Lights On-Christmas Chapel

Hard to believe that it is that time of year again but today was the kid's Christmas "light's on" chapel.  They get to wear Christmas dress-no uniforms, have pictures with Santa and best of all put on a wonderful chapel. I had a new shirt for Brayden...but he was determined to wear a tie, who was I to say no, he was too cute (handsome). I am reminded why I love the Christmas season.  Seeing the kids full of smiles today excited for the lights, and hearing them sing and learn about the true Christmas story, with Andrea and James giving their full attention this morning was just the best. The chapel was full of special moments-high school choir, ensembles-amazing to see what some of the kids can sing/play, and a fun play put on by the high schoolers.  I am so thankful for such a wonderful school and the teachers who allow each child to grow and discover their talents.  Now on to Christmas....guess I should start getting some festive decorations out.

Becca knew her entire song, including all the verses which were sang by different groups-she sang with her group and then kept right on singing-so cute.

Video is jerky thanks to a skirmy James!

James got a little camera shy, he absolutely LOVES music and sings along, usually very loudly-it amazes me what he learns from watching the other kids.

Time with Family

The past  couple of days have been filled with activity, having a house full of people makes for some busy times in the kitchen and lots of chances for fun with the kids.  The have enjoyed lots of books with the grandparents, Wii games with Uncle David and Linnea, and plenty football.  We explored the aquarium yesterday after more football watching.  Great Grandma made the kids' day by bringing a craft-t-shirts to decorate with puffy paint...Becca went all out.  The drying time was 6hours, it has almost been 24hrs and there are still a couple sticky spots, she is my creative girl.  Both dogs are getting spoiled by grandpa, who is getting pretty good at walking two dogs around our neighborhood.

Great grandma and all her bears she has made for each one when they were born.  Such a special thanksgiving having her visit.

We finally had time to braid Becca's hair in the princess braid....she has wanted this done for a long time, now that she found out how painful it is I don't think she will ever sit to have it done ever again!

Thanksgiving Festivities

Just a bunch of pictures from the past two days.  There has been a lot of activity and lots of fun.  The  kids have played games, read books and played outdoors...keeping everyone busy.  We had the traditional game of corks and tonight tried out our bowling skilled.  The boys golfed this morning while the rest of us poked around in some of the antique shops in Jenks, you never know what you are going to find!  Along with keeping up with all the leftovers and the kids it has been a fun filled thanksgiving, full of memories old and new. I would write more but the night come too quickly with such a house full.

Thanksgiving Preparations

Turns out my kids and I have totally opposite ideas of what all needs to get done before tomorrow.  Today was one big party for  them.  No school meant cartoons in the morning, playtime all day, no homework, no reading, plenty of eating and lots of playing, and most of all NO WORK.  I on the other hand had plans of getting things in order, rooms in order, bathrooms in order, kitchen in order, food in order.....somehow order is not what happens when there are four kids running around.  Anyway the day resulted in tons of smiles and laughter which is always the best, and somehow my work did get done which made me smile!  Family made it into town including my Grandma, such a special thanksgiving.  Tonight we had church, a great way to start off the holiday celebrations.it was so good to be reminded of God's call to be thankful,  Although the kids have been reminding me all week with their verse from 1 Thessalonians....to "be thankful in all circumstances for this is God's will for you"!  and tonight it was pointed out to us that we need to have hearts full of gratitude-what a wonderful reminder as we head into the holiday season.

Route 66 Half Marathon

Today was my turn to race.  It was the Route 66 Marathon, I opted to run the half....not like I had a choice in the matter, 13mile is more than enouph these days.  After a day of warm and a hint of fall we awoke to winter.  It was a freezing morning, I think I ran one day with long sleeves and this morning I was layered up in all my winter gear.  Ron convinced me to lose the tights saying it was a race!  Funny thing was as I ran I actually got colder instead of warmer the last three miles we turned into the cold north wind and my legs went numb.  I actually felt pretty good until mile eight, legs strong and holding a nice pace.... and then I had a side stitch so bad I thought I had to quit.  Usually I can force myself to run through about anything but this stitch was so bad I couldn't breath....horrible, I felt like crying and quitting.  Anyway, let just say the 4-5miles were terrible....mostly because I actually felt great and was so mad that I was losing time walking because of this dumb side stitch.  Ron and the kids were wonderful, cheering in the freezing cold along with course and even riding bike along the river drive for the last three miles-trying to get me to finish the last little bit.  I never thought two miles could be so long, but when you can't breath they seem FOREVER.  Well, half marathon completed although I might need to try again and practice some better breathing techniques for a little better time!


RACE RESULTS

 Still smiling!

I think I was praying pretty hard at this point....Ron tried his best to take pictures but having to keep tract of four kids and bikes was quite a task, plus he was freezing!

All finished, a little disapointed but happy to cross the line.

Bike Race, RUTS n GUTS

Time for the annual Ruts-n-Guts cyclocross race.  There were two races, one last night and then this morning.  Last night was a fairly flat course with a long loop, the wind was strong and the air was freezing but the guys survived their ride. Last night all three kids rode in the kid race, Brayden's pants got caught in his chain ring and Andrea told me that it was HARD but they all three got metals which was pretty special, way to go Becca...first place girls! This morning the wind was still blowing but the chill was gone.  The course was full of hills, steps and required more technical riding.  Ron held on for the eight laps or so-fun to participate this year and not just sit and watch like last year.  The kids got to race again today, all getting t-shirts and water bottles.  It was quite the morning, not getting home till early afternoon, there was nothing we could do to keep James awake on the car ride home.

Ron raced with Jordan and us girls got to watch the races with six kids....I don't know how much of the race I actually watched, although we did get pretty loud when the guys passed our cheering section.

The most important part....the data!

 Go Becca, she wasn't going to ride because she remembered the big hill from last year.  Good news!  No hill this year.

My kids and their helmets....hmmmm, I don't think he wears his too often!

All the tough bikers!

                                         The kids couldn't pass up an afternoon in the leaves.

A Special Night with a very Special Girl!

Becca has been asking to see the Nutcracker Ballet since last year and when I found out there was a special performance coming through Tulsa in Nov we decided to get  tickets.  Tonight was the night.  Becca was so excited to get dressed up... sparkle dress, sparkle shoes, and make-up-always a must for such special moments!  I didn't know how long she would last and was prepared for her to get pretty tired as it was a late performance.  Becca sat on the end of her seat most of the two hours, never did she ask how much longer.  She was taken in with all the dresses and all the different dances.  She loved all the dresses, her favorite was the white snow fairy's dress.  Thanks to Angelina Ballerina  Becca actually understood a little of what was going on.  It was a very special night-just being able to do something alone with Becca was wonderful, being able to focus just  on her and have conversation without interruption was definitely a treat for me.  Happy early birthday to my very special daughter!

This is the look she gives right before the twirl.

We had the house to ourselves when getting ready.  Ron had the rest of the kids at a Cub scout event.  Such special time spent together.

Ready to head out-freezing!  The only down side was seeing poor Andrea heartbroken having to go with Ron.  Becca told her that she should be glad not to go because there was a scary part....it didn't help much.

My little Pilgrim

This morning begins the craziness that surrounds school when holidays hit.  Good thing it is a lot of fun!  Today was Becca's turn to sing in Chapel.  She was a pilgrim this year, and gave me a hug smile when she walked up to the stage.  She did a great job and looked like she was having a fun time.  It was a nice morning seeing as Chapel is right at the beginning of the day so Ron was able to see her sing before heading off to work.  Now, on to more preparations-christmas shirt decorating, christmas box filling and thanksgiving feast preparing....I am so thankful for some wonderful homeroom moms!

Special Times

This weekend was finally filled with some time to just hang out with the kids-our favorite thing to do.  The  only down side was that we were a family divided...in a good way!  Brayden had his cub scouts "Dad and Me" camping trip this weekend, and consequently I had a Girls day/night out, with an exception to James.  Ron had a good time with the boys out in the Osage camping, although I am sure it was pretty crazy!  Sounded like they played a lot of kickball, did some hiking and lots of playing.  Brayden came home with a tree frog and lot of story's about jumping off avalanche cliff.  The only downside of their evening was the horrendous wind leaving a couple tents a little out of sorts.  I enjoyed the day hanging out with the kids-so nice not to have any obligations to be at or accomplish at home.  We ended up at the aquarium-always fun, very interesting as there was a beautiful underwater photography exhibit through-out, it even caught the kids attention. My fun memory from this visit...there is usually one was centered around the cuttle fish tank.  This fish was new to us and I couldn't see it in the tank.  I had told Becca there supposed to be cuttle fish somewhere in the tank but all I saw was a bunch of seaweed.   After looking for a bit we spotting some little bumps hiding at the bottom of the tank.  I thought they were shy but Becca looked at me and said, "nooo, mom!  they are cuddle fish!!!  they are just cuddling with the seaweed"  and gave me a look like what was I thinking, I had just told her they were cuttle fish!  We ended up the day poking around at the mall ( my never shy Andrea made sure ever check-out person knew it was girls night out)-turned out the girls are mesmerized by all that glitters, bows, headbands, watches....and most of all dresses!  I usually steer clear of the dress section-a little too girly for my taste-not for Becca.  How could I resist!  Somehow we ended up in the dressing room with the girls twirling the dresses, oh I have to admit it was so much fun seeing them giggle.  I guess they will be the two sparkle girls this holiday season! 

The Choir that Becca and Brayden have been a part of this year at church sang for the intro to the church service this Sunday.  It was very special seeing Becca sing, Brayden was disappointed when he found out he had missed their performance.  I love that their choir director has taken the time to teach these kids, there are a lot of things going on on Wednesday evenings and it is so nice she and thankfully a couple other kids enjoy singing and take the time to come.  We continued our Sunday by going to a performance by the Tulsa Youth Symphony.  The concert was geared towards kids-perfect.  They played just little excerpts from pieces with the conductor stopping to explain the piece.  Ron thought it was the perfect length for himself as well!  They also introduced each instrument which was also a lot of fun to watch with the kids.

They turned the Microphone on for the performance....silly Becca!

Two Peas in a Pod

It is crazy to me to see how similar Brayden and James are and how opposite they are from the girls.  Boys are loud, full of endless energy, love to eat, make messes and most of  all play with any ball in sight....okay maybe not all boys but I think both of mine are cut out of the same mold.  James can be sitting quietly or crying in his car seat, spot the football team practicing out his window and he just can't yelling and pointing like he just found gold. Trying to load in the car is becoming such a pain because he has to walk past everyball in the garage to get into the car all the while trying to carrying all of them into the car.  Even the TV, which normally hold no interest to him will hold his attention is a game is on...restaurants with lots of sports TV's around their bar area work great for us!  This week Brayden came home with a miniature lacrosse net from Bible Blast, I don't know who was more excited about it, James or Brayden.

Keeping track of the balls is the hard part.

This little guy is such a buddy to all the  kids, each one loves taking care of him in their own way...although Andrea might like a break from his secret wrestle attacks.

Veteran's Day Chapel

This is one of the most special chapels the kids put on during their school year.  What a blessing to see the kids thanking all our veterans this morning in song, poems, and Bible verses.  Once again this chapel filled my heart with gratitude for those who have and are serving our country.  The stage was full of veterans each able to introduce themselves-all from every branch of our armed services...such pride!  My eyes were full as we stood and sang God Bless America along with our National Anthem, with the kids voices singing loud and clear.  The  kids filled the isles and sang the fight song for each armed service Branch. Sorry Coast Guard but the Army's fight song took top-the kids loved singing this one!  The guest speaker spoke about his experience on an amphibious vehicle attacking the Japanese shore in response to Pearl Harbor.  The chapel was long but the  kids sat respectfully for  the full two hours. I am once again so thankful for such a wonderful school filled with Christain leaders who take the time to teach my kids the importance of God along with their freedom and their Country.  We are truly blessed to live in America, and are so thankful to those who have served and are serving for our Country.  It was also very proud to see so many graduates serving our country.  As we were walking out of the chapel I expected Andrea to start complaining about how long she had to sit, instead she looked at me and said, " that was a really REALLY good chapel!" 

End of the day update....guess Brayden was not one of the kids sitting quietly during chapel, he came home with an Red Apple for playing thumb wars during chapel and bothering a girl on the playground!

The kids are all facing and singing towards the veterans on the stage.... but you can get a feel for how the chapel went.

My big kids all set out head to school for their patriotic chapel.  Sometimes I can't  believe how fast they are growing up.

Fall Saturday

Fall has arrived.  Today was typical fall weather-cool and blustery to say the least.  Ron and I were able to get out and bike this morning, it would have been fun without the cold and wind.  I got off the bike feeling like a wet noodle, good thing I had nice company willing to slow down and bike with me!  We spent most of the day playing at the house.  The girls had fun baking with Grandma and Brayden kept Grandpa busy with battleship and Wii.  The kids love playing with grandpa and grandpa-somehow they even convinced them to jump on the tramp. All the special attention is really nice-they love it, especially Becca.  Ron finally started making some long ago requested bookshelves with his dad and James caught up on some of sleep.  We all headed out to the soccer field late afternoon for Brayden's final game.  After the game he told me that he had an AWESOME season and he LOVED playing soccer.  When I reminded him that he would have  to give all of this fun up for football next year he actually hesitated, but then asked "how will I know if I like football"  Well, I would love to see him continue with soccer but it looks like we might need to see what football is all about.