2 year old talk

There is nothing much better than the cute talk of a 2 year old. Don't get me wrong, some of Cooper's talk is just plain sassy, but when he says, "Mom, I like you!" there's nothing much better!

He's also been talking a lot about his "best buddy Colby." He's been carrying a blanket he got from the Burpo's when he was a baby saying "I miss my best buddy Colby."

We can't wait to see our great friends on Saturday!

Construction Zone

Brad & my Dad have spent the last 2 days in the basement construction zone. The egress window is in! It just needs trimmed out & the hole outside finished off. It looks great!

My dad asked Brad what he learned (neither of them had done this before) for next time..."hire someone to do it," was his response. Hmmm. Maybe we'd better wait a few days (weeks, months...) to ask. Kinda like asking a mother who's just given birth when she wants another baby I think. :)

Thank you so much Dad for your work & Ryan for your saw. We appreciate you so much.

Merry Christmas

What a sweet day today was. After sleeping in until 8:30, we drank hot chocolate while Brad told the story of Jesus' birth, death & resurrection. Our kids know lots of bible facts...they are learning for sure! Our prayer is that they will not only learn the facts but have a personal relationship with Jesus.

Opening presents with children is so much fun too. The past few years I've taken the kids (girls & boys separately) shopping for their siblings. They have a $1 limit each gift, but have a grand time choosing the perfect gift & then seeing them exchange gifts is great. We had everything from trucks to cotton candy to lipgloss to gummy worms.

We hope you've had a glorious time celebrating the greatest gift of all, Jesus.

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”- Isaiah 9:6

Reminder Next Year

Remind us next year to not wait to go Christmas shopping 4 days before the big day. It seems this year has been so full of changes & activity that we weren't in a hurry to shop. Last night we got a babysitter, went for supper & shopping.

There were many others in the same boat as we were. It was crowded! You could hardly push a cart through Target. At one point in Walmart we sought respite in the craft department because no one was in those aisles.

We did get almost everything done & even polished the night off with ice cream from Culver's. Anyone want to come over for a wrapping party?

Stuck

We woke up in the night to Cooper crying saying, "Dad, I stuck!"

He has been sleeping on the floor in our room (to get him apart from the other kids so he'll go to sleep easier) & somehow wriggled under the bed. Brad had to pull him out by his feet!

Brad laid him back down, gave him his blanket, he started sucking his thumb & was quiet. All was well.

6012 Pounds

The Minden Public Schools' challenge the last week was to donate at least 5,500 pounds of food for the food pantry. If they did they would get all of Friday off rather than just get out of school early that day. The kids were searching the kitchen for food--but not just any food; it had to be HEAVY!

Today alone the kids brought in over 2,000 pounds of food! That brought the total up to over 6000 pounds.

Although I'm happy the food pantry will benefit (last year the food donated by the school kids kept the pantry shelves stocked for almost the entire year) I told the kids I was sending them to school anyway on Friday if I heard any fighting going on.

Macarena & More

Imagine: 50-some kindergarteners doing the macarena--even in motion; 50-some 1st graders doing the hand-jive; 50-some 2nd graders dancing around the gym doing the cotton-eyed joe.

The Christmas Program was music, art & PE combined. Very neat. Each class sang 2 songs then did a PE routine. We laughed so hard at the 5-6 yr olds doing the macarena. And there was a girl trying to do the cotton-eyed joe who kept losing her shoe.

3rd Attempt: Success-full

1st weekend: ice, 2nd weekend: snow, 3rd weekend: success! We had pizza at our house, then Brad took the 6 4th graders & Parker to the movie, Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium for Hunter's 10th birthday.

But what do you get when you have our 5 kids plus 5 more 10 year olds? A wild & crazy-FULL house! They were all good, just a little loud. Only 1 injury (minor), 1 person vomiting & lots of fun.

Potty Training 101

Set the timer for 30 minutes & hear Cooper say "time to go potty!" when it rings. Give 1 gummy bear "tinkle treat" (thanks for the tip Angie).

Works well so far. Day 3.

Tooth Fairy X 2

Parker did end up going to have his tooth pulled at the dentist. This was actually right before Thanksgiving. Dr. Chris pulled both his bottom teeth. Parker did great with the shots, he just said, "Ow. Ow. Ow."

Recent Pics

No More Crib

We took down the baby crib yesterday. That is a milestone 10 years in the making! It's hard to believe after having at least 1 crib--sometimes 2 for the last 10 years that we no longer need one.

A moment of silence please...

Ice Cream Torture

We know a new way to torture Hunter--put a bit of ice cream on his left thumb. He can't get his thumb to his mouth because of the angle of his cast. Hmmm, think of the fun we could have with stuff he likes. Maybe a piece of donut or barbecued ribs...

We'd better use this while we can since he'll go to a short cast soon. :)

And the color is...

Blue! Hunter chose a blue cast this morning at the doctor. He has a long cast (from the hand to the shoulder) for now but will be able to go to a short cast in a few weeks. He's a little sore but in good spirits. I don't think he minds missing school today.

Sticks and Stones

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me...

Well, falling (jumping) off the back of the couch onto a cement floor will also break bones. Hunter fractured his ulna this afternoon, has a splint & will see an orthopedist tomorrow. The fracture is not displaced but the doctors here rarely cast, they usually send them on to a specialist which is fine by us.

So, here's Hunter as he's resting tonight in a splint...

I'll also say that our company (see below's post) reacted with great ease in crisis. Everyone cooperated with me as we tried to help Hunter. They also all colored him get-well pictures & prayed for him while he was at the doctor's.

5+3+3=11

Wow, what a crazy-fun weekend. We were able to keep 3 of my brother's kids, Chace, Kennadie & Ryan for the weekend. Saturday evening we also had some friends' kids here, Quenton, Sidney & Abby. So, 5+3+3=11. Wow! That's crazy-fun!



We really did have a good weekend, the kids all played well. They played in the snow, colored pictures, played downstairs & watched a lot of movies. Jumanji about 3 times, Evan Almighty at least 2 times as well as others. They also helped us clean the basement several times (after they'd wrecked it...). We've had a small sewer problem, so they also kept watch on the drain in the basement.

I'm tired tonight but know the time spent with those kids was well worth it.

Parker's in trouble

Parker got in "trouble" today for writing in cursive. Evidently 1st graders are not allowed to write their names in cursive. He said his teacher didn't tell him the rules! He has gotten quite good at his first name in cursive. That d'nealian writing Imperial teaches makes it so EASY to transition! They use the regular script here, so we'll see how easy the transition is for Parker & Kamrie...

Crib Climbing

Cooper can climb out of his crib in 3.2 seconds flat. At 2 1/2 yrs old, he is our child who has had the pleasure of being in the crib the longest. We'd move him to a real bed but hoped to wait until we had the egress window in the basement so the kids could spread out. For now they are all sleeping in one bedroom, so keeping the crib a bit longer makes sense space-wise.

I think Erica summed Cooper up the other day when she said something to the effect of him being such an easy baby that now he's making up for all that lost time! He has sure gotten ornery, I think I agree.

No news is good news?

It seems like I've went a long time with hardly any new posts. I think the saying "no news is good news" sort of applies. It seems like we've been busy but not really anything too "noteworthy" to report.

Unless you call water in the basement noteworthy. A few loads of clothes through the washer & a phone call to Bill's Plumbing & walaa! Problem solved.

Brad's been digging a 5X7 foot hole in the ground outside for an egress window also. My arms are SORE from hauling dirt in the wheelbarrow. We've put a lot of dirt around the foundation of the house. That hole created a lot of extra dirt! I was amazed at how much. Anyway, the window is about to be put in if the weather permits. Then the kids can spread out a bit rather than sleep all in one room. The rental house was good practice for us since we are all in 2 rooms again for awhile.

I have been hanging stuff on the walls here. I was using the cordless drill & the bit slipped off the screw & went into my finger today. OW!! I have a phillips' shaped puncture wound from it. I'm not getting a whole lot of sympathy & will probably survive. I did get some things hung & mini blinds put on a few windows.

The house is coming along, we'd love to have to come & visit!

So Amazing

We are so thankful for the modified atkins diet! Our friends' son, Austin, has had problems with different kinds of seizures this last year and found a doctor who helped them get Austin started on this diet.

Within 3 days he was seizure free! It is so amazing. God can work miracles, and this diet is one of those ways God is working in Austin's life.

You can read more about Austin's story at www.jblutz.blogspot.com.

We're praising Jesus with you Brooke & Jeff!