We Wish You a Very Merry Christmas

We have had an AMAZING Christmas.  I was thinking we were past the whole stay up at night forever assembling things in secret while the kids sleep.  I guess not.  Bob and I were up until 1:00AM assembling our big gift!  Our new kickbutt TV stand with a 55 inch flat screen High Def TV with a PS3, and blue ray and 3D capabilities.  AKA=Pure Awesomeness!!!!!!

(FYI- Super 8 is so dang awesome!  Just sayin)

(Dance Dance Revolution)

(Autographed pics of One Republic- thanks to the Uncles!)

* I had the BEST idea for shopping for kids this year and it worked like a charm!  Its gonna be our new tradition!

I’m SOOOO excited also for my new camera Bob bought me and our new family ipad!

(Marisa and her new lifesize Jacob!)

(I had to speak in church today)

Break is FINALLY here!

FINALLY had a chance to pull out the Lego Mindstorms where you can build and computer program your own cars.  Alayna and Tyler were glued for hours!

 

Spent 6 hours cooking Christmas Goodies!  Marisa wasn’t there to help this year because she had to work an 8 hour shift but she got to help us deliver!

(Making Cranberry jello salad- Alayna hates touching grapes.)

(Making 8 mini loaves of banana bread)

(Making oreo snowballs)

(Um…ooops?  You know our track record with fire)

(Chocolate covered pretzels)

Christmas Jar 2012

This year’s idea stemmed from an experience I had at school this week. I had a student tentatively approach me with tears streaming down his face. He whispered to me that he hadn’t eaten in 2 days and could he please have one of the study snacks and he would pay us back the next day. I gave him several snacks and told him not to worry about paying it back. I told my kids that night and we gathered several snacks from our house for me to keep at work for students who are hungry. Around this same time I became aware of Waypoint which is a shelter in Cedar Rapids for women and children who are homeless, living in poverty, or victims of domestic abuse. They have a HUGE list of immediate needs. We talked about it as a family and decided this was the way to go. We had so much fun going shopping for food and household items and then delivering them to the shelter that afternoon.

Grace Notes Dec 2011

Linn Mar Jazz Orchestra Dec 2011 #2

Linn Mar Jazz Orchestra Dec 2011 #1

Excelsior 8th Grade Jazz Band Nov 2011

Top Ten Happenings of the Week

Top Ten Happenings of the Week

10. Marisa had her winter orchestra concert this week.

9. Alayna made the Physical Fitness Honor Roll at school- the only one in her class that made it.

8. Marisa performed with a small group called Poleduris Ensemble at the “Get in the Spirit” show choir extravaganza.

7. Alayna was awarded another PRIDE certificate at school.

6. Four of us were sick this week….booo!

5. Kayla got to dissect a pig. She said hers was speckled and cute. She busied herself with all the paperwork so the rest of the group could do the actual dissection. She doesn’t believe she has a medical future ahead of her.

4. I thought I got my 1^st death threat at work this week. Turns out a student left a note on my desk asking me to put a book on hold for her. The title? "Wish you were dead"! Scared me to death, especially since about an hour before that a HORRIBLE scary fight broke out between 2 girls. It took 4 male teachers to hold one of the girls back and she ripped the shirt and pants almost completely off one of them. The cops were called in and they supervised the cafeteria for lunch. See? I wasn’t too far off thinking I was threatened!

3. Alayna had her Grace Notes concert this week. She did an AMAZING job on her solo! Bob will post the video for you to see. I was so proud of her and how brave she is.

2. Bob and I have been doing weekly dates every week which is something I really look forward too. This week we went to Pancheros for dinner, Cold stone for dessert, went shopping at Kohl’s, and then did the grocery shopping at Walmart. Then we came home, huddled up with the kids downstairs, and watched Survivor. What a stupid season!

1. Tyler found the perfect outfit for Ugly Sweater day at school this week.

Life itself is not something we need to understand. It is simply an experience to be enjoyed, with no other purpose than that. (Unknown)

Ok I was kind of a sucky blogger this week. We did have tons going on but I didn’t take pictures and was off in LALA land I guess? I have been working hard to put all the primary stuff together for the new year and it has taken HOURS, but its starting to come together and look awesome. Anyone here is our week in a very tiny nut shell!

*Marisa had an Orchestra Concert with the jazz band. Bob and Kayla went to go see it and said it was wonderful.

*Tyler has found his “inner artist” probably inspired by his birthday twin, Uncle Jonathan. When he brought this drawing home from school I was so surprised because it was beautiful and he had spent so much time on it. He didn’t get it from me, apparently my bees look like cockroaches and even my stick people are crooked. But he has been working with the art teacher and I think he has some real talent!

*Alaynas school choir sang at the LM Boys basketball game. That girl has no fear. She auditioned and got a special small solo in her upcoming concert this week.

*We are all FINALLY starting to get rid of these colds. It’s a beast I tell ya!

*I want to say again how much I love my job. It seems so odd to say that after complaining about my jobs the past few years and coming home in tears most days. This is such a refreshing change and I may stay here the rest of my working years. Too bad it doesn’t pay more-maybe I need to look into lottery tickets? Anyway, everyone thinks Im crazy when I LOVE tyo sit and process, cover, and shelve books all day. I am always SUPER busy there and rarely have a break to breathe and then I come home and read at night and I just LOVE it. I am almost done with my kick butt series project and honor book project. Ill try and take pics but it wont do it justice.

Ill be better about pictures this week….

So, what’s the deal with fire these days?

 

What is metal, rubber, and shouldn’t be microwaved?

Apparently Tyler still isn’t familiar with the fact that metal never goes in the microwave! He put a metal Starbucks cup in and it melted the rubber and actually caught on fire! I told Tyler he so super lucky the whole microwave didn’t explode and burn his face off. He just chuckled and said, “Oh, mom! But it was so awesome!”. Maybe he needs to look into physics for a career?

 

What is hot and makes middle-aged women walk into walls?

I had the MOST embarrassing experience this weekend when some firemen came into the library to check some wiring. They were in almost full gear and one was young and I thought he was “hot”. I proceeded to walk into a wall, knock the stuff of the desk, and tripped over a chair! The worst part? He saw the whole thing! Now, how pathetic is that??

 

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree

We did get our tree up. We did our traditional decorating while singing along with the Osmond's Christmas Album. Anyone impressed that ALL my Christmas shopping is done?

It Figures

So, remember last year when Tyler dragged us all to a court of honor all the way across town and he not only didn’t get anything but he wasn’t even supposed to be there! Well, he had another one this week. Bob and I have both been sick with these bad colds and so we decided not to go and when I asked him if he was getting any he said, “Uh, I don’t know”. Well, guess what?? He got 6 merit badges! Way to go, Tyler! Sorry we weren’t there to support! PS- Anyone find it funny that one of the merit badges is fire safety??

*Also, Marisa new calling is WARD chorister and she did great today!