they win--- again

Why is it that when ever I try to remove things from this house (toys/gadgets/clothes etc etc) said item then becomes the best thing known to man.  This tent has lived a good life.  It has been fun and entertaining.  I thought it was on it's way out.  Then, it magically re-appeared in my family room.  The two actually worked together well (team work I think they called it) to set it up.  I asked what it was doing down in the middle of the family room and this is the answer I got- from Molly-- "you told me to read my book, I needed to make an awesome book reading area".  um, how am I suppose to respond to that?!

Boosterthon Molly 2014

Molly had fun,  she tired out easier than Sam, but she had a blast.

 Her run was a little different than Sams.  Her intent was not all about the laps.  She enjoyed the sights, the sounds, the audience cheering her on, the cones...

 

You see, there are cones marking the path.  Believe it or not some kids would actually run right beside these cones and knock them over...  This distressed my little girl- so much so that she had to arrange them back into their perfect little row...

She ran a good, strong race, She did not run as many laps as Sam, but she still did the minimum.  She enjoyed it though- the whole experience

Boosterthon Sam 2014

 As usual, Sam LOVED the fun run----  he really gets it... to him it really is a "fun" run!!  Almost every picture of him looks the same, from the first lap to the 40th---  he never lost that sweet smile!!!!

 

He was smiling while waving-- look at that focus!

   

Making great strides 

 

 He was wearing down a bit-- but you could not tell, he was just happy, happy, happy!!!!

oh, that girl...

 We all know it, we all laugh about it, but here is just a little proof.  Molly does tend to dance to the beat of a different drummer.

 The 1st graders all wrote a thank you note to the veterans .  Apparently they needed to paint a flag as well.  I loved looking at all of the cute flags, seemed they all had 50 stars and 13 stripes.  Then I spotted Molly's.  I guess we now only need 12 states and wow, can't even tell how many colonies we have.  and stripes...  why should we aline them?  Isn't it prettier to fan it out like the sun's rays?!?

 

And why would anyone number their spelling test where you can actually fit your spelling word on the paper?  That would be crazy!  We talked about it after I got her paper.  She still claims that there was not a problem... she was able to get the words on there wasn't she??!!! 

 

Then I get this in her daily folder...  Thinking it must have been a bad day, and this just topped it off...

 

oh, I do not know what goes on in that sweet little head of hers sometimes, (most times) but she does make a smile come across my face on occasion...

throwing away food

Are You Throwing Away Good Food?  Good to know facts....

An eye-opening new study claims 'use by' and 'sell by' dates on food are confusing and misleading. click below....

 Perfectly Fine Years Past Date? »

proud mama moment

I was having a conference with Sam's teacher.  She had to get into his file.  She pulled this out and said, awe, this is sweet, did you see this?  I looked at it.  I LOVED it-- so much so that of course I had to take a pic!  Wonder why this paper never came home?
Love that boy!!!

crystals

He had a special project to do for school.  We got to grow crystals!  It was an interesting project, I was not sure if it would end up working or not. But it did---  boy did it ever!  These things grew and grew and grew.  let me tell you a secret.  Do not put them in a corner in the kitchen and forget about them while you wait for your son to write his report about them.  They might just explode..  ok, they might not explode, but they are sure to expand.  They went onto the counter, onto the backsplash, onto the wall, down the cupboard and all on the floor. What a mess!  At least it was just salt, so clean up was pretty simple (thankfully!)
Sam did a super job, and he was quite proud of his accomplishment. and so were we!

this grinch did not steal christmas

It was DEAR night at school.  The kids love this.   They get to go to school at night, wear their PJ's, get hot chocolate and cookies and then roam the hallways listening to their favorite teachers reading stories.  It is a nice night out for the kids...  Look who stopped by to see them this year...

 This is who visited us last year (2013)  so much fun!!!

Christmas songs at church Sam and Molly

This is the best I got---  My camera kept stopping on me?  then it was completely blurry?? who know-- I am sure it is the camera and not the camera holder---  that would never be ha ha.

Molly looks like she has fleas this year.  Sam looks like he could fall asleep at any minute.  Yup, best performance ever ha

Apparently I kept them both up too late the night before as they yawn throughout.  Doesn't phase Molly though-- she continues to sing through the yawn listen carefully, you can really hear it.

It was really special though because Sam's 3rd grade teacher from school came to see him sing!!  It was a wonderful surprise!  So sweet.

and it would not be a church singing event without Molly trying to do something to make sure she is noticed...

I love Christmas time.  I love theses kids.  I love that they are singing songs about our Savior.  I pray that they will soon listen to Christ stirring in their hearts.

some days.....

words to live by

for those of you who believe---

I saw this on a blog that I frequent and thought it sounded pretty cute.  We don't believe in Santa, but I know that the kids will get a kick out of watching these!!  Pretty cute!


The Reindeer Cam is back again this year! If you have kids you must check out this site. It is really cool because kids get to watch Santa’s Reindeer live!
They even have scrolling box of Santa’s List – you can get your kiddos name on it by….

• Anyone that sends a letter to Santa get’s on the list. Send your letters to 4593 Wren Dr. SE Caledonia, MI 49316.
• You can also add people to the list by donating to the reindeer fund.
• Or write us a review in the iPhone/iPad/iPod App Store! Then e-mail us at NiceList@ReindeerCam.com with the names you would like to add and your “nickname”. (Use subject line “App Review”)

The reindeer are fed at 11AM, 6PM & 9PM EST Monday thru Friday and 6PM EST on Saturday and Sunday.

ELMO LOVES YOU

I was in my room, going through Christmas gifts when I came across him.  There he was, double wrapped in bags so as to not let little peeking eyes see the treasure inside.  I pulled him out and smiled to myself.  I remembered how he got there, as though it was yesterday, but knowing it was several years ago.  He was special, oh so very, very special... (and he still is today).

The tragic, unthinkable had happened.  ELMO, the oh so loved ELMO went MIA.  It was bad enough that an AMBER ALERT went out to all of our friends who had visited our house that day in desperate hope that he would magically reappear.  He did not.  The search was on. The house was literally torn apart.  She could not live without him and we could not live another day with her sad, broken heart.  The tears, oh the tears-- they just fell and fell.  She had just turned 3 the month before, he had been her comfort for years, had gone everywhere with her and did not "break" like her beloved green foolers.  He had always been there for her, but now... he was gone.
We looked on line, at the store, but he seemed to have vanished...  then Daddy found him.  One of the Walmarts had one-- he made a special trip during work and found him.  There he was, he with a twin.  The only two remaining Elmo Loves You dolls in the store.  He was on sale-- apparently they no longer made this special guy.  (which is crazy, because of ALL the ELMO things out there, this was by far the only one deemed worthy enough of her love).  He grabbed him and bought him as quickly as he could.  He had saved the day... or so we thought....
Apparently the story of Elmo being cleaned and now here he was all soft and fluffy did not fly very well.  She did not believe it for one second and certainly could not/would not accept this impostor!  It took quite a bit of pleading, but eventually an Elmo impersonator was better than no Elmo at all, so he was accepted, and loved on and taken everywhere. 

Knowing how important this guy was and that he was necessary for my little girls' happiness, I rushed out the next day and purchased yet another Elmo Loves You doll.  It was the last one they had, the last one we had ever seen--quite possibly the last one ever made, and it was MINE. I got him.  I double wrapped him.  I hid him in the spare room closet hoping to never have to pull him out, but feeling relieved to know that someday I could.
That day finally came.  it was yesterday.  I showed him to Kirk.  We thought it would be fun to exchange this nice, soft, fuzzy, CLEAN Elmo for the other one in the middle of the night.  The exchange was made before we went to bed.  Then a while later we heard crying.  It was coming from Molly's room.  She realized stinky Elmo was replaced...

 Thankfully she has accepted the new guy, though she will not give up the old.  At least they are enjoying a happy life together!!!

Guess he feels good to know that he will not be replaced!!!

ADCD

GREAT job CHICK-FIL-A

Christy Pepple, in Faith News. Mad World News

January 31, 2014

As we can all recall, Chick-Fil-A was the center of controversy as they were accused of “forcing their religious views” on others when president Dan Cathy made his political leanings known regarding gay marriage.  You’ll never guess what the once demonized business is now forcing on others now – FOOD.  Yep, that’s right, food.

According to Fox News, a local Chick-Fil-A came to the rescue as a rare snowstorm in the South left citizens stranded on icy interstates and highways, including Highway 280 in Birmingham, Alabama.  Thanks to the kindness and generosity of the restaurant employees and owner, Mark Meadows, a good number of stranded motorists were able to find food and shelter from the storm.

Meadows closed the restaurant and sent his staff home when the snow started to accumulate, but a few hours later, many returned to the restaurant, unable to get home due to the weather and road conditions.  Audrey Pitt, store manager recounts her experience, “Our store is about a mile and a half from the interstate and it took me two hours to get there.  It was a parking lot as far as I could see.”  Due to the conditions, Audrey decided to leave her car on the side of the interstate and joined the bundled up drivers trudging through the snow on foot.  Describing the scene, she said, “At one point there were more people walking than driving.”

The staff of the Chick-fil-A, a company founded on Christian principles, decided to lend a helping hand to the drivers – some of which had been stuck in their cars for almost seven hours without food or water.

The stranded employees that had returned to the restaurant cooked several hundred sandwiches and stood out on both sides of Highway 280 and handed out the sandwiches to anyone they could get to, slipping and sliding as they braved the falling snow and ice.  The best part – the meal was a gift and Chick-Fil-A refused to take a single penny for the sandwiches.

Stranded drivers were surprised by the free sandwiches and grateful for the hot meal.  Why didn’t Chick-Fil-A choose to make some extra money during the storm? They had a captive crowd of customers, unable to go to another restaurant, so why did they choose to give the food away?  Audrey explained, “This company is based on taking care of people and loving people before you’re worried about money or profit.  We were just trying to follow the model that we’ve all worked under for so long and the model that we’ve come to love. There was really nothing else we could have done but try to help people any way we could.”

Birmingham, Alabama Chick-Fil-A owner Mark Meadows (COURTESY LAUREN DANGO)

Chick-Fil-A’s generosity didn’t stop there.  After delivering the food and even helping drivers maneuver along the icy road by pushing a car up an incline, the owner and staff took it one step further and opened up their dining room to anyone who wanted to sleep on a bench or a booth.  This morning, the weary staff members fired up their ovens once again and began preparing chicken biscuits. The only thing that Chick-Fil-A has closed is its cash register, giving the stranded motorists another free meal.

Chick-Fil-A played out the biblical values they were once fiercely criticized for following.

Matthew 25:35 “For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in…”

Will this example of Christian values receive the same publicity as the others Chick-Fil-A once verbalized?  Unfortunately, it’s doubtful, but for whatever it is worth, Mad World News applauds Chick-Fil-A for their ongoing demonstration of Christian values. We hope our readers will give Chick-Fil-A the positive media coverage they deserve by sharing this story on social media.