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!!!

Casa Bonita

Last night we took the girls to Casa Bonita. We haven't been here in a few years (since Claire was younger than Camille is now), so we thought it would be fun.

We were right.

The girls loved it.

Casa Bonita is a restaurant that is sort-of like a theme park. The food is not great, but the entertainment is. They have cliff divers, puppet shows, an arcade, a pinata, and much, much more. If you ever come visit us in  Denver, we will be sure and take you to this tourist paradise!

 And this is just for fun- the girls got dressed up today as fairies (I will really miss these days!):

No Turkey For Perkey!

Audra had a Thanksgiving play today. Her class worked super hard, and I think her teacher was more nervous than the kids. He went all out, and he had the kids prepped! All three first grade classes did the same play, and the other classes had to use a recording of the music and sing along, but not Audra's class. All the kids knew the songs perfectly. They all knew exactly what to do and where to go- it all flowed perfectly. One mom who has one kid in Audra's class, and another in another class said, "this was the shortest play because the kids knew exactly what to do!" Audra's teacher definitely runs a tight ship, and it worked out well today.

 Audra was an onion.

 She was so excited for the play. She has been singing the songs for 2 weeks straight. Last night she brought a pair of pants downstairs and asked Ben to iron them for her because they were a little too wrinkly for the play. She forgot that she wasn't even going to be wearing pants because she was going to be wearing white tights and a skirt.

 Afterwards there was a feast for the kids. It really is fun to have these "party days" once in awhile.

 Here she is with her teacher- he did a great job of pulling this together! It turned out incredibly well!