The Last Day of the Year

I can't even begin to describe how I felt this morning as my feet hit the floor. I started out 2008 with some people close to my heart hurting and now I'm ending 2008 with some people near and dear to my heart hurting. Sometimes all we can do is pray. There are so many things in life that we'll never understand.

There has been so much to happen this year that I cannot even begin to summarize it all. We ended 2007 praying for a job change for Jamie and probably not one in the ministry at all. Jamie had become disheartened with the position he was in at the other church, and just wanted to wash his hands of the whole thing.

Well, God had other plans.

2008 has also taught me so much. It has taught me that...

• I can be happy outside of Murray.
  
• Quality time is actually better and makes better memories than quantity.
  
• Kids are much more resilient and adaptable than adults.
  
• I really like living in town
• I can love a new youth group as much as the old.
  
• God provides even when you have doubts.
• God answers prayers in the way that He wants and not the way that you desire.
• There is nothing like seeing your own child come to Christ.
• Seeing people I love get married makes me bubble over with joy and become giddy like a school-girl.
• Some teenagers are stronger than some adults.
• That some prayers may go unanswered for now.

Home and So Sleepy!

Christmas Eve started with a wonderful service at church. I love Christmas eve! Even as an adult there is so much anticipation in the air that it just makes me bubble up inside. This was our first Christmas eve in the history of my life (or Jamie's) that we didn't see extended family. It was the first time since we moved here that I had felt a twinge of "homesickness", and I didn't like it! We debated on seeing a movie, but it was going to cost $40 and that is utterly ridiculous! So, we decided that if we were going to splurge on a night out, it had to be at a good restaurant. So, we ended up at the Olive Garden and the kids really enjoyed it. We came home to a couple of presents for the kids (from each other and from us) and watched a Christmas movie. All in all, when I went to bed that night, the homesickness had gone away and everything was fine.

We had a ball Christmas day, then headed to Murray about 5:00 that afternoon. We found out a couple of things to make next year's trip smoother. Fill up the car with gas before Christmas day and pack peanut butter sandwiches if you want to eat on the road! Wal-Mart was out of gas and the IGA was almost out of gas, but we finally got some. Then the kids started complaining about being hungry about an hour into the trip, but trying to find food was not an easy task. We finally found out that Hardee's was open until 8, but the one we chose only had 2 people working and a line around the building. What choice did we have, but to wait? These people were working on Christmas, for crying out loud.

So, we spent Friday and Saturday having Christmas celebrations and hanging out with family. We had alot of fun, but I'm very ready to snuggle in my own bed and I'm already looking forward to my Sunday afternoon nap. I'm really hoping that our music is extra peppy during church tomorrow or Jamie may have to poke me awake.

But, Christmas 2008 has come and gone. It was 4 days of celebration, too many toys, much laughter, and way too much food and stuffing our faces with junk. All is well though and every year I can hardly believe that another Christmas has past.

Merry Christmas!

New PJ's and slippers for Christmas Eve

Santa got Oreo Truffles this year

The loot before anyone touched it

Micah and Chloe's

Abbi and Hannah's

Micah playing Bakugan

Abbi giving Alexis a ride in her new scooter

Hannah playing her strawberry guitar

Chloe showing off her new doll, "Jenny"

Look What Hannah Did!

Hannah got a new puzzle in her gift exchange at school. She loves puzzles and is very patient with them. Well, she was insistent that no one help her with this one. She was determined to do it all by herself. It is the biggest puzzle she has ever attempted (300 pieces!). It took her several hours over the course of 2 days, but she finally got it finished and she was so proud of herself. She can really say, "I did it" this time.

School Parties!

Having 3 children in school certainly makes for a busy mommy during party times. I told the kids yesterday that I would only get to stay 15 minutes or so at each party. When Chloe and I entered, we just went to Abbi's class first. There was no real reason, but she is the closest. Then we went to Micah's and Hannah's. The funny thing was that I must have made my path just right, because I got to see all the kids do the gift exchanges and open their present. What are the odds?

So, it was a busy day and then we practically had to run out the door to beat the buses. It was either check the kids out before 2:15 (and the made the announcement at 2:05) or wait until regular pick up time. Since I had to pick up 3 kids scattered all over the school and check out of the front office, we made it just in the nick of time. Whew!

Chloe was a great sport too. It is hard for a 2 year old to be around all those presents and not get one. She never made one fuss!

One more day of school, then 2 weeks off! WOOHOO!

Program, Parties, and an Artist

The children's choirs had a short program and Christmas party last night. The kids looked precious and did a great job. The pictures are blurry and bad though. They placed Micah behind a couple of boys that were right around the same height, so I only saw him about half the time. And, they turned the lights off when Hannah's group entered, because they were carrying "candles" and it did look pretty, but made for a terrible picture.

This afternoon is the Christmas parties at school. Chloe and I are going to make a short appearance at each one hopefully. They are all excited with Christmas in their heels this week. I can hardly believe that it is only a week away!

All of my kids' teachers always compliment and brag on the kids' artistic abilities. I know that I'm often impressed and my pile of papers to keep just keeps growing. Even Chloe is drawing actual pictures now, which is just so cute to see and quite impressive. But, I wanted to share this picture that Hannah drew at school in art class.
Isn't that just crazy! She's 5! The other kids said that they made one too, so maybe I can snap a picture of theirs to compare them all. The art teacher sort of talked them through it, but there was no question as to what it was suppose to be.

Is it Piglet in a Dress or Olivia?

Chloe's new fascination is Olivia the Pig. It is a book series and very cute. She is quite obsessed with it actually. I also found while Christmas shopping that a stuffed Olivia in the red dress is quite impossible to find. Amazon has one that is not available yet and I should be getting an email when I can buy it. So, it is out for this Christmas, although we are asking Santa for the book:-)

Today, I was looking for a toy that I thought they would enjoy and came across this Piglet. He is the old fashioned Piglet, so his ears are bigger and he is a paler pink. It was actually a baby toy that Micah had. When I brought him out, Chloe said, "My Olivia!" and started carrying it around.
Well, after she had played with it a bit, I realized that if that Piglet had on a dress, then he would look remarkably like Olivia. I can't sew for anything, but I'm pretty handy with a hot glue gun. I went through my scraps of fabric and ribbon and made this little creation.
Poor Piglet. He's been stuffed in a box for some time now, only to come out and have a dress made for him. What will the others in the Hundred Acre Woods think of his new wardrobe? He's quite in touch with his feminine side after we got a hold of him and Chloe couldn't be happier!
I couldn't help, but just laugh. I mean, the things that we will do for our kids and the things that 2 year olds are happy with.

Iced In!

The kids are out of school due to the icy roads. No snow to play in though. It's just ice. So, we all snuggled in and slept a little longer than a typical weekday and we are all in our P.J.'s, except for Jamie who is at work, of course.

Things happening...

Honestly, there isn't much happening! Which would explain the lack of blog entries this week. The kids got out of school an hour early today due to the ice that we are anticipating later this afternoon and tonight. I'm kind of hoping to avoid that, but better now than around Christmas when we want to head to Murray, I suppose.

I finished up shopping for the kids today and a few others. I really only have a few more things to get and my shopping will be complete for 2008! I also dropped my Christmas cards in the mail today.

Last weekend, we made Oreo balls. YUMMY! You blend up a package of oreos and mix it with a package of cream cheese (super easy with a food processor), roll into balls, chill, and then dip in white chocolate. It is so good and they are now gone as a result of the yumminess. Here are the kids helping me. Chloe was taking a nap at the time. She tends to eat alot more than she rolls!
Abbi had to make a gingerbread boy for school. He looks good enough to eat!

Micah had to decorate a renaissance mask.

Hannah is busy reading books for school now. It amazes me how well she can read. She will soon be in Accelerated reader. Abbi has just started Accelerated reader, and is doing excellent.

Chloe has been a power shopper lately when I need her to be. The other day, she had been playing with a couple of pennies all morning. That really isn't all that unusual when she finds change around the house. We went to Wal-Mart and she wanted to drop her money into the Salvation Army bucket. It was so sweet! We have put money in there on other occasions, but it was always money that I gave her for that purpose. Giving those 2 pennies was giving something away that was actually hers, so it was just so heart warming and sweet.

Micah brought home a lot of homework (what else is new!), and we are hoping to tackle that early with the extra hour today and sit down to a Christmas movie this evening.

Laundry Soap!

Jamie calls me thrifty, but I think I'm probably more of a tightwad (and I'm OK with that). Even as a little girl, I hoarded money and hated spending my Christmas and Birthday money. As I got older, this translated more to being particular and frugal with our finances. I'm very cautious when making a purchase and try to conserve and cut corners any way that I can. I also feel that it is a skill that has worked out well as I think this is part of my "job" as the stay at home parent.

Laundry! Don't we all hate it? It is the never ending job, especially with a bigger family. I do laundry almost every day, and the hamper is rarely completely empty. A while ago my friend had told me of a homemade laundry soap recipe that works great. I kind of tucked the information in the back of my mind, but didn't do anything about it. Then, we were watching a TV show a few weeks ago where the family makes their own laundry soap. I became a bit more interested in learning more about it, so I scoured the internet and emailed my friend for the recipe.

I was about halfway through my current detergent, so I decided that it would be a good time to find the ingredients and make the switch. The only thing that was a bit difficult to find was the Washing Soda. Don't let the package deceive you, this is not the same thing as baking soda and not that easy to find. I looked a few places in town, and came up empty handed. I finally found a place online that offered free shipping, so I ordered a couple of boxes, which should last a good long time.

I paid less for all my ingredients than I usually do my regular detergent. The recipe will make about 64 loads and the ingredients will last me over a year . I did the math and I can do laundry for about a penny a load! So, I basically made an entire batch for less than $1 and the same amount Tide would cost me around $12.00 or more! This will be a big money saver on something we use a lot of!

Here is the recipet:

*Laundry Detergent*

1 bar Ivory soap, grated
½ cup washing soda (NOT BAKING SODA!!!)
½ cup Borax powder
2 gallon (or bigger) bucket
Essential Oil (optional)

Grate the soap and put in a saucepan. Add 6 cups water and heat until the soap melts. Add the washing soda and borax and stir until dissolved. Remove from heat. Pour 4 cups hot water into the bucket and then add the soap mixture and stir. Now add 1 gallon plus 6 cups of water and stir. Let the soap sit for about 24 hours and it will gel. Use ½ cup detergent per full load. The mixture will not be a solid gel, but more of an “egg noodle soup” type of look. I keep it in the bucket I make it in on top of the dryer. I have also used 1/2 a bar of Ivory soap and it works well too. You can also add several drops of essential oil to make the laundry smell pretty (I used Orange oil)


I also have started using my fabric softener in a different way (again, thanks to the internet and my friend). Buy your favorite fabric softener, and mix 1 part fabric softener to 2 parts water in a tub or container with a lid. Throw in some of those cheap sponges (I even cut mine in half). When you put a load of laundry in the dryer, take a sponge and squeeze it enough that it won't drip on the way to the dryer and throw it in and dry as normal. No more buying the dryer sheets! It stretches my liquid softener for MILES and I really don't notice much difference.

The verdict? I've done 2 loads today and they smell so fresh and nice. They are soft and clean and it is friendlier to the environment. What more can you ask for? Some people on the internet have commented that they like this better than Tide (or any other favorite). I'm not sure why I didn't start this years ago. I already make most of my own household cleaners anyways.

I promise to post about the kids next time:-)

My new favorite Christmas song

Jamie can tell you that I'm not a music lover. I know that is unusual. It's not that I don't enjoy music, but it is just not a prominent fixture in my life I don't guess.

During worship service, the music is one of my favorite things, and probably effects more of my emotions than a sermon. I listen to the radio in the car, but it is merely background noise unless I'm driving alone where I might sing out loud and jam going down the road. Most days I get a song stuck in my head that I will sing periodically throughout the day. Sometimes it is some annoying kid tune from a children's program, but it is usually a Christian praise song or hymn. I probably haven't bought music for myself since I got my first car with a tape player, and that was only to have "cool" music to cruise to. I don't own a IPod and don't really have a desire for one either. I guess that makes me a bit weird in most people's eyes.

However, lately we've been jamming to the Christmas tunes. I'm really enjoying the CD that Jamie's parents got him for Christmas last year by Third Day (Jamie's all time favorite group). There is one song that I have listened to over and over called "Born in Bethlehem." It is just one of those songs that makes you smile and cry at the same time.

Please take a moment to listen to this song. It is awesome! The entire CD is very good too if you are looking for a good Christian Christmas CD to enjoy.

Busy Saturday!

Micah had his last Drama Club meeting for 2008. They performed monologues for us and he did very well. He always "gets into character" and really puts enthusiasm and excitement into it. He has really enjoyed the Drama Club and he will be joining again next semester.

After the monologues, they had a Christmas party and the kids got to eat a bunch of junk food for lunch:-)

We then headed to Hobby Lobby to purchase our annual Christmas ornaments. Each child chooses whatever they want and someday when they move out on their own, they will already have a collection of ornaments for their tree. Hopefully they'll get a kick out of the Blue's Clues and Princess ones and realize that it represented a time in their life. It always takes forever as Micah tends to be very indecisive over everything. He finally settled on one and we grabbed it a left the ornament aisle so he wouldn't second guess himself again!

The kids and I are now home for the day, while Jamie headed over to the church. He has to judge a chili contest and then the youth Christmas Party is tonight. I'm glad to be in the warm house and away from the cold cold temperatures! Chloe is asleep and the big kids are listening to a book on CD from the library as they draw. It is sooooooo nice and peaceful, which doesn't happen much around here.

Christmas Tree 2008

This is first Christmas in our new home, so figuring out where to put all the decorations was more of a chore. We finally figured out the best place to put everything without having to rearrange the entire living room, which is a plus.

It is kind of funny how a family Christmas tree changes over time. Before kids, I wanted all my ornaments arranged in a certain way so that everything was symmetrical and orderly. After kids, I have more homemade ornaments that the kids have made over the years and the tree is very bottom heavy. The only thing that I do is put the more breakable and special ornaments at the top, but the rest is their creation. It wouldn't win any kind of beauty contest, but it warms my heart and that is all that matters. Who am I trying to impress anyways?

We didn't know where to hang our stockings this year. We usually just hung them over the couch, but there is a window over the couch here, so we had to get a creative. I took my curtains down and hung them on the curtain rod. It kind of reminds me of, "you might be a redneck if...", but it works.
Jamie even ventured out and decorated the outside. We have not done that in years! We got a deal on the blow up things (thank you Black Friday), and got a few strands of lights to complete the ensemble. It didn't take him that long and the kids are thrilled.


The penguin is now named, "PeenGween". Ok, I'm not even sure how to spell that. When we asked where they were located at Walgreen's, the lady at the counter looked over at her co-worker and said, "Do we have any more of those PeenGweens?" Jamie and I just looked at each other. We had gotten up at 4am and of course, it was hilariously funny at the time. I'm sure that will always be his name thanks to the Walgreen's lady.

A Good Time with Family

We were "home" from Wednesday night to late Saturday afternoon. It was good to go back and just enjoy ourselves without a set agenda of events. We spent Thanksgiving day, which was unseasonably warm, with my family. We spent most of the day outside and we didn't even need a jacket for most of the day. The day consisted of eating, jumping on my old trampoline, the kids riding behind the 4 wheeler with my dad, and a pile of leaves. It was fun and a day that I think the kids will always remember.
Friday morning, Jamie and I went out for our first Black Friday sale. All, I gotta say is parents will do some crazy things for their kids! I really dislike huge crowds and always swore that I would never venture out into the madness just to save a buck. BUT...Micah had asked for something in particular and it was about half price. So, Jamie and I got up at 4am and was at Wal-Mart a little after 4:30. We went and waited beside this item and we ended up glad that we got there early, because there were only about 20 of them and they were gone within the hour!

While we were there, we ended up getting a few of the smaller deals (things that I would have bought anyways). It was like a scavenger hunt, but not as much fun! Nothing was put in a logical place in the store and none of the workers knew anything. So, Jamie would stand and guard our loot while I fought the crowds to walk around and scope out where things were. I literally could not even walk around and I didn't even have a cart. It was like a New York City traffic jam of carts up and down every aisle and everywhere. TERRIBLE, but we survived!

So, we finished up our weekend by eating even more and spending time with more family. We made a stop by our old church and visited with the pastor and secretary. It was nice to catch up with them too. Overall, it was just a good weekend. We were all tired though and ready for the comforts of home!

Next trip home...CHRISTMAS!

Thankful!

About 7:30 this morning, I heard a few noises from the other room. I got up and this is what I saw. All 4 of my kids squooshed together on the little couch watching a cartoon. I had to snap a picture. There is nothing like the sight of little kids with PJ's and messy hair.

We will be headed "home" after church tonight to spend Thanksgiving weekend with family. I realize that this year (as always) I have a lot to be thankful for.

• Christ's sacrifice
  
• A new home
• A new ministry opportunity and Jamie loves his job
• A new church that is growing and on fire for the Lord
• Micah's salvation
• Health
• A new baby on the way in the Hughes family (no, I'm not the one pregnant this time!)
• God providing our needs
• A Godly husband
• 4 beautiful children
• Jordyn's foot is healing really well
• Denisha and Trevor are married!

This is just the short list of things that are in my mind recently or this year. I have many more things to be thankful for and feel blessed.

Fancy Nancy, Pilgrim, and Native Americans

Both of my girls have had "Fancy Nancy" parties in the past few days. They earn different fun days as rewards for good behavior, and both classes just happen to choose the same one. The girls loved it!
Imagine my surprise when I opened the Friday email newsletter and saw this picture at the very top of the page.

Last week, Hannah had a feast in her class to represent the first Thanksgiving. They made both Pilgrim and Native American costumes and got to choose which person they wanted to be at the feast. I remember doing something similar when I was about her age.

I'm getting the house clean today, because we are headed towards "home" tomorrow after church to spend the long weekend with family. We haven't been back that direction in 2 months, and that was not an enjoyable trip, because half of us were sick. Hopefully this weekend will be a better time for all.

Abbi's Award and the Icy Cold Christmas Parade

Abbi was bouncing off the walls yesterday afternoon, because of the phone call and she got the Principal's Award of Excellence, which earned her a certificate and a dog tag. They collect dog tags for different achievements and wear them on Fridays, so she can proudly wear her very special dog tag. We are very proud of her and she is proud of herself. I know my kids are smart and polite, but it is exra special for it to be recognized by others.
We went to our first Christmas parade here. It is in the evening, so it is nice to see all the lights and all, but it was so incredibly cold! I cannot believe it is this cold in November!!! The temperature was supposedly 33 degrees, but I would have sworn that it was much colder. The kids were excited and we bundled up with some extra layers.
Abbi decided that her face was cold so she decided to use her scarf for some warmth. We also just watched the movie "Penelope" so she was trying to be her.
When Micah got really cold, I put my arms around him. He would never admit, but I think he was embarrassed for his mother to be bear hugging him in public He didn't complain, because we were trying to heat each other up.
Chloe was in complete awe of the whole thing. She thought it was just fantastic and even though I know she had to be cold, she never once complained about it!
Well, we were out on the sidewalk for almost 2 hours! There was still no end in sight of the parade, and Hannah was starting to meltdown as a result of being so cold. She was crying and just wanted to go home. So, this is why we missed the last half hour or so of the parade and to be honest, no one cared, because we were all very frozen. We saw a lot of other people leaving too, and they were probably thinking what we were, "when is this stinking thing going to be over!?!?"
We are all warm and toasty in our home right now. I also know that I'd never be happy further north where winter is the longest season of the year. BLECH! Give me hot weather any ol' day, but keep me away from the cold!