11 years

Tall girl problems

And the tall girl's classic problem.....

or volleyball!!!!

There should be pictures

This morning I sat down to blog about the Advent activities we've been doing. As I began to try to post pictures, I realized the memory card was missing. This is just the latest in a string of mishaps that we've run into in the past few days. Our wireless keyboard had coffee spilled on it, and despite the 2 hours of cleaning that Curtis attempted, it doesn't work. Katy chewed through the power supply cord to Elizabeth's keyboard. The dishwasher is broken. Milk has been spilled, stains have been made, the carpet needs to be cleaned, and there is an every growing pile of laundry that I just can't seem to get ahead of. Take these daily little frustration, add a broken keyboard, dishwasher, keyboard and missing memory card, and it almost feels too overwhelming.

So, instead of uploading pictures of our continuing Advent celebration, I'm going to take a few deep breaths, and attempt to find the memory card.

Reasons to be a proud momma

This weekend was pure mayhem! But in the midst of it, I found so many reasons to be proud.

Friday night, Elizabeth went to her first slumber party. Though she's been to a friend's house to spend the night, this was her first time at this friends house, her first slumber party, and she was nervous. I was so proud when she went, despite her nervousness, and didn't call. She's growing up so quickly!

Saturday morning, Elizabeth and Micah had a dress rehearsal for their choir performance. It was a long morning for them, made more challenging by the fact that Daddy was working all day Saturday and a late night for Elizabeth. However, they did everything without complaining or arguing.

While the two big kids were at church, Benjamin helped me with Timothy while we ran to Wal Mart. I was proud of him for not throwing a fit when we left (he wanted to stay and practice too!) and then he was a huge help to me as we navigated Wal Mart on a Saturday two weeks before Christmas.

Saturday afternoon while Elizabeth and Timothy took awesome naps, Micah and Benjamin played nicely together while I got everything ready for our evening. There are times when they are wild, crazy boys, and I was proud of them for knowing when a good time to play quietly was.

Saturday evening, Elizabeth danced at Christmas in the Creek. While lining up with her class, she saw one of the other girls crying. She went over to the little girl, gave her a long hug, and then talked to he about why she was scared. Even though Elizabeth was dealing with her own nerves, she used self control (YAY!) and was able to encourage her friend. She then went on and did an amazing job dancing!

(Elizabeth is on the front row, all the way on the right)

Sunday was the day that all the busyness caught up with us. Micah was feeling sick, and wanted to just stay at home. All of us were worn out, physically tired, and a bit emotional. But despite all that, Elizabeth and Micah did an amazing job at the kid's choir performance. Elizabeth sang an beautiful solo! Micah did so well for his first year. And Benjamin wore a wise man costume and sang a song with the big kids.

I am so proud of my kids! They make my bad days better (most of the time! ;-)) and my good days great! I'm so thankful for them, and for the wonderful people they're growing into.

Snow Day!

Yesterday, we had a snow day! During the night, Curtis and I hung "falling snow" in the kids' bedroom windows. When they were up, we told them to look out their windows. Curtis stayed home from work, the kids didn't have to do school, it was so fun!



We also decorated the kitchen area. We ate snowman pancakes, which the kids decorated with chocolate chips, and drank hot chocolate out of new Christmas mugs.



It was a fun day before a very busy evening and weekend. I was especially thankful that we were able to enjoy our snow day because Timothy came down with a very high temperature right before bed. A snow day was the perfect was to stop, enjoy each other, and have a little fun before the craziness.

While making art....

This evening, the kids' are going to sing at a nursing home with their choir. We're making art to take to the residents to be displayed in the dinning room. Benjamin was making his, and said, "I'm going to take this to Papa. He will like it!"

And I get the wind knocked out of me. And the reminder that I don't need hit me again.

Ornament Making

Today's project was ornament making! Originally, I wanted to make snow flakes out of noodles, paint and glitter. But I forgot to buy the right noodles. And the only good way I could think of to paint the noodles was spray paint, and I wanted the kids to be able to participate.

So we did popsicle stick snowmen! I think they're super cute, which is good since I now have four!

(Elizabeth's, Micah's, Benjamin's and Timothy's... Benjamin's is frowning because it's melting)
At first I was going to do this while Timothy napped. But he was woken up early by his brothers, so he got to participate.

Christmas parade

Sunday I pulled one of my Crazy Kierstyn schemes. On Facebook, one of my friends mentioned the annual Bryan/College Station Christmas Parade. I thought, "Hmmmm! That sounds like fun!" Sunday morning, I pulled up the info, discovered the parade started at 2pm, and our brilliant plan was put into place.

We went to Sunday school and church. We changed our clothes at church, and grabbed a quick lunch at good ol' Taco Bell. We then headed to the parade zone! It was a cloudy, chilly, rainy afternoon. But that didn't kill this excitement!




My chilly little parade goers, before I bundled them up in sweaters, blankets and towels.

I just love this picture of Micah! I really sums up how all the kids felt at the parade. We had so much fun!




I had to stop taking pictures about half way through the parade, thanks to the little rain shower we had. I SO wish I had a picture of all six of us curled up under an umbrella. It was a great memory!

A few of our Advent projects

The kids and I have had a great time working on our advent calendar. The trickiest part was coming up with enough activities for the 23 days. So, to help me remember them for next year, I'm documenting them!

Write letters to soldiers.





Make wreaths to decorate the house and their bedroom doors.


The challenge that I've faced is balancing the fun part of Christmas with the the normal, every day stuff that still needs to be accomplished. I could easily let myself get caught up in the glue, paint, decorating and fun, and miss the daily teaching and training of my children.

Here's to balance!

Christmas pictures