Well, If You Must Know

It's been a while.  I know this.  So, in a nutshell...

Blaine got a mo-hawk.  But his curls are making a comeback
and I think he's going to have a curl-hawk here pretty soon. 

Blaine and David caught some fish.

They cleaned them.

We ate them.  (Mmmmmmmm!)

We watched Daddy play softball.  The best part of the game though
was when my sweet Mister asked me, "When is this gonna be over?  And
is Daddy's game going to be on TV?  I'll just watch it later." (LOL)

And then May came.  And apparently it snows in Colorado.  IN MAY!

Blaine made a super cool volcano with Ms. Sara.
But then he ran out of vinegar.  (What a project!)

Oh, did I mention that it SNOWED in May?

Tug had a growth on his eye.  The vet had to remove it surgically.
He is now sporting a cone so he doesn't paw at his stitches and
I think his eye might be permanently droopy post-op. :(  Poor thing.

Mister is still in swim lessons but now he has a fancy swim cap.

I went on a women's retreat with our church.  It was, hands down,
one of the top five best weekends of my life.  God worked
very powerfully this past weekend.  I am a grateful lady today.

More of Crooked Creek Ranch, where the retreat was held.

My kids' favorite cousin had her 1st birthday party this
weekend too.  She loved her cake.  More than any other
one year old.. ever.. I think!

And of course, Hannah G never turns down a cupcake.
Wouldn't be right.

Every time we go to see Uncle Steve (and I do mean, EVERY time)
Hannah fake cries and says, "I don't yike Uncle Steeeve.  He's a big guy."
Which is funny because she says it every time and he's not big.
Clearly she is "not" liking this book at all!

Her favorite party favor: noise makers!  Oh, I'll
get Aunt Sarah back for this someday :)

Oh, there is a lot more but I can't remember any of it right now.  I do know there are only two more full weeks of school left after this one and then it is officially SUMMER break and next week marks one whole year of David's employment at Trada!  Not to mention the biggest news of all - some little person around here is turning 3 in a month!  Wow, time flies when you're having the busiest and craziest life ever!

I'll be sure to update you all again when the kids are like 9 and 7!  Ha :)

Gifts

Today in the mail we received a beautiful gift.  My 80 year old grandmother (aka: Gram, Grannie, Grandma) sent the kids Christmas cards today but not your store bought variety... handcrafted, artistic cards!  I was shocked because I had no idea my grandma possessed such talent! 

Inside the cards she put a picture of her and her six children (my mom and her five siblings) for the kids' memory boxes.  So sweet.  Thanks Gram :)

I have been busy with the kids' busy schedules, baking (unsuccessfully at this high altitude), decorating and planning for the party we had last night.  We hosted the Christmas party for our Flatirons Church small group which was an Ugly Sweater/Gingerbread Man decorating party.  We had a lot of fun and I'll probably regret posting this picture but here are our sweaters.

Mine wasn't actually that bad... I mean, snowmen throwing snowballs is kind of cute... not my style, but cute.  David on the other hand sported a festive (ladies) turtleneck and a festive (ladies) sweater vest.  We looked awesome.

Everybody brought their best to the Gingerbread man decorationg contest.

THE WINNER!

Adam n' Eve.  This was David's idea, my creation.
David also added that this was the "Senior Version"
because of their wrinkles...

Now that the party is over I feel like I can breath a little bit.  I love hosting and preparing for a party but it takes a lot of work and it's always nice to host a lovely party and then know it was all worth it :)  Christmas shopping has been done for several weeks now so I don't have that looming but I do have teacher and neighbor gifts to prepare which I'll work on this week.  Blaine is also back in O.T. (back to a lot of driving) and I'm beginning to look at our Kinder options more closely now... 2013 is almost here and Blaine will be 5 in February!  (me=freaking out)

It's not all about business though.  The kids and I do something fun every day and last Friday we went to a great Festival at the Hammod Candy Factory.  They had games, decorating and (of course) candy!  We didn't do the factory tour because the line was long and since we live here I figured we can go anytime.  We had a blast!

Hannah's Gingerbread Man.  The more candy, the better.

Blaine's Gingerbread Man.  Very Nice!

Other than that we're counting down the days to Christmas.  We actually have three different calendars so Blaine can know (wherever he is in the house) how many days until his Texas family arrives and how many days until Christmas.  What a fun and blessed time this is - I love it.

And in case you haven't met her, this is Hannah Grace... my 2 1/2 year old that is going on 10!!!!

How pretty is she?  So grown up...

I am off to bed to rest up for the busy week ahead. 

Love you all!

  

So Good

We visited Mister's new school today so his teacher could meet him, some assessments could be done, and I could meet with the LSP (Licensed School Psychologist).  He went with his lead teacher, Ms. Sarah, and I went off with the LSP.  We talked for a good 30 minutes and she revealed to me that she oversees 28 schools in the district (whoa) and the Riverdale preschool program, in her opinion, is one of the strongest and most effective in the district.  Hello, Answered Prayer!  She took notes and is looking forward to the STAR center's evaluation findings next month.  Armed with those results in addition to observations his teachers will make she will determine if any additional testing is needed.  Really the only thing that is not being done at the STAR center is an IQ test, so if the district feels it is needed, they'll cover it.  She mentioned that we could potentially be dealing with GT (Gifted and Talented) issues as well, which often look the same as a learning disability in the beginning.  After my private meeting with the LSP, Ms. Sarah joined us and asked many more questions and told me what to expect in his classroom.  Unfortunately he is in a larger group with a number of kids that have a similar background.  She offered me an afternoon spot in a classroom that has five fewer children with fewer demands but it conflicts with Hannah's school schedule and her nap.  Definitely a bummer, but what can you do?  We all agreed that there is a lot to work on but that he's in the right place and they can help him.  His open house is on Thursday morning and then his first day is on Friday.  Pray for our Mister and those that will be supporting him.

Hannah and I went on a little shopping spree at the second hand store yesterday for things that we don't really have: fall and winter gear!  (The boys went fishing so we needed something productive to do.)  We found Blaine a snowboarding outfit by Spyder for $20!  Mister decided that he wants to be a professional skier and he hopes "college can teach him to do higher jumps than Daddy."  We're clearly have him excited for this winter's activities.  Hannah also got the cutest Hanna Andersson snowsuit for $20.  Oh how I love a sweet deal! 

We are busy getting ready for our company and Blaine's first day of school this week.  So much good has happened in the last two weeks - we're praising God for his faithfulness and all of the blessings pouring down on us, despite our human condition.  We're especially thankful to be a part of such a wonderful church (and so quickly after moving), which pours good news into us every weekend.  If you're interested in hearing some really great teaching, check out this series (Thrones) with us.  We like the pastor, Jim Burgen, a lot - he's pretty "real" on stage - I think Keith Miller would have liked his style.  It is also nice to be able to have a mini-date with David at church while some really good people take care of our kids.  We feel good about leaving Blaine in his special room (the lead teacher is an Occupational Therapist during the week) and he enjoys the individual attention.

Hoping everyone out there has a great week.  We are looking forward to ours :)