2010 in Review

Well, as usual, I have gotten very behind on my blogging. That is because our fall and winter 2010 have been so busy! So, as I did last year, I will just catch up with a 2010 recap, starting where I left off at the beginning of August.

On August 19, the whole family began a new school year. Nathan went off to teach 8th grade English for the 4th year and I started teaching Kindergarten for the first time.
Will began another year at his preschool by moving up to the "older 2's" room. He was excited to have a new backpack and lunchbox! He has transitioned well and is learning a lot. He is also now fully potty trained with the exception of night time.
Madeline reached a huge milestone by starting kindergarten this year! I really can't believe she is already in big school. She was nervous and excited all at the same time and Mommy and Daddy were a little teary. Her Nana offered to walk her in for her first day as I had a group of my own kindergarten students to greet.

Madeline was very excited to see so many of her friends from preschool! Here she is with her friend Miriam. She had a great first day and really loves school. Her grades are good and she is really reading well already!
On the night of the 1st day of school, just as I was collapsing into bed, we got our first foster care placement call. So, very late that night, we took in a 4 month old baby boy. It turned out to be an unexpectedly emergency over-night placement, so we didn't get a picture of him.
One week later, we got our next call, this time for a 4 month old baby girl. We thought she would be here to stay for a while, but she ended up leaving after one week. We were so sad to see her go but enjoyed the time we had with her.
One week later, we were asked to take a newborn baby boy. We knew this one would only be temporary, as he really needed a placement with one stay-at-home parent. We took care of him for 2 weeks and Madeline really enjoyed having a baby that was so easy to hold!
During that time in September, our precious girl turned 6 years old. She was most excited to have her name announced on the school intercom as they do for all students on their birthdays!
She had a fun day at school and even brought Popsicles for her class to share as a birthday treat. Here she is with her favorite gift, Bitty Twins from her Nana and Paw-paw. Later that weekend, she had a joint party with her best friend, Haley, at an indoor swimming pool with all of her friends from school. It was a blast!
At the end of September, we got our 4th foster placement. A 9 month old baby boy. He stayed with us for one month before going to live with another family member. At this point, he is the last placement we have taken. After 4 very quick placements, we realized that being foster parents was too much for us with 2 young kids and 2 jobs. We plan to continue again when I stop teaching after this school year. We have really worked the Dave Ramsey plan and are finally ready to take the one-income plunge. I am excited at what the future will bring to our family!
Both kids really enjoyed Halloween this year. Madeline knew right away that she wanted to be a black cat and Will got great use out of the costumes he got for his birthday!
Some friends invited us to join them on a trick-or-treating hay-ride and the kids had such a good time with their friends. Here is Madeline checking out Miriam's costume.
Will was excited to ride with his friend, Clara Beth.
Sadly, I did not take any picture of Thanksgiving. We spent the holiday with Nathan's family and it was wonderful!
Finally, we celebrated Christmas! We had a great time setting up the decorations and buying gifts for children on the Angel Tree. Now that my parents have moved so far away, we were on our own this year. So, we had a nice small family Christmas. Here are Madeline and Will all dressed and ready for Christmas Eve mass.
Madeline insisted on a funny face picture and this is what I got. Will does this a lot when he gets overcome with shyness.
Nathan took over my dad's tradition of reading "The Night Before Christmas" before the kids went to bed.
Then, in the morning, the kids were so excited to see what Santa brought!
Here are Will's gifts.
Here are Madeline's:
The bikes were a big hit and they had to try them out right away! We later exchanged Will's helmet for a bigger one:)

After a few turns, they were ready to open some more presents. As always, our family gave them so many thoughtful and fun gifts. Here is Will in his latest dress up outfit, a Disney race car driver outfit!

We always celebrate with Nathan's family the weekend after Christmas and were able to also do a dual New Year's Eve celebration. As usual, I forgot to take any pictures as I enjoyed all the fun!
Happy New Year to everyone! It was pretty eventful for us and I am excited about the coming changes for our family. I can't wait to see what God has in store for us in 2011!!!

Will is 3!!!

I am having to play catch up a little because I have been so busy enjoying the last of my summer vacation and getting my classroom ready for the start of the school.
So, first, I have some news regarding this precious little boy! He turned 3 on July 27. This is him when he first woke up. We had planned to give him his present from us in the morning because it was something he has waited for and wanted for a long time.

He loves Toy Story but most especially, Buzz Lightyear. He has a small Buzz action figure but has wanted "the real Buzz" for some time. He was so excited when he opened his gift and found him in there. He had to check out all of Buzz's gear and try all the buttons. This toy provided so much fun all day!
We usually have a big 1st birthday party for our kids but then wait until they turn 4 to have a big friend party. We opt for simple parties at home with family instead. So, later that night Nana, Paw-paw, Uncle John, and Aunt Lindsey came over to watch Will open his presents and enjoy some cupcakes. Of course this big sister was in on all the action too!
Last year, we had a hard time getting Will to want to open his presents or look at his cards, but this year, he was great about it. I can't believe there is a rare picture of me posted on this blog:)

Uncle John and Aunt Lindsey got him the "real Woody" to go with his Buzz. You can see he felt a lot of joy about this:) Look at that sweet dimple!
He also got several books that he loves so much, one must go to bed with him every night!
Let me preface this picture with the fact that Will loves to play dress up. But, with an older sister, most of our dress up things are very girly. He doesn't really mind but, this year, Nana and Paw-paw decided to fix the problem by getting him his very own Buzz Lightyear costume! The wings even light up!
Uncle Robbie and Aunt Gina thought that was a great idea and added a Woody costume to the mix!
Madeline is never one to turn down a good dress up session, so she joined in right away!
His Granny Henry added to the Toy Story gift theme by getting him the first 2 movies on DVD. Up to this point, he had been watching an old VHS version that Nathan had from college:)



Now that Will can have eggs, it was a little easier to make his cupcakes this year. They still had to be dairy free, but it was much easier. I went with chocolate cupcakes and decorated them with Toy Story characters and a few number 3's. Will looked impressed:)
He was very focused on that lit candle!
With a little help from Daddy, he blew it out. I hope all his wishes come true!
I would say that these pictures prove the cupcakes were a success!

Will, the past 3 years with you have been a joy and a blessing! God knew we needed a little boy just like you!
This year you have really developed a voice of your own. You are still pretty laid back and calm but speak up when you really need to. You went from talking very little when you turned 2 to speaking in full sentences now! You had a good year of 2 year old preschool and started really making some friends. You are so content to just play with any toy put in front of you but really love any car, truck, or action figure. You can sit for a long time just looking at books and talking about the pictures and love being read to anytime. You have a sweet nurturing side but can also be a rough and tough boy when you are in the mood:) This summer you have really enjoyed playing in the water and digging in the dirt. You have become a pickier eater but are willing to try a few bites of almost anything, especially if a dessert it waiting:) You are starting to try to identify shapes, colors, letters, and numbers. You know and like to recite or sing a couple of songs and prayers. You decided during this year that you don't really like or need a nap but are willing to quietly lay and read books during rest time. You are an amazing sleeper at night and even play quietly in your room if you wake up before Mommy and Daddy.
I love my little boy with all of my heart! You are so different from your sister and I love that! It is such an adventure watching you both grow in your own ways:) I can't wait to see how you change and grow this next year!

A Nice Day at Home

Today marks the last week of my wonderful summer vacation. I have so enjoyed this special time with my family and feel so blessed that I am able to do this every year. A week from today, I will start 8 days of professional development in preparation for a new classroom full of precious kindergartners. I have already been working on my classroom and plan to post before and after pictures when I get finished.
So, to help us fully enjoy our last week together, we purposefully did not schedule any activities and even turned off T.V. and computers for the whole day. We started off by pulling out our painting gear and made some nice pictures. My kids really love to paint and did it so neatly, with no mess for the first time!

Next, we realized that we had some ripe bananas and decided to make some dairy-free banana bread. This is the first time I have really included Will on a baking project and he loved it! Madeline has been my helper many times before and amazed me with the complicated things she can help with. I was so busy that I only caught this one picture of my little chefs while the batter was being finished by the Kitchen Aid mixer.
The bread took 50 minutes to bake, so I wanted to come up with a fun activity to make the wait go by quickly for them. So, out came the old king-sized sheets to make 2 tents! They loved this so much! Madeline was upset when we finally took them down right before bedtime. They had so much fun that I even managed to clean our master bathroom before the bread was done:)
After a nice lunch together, the kids couldn't wait to try dessert: our finished banana bread! They both loved it and were so proud of themselves!
There was nothing fancy, expensive, or even that creative about our day (which finished up with rest time, board games, and some free play time) but we all ended the day feeling so content and happy with everything! I'm so thankful God blessed me with my favorite job, being a mother!!!

Fun at the Water Park!

Today, we were blessed to get to meet up with one of my friends I have know since 7th grade. Rachel and her 2 adorable kids, Meredith and Russ, met us in Arkadelphia where they have a small, very kid-friendly water park. Rachel and I had a good time catching up as it has been many, many years since we've seen each other. We both agreed that we love the blog world because it was easier to talk after keeping up with each other by reading our blogs.
Here is Russ, who loved going down the slide on his belly:
He is a cute little dare devil who wanted to do everything!
Madeline has really learned to swim this summer and felt very grown up because she could have a little more freedom as a result. This back shot makes her look so grown up!
Meredith was great in the water too. I thought she looked like such a pro in her swim shirt and goggles!
Madeline and Meredith got along right away and had a good time playing together.
Will really splashed around and enjoyed the day a lot!
The frog slide was a big hit with all of the kids. I love how the camera caught all of the water drops!
The park was so perfect! It even had some shaded areas that were still in the water. We had not been there in 2 years but definitely need to come back more often!
Thanks Lipsey family for meeting us! It was such a wonderful day!

Happy 4th of July (a day early)

Before I get to the 4th of July activities, I thought I would share some of the things we have been up to this week.
We were blessed to have 2 play dates with our good friends Haley and Ashlyn. They both happen to be the same ages as both of my children, so they get along great and have so much fun! Madeline and Haley never get together without spending some time playing dress-up!

Ashlyn got in on the action too and made a great Wonder Woman!
In other news, we were officially opened as a foster care home on Tuesday. We haven't gotten a call yet but will be excited to welcome a little visitor into our home when we do! With all of the talk of getting a foster child, Madeline and Will have been practicing their baby care (sorry for the blurriness of these few pictures. I am still getting used to my camera).
Are you as worried as I am about Will being in charge of a stroller? I think I will stay in control of this particular chore:)
Madeline took the liner out of her baby carrier and created sort of a sling to carry her baby around.

Today, we went to our town's annual 4th of July carnival. Madeline spent the night with her Nana and Pawpaw so she could have extra time with her cousin Emma while she was visiting them, so Will had Nathan and I all to himself. We started with a tour through the car show. Will enjoyed seeing them a lot more than last year. He is such a boy!I like the background of this picture and the look of pure concentration as Will takes everything in:

They had a little section with games for kids. Will's favorite was definitely this bubble pool with wands that made huge bubbles. I think he would have stayed at this one for several hours!

There was also a bean bag toss where kids were supposed to stand behind a line to throw. Apparently, Will did not agree with the placement of the line and found his own way to be successful at this game.

Then, it was on to face painting. Last year, he was not interested at all. This year, he was still a little shy and apprehensive (as he is with almost anything new) but willing to cooperate with some help from Daddy.

Here is the finished product and also my favorite picture taken with my new camera!

Just as we were getting a little too hot and had seen everything there was to see, my parents showed up with Madeline and Emma. So, we stayed for a little while longer and did some shopping. There were lots of cute booths with fun bows, shirts, and dresses. I got Madeline some really cute stuff. I will try to take pictures and post them later. I love homemade/etsy stuff!
Here are Madeline and Emma:

They also played all of the games and had their faces painted too. They went with a much more simple design: just a star!

I love how serious and involved Madeline looked while getting her face painted as opposed to Will who looked like he was being mildly tortured:) It's amazing how different they are!

This is my second favorite picture so far. It's not as artistic looking as the one of Will but I just think Madeline looks so beautiful! I just love those blue eyes and sweet smile!


Tomorrow, we plan to go to a BBQ at a friend's house and maybe see if there is a fireworks display to watch. I don't think I'm really ready to get some small fireworks of our own but Nathan is trying to change my mind! I hope everyone else has a great 4th. God has truly blessed America!