2011 Christmas Memories - Day 17

Lots of driving was involved today.  My kids are almost always good on a long drive.  Maybe it has something to do with lots of practice when Hannah used to be a competitive gymnast and we traveled a lot to meets.

We got out the door almost on time to drive over three hours to my mom's family Christmas reunion.  I only get to see most of them once a year but I hope to change that in 2012.  It is so much more fun to hang out with family more often.  This year we added a Dirty Santa gift exchange which in my opinion added so much more to our time together.

We found Gundy hanging onto the rear view mirror and he rode there the whole way.

 

Since the kids are going to my parents until Wednesday, they decided that Gundy could have a few days off and go relax so he came home with me.  My dad has the kids convinced that there are hidden cameras in the ceiling vents that are connected to Santa at the North Pole.

I also sent today's books with the kids to read tonight before bed.  They ended up getting to stay in a hotel with grandma and grandpa the first night.  They went and looked at a huge, local light display and then swam in the hotel pool.

The rest of the time will be filled with tree decorating and cooking making.  This is Hallie Jo's first year to get to do it and she has been talking about it since the other three got back last year.  My dad traces their hands in the cookie dough so Hallie Jo was anxious to make her hand cookies.

While they are gone, Jimmy and I are getting so great alone time.  During the day while he is working, I will be doing a major cleaning on the house.  I know it doesn't sound relaxing but my mom is coming Wednesday so it needs to be done and it is the best time to declutter toys the kids never touch and they think they need to keep forever.

I will be taking a break from this blog until Wednesday.

Even though I am not blogging for a few days, please do not forget to check out what Charley is doing at The 4-Crow's.

2011 Christmas Memories - Day 11

Bad news woke us up this morning.  Hannah spent the night at a friend's house after volunteering and she got sick multiple times.  So the stomach virus thing did not pass her by and now we have infected her family.  Ugh!

Right before we left church, we found that Gundy was in the middle of a battle.  We assume the Lego Star Wars figures must be jealous of all the attention Gundy is receiving because it looks like they have declared war on the elf.

 
In the meantime, Charley the Elf is having a party.  Go see why he is celebrating over at The 4-Crow's.

While at church, Hallie Jo got to participate in a Happy Birthday, Jesus party in the preschool department.  They made jingle bell ornaments, listen to Mary tell her story about the night Jesus was born, listen to a puppet and sang fun songs.  Then they had birthday cake and other snacks.  Yum!

I slipped out of church a little early along with Harlee to take her to The Nutcracker.  We got to watch some of the dancers warm-up and even ask questions of one of the dancers.  This is the first time either of us have gone to the show and we both enjoyed our ourselves.  I pray we are blessed to make this an annual event.

Meanwhile, Jimmy was home with the other three.  Hannah hadn't been sick to her stomach since early morning so she was resting all she could.

Later that evening we had planned to take the kids to the Baptist Children's Home drive-thru Christmas pageant.  We started this tradition last year.  I felt horrible about leaving Hannah but she said since she volunteered the night before she would not be upset if we left her at home.  When we arrived, the greeters gave us a cd to listen to in our vehicle.  Some of the students living on the campus described each scene as we sat in our vehicle and viewed the "actors."  *Disclamier:  My pictures are not as good as usual do to reflection of windows.*

Star of Bethlehem

The stable where Jesus was born.

 

The Carpenter's Shop

 

Jesus calmed the storms & rescued Peter.

The Glorious Entering

Garden of Gethsemane

 Crucified

The Empty Tomb

 The Second Coming

We finished the night out by reading two more books.

2011 Christmas Memories - Day 10

Today was another busy day in our house.

We woke to find Gundy had built himself a cruiser out of Legos.  You need to go see who his buddy, Charlie is hanging out with today at The 4-Crow's.

Then off to Hannah's bowling league.  Today was her last day of 2011.  We will be back in January with two tournaments.  Woohoo!

After Hannah got done, we had to beat it back to our home town to meet Jordan and Jimmy at the scout pack meeting or Christmas Party.  Santa Claus came to visit at the end of our party.  This was the first time Hallie Jo had seen a live Santa that close and she was waving at him from down the hall and then screamed across the room telling him what she wanted.

She was not hesitant at all to sit on his lap.  Jordan and Harlee joined in on the fun and we did get one family picture with the jolly old guy.  All the scouts got their pinewood derby cars as gifts to be used in March and the siblings got coloring books and crayons.  Hallie Jo and Harlee opened theirs right away and put them to good use.

Later, we left Harlee, Hallie Jo and Jordan at a local church who offered childcare for the evening and took Hannah to serve with her friends at the local Baptist Children's home.  While we were kid-free, Jimmy and I joined other preschool volunteers from our church at dinner in the same Amish home I ate at last month with my mommy friends.

Again the food didn't disappoint and the company was great!

We finished the night by reading two books with the kids.

 

2011 Christmas Memories - Day 3

Today, our elf, Gundy, was comfortable on the couch reading a book. Please join Gundy's buddy, Charlie, over at The 4-Crow's to see more elf fun.


Our day was busy and started with Hannah at bowling league. Then we spent the afternoon reading these books and watching this movie.



That evening, Jimmy and I went to a homeschool couples Christmas party. This party was beyond fun! It is amazing how much fun we can have without our kids around. *Disclaimer: Don't be fooled by the shirts we are wearing. It was an Ugly Christmas Sweater Party. We were going to wear OU but since it was Bedlam, we just could not do that so we decided this was the ugliest thing we could find to wear.*

2011 Christmas Memories - Day 2

We woke and found Gundy the Elf had landed on the dining room ceiling fan. Join me over at The 4-Crow's and let us know what your elf is up to.



Then we were off to our homeschool coop's annual Christmas Party.

During the afternoon we read two books about Christmas.



We finished off the day at Christview Christian Church's "Bethlehem Walk."

Laura Ingalls Wilder Celebration

I finally got to have time with Harlee. I took her to a local library who was celebrating Laura Ingalls Wilder. The party was originally supposed to be in February but our two huge snowstorms made it impossible so they rescheduled for April.

Harlee had found the prairie clothes Hannah had worn back in Kindergarten in the dress-up box so I insisted she wear them. She happily obliged and was giddy with excitement to hear lots of compliments on her outfit and her braids which look a lot like Laura's.

During the celebration, the librarian read two books and one was even interpreted in sign language. While the books were being read, the kids took turns shaking a jar of cream to make butter. Two ladies demonstrated how to prepare wool for spinning and then how they used their spinning wheels to make the wool usable for sewing.

Harlee also got to make a paper "quilt square", a button necklace and a yarn doll. All these things are reminiscence of items found the Little House books. We even got to try some gingerbread and lemonade.

Homeschool Moms Retreat

While the boys were away playing at Nascar, I got to join other moms in my homeschool coop for a retreat. I was on the committee just so I could make sure that I did not miss this annual event.

We found some great things for the goodie bags including a book with four novels at Mardel's for $.99/each. Each mom brought some yummy food because you can not have a retreat without food.

We also instructed each mom to bring a collection of their favorite things to share with another mom in the group. We played a little get to know you game which in turn helped us decide who got to open their gift first, second, third and so on.

I had to leave after the gift exchange because Chubbles was sick and I had left Legs in charge. I had heard stories of the fun games and stories shared after I left the retreat. Next year, I think we need to do a retreat away from home to really relax.

Birthday at the Hotel

Legs' got to share her birthday party with friends from church. We decided to keep it small but I still wanted it to be fun. We reserved a suite at a local hotel with an indoor pool. The suite had a small kitchen, a living/dining area and two bedrooms. It was perfect for 5 girls and myself to have a good time and relax.

Thirteen and Three

To end the month of February, we had a combo family birthday party for Legs (13) and Chubbles (3). We had a houseful of good fun and tummies full of good food. The cake was split in two with horses and Elmo.

Farm-themed Birthday Party

I have always wanted to do a farm-themed birthday party. We start letting the kids have a party with their friends only (no siblings) at age 3. I started looking around at my option for Chubbles and came across the party option at Sprouts Play Cafe in Owasso. It was a perfect setting because the whole place is decorated in a farm theme.

They were very reasonable and it only cost me $50 since there were five little girls there. Sprouts provided the decorations, goodie bags, gift for the birthday child, entertainment and craft all in my price. All I had to provide was the invitations and cake. The best part, no cleaning the house beforehand and no clean-up afterward.