Things Are Happenin'!

Wow, I've got soooo many photos to post, and after Christmas, I'm gonna start doing that (maybe I'll have some time before then, too)....first day of school photos, more pumpkin party photos, summer activities, Thanksgiving feast, and there might be more hiding on my camera, too!

If you're in the area, this Saturday we are having a big Christmas Showcase (and there was debate about the name...but hey, this is CHRISTMAS and if you're one of the very few people who don't recognize Christmas...oh well) at St. Peter's Parish in downtown Park Rapids. Lots of home-based businesses -- Watkins, Mary Kay, Tastefully Simple, Pampered Chef, Party Lite, Heritage Makers, Shaklee, Norwex, Cookie Lee, Tupperware, Young Living, and more -- are gonna be there. All that shopping and seeing what's new without having to go to a bunch of different parties, woo-hoo! Doors are open from 10-3. Bring a food donation for the local food shelf....and come prepared to bid on some great silent auction items to raise funds for the local Women/Children's shelter and the local Pregnancy Resource Center! Santa will be there, and photos will be taken...you can just order prints from Snyders for $0.19 - $1.50, depending on the size (how affordable is THAT?)....and David Overly, our local theater star, will be doing dramatic story-telling for kids of all ages from 10-1. I wanna have him set up close to me so I can hear his stories as I'm working my booth!

I've also been working a booth at Jack Pine Java down town -- we're having a craft/bazaar Monday thru Saturday from now until December 23...gotta stop in and see all the great stuff (and buy some, too!). And I am SOO thankful for my great team that's helping out at my Watkins booth there! We've got a great big closet behind our booth, too, so on days when I'm in there for a long period of time (or in the afternoons), the kids come and play there, we do some school work, or they dance around in the middle of the floor and entertain everyone walking by (I've been trying to tell Susi that laying on the floor in a dress with her legs pulled over her head is NOT proper entertainment....she isn't convinced.).

And things are slooooowly getting caught up at home, too. Loads of laundry are done sporatically, and my wonderful husband has been helping to fold clothes while I'm teaching the kids how to match pairs (I love this home school stuff! Make everything a learning experience!) and making them fold all the socks, hehehe! They also fight over who gets to take the clothes from the dryer, then transfer the clothes from the washer to the dryer, then put more clothes in the washer. Hm....maybe I'm not the one doing the laundry....

Amongst all this, I'm tired of seeing the originally very white walls downstairs now such a dingy color. Long story, not going into it....but we're gonna paint them. I'm hoping a cream color with some bright color thrown in for shock, I mean contrast. I might have to do that color paint sometime when Tony's gonna be gone for several hours....

I'm also tired of all the JUNK laying around downstairs. ("junk" translates into all the toys and papers that the kids, mainly Luke, are accumulating...Luke cannot bear to throw anything away, so every once in awhile after he's asleep, I raid his corner....so far he hasn't noticed). But Tony is going to build a wonderful little shelf set, and EVERYTHING is going to be stored in boxes with lids. And they can play with the contents of one box at a time (or one box each), and if they DARE start playing with another box before the other stuff is picked up, it's gone. Trust me. It's gone. I've done it before. I'll do it again.

Christmas program practice has been going wonderful. My 40 or so kiddos are amazing! I am blown away at how well they are doing for the program. PLEASE, if you live in the area, come see our program Sunday, December 20, at 10:45...but come early, if you want a seat! And (proud parent grin), Luke is playing Joseph in the tiny tot nativity! He wants everyone to have a front-row seat to see him....

We had a wedding shower for my friend Brittany this past Tuesday. It was great just sitting around gabbing with a bunch of ladies, and someone commented that we don't do it enough. So... I took the idea and ran with it! Talked with several of them, told 'em Tony would kill me (not literally, don't worry) if I took on one more responsibility, but SOMEONE needs to head up putting together a ladies' night out each month -- we can meet at church, bring games, order pizza, and just have fun catching up with each other. I finally found a patsy...I mean volunteer to head it up....my wonderful SIL Beth (love ya, dearie!). Hopefully, it'll all work out :)

Brit is getting married in a few weeks....and asked my kiddos to be in the wedding ("because they're so stinkin' cute!). Susi is the flower girl, and Luke is the ring bearer. He's taking the job quite seriously and is worried that he might lose the rings, then what is gonna happen????

The kids are doing great in home school co-op, which in itself is wonderful since I've not had alot of sit-down time with them for book learning. However, Luke can now count to 100 by himself, and he's figuring out how to write the numbers by himself, too (maybe it's the reward of a big candy bar that was motivation!). He never can remember the word "hundred" though, and usually refers to it as one zero zero!

I'm finding more fun things to do with Susi, as she is a very hands-on learner....she doesn't retain something unless she makes it with her hands....which is SO not me! We practiced writing our A B Cs up to G and she just wasn't getting it....remembering what is what....until I handed her modeling clay, THEN she took off! It's a challenge figuring out different ways to have her make things to retain the different letters, but it's also fun figuring out what will work!

Out of the clear blue the other morning, after she crawled into bed with us at 6:30 in the morning (the one morning this week that I actually didn't have to get UP at 6:30!), she sat up and said, "We haven't watched Wipeout for a long time." Um...it isn't on tv right now. Then at supper last night, she asked if "Shark Tank" is really "in this world." Okay, we really don't watch much tv with the kids, but that stuff is really floating around in her brain!

And I love how my kids have figured out some things are in this world and others aren't. It really helps them realize that alot of stuff around isn't real. Santa isn't "in this world," but he is part of Christmas decorations. Scary parts in movies (like the talking Cheetos that are about to be eaten in The Pirates That Don't Do Anything" or the Grinch taking away Christmas) aren't in this world...so it isn't too scary.

But now...my rug rats are home. And I am home (I was at Jack Pine Java this morning...the kids were at the farm)...so I'm gonna go spend some fun time with them! And maybe get out the alphabet melty-bead mold and get some fun school work in!

Drop me a line...I don't have lots of time for posts right now, but I LOVE to hear from you!

Oh yeah! And I got all the Christmas presents wrapped last night, yippee!!! Now to start my Christmas baking......next week.