Up for Bid

One almost 8 year old boy. Special skills include cabinet organizing and dishwasher loading . . .

Also up for bid, three rowdy kitchen cabinet washers . . .

Grandma Transue and the Grandkids

Grandma Transue loves to get pictures taken with her precious grandchildren. Aren't they so cute? Such angelic creatures.

Unfortunately, the more common grandchildren pictures rarely get published. . . but they do display their personalities rather well.

Getting Ready for Auntie Beth

As we were getting ready for Auntie Beth to visit (last month) the kids realized that they could all fit in the downstairs shower . . .

and speaking of which, there are other places that James and Megan like to hide

We went to Louisville

While Auntie Beth was visiting we went to Louisville . . .can you guess where we went by the pictures?

There was a carousel . . .

And inflatable jumpie things . . .

And a playground (wher eother moms were getting nervous with the 2yo's playground skills) . . .

Have you guessed yet? Well here ya go with a better clue, around the playground was a baseball diamond

Yep, it was a baseball game! ( A far cry from our AAA Rochester Red Wings at the now retired Silver Stadium) There were also fancy concession stands, shaved ice carts, and we had a great time watching the Louisville Bats. The stadium is incredibly close to the famous Louisville Bat Factory, which we will tour at some point. We did actually watch about 1 inning of the game before taking advantage of all of the diversionary activities. It was also military appreciation night, so that is why the inflatables were there. Thanks for a great night Bats!

July 4th

Our Fourth of July was full of . . . .

Little Girls with lots of ponytails

Little boys looking cute

Brothers and sisters hanging out on a train ride

Little girls playing in the driveway

And lots of love!

That "lots of love", was actually me about to fall on James.-Laura

Go Fish Guys

Here are my Go Fish Guys . . .by the Ohio River in Louisville, KY

James inherited Jack's T-shirt, and Jack inherited Laura's. Wow, what a difference a year makes!

Whatcha Lookin At Megan?

The big kids running around on the outdoor stage.



We are going to miss this park!

Sledding with the Cousins Dec 2009

So soon after my last post we headed North to my hometown of Rochester, NY to spend time with family. I had dreaded memories of that trip from the previous year. We were driving our 18 hour drive. I was 6 months pregnant with Megan, James was about 8 months old. While we enjoyed time with family on that trip, we also endured a stomach virus that hit just about everyone, and James was blessed with a strong cough, an ear infection, and was teething his top four front teeth at the same time. So I figured THIS trip had to be better than that trip, and fortunately it was . . .BIG TIME!

We got enough snow to let the kids play, here are some clips of them sledding in the perfectly sized hill in front of my brother Mark's and his wife Nan's house. Laura and Jack love spending time with Will and Drew. Cousin time is always the best.

Christmas Concert

For the Out of towners that missed it, here are some quick clips of our Childrens' Choir Concert. Unfortunately, they are above the age of way-cute antics (Jack was never one for acting silly anyways) But Laura got involved pretty well with her hand motions. Jack's the one in the red shirt with black sleeves (His head is right above the music stand) Laura is bottom row, far right. Laura also had a line to say to introduce one of the songs, but it was not captured on video. They both did a great job!

Review: Potluck Survival Guide

This is a product review for Mama Buzz reviewers. The cookbook Potluck Survival Guide by Cherie Kimmons was provided for me free of charge to review.



Another Cookbook. I know what you are thinking . . .but this is a cookbook that I am actually super excited about. I will tell you why. It has recipes that you can use. Recipes that you will use. That is if you have a family that is as picky as mine. Or if you occassionally are called upon to provide a meal/appetizer/dessert/side dish for a church/school/bake sale/family in need/potluck event. The recipes in this book will get people to tell you they "need the recipe" for that great dish you brought to the function.

Sound like you? It sure sounds like me! Usually I'll flip through a cookbook, frustrated to find only one or two meals that I could present to my family without being laughed at. This one has many recipes that my picky family will eat. Normal recipes, yet yummy!

From cover to cover this book is full of information. Instructions on boiling a chicken, reflections on Meatloaf, and handy tips and serving suggestions in the margines of the recipes make this a book that will not sit on your shelf. The book includes pages of wisdom from obviously experienced sources on how to coordinate that "big event" from decorating to calculating just how much bacon to fry up for that Men's breakfast with 25 guests.

Here my kitchen friendly 6yo Jack is helping mommy break in the cookbook:



Isn't he just adorable . . .I am training him well in the kitchen . . .he'll be a hot commodity in about 15 years.
We chose to make the Cow Pattie Cookies (a favorite from my childhood), also known as "no bake cookies."






The cookbook lays flat (even though my counter wasn't, it has gift bags on it) but the cookbook still stayed open for me.



The hardest part was keeping the toddler away from them while they cooled. A mistake by me to cool them on the kitchen table, you'd think I haven't made cookies before
with children around.



I took a little holiday creative license and sprinkled some to see if these would make a good gift giving treat . . .they do!

Here is the info on how to get a copy, get some as gifts, but make sure you order one for yourself!

Price: $18.96, regularly $24.95

Put out by: Five Star Publications

Links: http://www.fivestarpublications.com/book_detail.php?recordid= 95

http://www.fivestarpublications.com/potluck/book.html

The Homeschool Christmas Party

What you need for a homeschool Christmas party:

Gather all your friends together.

Have That Family with all the kids put on a super cute skit of the events surrounding the birth of our Savior.

Try, try, and try again to get a picture of all the kids together:

Settle for individual pictures of the children in a more natural setting for them:

Megan:

James:


Jack:

Laura

Find a spot to stick the troublemaker:

Make some crafts:

Sunday, November 29, 2009

The Coordinating Outfits

These are the coordinating outfits I made for the kids. I know it is kinda hard to see them, but then again, it is kinda hard to get the kids all together, looking in the *almost* same direction, and not crying. So, this is also the picture for our photo Christmas cards ( see previous sentence for the reason why). I have other holiday outfits for the kids, because I have a huge place in my heart for dressing my kids alike . . .

Saturday, November 21, 2009

I know it is time . . .Stay tuned

I know it is about time for an updated photo of my children wearing coordinated outfits. I don't know why I am so fond of my children dressed this way, but I'm doing it while I can. A shipment will be arriving soon, and I am going to try to set up a little studio in the house (or maybe outside based on the weather). So, stay tuned.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

A Week

A week has gone by since my last post, and what a fast week it was.

My husband did a little bit of computer updating, and that has made our computers run better. I like the new operating system.

Megan is getting more teeth, even though her Auntie Beth told her no more teeth until Thanksgiving. I think she just wants to be prepared for the big dinner she'll be smelling in a little over a week. The good thing is, even though she is cutting four teeth, it really seems like no big deal to her. She is crawling, pulling up, finally eating some solid foods, and sleeping well.

James is on the brink of full blown 2yo-ness. He has all the mobility and dexterity you could wish for, but no judgement. He seems oblivious to the fact that no one else in the family seeks out joy by emptying the oatmeal box on the floor. He blissfully finds joy in playing in chocolate milk powder on the floor of the pantry. Today he opened the door to go out into the garage, only to cry when the door closed behind him. (note to self, lock garage door during the day) He is also experimenting with the art of tantrums, but we are nipping those in the bud pretty quickly.

Jack is growing and growing and growing. He is coming along in school just fine. He has such a sweet heart, I get comments from a lot of my friends that he is a sweet boy. I have to agree.

Laura is growing in her faith by leaps and bounds. She contemplates God on a level that I know I wasn't at her age. Her questions usually begin with, "Mom, this is a question about the Bible" and proceed on to . . . .

1. "I am pretty sure I know this, but was Jesus alive up in Heaven before he came down to Earth as a baby?"

2. "How did those women keep those things on their heads?"

3. "Does God know His own future?" When I responded yes, she said, "Oh, yeah, because He knows everything. He even knows what He looks like, but we can't see Him until we get to Heaven" When I reminded her that Moses had gotten a glimpse of God in all His brightness and glory she said, "Yeah, if we saw Him we'd probably just faint over dead"

We are in the middle of our church Missions Conference and Laura has been soaking in all the information that she has been learning about the different countries in the world . . .so far Colombia and India. She asked if tonight we could "play India" and sleep on the floor of our living room (Since most families in India only have that much room of their own) with nothing but a light blanket. I said I'd have to make that decision later . . .

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

From a Small Boy's Perspective

Jack is our budding amateur photographer. He loves taking pictures with the digital camera. It is fun to see what pops up on the computer when I download the shots. These have not been altered (although some should be!)

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Bible Time

One of my favorite times of our homeschooling day is our opening time where we do our Bible devotional. We are currently working through Leading Little Ones to God (I highly endorse this devotional, it explains things in terms that they totally get, it also reviews the concepts and then continues to build on those concepts)

We will read a Bible passage, review our AWANA verses, and usually pop in our CD of children's hymns as we progress onto our seatwork. Usually while I am reading the lesson the kids will pull out their dry erase boards and draw. Here is Jack's picture of "Jesus" that he doodled the other day. It's just too awesome, I had to share.

Get Ready to Say AWWWW!

Jack loves his little Megan

Pat and Nat

Jack is reading his 1st "real book". It is a story you may be familiar with, it is Pat the Rat and his long time friend Nat the Cat. They are both fat and they like to sit on mats and wear hats . . .you get the drift. For you Sonlight users, it is the 1 Readers, You Can Read It Book 1.

Monday, October 26, 2009

Scooters

One of the best purchases we've made in a long time:

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