New...Again

Ok, so some people have recently said to me that they checked out my blog and it was old. So, I am starting new...again. Before it seemed that no one was reading, so I quit updating. If you are reading, leave me a comment from time to time, and if you have a blog, leave me the address so I can read and comment too!

The fall has brought back the busy schedule in our house. Joshua is playing tackle football while Molly is in cheerleading. They both like what they are doing! Joshua is switching positions, but is currently running back. I never knew that football was so tough even at the 2nd grade level! There are two hour and a half practices each week with a two hour game on the weekend. The coaches are tough on the boys, but they are teaching them a lot. Joshua is also still doing piano, Awana, and Bible Study Fellowship. He is doing great in school and absolutely loves his teacher! He keeps growing and growing and is now starting to eat us out of house and home! Tall and skinny like his daddy!

Molly has a lot of fun in cheerleading. They have great big backpacks(bigger than her!) to carry all their gear. This is serious cheerleading with the practice uniform, game uniform, etc. There are rules that the cheerleaders have to all look the same, so if one wears the warm up jacket, they all have to. She has learned so many fun cheers and likes to jump around the house reciting them! Molly started Kindergarten this year (boo). She LOVES it! She goes half a day in the morning and also loves her teacher! Molly goes to Awana and really enjoys being in Sparks with the big kids!

Tom and I are also doing great! We recently got our living room, dining room, kitchen, and entryway all painted thanks to some great friends! We are slowly but surely weeding out piles and adding more organization to our home. Recently we had a garage sale to help these efforts. It went well, but we still have some bigger items up on Craigslist. Tom's job is going well, he is super busy and has several projects he is working on. I am still running a home daycare and I have a group of great kiddos. We have settled into a fall routine of walking the kids to and from school and I love getting out to do that. I was able to begin attending a Wednesday morning Bible study at our church and it has been good to be a part of. I also still go to Bible Study Fellowship each week. I am a co-director of Sparks in our Awana program and Tom and I lead the Family Life Committee at OCC. We are all busy, but doing things we love!

Joshua's 7th birthday slideshow!

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2010 so far...

I can't believe it is 2010. Crazy! Joshua is in the middle of 1st grade and he loves it! He has really blossomed this year. He loves reading and math and he has really gotten into science. In fact, his birthday is March 4th and he is having a science party. It should be cool. We are doing it at a local bakery and the owner is going to put together a few science experiments for them to do, they will have green hot dogs in crazy buns, make their own grape soda, and have a beaker cake! It will be his 7th birthday, time flies!

Molly is chugging along as well. She is working on writing her letters. She recognizes the letters and knows their sounds, so now she is writing them. She is in afternoon preschool and loves it! Unbelievably, Kindergarten round-up will take place for her on March 5th. My baby in Kindergarten?? Oh dear! She was taking gymnastics, but wasn't really learning a lot, so we decided to give her a break for now. So, she is going to try ice skating lessons. We had our first lesson last night and she did great and she loved it! Joshua is doing it to, but his class is called Hockey, even though it is basically learning to skate too just like the little ones.

Right where I left off...only a year later!

Well, I have obviously been horrible at keeping this blog updated. However, I will make an effort now to do so. Instead of going on and on about all the things that have happened over the last year, I will start from now.

Joshua is 6 and in first grade. He loves school, thankfully. He also likes sports. He just finished a season of soccer and tonight has his first basketball practice. He really can't wait to play tackle football, but that isn't until 2nd grade. He is getting excited about Christmas, but actually doesn't have a long list of wants this year. One thing he really likes is Ben 10 and he wants the Ben 10 game for his DS. We shall see...

Molly is now 4! She goes to afternoon preschool at our church. She has been through a lot this year, ending (hopefully) this past month with having her tonsils removed. It was a rough 2 week recovery, but she is out on the other side a healthier kid! She does gymnastics once a week. She wants to play t-ball in the spring, so we will let her give it a try. She is also excited for Christmas. However, unlike her brother, she does have quite a list for Santa. She wants an American Girl Doll bed, Barbie 3 Musketeer items, Fancy Nancy, Princesses, etc, etc. I hope she has been really good for a list that long!

Tom and I are getting excited for Christmas too! Tom is actually in India right now. He went on a business trip for 3 weeks. This allows him to miss all the Christmas preparation and get home just in time for the fun! Ha! He is having a good time over there, though he is really busy. We look forward to the great stories and pictures that he will bring back with him. I am still doing daycare and I have a great group of kids. A few will be changing after the first of the year as a couple have moms that will get to be home with them in the new year. So, come January, I will have a baby, a one year old(Part time), two 3 year olds(Part time), and a 4 year old in addition to my kiddos. Fun times! I am also in the process of renewing my teaching certificate. When Molly gets into school full time I can go back to teaching if a job should open up around here.

Let's see...what else...a big new year's resolution I hope to accomplish is weight loss. I am unhappy with the weight I am at now, so I need to do something to change it. So, if you read this: Hold me accountable! Encourage me! Join me! We will see as we maneuver through this Christmas season if I can get a jump on weight loss...wish me luck!

I hope to update this a lot more often. Sometimes with family updates and pics and sometimes possibly as a place for me to share my thoughts...keep reading!

Ho! Ho! Ho!

We ventured out to see Santa at Bass Pro Shop on Saturday afternoon. We heard the "real" Santa Claus was going to be there, so we went to check it out. They had a great set-up, with reindeer, activities, and a lot of fun! Here are some pics of the kids with Santa.

Christmas Fun!

We had a lazy weekend last weekend. We stayed home and did some Christmas baking. The kids had a great time getting their aprons and chef hats on to get to work. We made fudge, wedding cakes, rice krispie treats that look like reindeer, and cut out sugar cookies with homemade frosting. This was the first time they each got a blob of dough to roll out and cut themselves....fun! We still have to make Peanut Butter Balls...maybe this weekend.

Halloween and other Happenings

I can't believe it is November!! This year is flying by too fast. We made it through Halloween with flying colors. Joshua had his party in Kindergarten with a costume parade and everything. Molly's school did a Harvest Party where they all dressed like farmers. They still brought home candy, which is the important part to them, right? Joshua went trick-or-treating as Prince Caspian from the Chronicles of Narnia and Molly went as fairy-in-training Abby Cadaby from Sesame Street. We went trick-or-treating with Miss America (Kelsey) and a monkey (Zander) in two neighborhoods. The kids brought home quite a haul...there was even a house giving away full size candy bars to the grown-ups!

Football ended for Joshua this weekend too. His team finished 2-6...they won their last game though and improved a TON from week 1. We aren't sure what Joshua will do this winter as far as sports. We tried to sign him up for basketball, but we missed the deadline, so he is on a wait list. If that doesn't work out, he says he wants to take ice skating lessons and play ice hockey. He's definitely an athlete.

Molly is loving her dance class. I think it is helping her self esteem and coordination a lot. She has a great time going to class. They are having a recital in June. I can't wait to see her on stage in her cute little costume. She is going to do another round of swimming lessons this winter and then we will see if she is interested in any sports.

We are working on a lot of school stuff this month. Molly is learning the alphabet and sounds and how to write her name. It's funny how the two kid learn completely differently. Joshua is really close to being a reader. He loves it. He can't wait to do his homework each day. I hope that stays with him. We are also going to put together some Christmas boxes for Operation Christmas Child this year. They are due in a few weeks and the kids are having a great time figuring out what fun things we can send other kids that will fit in a shoebox. If you want to make one or find out more visit www.samaritanspurse.org.


Happy November!!