Merry Christmas One and All!

Merry Christmas Everyone!
Here are some images of our morning. The excitement was overwhelming as we had to wait for Matthew to wake up. We missed Grandma and Grandpa G. too, they couldn't make it due to the weather.

Miss Madie opening up her Littlest Pet Shop toy...

Matthew with his present that was bigger than him! It is a slide for the basement - he LOVES it!

The kids with some of their presents - Matthew and Emma both got slippers. Madie got a Whoopsie Doo doll - guess what she does???
(Looks like they got the "let's close our eyes for pictures trait" from somewhere???)

Matthew getting ready to slide. I missed the great big smile that was just a second before this look.

Miss Em and I - can you see her dangly earrings and new necklace?

Caged!

We have been busy with Christmas preparations. Emma had her school Christmas Concert last night. She did a fantastic job and looked just gorgeous, of course, I am partial! The music instructor did a fantastic job at keeping the program to exactly 1 hour!

This is how I found Matthew yesterday - CAGED! He climbed into Buddy's kennel - yuck but cute! He did throw a small tantrum when I made him get out. At almost 17 months he is perfecting the art of the foot stomping tantrum. Lovely!

Snow, snow and more snow

Let it Snow! It is looking as though we will have a white Christmas! I am pretty sure we are in the path that got around 14+ inches of snow over the last two days. We enjoyed the chance to just stay home. We had movie night, played games, made homemade caramel corn and just vegged. Brandon is out trying to dig us out as we speak. The favorite place for snow to drift is right in front of our garage. I tried to get a good picture but the contrast of the snow makes it hard to see. When he started the snow was about belly button level on Brandon and as tall as Madelyn.
This will be one of the last times we will be digging out here...we have sold our home and will be moving to an acreage about 15 miles away. It will be wonderful for the kids and closer to work for Brandon. The girls will stay in the same school district but will be in a different elementary. They are excited and nervous all at the same time! It is looking like an end of January - first of February move! What were we thinking you ask??? We were thinking it would take A LOT more than 7 days to sell our house! I guess when things are meant to be they have a way of working out no matter what we believe the time-line should be!

I took this through the screen as it was TOO cold for me! The snow blower is buried in snow!

Brandon and Madie out in the snow. I don't know how well you can see but the top of the drift is elbow level on Brandon.

Last weekend we had the big family Christmas for Great-Grandma R. We had a nice time. It is always fun to see how everyone has grown over the course of a year. I have also realized how old I am getting. The kids that were 7 and 8 when I started coming around 10 years ago are now graduating from high school this year. Yikes! Above we have 3 generations of R. men.

Great Grandma with the kids. Matthew was not happy about having his picture taken. I cannot say enough great things about Great-Grandma. She feels like she has been my Grandma my entire life. She is sweet, grateful, humble and one of the most loving and accepting people I have had the good fortune of knowing. Love you Grandma!

Sleep Habits...

Once again...I have been horrible at posting! For some reason things seem to be a little hectic right now. We had a great Thanksgiving and were able to spend it at Grandpa and Grandma G.'s. Visit BasketGirl's blog to learn more about our Holiday!

For some reason...Madie has been into sleeping on the floor. Every night at some point she makes her way into our room and onto the floor. Not great accommodations if you ask me but she doesn't seem to mind. The other night, Brandon went to turn off their closet light before bed and found Madie in her own room on the floor with all her babies lined up in her bed, neatly tucked in.


I found Matthew sound asleep the other day when I went to get him up for church. He looked so cute, I just had to take a picture. He is doing all sorts of new things. He will tell you what a fish says, a gorilla and a dog. He can get his point across extremely well without ever having to say a thing!

Heard...

In the car last night...
Emma: "Mom, I've been thinking about Aunt Betsy's Christmas gift. I held it up to her picture and it really doesn't look like her at all!"
Mom: "When I say it looks like her I mean that is looks like something she would like."
Emma: "Oh"

Yesterday before going shopping...
Dad: "Emma, what is Santa going to get you for Christmas?"
Emma: "A ds (Nintendo DS)"
Dad: "How do you know?"
Emma: "Cuz I've been praying to God for Santa to bring me a DS, so he will!"

Seen yesterday morning...
Emma lying on the floor, quietly watching cartoons with the remote by her head. Matthew picks up the remote, turns the channel. Emma says "HEY!" Matthew giggles and takes off as fast as his little legs can carry him. He only gets a few feet.

Madie has her little friends from across the street over to play yesterday. When it was about time to go home and the basement was a disaster zone, we tell them to go pick up and then it is time to go home.
Little Cate thinks for 10 secs, heads for the door and says: "I think I'll just go home now!"
I say, "No, you need to go help clean up too"
Cate: "Oh man!" She smirks and heads to the basement.

There never seems to be a dull moment around here!

My Friend...

My friend, Colene, has been on my mind a lot this week. Some of you that live in the state may have heard about a trial going on in Humboldt County involving a 29 year old man who shot his estranged wife and her male friend. Colene is her grandmother. I listen to the news and my heart breaks for her and her family. I simply cannot imagine the pain they are going through sitting in a courtroom, listening to eye witness testimony of how she died. I ask for your prayers for Colene and her family, including her great-grandson who was left behind. She is a wonderful lady who befriended me at my first school 5 years ago. We still keep in touch and I have to stop and see her every year at the State Fair where she helps out every year. It makes me wonder why he did what he did...

Happy Birthday!

The last week and a half has been a little busy. Here is a quick, picture-less synopsis!

• Happy Birthday to Brandon! We didn't get time to celebrate during the week since it was parent-teacher conferences at school and I had to work. We were able to go out to eat Friday night at Texas Roadhouse. Gluttony was the word of the day! But was it good!
• A big thank you to Grandma and Grandpa R. They took the kids for us for the weekend. Since it was a 3-day weekend it worked out great! This gave Brandon and I some time to celebrate his birthday and get some Christmas shopping done. We thoroughly enjoyed our QUIET time together!
• Kudos to both girls! Both had great reports from their teachers. Keep up the good work!
• Matthew continues to get bigger. He is not really showing an interest in talking quite yet but can get his message across with pointing. Whatever works

Pictures soon! (if I get them taken!)

Old Friends...

Emma and her friend, Celeste

Emma and Madie had their friend, Celeste, over to play this afternoon. They went to daycare with Celeste from the time Emma was 2 and Madie was a baby. Emma and Celeste are what you would call BFF's.

My hope for them is a lasting, meaningful friendship.
I hope they remember to find the time to call each other when they are grown and have their own families. And it can't always be the same person calling, reciprocate.
I hope they remember that distance is going to happen but keeping in touch is important.
I hope they endure the new friends that come into their lives...

I know I have found lasting friends that I wouldn't have guessed would be the ones who would stand the test of time. I have also had friends who I thought we always be there disappear...

We shall see in 20 years...

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!
These are the Halloween cupcakes that we made for Madie's preschool party tomorrow. I think they turned out rather cool! The girls had fun helping as well!

This and That

Sorry it has been so long since I have posted. First, my pictures wouldn't download, then blogger wouldn't upload. So needless to say, I haven't messed with it! Here is a little bit of what has been going on lately...

We taught the girls how to do headstands in front of the wall. It was lots of fun. Madie is good enough she can turn on the lights and keep her balance! Betsy and I did this a lot when we were kids!
Last Monday (the only really nice day) we took the kids to the Pumpkin Patch after work. Fun was had by all. Madie enjoyed jumping off the hay loft into the big pile of hay!

Matthew liked all the animals. I would love to know what he was telling the kitty. It had to be something like "Run for your life!"

Pumkins here, pumpkins there!

Gourds and pumpkins everywhere!

More! Want to see more!

Little man had a blast. He threw the biggest tantrum when we left. I don't think I have ever gotten the back-arching, leg kicking assault when getting in the carseat before!

Dad, Emma (making silly faces) and and Matthew enjoying the nice evening.

FEED ME!!!

I am sorry the picture is so blurry. For some reason, I wasn't able to get him to slow down long enough to snap a clear pic! We found this shirt for Matthew last weekend and thought that it fit him to a tee! He loves to eat. He typically eats breakfast at home prior to heading off to daycare. Once he gets to daycare, he makes a b-line to the highchair to get a little more grub. Kelly at daycare thought the shirt fit him well!

Lollipop, Lollipop...

For those of you who grew up near me, do you remember the 25 cent lollipops they had at the swimming pool in Tyke? I LOVE them! Still do. Anyway, they sell them up at the local mom and pop grocer here. I picked up a few the other day. Matthew caught sight of me eating one and was a little enthralled. So I let him have one. Let's just say he enjoyed it. Drool and more drool!

Taking a swipe at the camera...

Enjoying his sucker with Madie, she loves them too. Notice the burp cloth strategicly placed!

This is good Mom!

I don't know if you can see it, but the paper stick is completely soaked and bent over. I took it away a short time later...I didn't feel like doing the Heimlich today!

In other news...

We have been busy with the norm.

Emma:

Soccer was played today even though temps were less than ideal.

School is going great! Her reading is really coming along and math does not seem to be an issue.

She had a fishing excursion for school on Friday, her dad went with her. Let's just say she has devised a plan to go fishing again!

Madelyn:

She had field trip on Friday as well. I walked with her class to the fire station. She claimed her favorite part was walking through the truck... and mom coming along...

She had a sleepover with her friend Cate...they are like two peas in a pod and were together from around 9 yesterday morning to 11 this morning.

Matthew:

Learning new things everyday. His lastest trick is getting out attention and then pointing our his wants. It works.

Loves Sweets! Um, yeah, he belongs in our family!

Loves a stick...hit 'em if ya got 'em!

Brother and Sisters...

I am home today with a little boy who is sick. He is running a 101+ temp for the second day in a row. I am really hopeful that this isn't the start of another horrible winter. We shall see... The girls LOVE their little brother and would do just about anything for him. For example.
"Emma, can you go get a kleenex?"
"Why?" (imagine it in a whine)
"Because Matthew needs one."
"Oh, ok"
Every single time. I think they are in trouble when Matthew figures out how to manipulate! This morning, I was trying to get a few things picked up after breakfast so the girls were entertaining poor Matthew. Emma sat and read a book with him for quite a while. I tried to capture Matthew resting his head on Em's shoulder but he kept looking at me.




Grandma and Grandpa G. got Matthew some toys for a sand box (green - is there any other color?). Of course we don't have a sandbox right now so I picked up some dried beans at the store. They work just as well although they are easily spread around the house...Brandon loves it! I think I have been told how great of an idea that was about 20 times. Anyway, it keeps Matthew busy and he loves it.

The next Tiger

Once again, a long delay in posting. Things just seem to be busy these days! I had to share pics of the next Tiger... Matthew loves sticks and hitting things with sticks. So we got him a little golf set. He knew exactly what he was supposed to do with it! However, putting the ball in the hole is not his priority. Hitting something with the club - perfect!

Matthew and I - I love that smile!

This is my Goddaughter, Isabelle. Isn't she precious! I love her wispy hair. I have to wonder if it will be curly like her mom's! Her mom has been a good friend to me for many years! I value her friendship and am honored to be Isabelle's Godmother!

Soccer Time!

Emma had her first soccer game today. She did a nice job. Daddy thinks she needs to get a little more aggressive. If I remember correctly, she started out a little reserved last year as well. When we got home she said her strategy was to wait on the outside until someone kicked the ball out of the pack. (It sometimes looked a little more like a rugby match than soccer!) Anyway fun times were had by all who played. Thanks to Grandpa and Grandma R. who were able to make it to the game.

Sorry...

I typically don't write about my personal views on politics, religion, and other things. But a few things have been bothering me. So here goes...

1. I am very proud to be an American. For those of you that can't find anything good about where you live, I personally invite you to move to another country. Maybe then you will feel differently.

2. I am expected (by law I might add) to pay taxes, follow the rules, to be a law abiding citizen. Therefore, is it too much for that to be expected of everyone else in order to partake of the same privileges? Seems fair to me. I am sorry you were born somewhere else. Luck of the draw. I am sure my ancestors felt the same way when they came to the country, but they followed the rules.

3. Does healthcare need changes? Probably. Is the government the answer, I don't think so. Just look at the schools. The government has their hand in everything trying to make quality teachers and hold people accountable. All it has done is make teachers scared of being sued by parents who don't take responsibility for their own children. Prime example...a 2nd grader acts out, swearing, dropping the f-bomb, hitting, kicking, destroying property. The school has no recourse in which to punish the child. All they can do is keep him and the other students safe. Then the parent has the audacity to accuse the school of creating the behaviors in the child. Um, I don't think so. Just because no demands are asked of him at home, he doesn't have behaviors there. Instead of a paddle and returning to school work, the kids gets out of any kind of work, is completely controlling the adults around him and has no consequences. Wonder where he will be in 20 years?

4. Seems to me the greatest countries in the world have a foundation of Christianity. Go ahead take it out of everything. Let's see where it gets us. Oh, yeah, my daughter asking me if 2 women can get married. How do I answer that? Do I respond with my personal belief? Or, do I give her the politically correct, culturally competent answer. Do people have a right to do what they want in the privacy of their own home...sure. Do you need to push your beliefs on me? No. You chose a behavior, you choose the consequence. Oh, I forgot, we don't take responsibility for our own actions anymore. It is always someone else's fault.

Now, I feel better, I will get off of my soapbox and try not to use my blog for this purpose again...

5 minutes with Matthew

Little Man has been super busy these days. This is a sampling of an elapsed 5 minutes. He is so much fun and is a little sponge. You can almost see the connections being made.

While I was cleaning up supper, Matthew enjoyed checking out the refridgerater. I believe he was off and running with the BBQ sauce. He also had the remote neatly placed in the beer can chicken holder.

Here we go with a hammer. He likes to get into the "junk" drawer. He also had a pencil, some coupons, etc...

And then outside he goes. When I came outside, he was picking the leaves off of my Day Lilies.
Never a dull moment these days...

Tired...

So sorry about the lack of posts lately. Seems like we have been busy and yet not busy if you know what I mean.

School is fully in session and keeping the girls and I busy. Procedural changes will prove interesting for me this year and will keep me hopping!

Emma is liking 1st grade. She came home with her first spelling list last week. Soccer started last week and I think she is the most excited for that.

Madie has a new preschool teacher. She doesn't really say much about preschool but boy can she rhyme! Seems like ever sentence ends in a rhyme time. Understand land?

We all went down to Grandpa and Grandma R.'s house this weekend and helped build fence. Lots of fence... now the word of the day is EXHAUSTED! Even the kids are tired. Going to be a fun day at our house today.

Sorry about the lack of pictures. When I download the camera...we will have pictures!

Happy Labor Day!

Blogworthy

Blogworthy: adverb or adjective. An action, event, or thing that is worthy of posting on the blog. "That story is blogworthy."
Example:
Brandon: "Emma, what did Mrs. R. teach you about at school today?"

Emma: "Fans"

Brandon: "What about fans?"

Emma: "They spin.

Brandon (mumbling to me): "Smart Alick little girl..."

Really, are children at the age of 6 supposed to understand sarcasm??? I think mine does. Brandon doesn't think it was funny, I think it is hilarious! Higher level thinking in action!

Angie: "Maybe she really did learn about fans today. Emma, why did you talk about fans?"

Emma: "We didn't talk about fans..."

First Day...

The first day(s) of school have arrived! And it wouldn't be our style if we didn't do it up right! Sooo, Emma got sick starting Saturday night with some sort of stomach ailment and was still not well Monday morning. Needless to say she missed her 1st day of 1st grade. At the time I think she felt miserable enough that she didn't really care. Madelyn got started on schedule and loved her first day. She jumped right in. I walked through her room and I don't think she even noticed! She has a new teacher this year so that was exciting! And for Matthew, it was back to daycare...he has also had some trouble getting used to the new routine!

Matthew waiting for the bus. The pictures are a little blurry since a little boy I know got his fingers on the lens...

Miss Em on day 2, or her 1st day. Waiting for the bus.

Matthew and I waiting for the bus to come pick up Madie for her first day of preschool.

Off she goes...one more year of preschool and then it is kindergarten, here we come!

A day at the fair...

Hello Strangers! Sorry about the loooonnggg delay in posting pictures. Seems like life has been a little busy lately. Tomorrow I start back to work full time and the girls are excited to get back into their school routines. I hope and pray this year is easier than last...no more illness! Otherwise we have been busy with a wedding, back to school functions and end of summer stuff. Daddy took the day off yesterday and we all enjoyed the state fair. We had a perfect day...cool and mid 70's. A bonus...since it was Monday it wasn't too busy.

Dad and Matthew at Little Hands on the Farm. Matthew loved the John Deere trikes. Can we go again dad?

Another big hit was the butterfly exhibit. The girls had a ball for quite a long time catching the butterflies-all shapes and sizes! If you sat still enough they would land on you.

The butterfly woman- Emma. It was the norm for her to have 3 + butterflies at one time.

Madie took a different approach and usually had only 1. But she studied what they looked like a little more.

The DNR building - look Fish!

I think the best part of the day was when a random little girl gave our girls 2 tickets to ride the camel. What a nice thing to do. I know it made my day! The girls thoroughly enjoyed their ride. Gotta love RAK's!

Madie and the big boar - Buddy.

Ohhh cows!

We had a great day at the fair. One disappointment though. The COST! WOW! To get Madie 1 stinking corn dog was $4! I can buy 10 hot dogs at the store for a little over 2 bucks most days. And the fountain pop was $3 and mostly ice. I usually don't complain about the price of things but seriously... If the economy is supposed to be bad and attendance is down...not rocket science!

Signing off...