Monday, November 30, 2009

Homemade Christmas Gifts

I've been thinking back to last year and my quest to do as much "homemade" Christmas presents as possible. How does a "Cake (or cupcake) Carrier" sound? I'll be back tomorrow with an idea for that.

Saturday, November 28, 2009

Fun Christmas Tunes

To help you get into the Christmas Spirit
Enjoy!



I'm HOOKED!

Friday, November 27, 2009

Give Thanks

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
Worship the Lord with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
Know that the Lord is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.
Psalm 100
We enjoyed worshiping through these words & promises last night.
I hope you are encouraged by them as well.

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Give Thanks

I placed a glass jar on our kitchen table
filled with blank scrapbooking strips & sharpees.

We were to write things on the slips
whenever we thought of something we were thankful for.

Ben even invited our friend Sam to take part.


Today we will read them.

This is exactly how what they said.
(there are a few repeats
and also some where the boys are learning how to spell)

. . . . . . . . . .


my dog
I am veary thankful for my house
Becca, Ellie, Isaac, Holden, James, Kaleb, Sadie, Adreanna, Charlie, Alyssa, Mason, Steven
i i my hose
Miss Lazarchic & Mrs. Bouton
I am thankful for my family
My friends
My shelter
My food
My family
air
God
I love my bed.
I l my school
I am thankful for my siblings.
my sweet husband
our church
our healthy boys
My mom and Dad and Brother
I i my friends
I am thankful for my friend.
I am thankful for paper.
I am thankful for food.
I love my toys.
I love my clothes because they keep me warm.
I love my mom and dad.
I am thankful for my pets.

Happy Thanksgiving Friends!

Monday, November 16, 2009

Sunday, November 15, 2009

sigh


Each child in Ben's K class
gets to take home various books & newspapers
created by the children.
The newspapers are written throughout the week
during circle time.
This weekend it was Ben's turn
w/ one of the October Newspapers.
Jacob offered to help out tonight by reading it to Ben.
Imagine my heart
when I heard him read that first line in blue.
I didn't make a big deal
& they don't even know I took a picture.
I had to take it quickly though so I didn't get caught ~
I don't want him to ever stop playing with my hair!
(or ever stop asking us to rub his back
every night "as soft as we can")

Thursday, November 12, 2009

so THANKFUL

Today is Thursday ~ all day long I've had so much on my mind that I am truly thankful for.

~ starting off w/ waking up in a warm cozy home

~ then a sweet husband who took the boys to school

~ then a job that is flexible enough that it's okay that we had a slow moving morning. therefore a little bit late. I did arrive before the sweet kiddos did though!

~ some sweet ladies to work with & precious kiddos to love on

~ 2 great teachers for our boys who really seem to "get" them. the boys love school this year and that's a blessing as well.

~ a wonderful church family ~ GBC feels like "home"

~ FALL I love this season (w/ the exception of the cold rainy days)

What are you thankful for?!

Thursday, November 5, 2009

tHanKfuL tHuRsdaY

It's been incredibly long since I have done a
Thankful Thursday Post.
I think today is a good day to start back up
afterall it is the First Thursday in November.


I am extremely thankful for our family's health.
The last week w/ 2 sick little boys
reminded me to appreciate all the other days
we have been healthy.
Our sick days were minimal & temporary.

I'm thankful to finally feel settled in our
Pleasant Place.
The boys feel it too.
It feels good.
Routine, order, settling.
Pleasant

It was wonderful to be at preschool
with all of my little kiddos back & healthy.
10 out of 12 of my sweet ones were sick
in a bout a week & 1/2 span.
so it's been quite a while
since our classroom has been "complete".

I'm totally thrilled about the weekend
right around the corner.
I'm getting away with 3 wonderful friends.
None of them know each other
but I know they are going to love each other!

I'm thankful that my sweet husband has said
"GO"!
The boys are in super hands with him
and grandparents when JM
has other things to get done.

I was so thankful to come home to a clean kitchen
especially considering the disaster it was in
when I had to leave.
I was seriously dreading entering.
What a pleasant surprise.

I love our yard.
Quite possible the best feature of our new home.
We have spent the past 3 afternoons outside.

Which leads me to loving the glorious weather
we have been fortunate enough to enjoy.
I love fall.
I am so thankful for
how much better the boys have gotten along
with each other this week.
It's been a rough couple of weeks of pure meaness
coming from these sweet boys.
I hope we're done with this phase.


i.am.truly.thankful.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Monday, November 2, 2009

Fun Fall Weekend

Thankfully the boys are so much better.
They got better just in time to participate
in our SkamFam traditions for Halloween.
In addition to celebrating Ben's Birthday,
we had pumpkins to carve,
costumes to get ready,
candles to light,
etc.
In an effort to avoid purchasing costumes
from Wal-Mart or Target,
we encouraged the boys to be creative.
Imagine my excitement when Jacob says he wants to be a
MAD SCIENTIST!!
So then it was Ben's turn and he said he wanted to be a
Basketball Player.
(also cute b/c it was his idea)
Then Jacob says he wants to be a
basketball player too.
(well to me, that's boring)
But we did it anyway.
At least is cost next to nothing.
All we bought were the
wrist bands & head bands.
E-A-S-Y
and they enjoyed it
so it really doesn't matter if we think it's boring!






The SkamFam has a tradition of
eating hot dogs by candle light.
It was started before we had children
by dear friends of ours in Texas.
We used to call them each Halloween
to tell them what they started for us.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Outdoor Movie Night

We were thrilled when
Ben declared he wanted an Outdoor Movie Night
theme for his 6th birthday.
What a great idea not to mention EASY!
The easy factor came in handy
especially considering how tied to the house
we were in the days leading up to his party.
Here are a few glimpses of the party.
Monster's Inc.



Intermission ~ time for concessions!
We borrowed a mini popcorn machine
and that was a great hit.
We sold popcorn, candy, & drinks for a "$1"




what is that?


what do you see in this picture?!