Christmas Break Day1...

So today is the first day of break and i was amazed that we did not have any kids come in our room and bug us till around 8 o'clock. I got up at the normal time, thanks to my internal alarm clock, but then i laid back down til 9. Does that count as sleeping in?? I don't know but it was nice. I don't know how much of a break i had today. As i cleaned a much needed house. Well at least 3/4 of it, the kitchen and dining room will be for tomorrow. But just getting this stuff out of the way now will make for a much nicer break when we have family here.
Last night we went to the high school to watch the varsity wrestle because they were introducing the kids that went to wrestling camp. So Landon went and ran around the mat and stood in front of everyone. So he enjoyed that. Plus his two friends Tyler and Hayden were there. So it was nice to meet there parents and get phone numbers exchanged so that the boys can get together and play sometime.
The kids enjoyed there last few days of school and are really looking forward to break and Christmas. I also believe Zane is looking forward to having them home as well. Me?? Well we shall see if i have hair left by the time break is over. Who knows i might be begging to go stand out in the cold and cross some kids before it is even over. Well have a great Christmas everybody.

Our Homemade Winter Wonderland

Today we went and made a little winter wonderland down stairs in the family room. We made paper snow flakes and hung them from the ceiling. Put up a strand of lights we had and kids made other crafty things and hung them up. We then proceded to make some very yummy Christmas cookies. The kids frosted one each and added some sprinkles before they ate them. Now if i can just keep James out of them so there will be more for the kids tomorrow.Oh well had a fun day today.

I also got to make my stepdad Jack really happy yesterday by giving him a early Christmas present. He really likes the song called It's called Christmas with a Capital "C" By: Go Fish. So being the wonderfullest (i know probably not a real word but oh well) step daughter that i am went to my itunes and downloaded the whole Snow album for him and burned him a cd. Becasue him and my mom could not find it any where they looked yesterday.It is a great cd and i now have on my ipod.
Oh i am also looking forward to going out shopping tomorrow and hopefully getting all the shopping i have left to do done. This would be the earliest ever. If it happens we shall see.I want to be able to come home and wrap the gifts. I don't like it that all my kids have to do is open our closet door and see them lying in there. But they are really good about that and have never snooped around before.Must have got that from there dad becasue me and my sister used to go snooping all the time. We even went as far to unwrap some of them then rewrap them.I know we were bad. Oh, yeah, umm ,sorry mom and dad if you did,nt know that already and you just read this:)
But ok that was our weekend. Hope yours was just as great!

Christmas Program & More..

I changed the picture as you can see. It may not be the bestpicture to some people, but it was taken by Landon. Who i think did a great job for just grabbing the camera and shooting it Willy Nilly. This was taken at the kids Christmas program. Just thought it would be a good reminder of what the season is all about.

Today we had our 3rd quiz meet. Sometimes it does not go like us parents expect or want it to go, but the kids are learning about God and that is great. I think that with all of the changes that have been made this year, it's been difficult for everyone. But you know what, the girls had fun today. They might not have won any. But they did great,

I know that Ariel knows the answers, but if she doesn't get the jump, oh well. The last 2 years i was not like that. I really wanted her to do well. Not that i don't want her to do well now.lol But i hope you know what i mean. It is just different this year.

James team that he coaches actually won 2 matches today so they were pretty happy about that. So i say if everyone is acting in a pleasing way to God, then it was a good day! I know i have grumbled today, but at the end of the day does it really matter? No, So Lord I am sorry to have not the greatest of attitudes at diffrent times today. Amen! Ok there it is ,out there for everyone to see. So have a great night or day all. I am going to bed.

Crazy, Busy, Life..

Wow! What a week it has been so far. The crazy winter weather we are getting, but also just life in general. I have spent just most part of the week running around doing errands for myself or others. Grocery shopping for my family,which we were in desperate need of by the way. I could not put off getting them any longer.
Monday night was busy with PTO and Landon's wrestling camp. Oh! By the way Landon is in wrestling camp. I don't think i have mentioned that on here yet. He just started last Monday so this was there second practice time. I will have to add some pics of him doing some of his "moves" as he calls it later. He is really enjoying it and in January sometime they have a little tournament. So he is busy with that and bowling right now.
Ariel is busy with school and Quizzing. She has her next quiz meet this Saturday at Brenneman Missionary Church. She doing really well at it and enjoys it. We just tell her we are happy that she is learning about God and that as long as she is doing her best, we can not ask for anything more.
Zane cant forget him. He has just been busy, keeping us busy. Having fun with mom and dad and playing games. I do know that he enjoys it a lot more when sis and big brother are home though. But he is doing good. Right now though, he has a little cold going on.
Talking about colds, let me tell you this last couple month's we have been in the doctors office for one thing or another. It has been crazy ear infection, sinus infections and so on. So when i called the doctors office today, i told them right away no appointment today just some information. We were all happy:). We will be back in there soon enough. That i am sure of.
Me and James this week are just busy doing the thing we call life. Running here and there trying to get house cleaned up and stay cleaned up. Get Christmas presents made, ordered or bought. Spending time with Family and friends which we really enjoy doing. We spent the Sunday after Thanksgiving with James Aunt and Uncle and cousins and there families, it was fun. We cant wait to see his brother and family. They are coming here around Christmas. So we have that to look forward too.
I did forget to mention that the kids had there Christmas Program at Church this last Sunday. This is Ariel's 3rd year, she has done Dance movement in all of the programs. Then she sings in the Kids choir too. She really enjoys it and did a great job.Landon this is his 3rd year also going on stage they are the cherub choir, it is always cute to see them up there. But this was Zane's first year and he was cute standing up there with his hands in his pockets just looking around. No singing for him, it was all too new.lol
Well, i think i have covered some of the things that have went on this past couple weeks. You know the crazy, busy life, so i am going to go and do some more cleaning (which is never done by the way). So write to you more later.

Silent Night...Ok silent few hours.

I am sitting here in silence right now. No kids, no husband just watching the snow flakes falling, drinking my coffee,wrapped in a blanket, sitting on a heating pad for my ailing tail bone, thinking God is Great! He has provided us with so much that i don't deserve. A loving Husband and 3 loving Children . Which can easily be forgotten sometimes, when life is hectic and full of chaos. He has also provided for us great Family and friends. Plus all the necessities we need. So as i sit here thinking how awesome He is i just cant believe all that He has given to me, but yet he sent his son to be born in a manger. A manger!! How many of us would want to give birth in a barn. I for one am glad that God gave the gift of architecture to those to build hospitals and medical knowledge to those who are doctors. Because Mary and Joseph were on there own in a barn, surrounded by animals. Not up to date medical equipment and doctors and nurses. He sent his son to be born in that situation, so that later on he could die for me and my families sins. Wow!!
So this season as we gather around with Family and friends, let us just keep in mind the real reason we celebrate Christmas. It's not the gifts or food or gathering with one another, it's because God loves us and sent his son to be born for ALL of us!! So let's just remember why we have CHRISTmas. The TRUE meaning.
Isaiah 9:6
For unto us a child is born
to us a son is given
and the government will be on his
shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
For the true meaning of Christmas read Luke 2.
Merry Christmas everyone!!

Fall Fun!

Well lets see. I have come to the computer alot within the last few weeks to sit down and Blog but everytime i did, i only got as far as hitting the new post button. So i am finally able to do a little blogging. So here i go again..

So far the last few weeks have been very busy. We have had various activities going on.We had Upwards Basketball eveluations last Saturday. Which Ariel and Landon did well,as i have said before that this is Landon's first year playing any kind of Basketball. So he is excited about playing.

We have done alot of other various fun activities this Fall, we have visited the Fasion Fram in ligoner, We went to knowllbrook Farms in New paris with friends and over Fall break we went to my mom and Jack's house in Ohio, to spend some time with them. We also went to the Toledo Zoo. Which the kids had a lot of fun. It was a little brisk out but it was also sunny so it was a nice day out. After the Zoo we went to Chuck E Cheese, which wow that was just too much kid fun for me in one day. Us adults were all wiped out by the time we got home. Ahh... to be young again! We also had some of those not so fun activities this fall, like raking leaves. We have raked a lot of leaves this year. That is kind of a first for us. We have had very minimal leaf fallage(is that even a word?)in the past. I think that would be, because we have never had any trees. Ok, so maybe we have had two little trees. But that has all changed. But the kids did have alot of fun jumping in the leaf piles, they would help rake them up, just so they can jump in them. When we were in Ohio, Jack went and raked up there leaves, just so that the kids could jump in them. They had a blast.

So besides going and showing you some of our fun pics of the zoo and the other various places we have been over the last month, there is not to much to say. But i will say my brother in law is now back home from Iraq. So that is great to have him back in the United States. Also my step brother has actually been at home these past few weeks. All i know,is it is just good to have them both back here for now. So have fun enjoying some of the pics i put on here and i will be back blogging soon.

Thankfulness!

Wow!! I cannot believe how fast this year has gone. Where did the summer go? Did we even have a summer? I don't know. But what i do know is that we have an awesome God and he has provided for me in more ways then i even deserve.
This is the month where most people think about what they are thankful for. That makes me think about all that i have to be thankful for, and i am thankful for my God. That he sacrificed his only son for me. That again he has provided for me a great family and friends he has provided more then i can ever have imagined. What did i do to deserve this nothing,and i never will be worthy of that sacrifice. But yet he did it for me, that is so hard to believe sometimes. But yet why should it be? He is a loving God we all know this, but yet we also love. Would we be willing to make the same kind of sacrifice's that He has? No,I don't think so. So i am thankful for my God!
Yet these past few weeks have been very busy and dramatic ones for me and my family. We have been so busy. That i don't remember the last time we all sat at the table to eat together. Which maybe it should not have been a big deal to me, you would think, since the last four years before we moved in here we could not eat at a table together. Our house was to small. So since we have lived here, we have ate our meals as a family around the table. So i missed that, these past few weeks. So tonight as we finally sit around the table to eat, i told the kids that this month every time we sit at the table to eat we are each going to say something that we are thankful for. My oldest Landon started us off, he said that he was thankful for his Dsi( i think it was because he finally beat one of the bad guys), then James said Family, then Ariel said she was thankful for God sending his son. So i guess that is why i wrote up at the top what i did. But we all need to be thankful everyday of our lives what we have been given because God gave us our precious life and at any moment it can be taken away. So even though this is the month of thankfulness I am reminded that we need to remember to be thankful for everything all year through, not just one month. So that is my goal to not just have the kids go around this month but to try and do it each time whether its November or May. I know it won't happen all the time, but we can make the effort to do it most of the time. So i will end this little post by saying that i am thankful for, once again my God, my Family and all you wonderful Friends!! May God be with you and your family and pour blessings on you, as he has me and my family. So that you to, will have something to be thankful for all the year through.