The Christmas Season

We were involved in a lot of activities over the past couple of weeks. It started off with Beka's Christmas program at preschool on the 15th. Beka was dressed in her Christmas dress and then she was dressed as an angel. All the kids did a wonderful job singing. Afterwards everyone enjoyed some cookies.

On the 20th, Jared and I attended Beka's Christmas party at school. We made stocking ornaments and played put Baby Jesus in the manager (kinda like pin the tail on the donkey). Jared really enjoyed being part of the class. Oh there was also a storyteller who told the story of the mice in the the tale The Night Before Christmas. The mice wanted a Christmas tree but it had to be very small because mice live in tiny little holes.

We spent Christmas Eve with Andrew's family. The kids received some very nice gifts as did Andrew and I. Christmas Eve dinner was served at his grandpa's house. All the cousin played well together and the food was delicious. Andrew and I really appreciated the time we got to spend with the extended family. We attended the Children's Church program with the family also.

Christmas Day was spent with my parents and brother. Andrew made omelets and I am taking everyone else's word for it that they were good. (Eggs = yuck)

My family is very blessed. We have so much extended family that give us so much. I can't even begin to list here all we received in gifts and in blessings. It was so nice to be with everyone as we celebrated Jesus' birth.

And one picture just because my kids are cute.

Advent Calendar

The Shoups, honorary grandparents, gave this advent calendar to Beka and Jared. I really think it is wonderful. It focuses more on the birth of Christ than on the presents. Beka and Jared get excited every morning when it is time to take the next character out of the calendar. I have emphasized that on the last day baby Jesus will be born and put in the manger. So, they know it counts down to Christmas and present, but also to the birth of Jesus.

Snowy December Afternoon Activities

The snow started falling today around 11:30pm right as I was picking up Beka from preschool.  It hasn't stopped falling yet.  I would bet we have about 4 inches out there now.  So, the kids and I got out the blocks today.  We built bridges, roads, and towers.  We had a lot of fun.

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday, Daddy


We love you!

My Little Rocker

I know we have posted alot today.  But I just got this picture off the camera and I just can't resist.

Snow Day

Over night we received about 2 inches of snow. Beka and Jared were thrilled. When Beka woke up this morning, she had to show everyone the snow. So after nap, I took them outside to play in the snow. First, we had to get out the boots, snow pants, coats, hats, and gloves.

Then we went outside. OH the squirt bottles they are holding are full of cornstarch, water, and food coloring. Coloring the snow with the squirt bottles is fun.
Beka decided to make snow angels while Jared wanted to hit Mommy with snowballs.


The best part of going outside in the snow is the hot chocolate when you come inside.

Thanksgiving Recap and Christmas Preparation

Thanksgiving was a wonderful time for us. We got to visit lots of family and eat lot of food. The children really enjoyed seeing all of their grandparents. My parents had a surprise. They had redone their living room with new carpet and paint. It looks fabulous.

Beka and Jared have been ready to decorate this house for Christmas since Halloween. I put them off and said we were not going to decorate until after Thanksgiving. I did give in a little and let them make posters for their walls. Well, we arrived back at our house the Saturday after Thanksgiving and I somehow managed to hold them off until Monday. The tree is now up and decorated. They have garland hanging in their rooms. We need to get some of those cling things for the windows yet. But I think we have made a great start.

Beka is already discussing what kind of cookies Santa needs for a snack. It should be an interesting Christmas. Beka talking about Santa's snack reminds me of one year when I was a kid, my wonderful Aunt Sherry mentioned to my brother and I that the reindeer needed a snack too. Of course, we were then on a mission. The reindeer had to have a snack. Aunt Sherry brought over feed corn on Christmas Eve and told us it was for the reindeer. My brother and I sprinkled a full coffee can of corn all over our patio. I still don't know what happened to all of it by morning but it was gone just as if the reindeer had eaten it.

Snow and forts

Today winter officially started in Illinois in my opinion.  We woke up to snow flurries that continued off and on all day.  Nothing accumulated, but it was enough for me to decided that winter is here.  The kids were overly excited when they discovered it was snowing.  They really wanted to go outside, so out we went.

Jared decided this afternoon to build a fort out of some old cushions in the basement.  He declared that he had a garage door and front door.  He played down there for a very long time.

On a side note, when did my daughter decide she was going to be all girl?  Beka has always been into princesses and dress-up, but she could also play in the mud and get dirty.  Over the last two weeks that has all changed.  Now she only wants to wear dresses and doesn't want to get dirty.  I am not ready for this, but I want her to be herself.  So....I guess I should buy some more dresses.
 

STOMP

Tonight, the family watched a DVD of the Broadway show STOMP. This show is the percussion team that uses ordinary things, such as trash cans, as instruments. It is highly entertaining. All of us enjoyed it. But Jared loved it. He would sit and watch the show for awhile and then all of the sudden....I. MUST. MOVE. He would get up shake his little tush, jump around, dance, wiggle, or whatever else he could do to move with the beat. Jared really could not just sit there and listen to the sounds he had to experience it. It was so cool to watch. But the best part had to be when the show went off. Everyone was inspired. All the instruments in the house (drum, tamborine, maracas, walls, bowls, etc.) came out to be played with. You name it; it was beat on tonight. Even Daddy got into the act. I just sat back and enjoyed the show. It is so wonderful to be a family.

Apple Blossom Farm

We took the kids to Apple Blossom Farm recently.  It is a place that has a petting zoo, pumpkins, monster truck rides, and a giant slide.  They also have a corn maze.  The place is really fun to visit in the fall.
 
 
  Andrew made me do it.  That is my only excuse.  
 
      

I have to say Andrew was a completely grossed out by feeding the goats.  He kept asking for the wipes to wipe all the goat slobber off his hand.  It was funny.  It is always so great when we take time to be a family together. 
  

Pre-school Halloween party

Today, was Beka's Halloween party at school. Oh excuse me "Fall Party", whatever, they all dressed up and got candy. Jared was invited to be an actual participant in the class too. The idea was to bring the kids to school. Then the parents went out to the cars and gave out candy from our trunks....thus it is called trick or trunking. The teachers were super and took Jared along with all the other kids.





After the trick or trunking, we went in and played games and had snack. It was neat and scary to see Jared acting like all the other three-year-olds. He is my baby so I am a little sad to see him fit in so well. But I am also excited that the transition next year won't be too hard. Jared listened to the teachers well and behaved. Beka was a great big sister too. She watched over him and kept him in line.



Lastly, here is a class picture.

Fall Activities

Fall has arrived here. Actually, I think winter has arrived. The kids have worn their heavy coats the last couple of days. Anyway, before that, we were enjoying some lovely fall weather. The leaves have changed color and started falling to the ground. Which meant we had to rake the yard. Luckily, the kids in the neighborhood plus our own wanted to help.



But you can't rake leaves without jumping in them.





I took Beka and Jared to pick out pumpkins the other day. Instead of carving them, we decided to paint them. Beka started out making a face and then just decided to decorate. Jared used the "polluck" method. He took two paintbrushes and just whipped the paint on there.





And I don't know where they got this idea. But suddenly, Beka started doing headstands on the couch and Jared followed.

Florida Vacation - Orlando

During the last few days of our vacation, we went to Orlando. We took the children to Sea World. It was the perfect place to take my two. We visited all the animals in about 4 hours.
One of our first stops was the stingrays and the kids tried to feed them.


The stingrays are kept in the big pool you see above and they just keep swimming around and around.

Then we saw the dolphins. I think those animals were Beka's favorites.


We also saw manatees....



...and sharks.



We made it to two of the shows. We went to the Shamu show and in my opinion it was overrated. There is only so much a killer whale can do. The other show was one with dolphins in it. It was awesome! There were divers, dolphins, and birds. The kids really enjoyed see in all the performers do their tricks.

We spent the next day in the pool at the hotel. The children did fine on the flight back too. When you ask Jared about vacation, his first response: "We flew on a big AIRPLANE!" So I am assuming that was his favorite part. Overall, it was a great time. Jared and Daddy really bonded more while we were there.

This and That

We have been so busy around here. The kids are growing up so much so fast.

Jared is talking almost as much as Beka now. He is still not doing any better about her going to preschool. The whole while she is gone I hear him whine: "I go preschool." "I big boy." I really do wish there was someway to send him too.

Beka is, of course, loving preschool. Surprisingly, she is the most popular girl in class. Everyone wants to play with her. She gets drawings and hugs from the other children before we leave. She is always very gracious about it though. She worried me a little when she came home and told me: "Mason likes my hair in a ponytail so I need to wear it that way." Fortunately, by the next preschool day she had forgotten that. Mason is the only boy in her class.

Andrew and I have been busy too. We are looking at houses. I know it is a surprise. I really never expected to move from where we live now. We have decided though to try to get in a neighborhood that has better schools for the kids. The school district here is changing all the schools into community K-8 schools. This change means that our children would go to a school with very low, below the state average, ISAT scores. I just don't like that idea. We looked into private schools, but they're just way too expensive in Peoria. So, that change has added some stress and taken away some of our time. Hopefully, house hunting will go smoothly.

Soaking Wet

We had a small sandbox in the backyard.  Well, after so many times of rain getting into it, the sand is gone.  Now yesterday it rained and water collected in what used to be the sandbox.  Beka and Jared decided it would be fun to play in.  It started out innocently enough with them taking shovels and scooping the water into buckets to then water the grass.  The activity ended with them pouring buckets of water over each others head until they were soaked through.  They kept asking if they were wet yet.  I ended up stripping them and sending them straight into the tub.  They were so wet.

I was just having a conversation with my children about what to have for lunch that made me laugh. Sometimes I like to tease them about what we will eat when they won't tell me what they want.

Mommy: "I think we should have worms for lunch."
Beka and Jared: "NO!"
Mommy: "How about some beetles then?"
Beka: "No, Mommy, we eat people food."
Mommy: "Okay then we will eat feet. Feet are people food."
Beka "No, no I want real food."
Then Jared pipes up with: "Guys, guys, guys, calm down a little bit."

He was so sincere. He acted like we were fighting.

And then he cracks up laughing at us. It was just too cute.

All About Beka

Beka made this poster for preschool. They are going to put it in a book so all the students can learn about one another. Beka picked everything that is on it herself. She has her family and her favorite princesses. (Although all the princesses are her favorites, we couldn't find pictures of all of them.) Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus is one of her favorite books right now. Yellow has always been her favorite color. On the day we made the poster, pizza was her favorite food. As an afterthought, she decided to add the glitter glue in the corner because she likes to decorate things. It was a really fun project to do with her. I am waiting to see how her favorites change over the years.

First Day of Preschool

Beka had her first day of preschool today.  She was so excited.  Beka went to the same school for about two months last year, so she knew the routine.  She was all smiles.


Jared, on the other hand, started out happy for his sister.


But after we left her at school, the tears started.  Jared made his feelings very clear.  "I waaaannnntttt my Beeeeekkkkkaaaa."   "I love my Beka, where is she?"  Once we picked her up, he was back to his happy self.  I guess we will have to see how the year goes.
As for Beka's day, she was a good helper and made new friends.  She can't wait to go back on Thursday.

New Look

Sorry, I haven't posted much lately. It seems like whenever something exciting happens to blog about the camera is nowhere to be found. For example, we were driving home for church on Sunday when we saw a flock of geese just standing on the football field of the school by our house. There had to be at least 20 geese all just standing around. But who takes their camera to church with them? Well, from now on me! And then that night, we went to the mall. The hobby store was sponsoring RC car races on the dirt track that had been set up. Jared was enthralled. He kept trying to get closer and closer to the cars. But alas, once again...no camera. So I have decided that I am starting a new fashion fad. I am going to just velcro the camera to me. Problem solved.

Also, I changed the look of the blog a little. I, basically, just wanted to see if I could do it. Let me know what you think.

Visit to Wildlife Prairie State Park

Yesterday, our neighbor and I took all four children to Wildlife Prairie State Park. The park has animals in their natural habitat and that are native to Illinois. The kids had fun looking at the animals, plus it tired them out for the day. We saw bears, bobcats, coyotes, and goats just to name a few.


After walking the park, we took the time for one last group picture.


We had a fun time. I hope to do it again sometime.

Electric Bicycle

My husband has a new obsession project. Well, I guess it is not new. He has been working on it for about a year off and on.

The bike has two batteries and other assorted gizmos and gadgets. (yes, those are the technical terms) Last I heard he had gotten up to around 40 mph. Now I support his obsession project wholeheartedly. Tinkering around with the bike gives him time to clear his mind. I just never expected him ride it in public. Doesn't he look so cute?

Sidewalk painting

Recently, the children decided to paint the sidewalk. I mixed together cornstarch and water and then added some food coloring. Beka and Jared painted the sidewalk. When the mixture dries, it looks like you painted with chalk. Beka and Jared loved painting, and they learned about mixing colors and shapes.


(notice the handprint) (who needs a paintbrush)

(the finished product) (I am not sure whose footprint this is)

Back in Business

My loving ever wonderful husband fixed my computer last night. I am doing the happy dance here. I am going to try to get some pictures ready for a post tonight.

Computer Problems

Just wanted to let everyone ( probably two or three of you) that check regularly, that my computer is having problems. Something about the inner workings of it. Therefore, I will not be posting until it gets fixed. Hope I won't be gone too long.

It's Raining........

Okay, that title might be an exaggeration. It rained here for about 20 minutes this morning. It was wonderful to see the rain coming down though. Beka and Jared wanted to go out on the porch and feel the rain. But, of course, my children could not stop at just staying on the porch. So, what does Mommy do? She grabs the camera and gets a picture of their rain dance.

Fun in the pool

The children have been playing in the pool in the backyard lately. They have such fun in the water. A plus for Mommy is that they play really nicely together in it too. I am always pleased when they can share a space without fighting.

Beka enjoys splashing and jumping into the pool.



Jared just enjoys being in the water.

Mini Car Wash

Today, I put the children to work washing the car.  It was just too hot outside to do anything that didn't involve water
 







In the end, they both had so much fun that when the car was done, they moved onto their bikes.