ella 10 & 11

Ella's been up to her antics again.

 

Grace and Sarah woke up with red noses with Ella holding the evidence.

The girls were thrilled and wanted to go to school this way.

Ella you are a creative one!

 

One morning we found her on her own ski jump, complete with pillow landing. 

 

The fun continues.

i believe

Tonight I had the privilege of caroling at the home of a former ATA students home.  This student was not in my class but the memory I do have of her is one of pure childhood joy. 

It was our Christmas program at the preschool and through every practice this little girl stood out.  She sang loud and proud, above all her other classmates.  So sweet, beautiful and full of JOY.

Tonight we sang for her.  H (the little girl) is suffering from an inoperable, cancerous brain tumor and sadly is fading.  Standing there singing for her was an honor and also surreal.  So many times I've heard others say they couldn't go through what these parents are yet I stood there, watching them, trying to understand it all.   The pain they must have in their hearts is overwhelming to me.  It was a moving moment, one I will not forget.  As we stood there singing I felt God moving in the group, I felt his love for this little girl, for this family.  Even with all the questions as to why this would happen God was there.  His presence was among us. 

Grace and Sarah went with me.  H is the same age as Sarah and graduated from ATA the same year as my girl.  It puts things into perspective.  I watched my girls sing, feeling very blessed.  They asked many questions in the car.  Their understanding is so innocent.  To know there is a heaven and that H will be there soon, to them was a good thing. "She wouldn't be sick anymore," Sarah said.  "She would be with Jesus," Grace said.  Sweet innocence.

Please pray for this family.  Please pray for H.  It's the season to believe.  I believe in a baby who was sent to save me.  I believe that God loves me so much to give up his son.  I believe in miracles.  I believe he can heal her.  This is what I pray for this little girl. 

downtown Christmas

This was our second year to go to the festival at downtown St. Charles.  This could become a tradtion.  The girls love it as well as Art and I.  Shopping, characters, caroling = family fun.

The biggest thrill is for the girls to collect all 35 character cards.  The characters interact with the kids and they love it. 

 

 

In front of the town square tree.

 

Of course we got a dozen of Grandma's Cookies.  We waited in line for these but they are all worth it.  Her chocolate chip are the best.

 

We visited the gingerbread display.  Very neat creations, the girls couldn't believe how they made them come to life.  My personal favorite...

We met Befana from Italy.  She brings the children their gifts and is always searching for the Christ child.  Sarah's class is doing Christmas around the world and she was highlighted just this past week so we had to get a picture with her.

Along our stroll we met the Sugarplum Fairy who asked the kids to dance for her card.  She asked Art to sprinkle them all with sugarplum dust after their performance.  I believe she called him the handsome, young lad who would accompany them in their dance.  He didn't dance but did a wonderful job as sprinkler :).  He wasn't thrilled I took these pictures but it's only once in your life you get to help the Sugarplum Fairy.

 

It was a great night.  We ended our cold evening with a stop at Steak n Shake for some warm Chili.  We think we have started a new tradition for our family :).

ella 9

Ella's been into the coffee, Art's St. Louis Cardinals cup was empty and dirty.

 

She also took a ride on the coffee carousel after building a wall of apple cider.

 

I'm sure the coffee intake had something to do with her busy-ness last night.

home alone

 It's noon on a Thursday and I'm home alone enjoying some Christmas music and taking pictures of our Christmas thus far.  My week is done, it consists of Monday - Thursday mornings, leaving me free in the afternoon.  Not all afternoons are free in the sense that I'm sitting around.  There are errands to run, grocery shopping to do, preparing teaching lessons for the next week,  laundry, menu planning - all the usual things.   Today I blog which is kind of nice :).

 

 

Earlier this year the opportunity to work as the half day teacher for the new year became available.  It sounded like an answer to prayer.  Taking on a full day job 2 years ago was hard on me after being out of the work force for 6 years.  I have to say I threw myself into it and in the long run while I was blessed by the experience, I felt it affected my family.  I was planning and working even in the down time.  My kids noticed, Art noticed.  So when the idea of half day came up, I was excited as well as my family.  God saw my heart, saw my family and he provided. 

 

I get asked at work how things are going with my change.  It has been a really positive change in many ways.  I am doing less, preparing less which is a stress reliever.  I'm not worried over my time involved and away from my family because now my alone time is used to play catch up at home, lesson prepping, grocery shopping etc...  It's not perfect but there is more of a balance.  My nights are spent with my kids, with Art.  My only concern over our half day decision is that I have to prepare 13 kids for Kindergarten in the time I'm allowed.  I take this seriously, probably too seriously :). 

 

Would I change my decision?  No. 

 

Do I want to continue working half day?  Yes, as long as God wants it.

 

It's his work and I am blessed.

ella 8

Ella's been causing quite the stir this week with her antics. 

 

 The latest is a race between Barbie, Ella and the Lalaloopsy girls. 

The girls are wondering how all of this went down without them waking up.  It's the magic of Ella!

ella 6 & 7

Peek-a-boo Ella.

 

Ella hidden amongst her friends under the tree.

 

ella 4 & 5

Ella, holding onto the end of a role of toilet tissue.  The rest of that role decorated the tree on the way down.

 

We think Ella has a thing for sugar :).

 

christmas card preview

This picture did not make the card but it's my favorite.

 

Here it is in color.

 

 

More to come...

veggie beef soup

I have been on a soup making binge lately.  It must the cool weather because it has sounded so good to me lately.  I tried out a new recipe I found on good ol' Pinterest and I changed it up a bit.  The recipe was for a crock pot but I made ours on my stove in my dutch oven. 

Veggie Beef Soup

Garlic olive oil (or regular olive oil) to coat the bottom

1 lb. beef stew meat

1 medium sweet onion chopped

3 medium carrots cut into 1/2-inch thick slices

2 small potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1 can kernel corn

1/2 teaspoon season salt

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1 bay leaf

2 (14 1/2 ounce) cans diced tomatoes

1-1/2 cup beef broth

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1/2 cup frozen peas

1/2 cup frozen green beans 

 

I heated up the oil in my dutch oven and dropped the meat in with the onions browning the outside of the meat and softening the onions.  Add the remaining ingredients except for peas and green beans.  You add those during the last hour of cooking.  Ours simmered for 4 hours.  Crock pot instructions are to put it on low 6 to 8 hours or high 4 to 6. 

 

It reminded me of my mom's beef soup :). It made the house smell wonderful.  Art gave it a 5 star rating.  We served it with grilled cheese and apple slices.  Delish, easy and comforting.  This one is going into my recipe book!

 

Enjoy!

ella 3

Ella was caught with the marshmallows.

 

Sarah thinks she ate half the bag and should have a tummy ache.

 

Grace thinks she took a bath in them.

 

Either way, she's cute and quite a character.

 

What will we do now for our hot chocolate?

 

ella 2

The girls woke up this morning to find Ella in her silliness.  She and Hermey had hitched up the sleigh with Rudolph leading the way.  Looks like they went on a joyride in the night.

 

Over breakfast I heard the girls talking about their ideas on how this came to be:

 

Sarah - "She made Hermey and Rudolph come to life with her magic and they flew around the house all night."

 

Sarah - "Hermey is an elf so they MUST be boyfriend and girlfriend now."

 

Grace - "Ella took the string out of Mommy's school bag and made the reins so they could fly."

 

Grace - "Ella was busy last night!"

 

She looks guilty and mischevious doesn't she :).

 

What will she doe next?

welcome Ella 2012

Our Elf on the Shelf is here, straight from the North Pole.

 

 She (Ella) has picked a strange place to hang out.  The girls of course think it's exciting :).

 

I wonder what kind of shennanigans she'll get herself into this year.  Last year she was pretty tame but we've heard with each year they become more and more mischevious.

 

the glow

The tree is up and the glow fills our house.  The last two nights all the girls have wanted to do is turn down the lights, turn on the Christmas music and sit by the tree.  Once the pajamas are on we all tend to land there. 

 

Grace on her ipod.

 

Sarah posing.

Playtime with Truman.

 



Sarah reading.

More playtime with Truman.

Getting sleepy.

 



I love these moments.

tree hunt

This year we gave the girls the option of putting up our "fake" tree or going out and cutting down our first natural tree.  We told them stories about our childhood, how much fun we had looking for the perfect tree each year in the woods.  They were excited to go on a hunt.

 

So we were off, snow boots and all (it was a little muddy).  It was 40 degrees with a cold wind.  Despite the wind, the sun was out and warm on our faces. 

 

 

After a haul up a big hill and hearing our girls complain over and over, they were ready to pick the next thing they saw.  We had to set them straight on our quest to find the perfect tree for our Christmas.  It worked and they were back into the adventure.

We found two we liked!  One big, one small. The smaller one won out.  It was perfect for our hearth room where we were going to put it this year.  It is a smaller room off our kitchen. 

Coming down the hill was much easier and the girls were very excited for their find.

Overall, a very fun time for our first as a family.

sweet pie

Since last Thanksgiving Sarah has talked and talked about trying pumpkin pie for the first time.  Last year we had just found out she needed to be on a gluten free diet so pumpkin pie was out of reach for her.  This year with the help of Grandma Donna we made her wish come true.  Dinner was done and while we were cleaning up Sarah kept asking.  And asking.  And asking!  Grandma brought out the desserts early just for our girl. 

 

She's diving in...

 

First bite, and the verdict is...

 



 

 

Thumbs up!

 

 

This girl went straight for the chocolate :).

It was a very sweet Thanksgiving.

the redneck way

Tonight we headed out the door with the taco soup I had made for our life group bible study.  I had asked Art to help secure it since soup can be a tricky thing to handle with a hot dish and loose lid.  I came into the kitchen and found this.   While he was being very resourceful and completed what I had asked, I had to laugh at this contraption and give him a smidge of a hard time :).  He called this the redneck way to secure the contents.

 

This crock pot has been with us since the beginning. It was a wedding gift, that's 21 years old. The other day I accidentally dropped the metal heating pot. It made a pretty big commotion, enough to bring Art running. It sounded as if a coil had broken upon impact but all looked okay. I was warned by Art to not plug it in without being home which defeats the purpose of a crock pot. It's worked okay since then, being monitored with no issues.

 

While walking through Sams Club the other day I drooled over a stainless steel slow cooker (yes it was not labeled as a crock pot). It came with multiple settings and a timer, I am in love. It also came with two clamps on the side that closed the lid down nice and tight. PERFECT!!!! Lucky for me Art was right there beside me to watch me giggle with glee over it.   I think he got the point :).  So.... maybe this Christmas I can put my current one to rest.  We will have to wait and see.

 

Here's the recipe:

(it was a hit)

 

Taco Soup

 

1 lb. ground beef

1 small onion

1 carton beef broth

1 can rotel, undrained

1 can black beans, drained

1 can kernel corn, undrained

1 packet taco seasoning

1 packet dry ranch dressing

 

Cook the beef in a skillet with diced onions, drain. Place meat in crock pot with remaining ingredients.  Stir and put on low for 6 to 8 hours.  Serve with spoonful of sour cream, cheddar cheese and tortilla strips.

 

And just because you might be wondering... the taco soup made it to life group without any spills. Thanks to my creative guy :) and two bungee cords.

a needed reminder

happy birthday t-man!

The dream of having a dog began with this girl.

And at first I resisted. Alot.

  I resisted the house smelling like dog and hair everywhere.  I resisted your size (if I had to have one, I wanted something smaller). 

 

 

You got a haircut and a bath.  You stayed off the furniture.  You listen better than my kids at times. 

 

Over time I grew to like you.

 

 

You love to play with the girls.  You love to wrestle with Art and I.  You stayed away from shoes and the girls toys.  You didn't eat the furniture. 

 

Your duck is your favorite toy.

 

 

You love to walk with me and your absolute favorite is when Art puts on his running shoes.  You instinctively go to find your harness and leash.  No one can control your leaps of excitement.

 

 

You love to watch the birds, squirrels and deer from your stoop.  You are always ready for a game of chase.

 

 

And despite my resistance you have become my best four legged friend, always at my feet and at times aggravating me as I trip over you.

 

But... I love you Truman.  We all do and life would not be the same without you. 

 

Happy fourth birthday sweet boy!