January 2013

January 1- restful first day of the year together...games, reading, no more decorations, family time, and chili.

January 2- went to China Grove to see Laura and the kids, outside play all day, caught up, awana for the kiddos, went out to eat with Laura!, had molten at home together, picked up excited kids, bedtime for all, laughed a lot with Laura (and auto correct), and listened to D sing 'On my Own'

January 3- drove home, school, lots of reading to E, unpacked, crashed, cheered Cailey on at her basketball game, and we all fell right to sleep!

January 4- watched Alex all day, cailey loved playing with the boys, a little school, high energy day, cooked a ton, baked hot chocolate cupcakes, played games, beaded with the boys, read to them, trampoline fun, klick's over for dinner and gift exchange, and did a lot of smiling:).

January 5- cheered Kinsey on at her first basketball game where she made FIVE baskets!!!, HT with the fam for coupon stuff, house showing, switched swimming, got braden's new glasses (yay:), kids played outside, baked cookies, lots of game playing (including Brian playing LIFE with the kids), family movie night (An American Tale), and the kids had a sleepover in the boys room.

January 6- church, golden corral for brunch, another showing, kids played outside all day, scouts for braden, lots of coupon cutting, and a family fun night together!

January 7- school, braden's tummy hurt, got back into the swing of full time school, games, lots of free time in the afternoon to play outside, had to cancel CFA bingo b/c Braden was too sick:(, rocked my biggest boy.

January 8- preschool for e,  braden was still sick so we went to the dr., first suppository experience..yuck! (for b), school in between drop off/doctor, etc, another day with lots of free time, kids did handprints in cement, ephram started going to every other day of napping, and kinsey AND ephram fell asleep during Brian's reading of Where the Red Fern Grows!  precious sleepers:)

January 9- school, took ephram to the library, braden to the eye doctor, school in between, had a picnic lunch in the yard with the kids in the HEAT (70's), played outside with the kids, cailey to jump rope class, last minute showing (which meant last minute crazy cleaning), quick dinner for the kids, awana, and went out with brian.

January 10- ps for ephram, school, two showings, school at the library during showings, played outside in the 70 degree weather with the kids, watched Alex,  cailey's super fun nail-biter basketball game where she scored TWO goals:)!!, chatted with pam and cheryl, and helped Kinsey who got a big boo boo on her head.

January 11- a little school, watched alex, AHG for the girls, made decorations for abby's blue/purple party, visited with pam, keel girls stayed over until 9:), make your own pizzas, hide n seek, plays, The Sound of Music, braden played a TON of games on his itouch b/c he didn't want to watch the movie lol, and snuggled my biggest girl.

January 12- FOGGY morning, hot, ran (gasp!) with brian and braden, cheered on kinsey girl at her game where she scored 8 pts, sunny day with lots of outside play, cailey went to abby's birthday party, other kids played with the morgan's all day, early bedtimes for exhausted kiddos, and had a fun talk with cailey all about her fun at the party.

January 13- braden and i both had SORE legs!, FOGGY FOGGY morning, couldn't hear from my left ear, church, house showing, lunch out while we waited, drove around in the sunshine (and 75 degree weather) looking at neighborhoods, scout hike for braden, choir, and bible study, and played with ephram.

January 14- braden went running with brian, piano lessons, another super cloudy day, school, kids played outside,  went walking with brian and got caught in a downpour:).

January 15- braden's eye apt, preschool for e, school, rainy day so lots of inside games, read with the kids, woke up with face numb in the pm.

January 16- school, library day, went to ENT for ear/face, more school, got edible arrangements from mom and dad, face started tingling at night, could hear again, great talk with my kinsey girl, laughed with ephram, stayed a little further away during family reading time:).

January 17- braden ran with brian, school, face started to get feeling again, canceled MRI, ephram to preschool, reece came over for a play date, house showing, cheered cailey on at her basketball game, and family storytime.

January 18- kiddos played in the snow (just a little but still fun!), snow ball fight with Daddy, first SUNSHINY day in a long time, a little school, house showing, took the kids to get hot chocolate floats, more fun playing outside (seriously ALL day), park, one of the girls learned that only boys can pee standing up, lol!, saw a house, and had a fun family night.

January 19- spelling bee day!! all the kiddos did awesome! sunny day (yay), bryce came to pick braden up for a two day sleepover:), went to look at the Filigree house and LOVED it (as did Brian), target for Cailey's prize and Valentine goodies, out to eat, and family (minus Braden) game night...UNO attack and Candy Land while we listened to Cailey play the piano.

January 20- church, sunshiny, kids played outside all day with the Morgan girls, braden went to a museum with Bryce (after starting his day at 4:50 am!), choir, sauce made by brian, played superheros and star wars with ephram, read half of his bible, and hung out with brian.

January 21- piano for cailey, school, braden came home from bryce's, lots of playing outside with the morgan's (mlk day), and a fun game night with the kiddos.

January 22- school, preschool for e (though had to pick him up early b/c overalls made it hard to get to the potty in time), grocery shoppingish, lots of playing outside while bundled (sunny:), kids played with the morgan girls, and had my sweet boy fall asleep on me during read aloud time.

January 23- school, library for storytime, played games with the kiddos, jump rope class, wikki stix fun, super cold (but sunny:) out, made TONS of doctor apts,and awana.

January 24- cailey woke up with pfapa:(, school, preschool for e, house showing, watched morgan girls in the afternoon, slushies for the kids, temps in the 30's for the HIGH, lots of arts and crafts, cailey's basketball game (she was a TROOPER), and excitement over pending weather.

January 25- woke up to find all of our weekend activities canceled (pinewood derby, ahg spa night and field trip, basketball game, derby sign in/date, alex), sleet/BIG FLUFFY snow/turned ice/, kids played outside in it until we dragged them in (as it was freezing rain), cailey still achy/not feeling great (though she STILL went out in it!), hot cocoa and jammies kinda day, chili, brian home from work early, blanket forts, and baking:).

January 26- lots of ice ice baby for the kids to play in:), sledding, sliding, changing clothes a TON, fun squeals, two house showings, playdate with the Morgans, date with the two boys during two showings (Target and the bookstore), new light sabers...and fighting:), fort building, Korean restaurant for Braden and Brian, and a sibling sleepover downstairs in the fort.

January 27-church, kids spent the day playing in the fort or outside in the COLD/sunshine, laundry, bible study, choir, watched ephram and brian have a lightsaber fight in the dark lol!, read books to e, played legos, and kids went to bed too late!

January 28- school, fun Valentine's day crafts with the youngest two, played games, piano lessons, outside play for all,etc.

January 29- braden went on a run with brian, school, eye dr for me, kids were surprised w/ the Welch's here!, kids played outside most of the day in the HEAT! (70 and sunny:), caught up with Laura, showed her filigree, played a fun 'cold water' prank on the girls, and had a great day!

January 30- HOT day, kids played outside with the welch's for a couple hours, dentist for kiddos, school, jump rope class (cailey started feeling sick there w/ pfapa symptoms), awana for all except cailey, had my sweet cubby sleep on me for an hour:), and snuggled with my kinsey girl for a long time.

January 31- school, house showing, cailey still had pfapa, spray painted sticks for a Valentine's tree, lots of FUN S activities with ephram, cailey's basketball game where she tried her hardest (though she felt sick) and scored TWO baskets!!

egg

This is what happened when Ephram wanted to help me bake:). Egg is VERY hard to clean off a floor but oh well...such is life. I love teaching the kids how to bake or cook..and they love learning how.

What catches me about this picture is that it was a peaceful break in our day. We were hustling and bustling trying to get things done and this brought us to a halt.  There were three eggs on the counter and then just two. But other than the cracking of the egg there was no sound. No sadness...it just happened and we just went about our baking.

games with the littlest two

The oldest two were busy with piano and Awana verses so we spent some time playing games with Kinsey and Ephram. Kinsey chose UNO attack (a family fav) and Ephram chose Candy Land.  I treasure this time with my babies! 

Encouragement

Cailey asked if she could stay up to do some independent school work for the next day.  I usually let her because she is my night owl.  After she did a few things she decided to decorate the entire homeschool room and put notes of encouragement for me all over the room!  When I woke up I found sweet notes on each school book (even Kinsey's) that I use to teach them.

she made me a crown:)

this sign was at the entrance of the door

and I REALLY got a kick out of this sign...LOVE it!

I always start the day with Kinsey's school (Phonics, Math, then English) and she was sure to cover those books in sweet notes.

such a fun room!

Thank you for making my day so special, Cailey! You are an encouragement and blessing to this mama! You love surprising me as much as I love surprising you:).  I sure do love your 'just because' parties! 

Cailey also chose a date to do this for everyone else in the family so they could all have a special time too.

Buzzz time

This year's spelling bee was held a couple weeks ago and Kinsey was old enough to participate.  The kids were both super excited. Cailey was a little nervous right before the bee. 

Kinsey was in the first group against her peers and did a SUPER awesome job!! She lasted a ton of rounds until she had a brain freeze on the word saddle.  She handled it beautifully but was funny because she came to sit down and said, "oh...saddle...I can spell that! s-a-d-d-l-e".  The winning word for her grade was circus and she was able to spell that as well.  She's grown a lot since studying for this bee and has become a much better speller because of it.  She's looking forward to next year's bee already!

Braden and Cailey both went round for round in their grade levels before being the last ones standing.  They both were thrilled and left the stage with big grins on their faces.

 Once grades 1-8 are done with their rounds they have a 'spell off' for the winners of each grade level. I thought for SURE the 8th grader would win but little by little the kids would misspell words until it came down to only Braden and Cailey.  They were testing off of sixth grade words at this point and went back and forth, round after round.  It took FOREVER!  They did such a great job!  Cailey ended up spelling epidemic wrong and Braden got it right, then got another word right and became the winner of the entire bee.  It was a nail biter and a strange position to be in as a parent! (NOT fun).  We were very proud of all three of the kids!

Sidenote: Cailey was asked to spell the word she missed last year and did so with a HUGE smile knowing she would never miss that word again:).

Cailey and Braden were awarded with Target gift cards (one for winning their grade level then another one for Braden since he won the whole bee).  Cailey used hers to get a skateboard (and has been loving her choice!), Braden got a light saber (that lights up and makes noise),  Kinsey used a card from Christmas to buy a new basketball, and Ephram also got a new light saber.  Braden's funny when he has money to spend because he struggles with his choice. He went from The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings books to a Lego set and finally the light saber.

impromptu playdate

One afternoon after Pam brought the girls home from AHG Cailey and Kinsey asked if the girls could stay until 9 and I said sure!  The boys had been playing playdough and the girls joined right in!  (Cailey and Kinsey changed from their AHG clothes to jammies:). 

Cailey is all about writing/performing plays these days so she and Abby decided write Christmas Story parts for everyone!  Even Ephram had a line!  It was SO cute..Mary, Joseph, an Angel, narrator, baby Jesus, and a sheep.  They did the costumes and I thought Kinsey was just a hilarious sheep!  SO creative on their parts!  The all did a great job.

For dinner the kids did make your own pizzas (always a hit) then played some more before the older girls watched The Sound of Music (Cailey's FIRST time seeing it) and the younger girls (who were bored senseless with the movie) played babies.  It was a super fun last minute playdate!

two day sleepover...from Braden's perspective

Braden had the nice surprise of getting to go to Bryce's house over the MLK weekend.  They came and picked him up on Saturday and the second they arrived Cailey ran out to greet (and play with) Kena!

     Jay and Ephram got a little playtime in too. (Stacy was at her grandma's)

 This was Braden's journal entry after his trip:


     On Saturday, Sunday, and Monday this week I went to Bryce's house.  The trip included going to a bog park, Science museum with live animals, fishing, and the YMCA.
     On Saturday I went to their house while watching The Lorax in the car. When we got to his house, Bryce and I went fishing. We caught tons of tadpoles, dragonfly larvae, two crayfish, and one baby brim.  After dinner we went on a bike ride to see Bryce's friend, Isaac.  We had a snowball fight until it was dark.
     On Sunday after breakfast we went on a bike ride to see deer bones. Then we went to a Science museum with live animals. My favorites were a two headed turtle and a giant alligator snapping turtle.  We also saw tigers and got to pet Wallaby's and goats.  That evening we went to a bog garden.  It was too cold for the turtles to be out but we saw ducks and geese. In one part of the pond there were so many leaves that they could walk on the water. Then we went to church where we learned about nine of the ten plagues. Last we went home to go to bed.
     On Monday morning we woke up and went downstairs to do a 100 piece puzzle. Then we played with Kinects before going to the YMCA to play.  Afterwards we went back to Bryce's house, made lunch, and left.  I had a wonderful time at Bryce's house!

Brushing goats!

fruit:)

I send edible arrangement baskets to friends and my parents several times a year but have never seen them up close.  Mom and dad sent me one during my facial paralysis and it was SO yummy!  The kids decided I had to share it and by the time they were done with it I was left with one piece of pineapple and a ball of cantaloupe. It was a big hit all around!

fruit piggies!!

hot chocolate floats

 

We went over to Goodberry's during a house showing on our 'snowy' day for hot chocolate floats!  Cailey got strawberry custard in hers, Kinsey and Ephram got vanilla, and my chocolate boy got an extra chocolatey one!  I love that we can do these fun things during the day just because! Fun memories!

Snow + Ice= Snice

Last week we got snice.  It rained and rained all day and finally turned to snow around 9pm.  Cailey was awake so she played in it at night and was so excited for the next day.  Snow is exciting no matter how little it is here at the Barbour house and they played in it until it was melted.  Since we've had such warm weather this winter nothing was on the streets...just the grass.  And it was more like snice than snow.

trying to make a snice angel:)

making snice balls with a mischievous grin on his face

yuck! don't eat the snice!

my snow bunnies

daddy, "make it all go on me!"

SNOW BALL FIGHT!

It was a super fun day of playing in the snow, getting school done when it melted, and FINALLY getting sushine!

my littlest super hero

 he cracks me up. daily. he loves wearing his cape, fighting the bad guys, playing with the bad guys, humming 'darth vader' music, using anything from spoons to drum sticks as light sabers (though he does actually have one).

But.

If I act like I'm scared at.all he will immediately run to me and hug me, saying that he won't get me.  And he won't let the villains hurt me.  He is my snuggle bug...and he is growing up WAY too fast.

"I laugh in the face of danger":)

cups

We have a TON of kids cups in our house but they were quickly becoming a problem.  The whole "keep your cup all day long" is important because we homeschool and the kids are home all day...otherwise we'd end up having 15 cups by the end of the day. That was becoming a habit and no one would claim the 15 cups...which would mean there would be 19.  So we solved the problem by getting Braden a new cup (Kinsey and Ephram got theirs at the beach this summer and Cailey got hers for her 9th birthday)....and they are beyond thrilled (so are mommy and daddy) to have their own specified, no one else can drink out of, the dishwasher won't be filled by 10 am, cups:). SO far it's working...and when we have a house showing we just stick them all in the fridge.
Ephram got Toy Story, Braden got Star Wars, Cailey has a monogrammed C cup, and Kinsey got a pretty pink butterfly pattern.  GOOD STUFF.

Early Morning Playdate

Saturday morning Lilly came over to play for a bit before the girls went to basketball and cheerleading. They made the most of the time by playing with dolls and playing Jenga. When we got home they got to play until after lunch:).  Such a sweet friendship!

farwell a la gumballs

Our yard is BOMBARDED with gumballs from trees that are not in our yard yet hang overhead.  It was becoming quite the booby trap so the kids worked together cleaning them up.  They collected a ton of bags and were done in no time! Now we can run through the yard without the fear of twisting or rolling an ankle again!

facial paralysis.

I couldn't hear when I woke up on Sunday morning and just knew my left ear was stopped up.  I was gonna wait it out and went through my days with one good ear.

 Fast forward to Tuesday night at 11:45 when I woke up and half my face was numb.  I couldn't move it. It was the left side. Brian thought it was Bell's Palsy and would be fine so I went on to sleep.  By the morning I couldn't smile normal and only half my mouth would raise up. I couldn't feel my face at all (and for some reason kept smacking it to make sure.) After doing some school I decided that I should call the doctor (while at the library for storytime with Ephram).  They referred me to an ENT and wanted me to go immediately.

Off to the ENT..with all the kids in tow with quickly made lunches and leftover school work.  Thankfully they had a playroom where the kids could eat/play/work while I was with the dr. My ear was indeed clogged and they cleaned it out...alas! I could hear:)!  He was concerned that I couldn't move my face and mentioned that he wanted me to go to the ER and have an MRI to be sure I didn't have a mini stroke.  I was getting nervous...a stroke?  I thought that I would have felt something or been in pain but apparently that's not the case with a stroke.

They wanted to test my hearing to be sure it wasn't damaged but I knew for sure I could hear now..still, into the booth I went.  Hearing test went off without a hitch and I was within the normal range.  (Brought me back to my days in college when I took audiology:).

**Side note- I LOVED teaching the kids about the ear using the model that was in my room and still remember all my anatomy:).  We called that Science for the day...love homeschooling.

**Another side note- it would not surprise me in the LEAST if Kinsey went into the medical field. She is fascinated with all things yucky...and medical.  She was the only one who wanted to stay with me the entire time...and does the same when any of the kids have appointments.

OK..back to my facial paralysis

The doctor felt much better after my hearing test but still wanted me to have an MRI..just not at the ER anymore. They set up an appointment for this afternoon.

Last night I felt terrible and wondered if all my symptoms were connected (including the extreme exhaustion I've been experiencing) so I started googling 'mini stroke or bell's palsy'.  Brian was sitting with me while the kids were at AWANA.  I looked at all different sites.  Finally one sentence changed everything for both of us.  It was like a lightbulb went off and we knew what was wrong.  And it was all because of my sweet, cuddly, three and a half year old.

This is what we read:

Anything that causes the seventh cranial facial nerve to swell can cause the onset of Bell's Palsy. Any kind of facial trauma--such as getting hit in the face--may also play a role in short-term paralysis.

Lightbulb moment for sure!  

Rewind to Monday night.  We are reading "Where the Red Fern Grows" as our family read along right now and Brian reads it right before bed. Everyone piles in our full size bed and listens as he reads.  Ephram was sitting beside me and banged his head on my left temple. It hurt pretty bad and I let him know to be more careful so mommy wouldn't get hurt.  No sooner were the words out of my mouth...before he did it again but MUCH harder.  It brought tears to my eyes and hurt like crazy!  I moved him over and kept listening to the story....very aware of where my head (and Ephram's) were.  Other than a throbbing pain I forgot all about it.  

So apparently Ephram hit me hard enough that it caused my seventh cranial facial nerve to swell and give me short term paralysis...or paresis.

All through the evening my face started to tingle and by today I could feel hot and cold on it.  I still have a strange smile (according to Laura and Brian lol!) but I'm guessing that will go back to normal again soon.  

I still can't believe that my face was paralyzed because of Ephram's head!  Crazy how the body works...and thankful it wasn't worse!  So the ear was completely unrelated and just happened to be my left ear but thanks to the appointment and scheduled MRI we were able to figure out why my face was paralyzed.   

When I was a baby I knocked my mom's front tooth out. Now Ephram can claim facial paralysis with his mama:).

lately

Lately I've been missing. It's just been a strange start to our year. Between sickness and a TON of yucky weather we haven't been out doing many things and when we do I haven't been bringing my camera. Usually January is our slow activity month and filled with many museum trips, chuck e cheese, and day trips.  But...this year started off different. The kids haven't mentioned a thing about it (though I am constantly thinking about all the things we aren't doing). They are having fun playing at our basically toy-less house (since it's on the market) and playing outside in the hot temps...then today in the cold rainy temps.

Braden's still going to the eye doctor but THANKFULLY they let us see one right near Brian's work so instead of a several hour event it's condensed into one hour.  They have had to pull several of his eyelashes because they are growing backwards...into his eye and are contributing to damaging his cornea. It's very strange. I wonder if all the drops and goop are causing it but they say no. Who knows.  Lately Braden has been wanting to do journal entries on anything Science. First a whole research paper on the different types of rocks (which he also taught to his scout den) and yesterday he did one on atoms.  I actually had to get him to call dad and read it to him to be sure it was all accurate.  He's reaching the point in science where mommy stopped...and he LOVES it all.  Another love of his came back this week too.  That is the love of running.  He started back over the weekend and is up bright and early (then drags daddy out of bed to go with him) happy as a clam to go out in the hot/cold/rain..whatever and run.  He missed all his fall races because of everything that happened with his eye but he is very hopeful that he can get back to it this spring.  Braden is finished with his first book of TnT and will be saying the entire thing next week to earn his Gold award! 

Cailey hasn't been sick lately and for that we are thankful!! She's loving school and usually does it between the hours of 8-10 pm. Yup...she is a night owl and does all of her independent work the night before it's due which this year means math, journal, handwriting, latin practice, typing, word problems, drawing, and state project.  Since she's finished all her awana books she is now working on memorizing 1 John.  Yup...the whole thing.  She's already memorized 1 John 1, 2, 3, and is learning 4. Once she finishes she is hoping to continue with 2 John and 3 John.  We love hearing her say her verses.  Her current love is basketball (though she can't wait for soccer!) She started off the season and by her second game scored 4 points in one night:).  She has the desire to run a couple races coming up but has yet to train so we'll have to see what happens with that.

Kinsey is our healthy one this year (and last) and the only one who didn't meet their deductible!  She has her allergy problems but nothing serious..and for that we are thankful.  She's made SO much progress with reading and now reads me Magic Tree House books.  She's finished the first grade Right Start Math book and started second grade (about 35 lessons in now).  It AMAZES me to see how far she's come since a couple of years ago!  She has finished her Awana book and is now working through the flight plan.  Basketball is her sport right now and she's constantly practicing outside.  She loves drills, shooting, and just the game in general.  She wants to steal the ball but with Upward you aren't allowed to do that until you are in the 4th grade league and it's driving her bonkers!  This is an area where she excels for sure which is neat to see. 

Ephram has been healthy since right before Christmas.  He's no longer taking naps more than a couple times a week (if that) because he has trouble falling asleep at night if he does.  We always make sure he gets a Sunday nap but other than then he thinks he's big stuff staying up and playing with the kids all afternoon.  He is turning out to be a helper like his older brother and constantly wants to help fold laundry or sweep for us:).  LOVE IT!  He is also quite eloquent with his words and well beyond his years with some of the things that come out of his mouth.  Brian and I often listen to him then stare at each other wondering where in the world Ephram learned whatever was just shared. And he's observant too...then can apply his observations. Fascinating.  Can't wait to see how easy/hard school comes for him.  (praying for easy:.)

There have been other things going on in the house contributing to the lack of blogs but hopefully I will get my act together and start again soon. I've never gone so long without blogging and really want to keep it up for the kids...

That's what we've been up to lately. 

Super Hero Skating

Cailey is in Routh 56 at church...it's Sunday school for the 5th and 6th graders. They had a super hero skating day on a Sunday afternoon and she went with her friends Abby and Kylie.  There were lots of other girls she knew there (Lindsey, etc.) and she had a great time.

It was the first time we've 'dropped her off' somewhere without an adult we know there (Actually Stefanie..Kylie's mom dropper them off) and I was nervous the whole time!  ALL of her leaders were there and her friends so I was pretty sure she'd be kept safe but this was a new step for us. We sent her with spending money for skating and a snack and she was very responsible with it...bringing us change afterwards.  

She was gone ALL day Sunday, going to church, then straight to Kylie's, skating, picked up and taken to early practice at choir, then mission kids, and regular choir. Whew! It was a long day but she loved every bit and came home and told me all about it.  I loved catching up with her and hearing all about her day but man I can't believe how quickly she is growing up.

Oh...Ephram let her borrow his super hero cape to wear too:).

littlest helper

we got kinsey this little broom a few years ago and ephram has rediscovered it. he LOVES to help sweep the floor...and mama loves it too:)

type a

 I like Sharpies. I couldn't find one I needed and in my hunt this is just the beginning of what we discovered!  I own a CRAZY amount of Sharpies!  I don't go out and buy them...they are from over the years and every time I see a new deal online I apparently think I need to order them. From now I I will think better of that...lol!

Oh..and my draw that dad made me with slotted areas for my love of organizing. Friends are always surprised to see this but I love sorting things in rainbow order and sorting in general!

curly q

My curly cutie! I always thought her hair wouldn't keep the curls in very long but boy was I wrong! Her hair is gorgeous in curls and they stay in for days after I curl it.  My curly q!

napping boy

We let Ephram stop taking naps since he was having trouble falling asleep at night. Usually, we still have him take a nap on Sunday afternoon to 'catch up' on his lost sleep. He will still occasionally fall asleep in the car on the way home from places but for the most part makes it all day with extra energy.

Last Sunday he asked if he could stay awake instead of taking a nap. Since it was so nice out we decided to let him. I was upstairs while the kids were playing outside and Brian was running an errand. Apparently he left Nascar (aka Napcar) on the TV and Ephram thought he would watch it for a minute. Or not. lol! He feels the same way about it as I do and was totally out...legs crossed and all!

ceative cailey

 Cailey is a performer through and through but lately she's also been writing plays.  Whenever girlfriends come over they write plays together then record them or perform for us. Usually there is a song involved (or the whole thing is a musical).  Several evenings out of the week she'll get her siblings together and teach them a play...then they will perform for us.  She is SO creative!  She's written them about homeless people, bible stories (the latest was about Peter), funny themes..they are always different!

Everyone had a solo in this musical too:)

She decided that after the above show she would give gifts to the participants (all wrapped nicely in gift bags, of course...and personalized for each sibling) and have a reception afterwards!  She made this snack for the reception which was also creative!  She thought this up all on her own and I didn't even know about it until after the play. Bananas with sprinkles, pretzels, raisins, chocolate chips, yogurt raisins, marshmallows, and clementines.  And in such a pretty array!

It was a very short musical followed by gifts, food, and fellowship:)!

Tangram Tub

 I have so many fun things from my teaching days that I forget about but when Ephram was doing Oo (for oval and octagon)I took out a giant box of tangrams I have. There are all different sizes, thicknesses, and colors of each shape and the other kids joined right in and made houses, clowns, letters, kites, hexagons from triangles, etc. We played with these for two hours! So thankful we can take time to explore:).

10 pts!

Saturday morning I woke up to Kinsey standing over me.  She was completely dressed in her basketball uniform, her hair was fixed perfectly (in a ponytail), and she had already eaten breakfast. This was EARLY and the rest of the house was still asleep.  She was so excited for her first game (still hours away, starting at 9:30).

Kinsey's been dribbling basketballs for a long time...and we always thought she'd be good at it if she was interested in playing down the road. She is very athletic and somehow sports seem to come natural to her (except, of course, her tendency to fall when running...constantly:).

Last year she did cheerleading and really didn't love it. From day ONE out there she said she changed her mind and wanted to play basketball instead.  A year later and she's on her first basketball team loving it!

I actually FORGOT my camera the first week (ridiculous, I do realize) AND the video camera..which I will now be taking to all her games.  But just so we don't forget (for when she gets a basketball scholarship to UNC as Brian says:) I want to write down the account of her first game.

She's started...she's playing with Upward which means the baskets are lower...still. She was crazy amazing. There were some things that she had to learn though, such as it's not a good idea to steal the ball from your own teammate:).

So the clock starts and her teammate has the ball. She goes and dribbles it out from under him, continues to the basket and makes her first one!! Mama was cheering like crazy and she had the biggest grin on her face! She does some more stealing...and some double dribbling (and is instructed by the coach) but by the end of the game she scored 10 points! In her first game ever! That was MORE points than the other team scored all together!

Her last basket was scored by her rebounding it, dribbling all the way down the court (she remembered not to double dribble) and shooting...SWISH!  It was SO VERY fun to watch!! Her last four baskets she didn't even stop to smile..though we were all excited and cheering for her. It's almost like the excitement had worn off for her because she was so used to making baskets. HILARIOUS!  Next week I WILL bring the camera and hopefully I can catch her sinking the ball!


Update...here are pics from game two!