before the kiddos got up. Once they were all awake, I served them a nutritious and I'm sure brain enhancing meal of powdered sugar and chocolate donuts. Then we got started...

We're trying out My Father's World (MFW) this year. I'm using the First Grade level for Alex. Nathan will still learn from the Bible, science and art lessons included. To supplement the Reading lessons we're still using the Explode the Code books. We're also using Math-U-See and I have Nathan starting the Primer (Kindergarten level). He did fantastic with the first lesson today. Alex is now in the Alpha book (1st Grade level) and did great today, too. On Mondays we're doing history, so today we read about Davy Crockett and colored pictures of the Alamo. Tomorrow instead of history, we'll do poetry and music appreciation. Wednesday is science and Thursday is art. Fridays we have co-op, but we'll do the Science Exploration Day from MFW in the afternoons. Exploration Day is really for getting outside and experiencing the world around us, something we like to do anyway. There is also a science experiment to be done each Friday. I think the kids will really like that!

All we have left to do today is our read-aloud, which we'll do during lunch. I'm going to start reading Mr. Popper's Penguins to them. I feel certain they'll like it.

Right now their all taking a break. Alex is at the craft table drawing characters from Star Wars... naturally. :)

Today's success has me even more anxious to do it again tomorrow. I'm looking forward to another fun year of teaching and learning with my children!

Change is in the Air

I wish I was talking about the temperature outside!

I'm actually talking about life in general. Next Sunday is my last day to teach at church, other than the occasional substituting. I made the decision that I do not have time to plan out lessons beyond what I am already having to do for home-schooling. Our local home school co-op starts up in a couple of weeks and there I will be teaching intermediate and high school classes that of course will take quite a bit of time to plan for. Alex is also starting his 1st grade year, and we have a whole lot more to cover than we did last year. I also have plans to start Nathan on some Kindergarten level work, even though he is not old enough for public school Kindergarten.

I am looking forward to all of these things, but it's going to mean some big changes around here. The original plan had been to continue our schooling all summer by simply reviewing once the actual curriculum was completed. But with such a busy summer, we have not held to that too well. And, as I stated in a previous post, it's been way too easy to just leave the TV on all day and work around the new house. So this more leisure way of life is about to change. There will be no more television. There will be no more sleeping in until 7am. There will be no more relaxful "coffee-sipping time" and there will be no more hanging out in our pajamas for half the day. Okay, did I just admit that?!?

Seriously, we will have to get a lot more disciplined with our time. But I am looking forward to it. I think we have a lot of fun things planned out for this year, and I'm anxious to get started! Look for my post about our curriculum choices for this year - coming soon!!!

Too Good To Be True

I've always heard that little girls mature faster than boys. They talk sooner, walk sooner, potty-train easier... Sure enough, Amy started talking a lot sooner than either of the boys, and she was speaking in clear sentences in no time. She was walking before she turned one. As for potty-training, she's been showing signs of being ready for probably a year now. But we've had too many other things going on and I just didn't think she could really be ready. Afterall, the boys didn't learn until they were 4. But in the past week, she has potty trained herself. I've only had to give the usual assistance, but she doesn't need to be asked or reminded. She just goes. Amazing!

The other thing we've always struggled with is transitioning the kids to sleep in their own beds. With each of them, Bill and I kept them in our bed while they were babies. They were well over a year before we'd take the transitioning challenge. And challenge it was. We'd have to start out every night with them in their bed and once they were asleep, we'd sneak out. Of course, they'd notice and we'd have to come back in several more times before the night was over. Eventually, we learned the method taught by The Nanny where you sit on the floor near their bed and continue to move farther and farther away until eventually, you don't stay in the room anymore. It sort of worked. We dealt with them coming out of the room a lot and quite a bit of crying. Nathan did a little better than Alex, but he was also in the same room as Alex so he was never totally alone.

We haven't rushed this process with Amy so much because we've had a lot going on and felt like the move would just cause new problems. So we contined to stay with her each night until she'd fall asleep. But now that we've been in our new house for a couple of months, we decided it was time. We explained to her that we were not going to lie down with her anymore; we would surround her with her stuffed animals, tuck her in, say prayers, kiss her goodnight... and leave. Surprisingly, she was excited by this idea. She talked about it all day. And when it was finally time for bed, we followed these steps exactly. She smiled as we left and said goodnight to us. And that was the last we heard of her all night. We've done this for two nights now. We are so very proud of her. But I'm starting to wonder if it's just a little too good to be true!

** Please note: This is not to say that girls are necessarily easier than boys. Yes, it would appear they do mature faster, but I've learned, at least where Amy is concerned, girls are quite a bit more temperamental and the term "drama queen" almost always applies. :) **

Amy's Ballet

In a couple of weeks, Amy will begin her first ballet class. I don't know who is more excited - me or her! She loves to dance and I was so proud of her at her audition. I didn't know what to expect. Would she even step into the room with all of those strangers, without me? Would she actually attempt the steps being shown to her or just sit shyly in a corner? Would she start crying because I wasn't there? Those were my fears, and none of them came true. She tried everything and even when it was a teacher and just her and one other girl, with the other approx. 20 girls and teachers onlooking, she did her best to mimic the dance moves of her instructor. You could see the bright, anxious look in her eyes, the happy smile on her face - she was loving it! I hope to see that look for many years to come as she continues on this new journey.

Alex and Nathan's Day Out

Cody did not forget about the boys... I'm just slow to blog about it. :) About a week ago, he took them out for a special "guy's day out". They went to The Aquarium for lunch where they got to feed the stingrays, and then they went to the Lego store where he let them each pick something out. Alex chose a Lego set and Nathan chose a Bionicle toy gun that shoots balls (of course!!).

Cody even stayed for awhile after they got home to help them with their new Lego toys. Thanks for giving them such a fun day, Cody!!!

Just a Passing Storm

Thankfully, tropical storm Edouard missed us, for the most part. We did get some rain from it, even slightly heavy at times, but it didn't last all that long. It was just enough to confirm that we do need a french drain on the one side of our yard because should a really big storm come our way, we will most definitely have a problem! We also never fully lost power. It flickered off a number of times, though, but that was really more of an annoyance than anything else. Overall, Edouard felt like any other passing thunderstorm. I am so grateful for that.

So now we'll just set aside our store of water and batteries and consider ourself prepared for whatever else might come our way. :)

Getting Ready

For Edouard, that is.

This morning my wonderful mom went to the store and picked up supplies for not only her household, but mine and my sister's as well. We are now well supplied with water, food, and batteries.

Bill came home early today and has been working to prepare the outside of our house. Since this is a "new" house, we don't quite know what to expect. We have learned that it's common for our neighborhood to lose power, so we're expecting that. And we know that one side of our yard doesn't drain well, which is why my sweet husband spent hours this afternoon digging a trench to help drain water towards the street. He's also brought in or secured down any loose items outside, caulked a few cracks in our gutters and helped a neighbor down the street trim a large, unstable branch from their tree. Impressive, isn't he? :)

I'm not overly concerned since I know that this is only a tropical storm and not even a terribly big one. But of course, you never know what can happen and it's always better to be safe than sorry. A prayer or two wouldn't hurt, either!

Carpet Woes

Our old house had dark green carpet. When it was freshly vacuumed, I thought it was rather pretty, as long as you ignored my blue couch and loveseat (bit of a color clash). Of course, the carpet needed to be vacuumed at least once a day to look okay (more when we were trying to sell the house) because every string, piece of lint, or white dog hair stuck out like a sore thumb. Bill didn't like it because he thought it made our house look dark.

Fast forward to the new house. Light beige carpet. Bright, cheery? Most definitely. Hides the white dog hair and pieces of lint, etc? For the most part, yes. Crayola marks? Shows every one.

Yes, I did say crayola marks. I never realized that drawings left lying around could result in colorful crayon smearings on the carpet. The cluttering of little drawings and cutouts is not greater in this house than the old one, but you couldn't see what was happening on the old carpet. Argh! And here I was just worried about dog messes and other mishaps staining this light colored carpet. I never imagined this crayon problem.

Thank goodness for this stuff. It's not just for pet stains. Works like a charm!