Year in Review

as inspired by the amazing Miz. Booshay

January:

OK, I can hardly remember back to January, but I took a very spur of the moment work trip to Rhode Island and stayed in an amazing hotel and had the best Italian food I have ever tasted in my life. Now THAT is a memory I can't forget. The company that paid for us (not our school tax dollars, you will be happy to know) is very generous to their guests!!

February:

I got glasses. I don't wear them all the time, mostly as a fashion accessory, but I find I'm needing them a little more as I approach 40!

March-April: We started our South trip in Dallas at the end of March and into April. This trip was one of the highlights of our year. It was so fun seeing the country and some old friends along the way. (Old in longevity not age, of course!) Here we are in a amazingly gorgeous place in Mississippi along the Natchez Trace. This trip brought our grand total up to 35 states that we have been in. I turned 39 in March and Annsley turned double digits in April.

May-The weekends in May were mostly dedicated to putting in our irrigation system at our property. This was a LOT of work and the kids did a ton of work. At the time I remember thinking that there was NO WAY this was going to be worth it, but I have sure been enjoying the produce in my freezer from all our work! OK, this picture wasn't from May, but you get the idea.

June: We took a short trip over to Seattle and had a great time staying with family and seeing some fun things. I also passed the oral defense for my masters degree. That was exciting!

July:

I finished my masters degree!!! Every July we head to the Oregon coast for a week with my family. This is always a yearly highlight for everyone. This year we extended our vacation a week and toured around Oregon with Danny's parents before we headed to Cannon Beach.

August:

LaNae (Danny's sister) and kids returned to Spokane from California. The kids have been so happy to be back together again!! There was lots of swimming and a visit from our wonderful Chicago friends (time to start a blog, Bets!!)

September:

We started back officially to school.

October: Seth turned 9 this month and had soccer games and practice and Annsley was rehearsing for Little Women, the Musical. October seems a bit of a blur.

November: Annsely was in her first play and loved it! See this post for pictures.

December: There are many Christmas highlights this year. One highlight is always the Christmas play that the cousing literally spend all year planning and practicing. The older the get, the sweeter it is.

12th Man Bracelet

This bracelet makes me smile. You can't see the little football charm, but it is there. Thanks Andie for letting me know about it.

Just in time for the playoffs.

Those Redskins looked tough today!

Go SEAHAWKS!

Santa Came Last Night....

I think he was heading south for a post-Christmas vacation, but he made an appearance last night. Or, maybe he just knows when people are celebrating. Somehow Grandpa managed to miss Santa again this year. He always seems to be gone when Santa makes his appearance!

Bets, does this look terrifyingly familiar?

Santa has been known to surprise (and frighten) people by appearing outside their window without warning.

No crying children here this year.

Wordless Wednesday

I'm so excited....

about this....









I used to be a scrapbooker, but the reality is that I haven't even printed off pictures for about three years now, so I don't think I can call myself a scrapbooker anymore. I've got supplies and paper galore, but I don't seem to make anymore to do it. So, I'm switching teams. I'm going to try my hand at digital scrapbooking. I really love the whole notion of NO MESS. I also like that I can skip that pesky step of printing off the pictures. We'll see what comes of it, but I'm excited to try. Wish me luck!

Merry Christmas

I miss my family. My parents (and brother/sil, and Grandparents) are in Seattle with extended family this year. I really enjoy being with Danny's family but, honestly, I just kinda miss my parents. It heightens my awareness of how blessed I am to have a great relationship with them. We'll celebrate when they get back but tonight I am feeling a twinge of sadness.

Tonight I am praying for the military families who are separated for a lot more than four nights. What an amazing sacrifice!! Tonight I am thankful for the Father who sent his Son away from his side to be with us for a short time and become our Savior.

Merry Christmas, friends!!

Proud knitter

I thought I'd show off what I made for Annsley.

Thanks Ree

I thought we'd try something new this year, so we made Ree's sugar cookies. I like them because they look kind of cool-in a vintagey kinda way! We haven't added the white piping to them yet.

Then, I got a couple of hours ON MY OWN to go to do some shopping. I'm almost done with my shopping. Did I mention that I got to be ON MY OWN? :-)

May all your cookies remain unbroken this season!

Popcorn balls

Here we are for the annual popcorn ball making party. I am typing this live as the event is unfolding. I'm hoping to give a flavor and taste (so to speak) of the event. Grandma Great is slaving over the hot stove trying to make sure that we don't cross over from "hard ball" to "soft crack." There is a fine line between ball and crack, as you well know.

Grandpa Great has his hands buttered and stands ready to mix and form when the moment arrives.

The kids (and mostly Grandpa Larry) are playing Christmas carols on the piano. He misses few notes but he adds great flourish and flair to the songs. You might ask him for a performance over in Seattle. He *might* be willing to perform. (He sings too-ask him about Do You Know What I Know)

The moment is approaching. The tension mounts. Will it be right? Will it be too hard or too soft? Here is comes. We have contact! Erica and GG stir like mad. Grandma Great is certain, as she is with EVERY single batch that *this* will be the batch that does not work. In the years we have been doing this, I have not know a batch to not work, but the tradition continues.

Verdict: THEY STICK!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Christmas time is here....

Here's what I did tonight.... I *love* these old classics.









Here are the fine young people who celebrated the event.....The Sanchez kids are staying with us for a few days and the Klock kids came to join us for the evening.

Sign Language Class

Annsley and Seth have been taking a sign language class since last year and their teacher is just wonderful. She has really given both the kids a love and passion for sign language. I have been so impressed with all that they know after a relatively short time. All trimester they have been working on a report of a prominent deaf person. Annsley chose Laura Bridgeman and Seth chose Laurant Clerc. They wrote an essay and made a poster. Their final project was to sign their report for the class. It was so cute how excited/nervous they were last night. They practiced, oh boy did they practice!!

Seth literally raced into my classroom after his performance and showed me that he had received 100/100 points on his project. I wish I could have captured his sweet face with a picture. I wanted to kiss his teacher for giving him that grade, but more than that, I wanted to kiss his teacher for giving him the opportunity to get in front of others and show what he has learned. This doesn't come easily for this boy and I was so proud I wanted to burst. Annsley came down a little later to show me her 100 as well. But, she enjoys being in front of others and so it wasn't quite as hard for her. Her presentation was about nine minutes long (Seth's was about 5 minutes). Annsley has a beautiful stage presence when she signs and she really enjoys it.

Their teacher recorded them and I am hoping that I will be able to figure out how to upload a clip of them signing. I wish I could post a video of Annsley signing Silent Night, but I don't have a digital video camera yet.

This is one of the reasons that I love TEC. It gives the kids a chance to work with other teachers who will inspire them to do things that I can not teach. I was also happy that they are diligent about their deadlines and due dates without me pushing them. They did this all on their own. They were the only two students in the class who were ready to go with their reports today.

Also today in their science class their final project is to wire a little cardboard box house. They have been studying electricity and circuits in the class. They have been having so much fun and learning so much.

In their writing class they are putting their finishing touches on their expository essays and getting ready for their writer's celebration next week. This is where they read a selection that they have read in front of the class and parents.

In their music class next week they are putting on a little performance for the parents. They will be playing autoharps and doing some other cool things.

These are some of the reasons that I am so thankful for TEC!!

Wordless Wednesday

Quiet Strength

OK, maybe you don't like football as much as I do, but this book was amazing and it touched me in many ways. I was full of tears throughout the whole book, moved by his God honoring attitudes in difficult circumstances. The Colts were already my 2nd favorite team because of Dungy but now I am officially and whole-heartedly a Dungy fan.