2013 Prediction Results

I didn't do as well with my predictions this year as I did last year. The results are highlighted in red:

Here's my 13 predictions for 2013:

13. No trips to the ER (Hey, it's worked the last two years, so I'll put it in here again!) Unfortunately, we did have one ER trip when Camille got croup.
12. We'll take an extended trip to Seattle (we had better- I miss my family and can't wait to see my family and Seattle friends!) Yes!!!
11. Seattle vs. Broncos in the SuperBowl Sadly, this was not to be. It was a rather disappointing finish for us football wise- hopefully this year will be better!
10. I will lose 20+ pounds. That's definitely a goal of mine, and I do have a plan. Hopefully it will work! Yes- and then some! I will write more about this later.
9. I will use my teaching skills outside of primary. (I have a couple of things in the works, which I will not divulge just yet, but I'm starting to miss teaching and I would really like to put those skills back to good use. We'll see!) Yes- the pre-school co-op is going great!
8. Ben will go to Bethesda, MD for some job trainings that he has been nominated for (How close is that to you, Shells? Maybe we'll come with him and be able to see your family and finally meet Freya!) No- he was glad, I was not. I am always up for a trip, but he pretty much never wants to go anywhere.
7. Our kitchen re-model will be complete and perfect Ha! Maybe in 10 years.
6. Camille will hate nursery (it seems the third child always hates nursery) Thankfully, this did not come true. She LOVES nursery, and the nursery leaders love her. They told me that nothing phases her and she just does her thing. I attribute all of our kids loving nursery with the date nights Ben and I go on. They are used to having baby-sitters, and they know we always come back.
5. I'm planning on signing Audra up for a running club. I predict she will be brilliant. She absolutely LOVES running, and is faster than all the boys. She was faster than most of the boys!
4. Camille will be driving me nuts getting into everything Yes- on  both counts. But, admittedly, her cuteness helps to not make me feel too crazy.
3. Audra will know how to read, and Claire will know her ABC's. Not quite. Audra is getting better at reading, and Claire actually knows her ABC's really well, but they both still have a ways to go.
2. We will have a whopper of a snowstorm that will shut down the city for a couple of days (we haven't had one for awhile and are about due for one) No snowstorm- just the rain that flooded Colorado and shut us down for a couple of days. That's pretty close.
1. Overall, things will pretty much continue as normal: Endless political fights on the national level, overall good health for our family, and just trudging along doing the best we can. Yup- that pretty much sums up our year!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!

Audra and Claire's Portfolios

This Christmas season brought about a lot of artwork. The girls spent hours on their beautiful artwork which they hung up all over the house.

This is a gingerbread house that Audra drew:

 Here Audra took a coloring page and cut out the presents, colored them, and glued them on this page. Also, notice the ornaments on the Christmas trees- those are her signature ornaments. I can always tell her trees by how the ornaments are made. On the middle left, the person labled "good" is actually "God." She said, "I don't really know what He looks like" but she wanted Him included in her picture:

 Audra made this picture at church yesterday. It says, "I am an example to my family. I am a Child of Good." I love that she spelled "God" wrong because she really is a good child. She knows she is a daughter of God, but she is also just a sweet spirit who really does try to be good- so her spelling error perfectly describes her as well.

 Claire did this picture- she came up with the pinwheel type design all herself. I think it just shows how creatively her mind works. Art classes will definitely be in her future:

Nativity

The girls begged us to take them to the temple so that they could see the Nativity. We didn't even have to mention it, but they remember it from last year. Of course, we were not going to deny them the opportunity of visiting the temple!

Christmas Day

It really doesn't feel like Christmas around here weather wise. The sun has been shining and you have to look to find snow, but it's been nice anyway.

On Monday I told the girls they needed to clean their bedrooms or Santa wouldn't be happy. Audra got a feisty look in her eyes and said, " No- Santa doesn't even come into our bedrooms." I told her that he might peak in and see what they are up to and make sure they cleaned their room. She defiantly added, "You are just saying that because you want us to clean our rooms. He doesn't see what bedrooms are like!"

Well, whether Santa peeked or not, it did work. Despite her protests, the girls did clean their room.

We told the girls they couldn't wake us up until 7. At 6:37 they came into our rooms and said, "MOM! There is a 7 in the time!" I told them the first number had to be 7. They weren't happy about that answer, but they obediently let us be for exactly 23 minutes.

When we finally woke up they confessed that they had taken Audra's flashlight and from the stairs shone the light on the presents so they could see them.

I laughed, and was reminded of how the five of us kids used to get so excited and sneak out at 2 AM just to look at the presents under the tree. It really is fun to be at this magical stage. We only have a few more years of this, so I want to savor and enjoy it as much as possible.

We let Camille continue to sleep, but the rest of us went downstairs and began opening presents.

I have to admit, as I was spending hours wrapping presents, I got a little teary-eyed. I'm so glad that we can give our kids a happy and memorable Christmas. And it isn't just the presents. I like to think that the kids feel loved and know that they are special to us. I think we do a good job of making our house a home and having lots of love, and that makes me happy.

But, the presents are fun, too!

Claire got a Baby Alive, which she likes a lot less than Santa thought she would. The doll Audra got (which Santa originally planned to give to Camille) turned out to be the favorite doll of the day.

 Once Camille finally woke up she jumped right in. She knew just what to do.

 I just love the look on Audra's face as she watched Camille open her rock and roll Elmo:

 My parents sent us a Made In Washington gift basket, and Camille decided it was her new chair. She LOVES sitting in baskets:

The gift I was most excited about for the girls was this doll house:

It took us over an hour to assemble, but it is pretty awesome.

Today the girls actually went downstairs to play without me telling them to! Have we finally reached a point where we have put together the perfect playroom and the girls will play in areas that I am not? I don't know, but here's hoping!

After the fun of opening presents, Grandma and grandpa came over and we had a nice brunch. The rest of the day the girls played, and played, and played. Ben and I had hoped to take a nap, but that was not in the cards.

It really was a great Christmas. We are so blessed.

Merry Christmas!

We are about to head off to a Christmas Eve party, but I wanted to wish everybody a very, merry Christmas!!!

Christmas Treats

For the first time ever, I went super low-key this year with treats. I simply couldn't muster up the energy to go all out.

When I told Ben I was going low-key he said, "Oh, thank goodness. Is that my Christmas present this year?" I should have said yes and returned his gifts, but I didn't. Oh, well.

Then I told him that I only had 18 treat bags to deliver. That dumbfounded him a little bit, but 18 really was downsizing.

But later I realized I forgot the kids' primary teachers from church, so I had to make 4 more goodies to deliver to them. Still, 22 isn't that many- right?

In reality, though, it really was super easy. I made Candy Cane Peppermint Chex. Doesn't that just sound yummy? It was. And it literally only took 5 minutes for each batch, and the kids could easily help. There was only one bowl at the end to clean up, and they were easy to throw together for distribution- I just scooped a cup into each bag, tied it with a ribbon, and voila! Christmas treats ready to go!

 

I think this might be a new tradition.

If you want the recipe (and believe me, you do), HERE is the recipe.

Claire's Turn

Yesterday was Claire's dance recital. She is known to have stage fright, so I wasn't sure how she would do- but she was fantastic. We are really blessed to have the teacher that the girls have the teacher they have. Ms. Muffie is so full of love and is so great with the kids, and the kids really enjoy themselves.

 I also realized that I am really annoying with a camera. I didn't know I was until the recital. I took WAY too many pictures, which wouldn't have been so bad except I realized my camera is really loud. I can see why Smartphones are taking over- no noise, no flash, no annoying everybody sitting beside you.

Anyway, Claire did great!

A Crazy Day

We had perhaps the most interesting day of my parenting life today.

Audra had to have some teeth pulled. She has a lot of extra teeth. One of them is on the roof of her mouth and can't be operated on, but she had to have other teeth pulled because they are blocking her permanent teeth from coming in.

Anyway, that surgery was today. I made Ben take the day off of work to watch the other kids and Audra and I headed off.

She did pretty great until she had to wake up. She was pretty disoriented and cried a lot- this pitiful, sad cry that broke my heart.

 Here she is before the surgery- lots of extra teeth and all!

 She was really nervous- I have never seen her so scared. But really she did fantastic minus the waking up part. You can see some of her now missing teeth in this picture:

 In fact, after we came home and the drugs wore off she was her old self. Outside of not being able to eat she was running around and having a jolly time. So much so I asked her if she wanted to go to her dance recital today. She said yes. (I know that was poor scheduling on my part- but the recital wasn't a big deal, and there were only a few surgery openings left). Anyway, we went.

I didn't get to see hardly any of the recital. Instead I did this with Camille:

 I did sneak in for a few pictures. Audra even has a gap-filled smile here:

 Her dance class is at her teachers house, and the recital was there, too- very low key and absolutely perfect. This is where Claire takes classes, too.

 After the recital they got to feed the nutcrackers- since they danced to the Nutcracker Suite and all.

She still can't eat solid foods so I'm keeping her home from school again for at least tomorrow, maybe Thursday as well. But outside of not being able to eat very much, she really did great. I'm proud of her!

The Polar Express

Last night we went to a Christmas party with my in-laws with their congregation. It was a "Polar Express" party, and they went all out! It really was a lot of fun- great food, and a great message. Camille was scared to death of Santa and refused to go anywhere near him, but the girls were super excited to meet with him.

They shared this awesome video-which I HIGHLY recommend:



                                                       

This morning on the way to church we had the following conversation:

Audra: Mom, do you believe in Christ.

Me: Yes, honey, I do. I believe He came to earth and died for us. Do you believe in Christ?

Audra: Yes.

Me: Claire, do you believe in Christ?

Claire: I don't know.

Oh, how I love that Claire! She keeps me on my toes, and that's a good thing. Hopefully we can continue to teach her about Christ, and she will gain a testimony of her own. I wish that for all my girls- that they will each gain their own personal testimony of their Savior, not because I believe, but because they learn for themselves.

But for now, I wish you all- and them- Merry Christmas!

Santa!

I LOVE this picture!

Naughty Or Nice?

Me: Claire, are you naughty or nice this year?

Claire: I'm naughty AND nice.

Yup, that pretty much sums up Claire!

Don't Freak Out

I was volunteering in Audra's class about an hour ago and the principal came over the intercom and said that the school was in lockdown. When I taught, we often went into lockdown- once because a coyote was on the loose, once because there was a robber several blocks away, or of course, for a drill. I wasn't too concerned. But, thanks to Smartphones (I don't have one, but another volunteer did- because, well who doesn't? Just me), the other volunteer looked up what happened.

And we heard about the shooting.

I went into the hallway and burst into tears.

I called Ben to try and get more details. I couldn't even talk I was so upset. I'm still in shock.

Arapahoe High School is just a few miles from our house. We have seriously considered transferring our kids to the Littleton district and having them end up at the rival school of Arapahoe. Litteton is well known as a superior district. I desperately want/wanted my kids to go there, and we have very seriously considered moving to that area.

I taught at the rival school of Columbine. In fact, after Columbine, the kids all went to the school I taught at- both schools switched to half day schedules for the remainder of the year while they redid Columbine. Many, many of the teachers I taught with had been at Columbine and transferred to my school after the shooting because they could no longer be in that building.

I am very, very upset that I live in an area where when a shooting happens we don't say, "I can't believe it! There's been a shooting!" Instead, we say, "Oh, no- not again."

Now don't freak out when I tell you this, but I have been seriously considering home schooling. Don't freak out!!!!! I know what you are all thinking, because it is all things I would have thought even just 5 months ago. But, losing this election has changed everything. It has changed me- and not necessarily for the best. I have had depression (I think), and I am angry and frustrated. Not just with what is happening in my county, but in the national trend of standardized testing, common core, lack of respect for teachers and education, etc. Anyway, at some point I will do an entirely different post on my thoughts and transformation of my thinking of homeschooling.

As I have been fasting and praying and trying to figure things out, I have not felt like I have gotten an answer. But I have had the thought "something is going to happen that will help you to know what to do."

At the time the thought came to my mind, I didn't think much of it. But I did think to myself, "Well, if there's another shooting in the area, that will make up my mind pretty fast."

And now it's happened. Not at Newtown. HERE. Once again in my backyard. Within just a few miles of my house. AGAIN.

It's devastating. Heartwrenching. Disgusting. Horrible.

And sad. Really, really sad.

Especially since when I talked to a friend about it she said, "At least only two were shot."

Maybe it's time I realize that I don't want to wait until Audra's school is where the next shooting takes place before I do something to protect my children.

Christmas Is Coming!

It has been a crazy busy last couple of weeks. Good busy, but busy.

The local high school put on a Christmas festival. The kids had a great time! The high schoolers do such a great job, and we were happy to take advantage.

Camille was scared and clung to Ben for the first 20 minutes. Especially after we tortured her by attempting to get a picture of her with Santa. Eventually she warmed up- right about the time she realized the high schoolers were giving away lots of candy canes and other treats.

Of course, the girls LOVED all the coloring stations.

 Even Camille got in on the coloring action.

 Here's Camille's handy work:

 The older girls got their faces painted- they couldn't be happier!

We also went with Grandma and Aunt Beth to see Frozen on Saturday. I have to say, that might be my favorite Disney movie. I LOVED the music, and I loved that sisters were more important than Prince Charming. Definitely a classic in my book.

Tonight we finally made our gingerbread houses. The girls have talked non-stop about making them for days. I bought the houses from Michael's this year, and I was a little disappointed. I think the ones from Bed, Bath, and Beyond are a little sturdier. Maybe I'm wrong, but I really don't expect these houses to still be standing tomorrow morning. I had to make sure I got pictures of them tonight.

Even if they do fall down, it was worth it- as the girls had so much fun putting them together! Camille kept wanting to destroy them (she is quite similar to King Kong). Ben's job tonight was to keep Camille out of the way. He did an OK job, but it was kind-of like trying to wrestle a lion. She's tough. But also really cute, so she gets away with it.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a great Thanksgiving today- lots of food, family, and gratitude!

The day started with the girls playing really nicely together. Audra and Claire were so excited for Thanksgiving- it was pretty cute.

 Audra insisted on dressing up like an Indian. She makes a pretty cute one!

 Ben's mom prepared a delicious feast- really, it was one of the best Thanksgiving dinners I have ever had- absolutely delicious! Thank you, Ann, for a wonderful meal!

 We asked the girls what they were grateful for, and they both said "Family." I couldn't agree more!

 Camille slept through the meal (thank goodness), but she woke up CRAZY. All she wanted to do was run around, grunt for more food, and get into things she shouldn't. For a few minutes we were able to stall her when she decided she wanted pillows stacked on top of her. The respite didn't last long, but it was sure cute.

Growing up, we always did a puzzle on Thanksgiving (or maybe it was Christmas? Or both?). I decided to continue the tradition and got a couple of puzzles for the girls to do. They are both very good at puzzles, so I think this will be a great tradition for us.

A couple of weeks ago we put together a "Thankful Tree." We had the girls draw pictures of what they are grateful for. The list included family, hair, water, turkey, and such.

 This one turned out to be the family favorite:

Ben drew a picture of being grateful for running. When I saw the picture I said, "Oh, you're grateful for big feet?" And from then on the girls continually teased him (in a nice way, of course) about being grateful for big feet.

We certainly do have a million and one things of which to be grateful. Health, a good job, family, love, Christ. Obviously, I could go on forever- and it was nice to remember to be grateful today!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!