Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

Here is a review of the year 2009.

    We started off the new year welcoming in Lauren to our family.  The adjustment was overall rather easy, it was just the 'new baby' chores to do again.  We also switched Swim Team for the kids from the Marlins to Four Seasons.  There are remarkable differences between the teams, and it took a while for Caleb especially to adjust.  But overall, I think this was a great move as we get along withe the coach and other members wonderfully.  Caleb and Jessica both played Upwards Basketball as well.  They even both made baskets in the game!  We were also able to witness the Baptism of the newest addition to the Hall Family, dear friends from high school.

    In the spring, Caleb recieved his First Communion.  And later, we were able to visit our dear friends, the Woolvertons, and witness the baptism of their daughter Francesca.  Unfortunately, the stormy weather nut out a day to spend with them as we tried to get home with the storms following. 

    Summer made way for summer Swim Team, in which both kids swam in the finals at Conference in their age brackets.  Summer also means lots of family birthdays!  Caleb turned 8 in May, Jessica turned 6 in August, and Heather turned 3 (but she says she is 8 when asked).   All three were able to participate in VBS this year, which made Heather so very very happy!  We were also able to celebrate the joys of marriage as I was aksed to be the Matron of Honor in Anjali and Aaron's wedding.  We had grown up together and were best friends for many years.  Jessica was asked to be the flower girls and she loved everything to do with the wedding.  Congratulations to the newlywed couple and my wish for them was that they could look back on their wedding as the day they loved each other the least (Meaning that they would continue to grow in love for each other)

    Fall brough a renewed start to our homeschooling journey.  Caleb started 3rd grade and Jessica 1st grade.  Caleb is studying the hostory of the world through navigation (Sea & Sky by WinterPromise) while Jessica is loving learning about different habitats and the animals that live in them.  Both are doing very wonderfully and are also engaged in many outside activities, inlcuding 4H, Co-ops, CCD, Little Flowers and Blue Knights as well as swimming, basketball and dance lessons.  I have also re-affiliated and started teaching Bradley Method of Natural Childbirth (r) classes again.  I just love being able to help other couples enjoy the joy of welcoming their child into the world.

   And the end of the year brought the joy and pain.  It turned out that I had a kidney stone, and the day we went into the hospital, it started to descend and begame stuck.  So surgery was in order to laser the 6mm stone and pull it out.  Minor complications followed, and even as I write this, I am 95% better, but still not all the way.  We were also able to celebrate Lauren's first birthday!!  It is amazing how fast a year goes.  Also, my wonderful husband, has finished (hopefully) school!!  YAY!!  But becuase he missed the deadline to apply for graduation, he is looking forwrd to graduating in May. 

   As we look upon the start of the next year, I am just so excited to see how the kids will grow, what new interests they will pursue and the joys next year holds.  I pray that you have a very Merry Christmas and may God bless you and your family, this season and always.

We had an awesome & busy weekend. Parties, caroling, open house at a horse trainer's place & a Christmas Cantata at church.  We thoroughly enjoyed it all.  But last night (Sunday) Hannah was acting miserable & when I asked her what was wrong she said she was dreading the next day (Monday).  She said Mondays are always so frustrating because the house is in a shambles from the weekend & we have to do schooling plus cleaning & it seems like most Mondays just don't go well.  Plus she's having trouble w/ conversions in Math & didn't want to do it. LOL  We talked about things for awhile-math, routines, what she wants to do with her life, etc.

So, this morning, I got up at 5:30 & did the dishes, started laundry, picked up the living room & got some of the school subjects ready.  The kids got up, did chores & then I made breakfast.  I thought I'd try to make Monday breakfast more special than any other week day.  So, we had pumpkin spice pancakes (a mix) with maple cream spread on them & cool whip on top of that. YUM.  Also had clementine oranges.

I told the kids it was up to them to help keep the house picked up & the sink empty.  My goal was to keep the sink empty & so far it's gone well.  Even with deer butchering going on!

So, I'm very pleased with how today went.  The baby makes the most mess & isn't old enough to pick up much, but I got her to put some books back on the shelf & push in chairs.  Everyone's schooling got done, some extra house cleaning got done & a little Christmas decorating, too.  It was a good day!

Oh, I've so missed my blog & didn't realize it until I saw my pretty homey template that Tamara made for me.  I'm trying to catch up on my friend's here, too-I'm sorry if I haven't commented in awhile. 

I am SO enjoying the Christmas season.  We have less money to spend on Christmas than ever before, but I'm enjoying it so much more!  We're making so many fun ornaments & went to our homeschool group's Christmas craft day.  Everyone that goes brings enough supplies for about 20 kids to make a craft at your table.  The parent stays at the table & helps the kids.  All the kids go from one table to another to make the crafts.  They flit from one table to another & visit with each other.  Everyone also brings a snack to share.  I brought a craft that didn't involve glue, so it was very laid back & easy for me. 

This week has been super cold & snowy & windy.  I'm hoping the weather cooperates for this weekend.  Tomorrow we're going to a Christmas Cookie Exchange party w/ 14 other homeschool families.  So, today we're baking over 100 chocolate covered cherry cookies. :)

Saturday we were invited to go Christmas caroling!!  It's in a little town & we're going to go house to house and sing with several other families.  I have never done this before & am extremely excited about it.

Sunday we might be going to a horse trainer's open house (Hannah went to a barrel racing clinic there recently) and then in the evening we're going to the Christmas Cantata at church w/ another family.  We've been to that church before, so we already know several people there.

These are the Christmas activities that are my favorite!!  Plus, the crafts-we've done crafts almost every day with Christmas music playing in the background. 

Plus, there's Christmas parties to go to for Hannah's 4-H group & Teen Council.  The one for Teen Council is being held here, but in January.  Well, I'll write more later-there's so many things I need to catch up on with my blog.  We were very sick for about 5 weeks (flu, bronchitis, pneumonia) and that is partially the reason I haven't blogged.  But, my reason for blogging is so I can read & remember these special days raising my children, so I need to get back in the game. LOL

Here are the pictures as promised.

Caleb made a piratship porthole:

From Atelier:

Heather:

Jessica:

Caleb:

Cute pictures of Lauren:

And todays fiasco - Heather cutting her hair:

and after a fix at the local hair cut place:

I have been meaning to update my blog the last few weeks, but it kept escaping me.  Probably because Lauren is at that age when she has a hard time falling and staying asleep on her own - she is almost 1 year old! 

But what a week - I have no been feeling well for a while, and  symptoms started on the 20th anniversary of my mothers death.  Then on Wednesday, we went in to the ER.  The pain was like transition in labor x 10.  They gave me lots of pain meds (which made me sleepy) and it was awful.  A 6mm kidney stone had started descending and got stuck in the tube connecting the kidney with the bladder.  The doctor performed surgery, using a laser to break it up.  Luckily I was under general anesthesia for that part!!  3 days later, I am still sore, but not in major pain.   The doctor put a stint (?) in between the kidney and bladder that will be removed Monday (boy am I NOT looking forward to THAT process!!).  The CAT scan showed another stone forming in my other kidney :(  I really hope to never go through that again though!!

So that is a short update.  I really hope to put up pictures of the kids work they have done the last few weeks.  But not tonight.