Christmas is Almost here!

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve. It's a very exciting time in a house full of children. Although we have one worried child. Tyler found one of his presents and looked at it. The rule has always been if you sneak a peek, I take it back. He is very worried that I will give this cool gift to another little boy. Although he did inform me that I couldn't give it to the neighbor boy because he already has one. I'm sure the other children have all done this, he is just the one who got caught! Of course I don't have the heart, (or the energy) to return it.

Here is a picture of Tyler playing in the little bit of snow we had last week.

Sick Kids

Like I said yesterday, I thought the kids were feeling somewhat better. Now I wonder if it was just the calm before the storm. Tori woke up this morning with a fever still, and now breathing problems. I started her on breathing treatments and hope we can prevent it from developing into something worse. TJ's throat is worse, very red and sore. Not sure if his fever is back yet. I have often had more than one sick child at a time, and it is usually with different things! I guess the sick season has begun for us.

So, today I will hopefully finish wrapping. Enjoy the quiet and maybe get some reading in. I hope to sit with Tori a lot today and comfort her.

The temperature today is 12 degrees! That should not even be allowed! I started a fire (which hopefully will not make Tori worse) and we have blankets out! Oh, and of course hot chocolate! Our poor heater will be working overtime today.

Marcus won Rams tickets at his work picnic this summer and today is the day of the game. Marcus, Troy, and 3 friends are going. Troy seems the most excited! Uncle Mark, we are thinking of you! Wish you could join them!

Facebook

Marcus got me hooked on Facebook. At least this week. It is really fun. I was able to chat with a couple of people from high school. I love seeing and hearing about their lives and where they are now.
As for the family. It has been a quiet day. TJ and Tori were both home sick on Thursday and Friday. They are feeling better but not moving around today so I'm guessing they are not quite feeling great yet. Tyler on the other hand is moving full speed! I sure notice a difference when we don't go to school. Ms. Amy does a wonderful job at keeping him busy and getting him tired! I owe her! When we are at home all day he wears me out! Now he is playing play-doh, Toni is making Christmas gifts and studying for finals. Troy has been playing computer games. Marcus is sending out Christmas cards to the staff at Festus Schools. (That is a big job!) and I have a roast in the oven, have wrapped presents and played around on the computer. Very relaxing day!
I can't believe Christmas is this week though. I'm ready for it, just doesn't seem like it should be that soon!
Time to play play-doh!

A day at home

Last night's concerts were very good. The music was great! TJ had been complaining of a bad headache throughout the evening last night. I could tell he really didn't feel well but was hoping he'd make it through a couple more days of school. This morning he had a fever so, needless to say, we are home. I do hope it is fast moving AND does not hit everyone in the house!

So, today I will clean and do laundry and make goodies for the teachers. I always have a long list of what I think I will accomplish in one day. I hope to get close while still enjoying the day at home.

Well, I better get started or nothing will be done!

Christmas Concerts and Programs

Let the concerts begin! Having 5 kids means we get to attend A LOT of school programs!! Tonight is the first (and second) of the season. Toni and Troy both are in Choir and have their concerts tonight. TJ's program is tomorrow night and Tori's is Friday. The programs are cute but very crowded!! I will try to remember to take my camera! It is a new habit for me :)

I think I am about done with Christmas shopping. That is exciting. I would now like a day to wrap and actually see if I have forgotten anything. Then I can stop picking things up here and there that I really don't need!

For my Californians.....today's weather was a high of ummm..maybe 24. It will be warm tomorrow. High of 40!

Wintertime

I really do like winter. Today we all went to work/school. St. Louis was getting snow but we were not. At noon it started with freezing rain again and school let out early (but our day counted so no make-up day!). I got off work at 1:00 also. As I was driving home I was thinking about how nice it was to be unexpectedly all coming home early (except poor Marcus), being able to start a fire in the fireplace, get some things done early, and maybe even read a magazine or play a game. It doesn't happen in the summer, only in the wintertime! It does make for a nice, relaxing day!

One more Santa picture...

Pictures with Santa

Every year we go to our neighbor's Christmas Party and Santa pays a visit. This year the big kids were good sports and we got eveyone's picture. Marcus was there too but wouldn't get in the pic with Santa and us!

It's COLD!!!

Well, the weather changed! It is so cold. So, when I went to bed last night it was 57 degrees. When I started my car (to try to melt the ice on it), it was 15 degrees. After 15 years of living here I am still fascinated by the weather. We ended up getting a little ice and a little snow on top of it. School was cancelled but the roads were ok, if you drove slow and careful.

Here are pics of the boys putting up decorations outside. Note: TJ is wearing shorts with his coat.

The one of Tyler in the snow is from a day last week (I think) when we got a dusting of snow.

Toni figured out she could flip her hair out cute and she looks like Alice Cullen (Twilight)!

It's Christmastime!

Well, we FINALLY got our tree yesterday. It is HUGE. Like it belongs in the forest huge. The guy told me it was 11 feet, which is what we wanted. Once we got it inside we realized it is more than 11, closer to 12. It is crazy! We will probably need to cut it up in order to take it back out of the house! Yes, it is always our goal to find the biggest tree out there and this year we truly did. We also put the decorations up outside yesterday. I still need to finish the inside.

Today's temperature is crazy! It has been very windy but about 56 degrees. We are supposed to begin getting rain around 9:00 tonight. It will change to freezing rain and then to snow. We may end up with ice on the roads before the snow begins. It is very hard to believe that will happen when it is so warm right now. TJ and I went for a walk about 6:30 tonight to enjoy the warm weather. It was so dark and windy that we got a little scared! It felt great to be outside though.

I have been home and in bed alot today with a headache. It is getting better but I will go to bed early in hopes of it being gone completely by tomorrow. The kids are hoping to wake up to a snow day and not have school. Sounds good to me! It is always fun to wake up with a cleared schedule.

Well, I need to get the kids (and me) to bed in case we do have school tomorrow.

New Hair do's!

Friday brought fun for Toni, Troy, and TJ at the hair salon! Toni created a hairstyle on makeover.com, printed a picture and took it with her. She ended up with a cute cut and highlights. Troy has decided straight hair is in. He has been straightening his hair before school which was time consuming. He got a straightener put on his hair. (Who would of thought???) So, Troy is happy about having straight hair for the first time in his life! TJ was going in for a cut, got caught up in the excitement, and added highlights! So here are pictures of the three.

Thanksgiving Day

Thanksgiving day allowed us to lounge! The kids chose to spend some time with the TV before playing outside in the nice weather!

Toni's first dance!

In October Toni was able to go to her first youth dance! She was so excited. It was the Halloween dance so she dressed as a fairy (so she can wear a pretty dress!). She went with two of her friends, Jessica and Bailey. They had a great time!

Posing for the Camera

TJ and Tyler smile for the camera. These pictures are from Toni's birthday.

Tori loves soccer! She enjoyed another season this fall. Here are a couple of her pictures from soccer.

Our favorite uncle!

In April of this year TJ was able to spend some time with Uncle Jeff when he came out for Grandpa Lambert's funeral. TJ LOVED the time with Uncle Jeff and wants to be just like him! This is a great picture of the two of them. We miss you Uncle Jeff!

I put Toni's latest picture up. I also posted a picture of Troy and Tyler. This one was taken when Grandpa and Grandma Jones was visiting in the summer. I think it is so cute. Tyler was trying to look just like his big brother! I will post a recent picture of Tori and TJ soon.

Thanksgiving

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and I am so GRATEFUL for the time to be home. The kids and I were off today. We enjoyed a great playdate with our new friends, The Tophams. It was great to see the kids running around playing and laughing. It was especially nice to just be sitting and visiting with a friend. Like is settling down a little around here. Fall sports are over, my last class of the semester ends next week. I am really looking forward to the holidays this year. We are going to keep it simple and focus on the gift of time. Just the thought alone relaxes me!





Gratitude: I am so thankful for our health; to run, walk, laugh and play. For a warm house on cold days, cozy nights with a book, friends near and far.

school!!!!!!!

I can not believe school is starting in 4 days!!!!! Where did summer go?:) Toni is going into 8th grade (wow i know!! my little girl is growing up!) Troy will be joining her at the middle school for 7th grade! T.J is going to be going into the intermediate building for 4th grade! And Tori is going into 2nd grade! Tyler is still at daycare with me...... at least one of my kids is not in school yet!!!! They are growing up tooooooooo fast! :(

I have not forgotten....

I have not forgotten to blog, I have missed it! I am trying desperately to get through my summer college class! It is SO time consuming, but it is also almost over. I need to finish up this week on it. It has been so hard but I have truly learned so much that I will actually use in my life! Much better than the Algebra class that I have lived this long without and will probably be ok!

So, summer school has ended. Troy has gone to Scout Camp and loved it. He was home for a few days then went with our neighbors camping for a week. Lucky guy! He is on a boat, tubing, skiing, and going to amusement parks. We are jealous! Then Toni goes to Girls Camp next week. So for the 6 weeks of summer, I will only have all 5 kids home for a couple of those weeks. It is different. They are growing up. Troy, TJ and Tori all had a good time at Mam-ma and Pap-pa's house. Poor little Tyler is stuck with me all summer! I guess I get to hold on to him a little longer :).

We are looking forward to a visit from the Johnston's this week! We sure miss you guys! It will be great to see you :) I LOVE your blog, you will have to show me all your secrets! We also have a visit planned for Grandpa Greg and Grandma Jane! We can't wait to see you guys in a couple of weeks. It is so nice to see family and friends.

*gratitude journal* I am so grateful for the cooler weather today!! It has been scorching and today we have relief. Thank you! I am grateful for days to rest, even when it comes with being sick. Sometimes that's the only way we make ourselves slow down. But I am also grateful to feel better :) For summer days and late nights. For bathing suits and tans (on the kids!).

I am on vacation this week and enjoying the time at home. The kids are still in summer school for one more week so Tyler and I are getting things done at home. We are cleaning out the toys and the bedrooms! It feels great to be home getting this done. Today Tyler is having friends over which he does not get to do too often. He is happy!
We have also joined the Y. Toni and I went last week at 5a and met a friend there for a workout before work/school. This week we are enjoying sleeping in and we are going with everyone after school. The kids loved swimming. Next week it will probably be hard to go back to getting up so early!!
Today is TJ's birthday!! It is so fun to be a kid on your birthday! The whole day is just yours!! I hope he has a great day!
*gratitude journal* I'm grateful for the gift of time, for the opportunity to do service for others, for having big kids and little kids, for the wonderful weather that we are having that is not too hot.

Time sure flies! It has been busy around here but not too bad. Very Hot!!! The kids are getting through summer school. TJ is the only one who has missed a day (and a half). The school offers each kid $75 if they attend every HOUR of summer school. If they miss then money is deducted. I think TJ is down to $25. He doesn't seem to mind though. Toni and Troy are interested in the money and don't even complain about going. And well Tori just goes and doesn't say much either way! I have been working more this past week but it has been nice. Like I said before, my June class is so good, it makes the day go by so fast. They are making a lemonade stand and then will make lemonade to sell (with fake money that they make) to the other classes. The kids are so excited about it that they are disappointed when they get picked up early! I have also been able to make a lot of progress with my classroom. So things are moving right along!

*Gratitude Journal* I am grateful for continued learning; uplifting and motivational talks that even capture my children's attention! spring cleaning (at least when it's done); and friends.

Toni and Troy

Toni and Troy have been after me to add them to my family. So I finally took pictures, put them on my comp and will put them on here. Hope you like them! Here is one of Toni's new glasses.

This has been a very productive week so far. At work I am changing classrooms, I will still be Pre-K but I am moving into a bigger class. I have been cleaning, organizing and rearranging and have gotten a lot done. I am anxious to get it all done and be moved over. I am really excited for next school year.

***gratitude journal*** I am thankful for a house full of noise. A little boy who loves to hold the doors open for me and be a gentleman. A warm summer breeze, phone calls from family and pizza for dinner.

Saturday was the last of the soccer games for this season at least. I have a feeling we may spend many seasons at a soccer field. I'm glad it is a fun sport to watch! Tori and I were able to go on a date Saturday night. She chose a pizza place, CiCi's for dinner. Then we did a little shopping and went home. She was very funny! She was worried about which boy to marry and wanted to know all about how I met Marcus. It was funny to see that side of her. It made me realize how quickly she is growing up. And how important those one on one dates are. The child really opens up when no one else is around. I am looking forward to continuing those.

I also realized this weekend that I bit off more than I can chew concerning school. I signed up for 3 classes for summer. After seeing the syllabus for 2 of them I realized I signed up for 2 to many! So I re-evaluated, realized there is no rush and that it is not worth killing myself over trying to do all of this. I settled with taking Technology for Teachers this summer. It is going to be a lot of work but hopefully I can get through it.

***Gratitude Journal*** Today I felt especially grateful for the opportunity to be at church. As I sat down I realized it is not very often during the week that I just sit and "fill my cup" spiritually, without distractions. And to think that each Sunday we get 3 whole hours of it!! That was nice and I look forward to next Sunday.

A clear night...

Today was busy but ended very relaxed. Marcus has two great telescopes and has gotten pretty good at finding the planets and other cool things to view in the sky! (He knows all the real names for them.) Tonight after the kids were in bed we went outside and he was able to find Mars and Saturn so we could see them through the telescope. Saturn is so beautiful! You can see the rings around it. It is very awesome! It was a clear night and the temperature was perfect! I love this time of year.

***Gratitude Journal.... I am grateful for the opportunity to work. For quiet nights, for the ability to hear the sounds of a summer night. For family and friends who go the extra mile.

Christmas Jars

This morning I woke up to what Mom's dread.....the voice of one of your children saying, "Mom, I threw up." Today it was Troy. That was at 4 a.m. After getting the mess cleaned up and him settled back down I lay in bed with my mind racing. I knew I better just get up, sleep was not going to come! So I did. It was nice to get a good head start on the day. I went into work for about an hour then spent the day at home making sure Troy was taken care of. Thankfully he bounced back pretty quick.
So anyway, this evening I took some time to finish a book I started this weekend. It is called "Christmas Jars" by Jason F. Wright. It is definitely one of my new favorite books. In fact, I want to read it to my kids. I would highly recommend getting this book! The main point of the story is this family collects their spare change in a jar all year long and on Christmas Eve they anonymously leave it on someone's doorstep. You have to read the book to really get the feel of it so please do!! It has inspired me as I hope it does you.
I ended up really enjoying another day at home : ) Tomorrow is back to work!
My Gratitude Journal ** I am thankful for my home, to be curled up with a good book, a blanket and a window open to a cool breeze. For the last day of school, the memories, the emotions. For quiet moments of prayer.

Memorial Day

Today was a great day! It was so nice to be home. This morning everyone pitched in to get the house ready for company. Marcus's brother and his family came over. They have four boys that are our kids ages so everyone plays together. Toni invited a friend so she would have someone. Marcus bbq'ed and we relaxed. It was so nice. It is a shame the kids have school tomorrow, it feels like we could continue in this mode! But tomorrow is their last day of school, then they get Wednesday off and start summer school on Thursday. One more month of mornings for them :)
***Gratitude Journal: I am grateful for extended family, summer days, sleeping in, and lazy afternoons. I am grateful for the soldiers who have sacrificed their lives so that I may live mine.

More soccer

Here are a few more soccer pics.

Are we done yet???

Tyler wasn't too thrilled about soccer this year. He loved his uniform but playing.......not really. Here is a picture of him.

A place to check in..

Life is busy, I'm hoping to slow things down a little with a place to reflect. I wanted to start by creating a gratitude journal. To remind myself of the blessings poured out upon me each day. I'd also like to add the things that the kids are up to, funny things that are said and done; what life is really about. I welcome your comments and advice as I stumble through this journey.

I am so grateful for Sundays. For the chance to go to church, to be with my family and to set my goals for the week. They are often the same goals with the hope to do better this week! I am grateful for a wonderful family. For kids who pour out their love to me in so many ways. For a husband who so diligently provides for us. For good friends who inspire me and a Mom who is always there. I could go on and on.....

A quick update on our happenings:
All of the kids played soccer this spring. They have one more game left. Toni is sad and looking for ways to continue. We have found a few things we are looking into that will help her continue to improve until fall soccer. I'll let you know what we decide. Troy is looking forward to football. TJ is ok with no sports! Tori will continue with soccer next fall or spring. Tyler is going to just hang out for at least a year. He spent his last soccer game laying on the ground watching the clouds. No rush!
Summer is here!!! We are all looking forward to the break. School ends Tues. Summer school starts Thursday and goes for a month. But homework i
s OVER!!! We are looking forward to sleeping in (the kids at least), camps and lightning bugs.