We're in Trouble

So...a couple of weeks ago I did an art project with the kids.  It was leftover from when I taught at church.  We had  Hannah with her little baby Samuel.  First I told the kids the story.  I'm never sure how much they are paying attention, but I told it anyway.  I made sure to really stress how much Hannah prayed for a baby.  Even when she was sad and down she was still faithful to God.  She trusted him completely and always had faith. 

Then the kids cut out their Hannahs.  Now...the 4 kids I have here during the day have many different ability levels.  Nathan used to really struggle with cutting, so I was incredibly impressed when he cut this out ALL on his own.



Very age appropriate when you consider his OT was working on cutting straight lines just a couple months ago.

 

Jillian hasn't done a lot of cutting.  She loved it though.  When she finished her project she wanted to cut more.  I gave her one of the left over pages as scrap paper to cut.

She cut like crazy and at one point she cut the head off of the miniature Hannah on the page.  I jokingly said, "Oh no....you cut her head off!  What are we going to do?"  I knew she had listened to the story when she said very calmly without even looking up, "It okay, she will just pray to God for a new head."   Don't tell me this girl doesn't know her stuff.

  A few days after this project, Nathan and I were sitting on the couch.  He asked if we could have another baby.  I said probably not.  I think we've had all of our babies.  Nathan responded with, "I am going to pray for God to put another baby in your tummy."  He then proceeded to put both hands on my stomach and said, "Heavenly Father, please put a baby in my mommy's tummy.  We would like another baby in our house.  In Jesus name we pray...Amen."

I told you.

We're in trouble.

The Night We Light

One of our favorite things about Thanksgiving is the Night We Light Parade!  It's an awesome parade, and after it's over they light all the lights in down town.  So pretty.  This year was great because it wasn't freezing cold.  It's a rare year that we can enjoy the parade without freezing.  Jilly didn't remember this night from other years so she was just in awe.  Calvin was such a sweet big brother.  He kept her right next to him and when candy was thrown he would help her get some.  He is so loving with her.  She thought the whole thing was fantastic.  Nathan was watching from the van with Marc.  He tried to stand with us, but the noise from sirens and honking just really stresses him out.  He loves it from the van.  Marc's sister and brother-in-law and their boys were at our house for the weekend and my parents were with us too, so we had a great time!

Nothing says festive like a septic truck covered in lights!

 Jillian just loved her auntie Leslie this weekend.  She couldn't get enough of her.  Once at our house Jillian was watching Leslie walk away and said, "Mom, she's so pretty!"



The end of the parade is Santa on the firetruck.  So exciting!



The rest of the weekend was fun too.  Leslie and I did some Black Friday shopping.  It's become a tradition for us and we love it.  I stood in line for two hours for a new TV, but it was a great deal and what else was I going to do from 10-midnight?!  We shopped until almost 3:00 and then joined our families in bed.  Such fun!  After the parade and Black Friday, I am officially in the mood for Christmas!

I'm Sorry, But How Cute is This?

This is Nathan with Uncle John (my youngest brother) who he LOVES, and who my mom and I think Nathan looks JUST like.  John's wife Alicia thinks this is what her children will look like......I certainly hope so, but then again I'm a little biased.

A Night of Princesses

Jillian LOVES princesses.  Loves them.  Grandma and Grandpa got her this castle in Disney World and she told me the other day she thinks it's the best toy "in the world".  She plays with it all the time.  

The other day she was playing with it, and I asked her if I could take some pictures of her.  She said, "Oh sure!  Do you want me to line everybody up?"  How could I say no to that?

Therefore, it was very good timing that the Disney Live Three Classic Fairy Tales came to town.  Jillian and I were extremely excited to have a girls night out!  She put on her Belle dress and we fixed up her hair and put in her new tiara.  She was beautiful and couldn't wait!  Can you tell?

I like this one too. 

She was so sweet at the show.  I couldn't stop watching her.  Her eyes just sparkled as she watched those princesses.  Here she is waiting for it to start.

She either stood at this railing or sat on my lap the whole show.  She never took her eyes off.  She was especially excited to see Beauty and the Beast, so she enjoyed Snow White and Cinderella, but when Belle took the stage she just lit up.  When Belle said, "My father is not crazy, he's a genius!"  she giggled and buried her face in my chest.  Strangely enough, this is one of her favorite lines.  She was super excited to see Belle and the Beast, but she wasn't sure she wanted Gaston to be there.  When he came out she said, "Gaston is a stinker!"  I agree.   We had the best time together.  I feel so blessed to have this sweet, fun little girl to hang out with.  I can't wait for more!

Go Beavers!

Today we got to go to Choice Therapy and meet a pretty big star....BUCKY BEAVER.  Everyone...especially Nathan...was pretty pumped.

He hugged Bucky about four times!

Sadly, Calvin was looking at another camera....

Jilly wanted NOTHING to do with Bucky, however, she really enjoyed the green cupcakes they served.

This is a group picture of many of the people there.

When we got home I thought maybe....since everyone was wearing their Beaver gear....I should try to take a picture for Christmas.  This just proves why Christmas card pictures are so stressful.  Clearly....these will not work.

I like the direction Jillian was going with this one.

My favorite.

Jilly and I are off to a princess show tonight!  Stay tuned!

You've Got a Friend In Me

As I mentioned before, Nathan was not a fan of the characters at Disney.  He did what he could to avoid them, but he always kind of felt bad about it.  He would say, "Next time I will get my picture taken with them okay Mom?"  I told him he didn't have to do anything he didn't want to do.  But I did ask him if there was anyone he was really excited to see.  He answered without hesitation, "Buzz and Woody!" 

So, on the day we visited Hollywood Studios we were thrilled to visit here...

 

The boys and I waited in line for about 30 minutes.  The entire time Nathan was SO excited.  When it was finally our turn we rounded the corner and Nathan immediately walked to the wall opposite of Buzz and Woody and said, "I will just watch."  He refused to go near them.  I really felt that he would regret this later, so I made the executive decision (as mothers, we get to make these) to pick him up and force him over there.  He fought me a little at first, but as soon as we were next to Woody he stroked his face like he was a long lost friend.  It was the most adorable thing.  In the end, they just about had to throw us out of there....my boy had finally found his buddies.

The Many Hats of Disney

Become a Jedi You Will

When Calvin found out we would be going to Disney World, one of the things he was most excited about was the Star Wars attraction.  He and I went online to look at everything and he saw that there is something called Jedi Training that kids can participate in.  Needless to say, this was going to be a must.  The day we were going to Hollywood Studios we had a character breakfast in the morning.  We got to the park a little before noon, and Calvin and I headed right over to the area where you sign up to be a Jedi.  The people there laughed at me.  "Miss...those spots fill up pretty early.  If you come back tomorrow in the first hour the park is open, you'll probably get in."  OOOOKKay.  So apparently Calvin is not the only kid out there who is anxious to be a real Jedi. (Sidenote:  I'm a pretty big Star Wars junkie myself, so there was NO WAY we were missing this) The rest of our crew was heading to Magic Kingdom the next day, but we decided that Calvin and I would do our Star Wars thing and then meet them there. 

We got up at 6:30 the next morning and took the bus to Hollywood Studios.  We were there BEFORE they opened the gates, and when they did open the gates we might have run to our galaxy....I mean....destination.  It worked.  He was to be in the first class of padwans.  Here he is waiting for his class.



This is the Jedi Master who did the training.  She was trained by Master Yoda himself.  Or so she says.

As the students were finishing their training, their teacher sensed a disturbance in the force.  The big doors opened and out came two storm troopers and Darth Vadar himself.  It was awesome!  Each padwan got to take a turn fighting Darth Vadar using the techniques they had just learned.  It seriously was SO cool.  And do you think I have pictures and videos of this amazing moment in my young jedi's life?  No I do not.  My camera died.  Right when he went to fight.  I actually think I saw Vadar point his hand towards me and force my camera to stop working.  He wouldn't want any footage of a seven year old showin him how it's done with a light saber.  Luckily I do have a few shots from the professional photographer who was there.  We'll be ordering a couple of those.

At the end of the show Vadar invited these younglings to join him on the Dark Side.  At least we don't have to worry about my sweet little Calvin doing that.

OR DO WE??

Wordless Wednesday