Congrats Eric

Eric's teacher nominated him for the National Elementary Honor Society and he was accepted.  The school held and induction ceremony for the students and their families.   We were definitely proud parents.  There were just a handful of students from each  of the fourth and fifth grade classes.  It really is an honor to be selected and we are so proud of Eric.  He has always given 100% on his school work.  His school is the first in the district to have a National Elementary Honor Society.  Keep up the good work Eric!

Andrew

This post is mostly for me.  I have been terrible at keeping baby books for my children.  Eric has one that maybe went as far as his first year and Charles and Katie just have baby calendars.  I put the little stickers on when they had a doctors appointment or when a new tooth came in or when they tried a new food and of course when they started sitting, crawling and walking.  Andrew, however, has not been so lucky to even get this.  I write down on the family calendar and blog about his milestones.    I was a month late getting him to his four month well baby visit so these are his five month old stats.  He weighs 16.3 pounds.  He is 25.3 inches long and his head circumference is 16.2 inches.  He eats rice cereal and sweet potatoes.  He does not sleep through the night.  He likes to make spit bubbles and take baths. 

Christmas 2010

Even though we had a horrible lead into Christmas it was very nice.  My parents returned from their mission at the beginning of December and stopped by to see us for a few days.  It was great to see them, especially since  I didn't get to go home for Christmas because of the car.  We were able to spend some time with my brother Aaron and his family the day before Christmas Eve.  They were up in Denver taking their son to a doctor and stopped by to see us.  It was late and the roads were bad so they stayed the night.  My kids were in heaven.  They don't get to see their cousins very often.

We spent Christmas morning at home opening presents, playing and eating monkey toes for breakfast.  Later that morning we went to my mother in law's house for lunch and more presents.  We had a nice day.  Here are a few pictures of Christmas.

T'was Three Days Before Chistmas

I've been behind schedule for about three weeks now.  I can't seem to get ahead on anything.  I put off getting my house cleaned for Christmas and I left some shopping til the last minute.  The icing on the cake came three days before Christmas. 
During the night we had freezing fog, which I had never heard of, until that day.  I was driving to work and there was black ice.  As I was coming around a curve approaching a stop sign my car started sliding.  I  did a 180 and slammed my rear tire into the curb and ended up on the sidewalk.  When I got out of the car I could hear air leaking from the front tire and the back wheel was totally bent.  I was so scared.  I have never been in a wreck before and I had Katie and Andrew.  The baby started crying and Katie was OK until we got out of the car.  She was crying and thought Santa wouldn't come because I wrecked the car. 
I don't know what I was more afraid of, the wreck itself or having to tell Dean.  He had just spent the week before doing some heavy duty work on the car with his brother and now this.  He drove the car home and borrowed some tools from the neighbor.  The damage was pretty bad.  He figured out the parts that needed replaced, I picked them up from the salvage yard and he started fixing.  I couldn't believe that he was able to fix it all by himself just by reading a manual.  Two wheels, two control arms, a spindle, a trail arm, two new struts, two trips to Firestone for alignment and about five days later my car was all fixed.   Thank heaven for husbands. 

Update

The last few weeks we've been busy with various holiday activities.  Last Sunday Katie and I made headbands and bows for her.  I should have waited until nap time so I could have given them to her for Christmas but I was so excited to make them and then have her put them on. 

Then we made ornaments for the tree.  Our first project was painting a pine cone green then decorating it with glitter and ribbon.  Next, Charles wanted to make reindeer.  The kids painted clothespins brown and Katie and Charles made theirs super sparkly with glitter while Eric left his plain.  They turned out pretty cute.

Tuesday Eric had his String Concert.  He's been playing the violin for about three months now.  He plays well and loves it too.  Dean and I weren't sure what to expect from the fourth graders but we were pleasantly surprised.  They sounded awesome. 

Thursday, Katie, Andrew and I had our Christmas program at St. Luke's.  Our theme was Christmas Around the World.  My class represented Sweden, Katie's class represented Africa and Andrew's class represented America.  Each class dressed in traditional Christmas costumes from their country and said Merry Christmas in their language. It was a cute program.  I forgot the camera so their are no pictures.

Saturday, our ward put on Christmas in Nauvoo.  The primary kids sang and participated in the Nativity.  Katie, who is not yet a Sunbeam snuck into the program.  I went in the room where the boys were getting their costumes to  get her and somebody and given her a halo to wear and a candle to hold.  She was a bit of an unruly angel.  She  walked in front to go stand next to her brothers, who were shepards, then she took her halo off and had a hard time getting it back on again.  Oh, well she's just a few weeks away from being a Sunbeam.  I forgot the camera for this event as well.  Dean joked with me that it was ok because memories are overrated. 

Give Thanks

I have soooo much to be thankful for.   I'm thankful for my beautiful family.  I'm thankful they are all healthy and happy.  I'm thankful that I have food to eat, clothes to wear and a home to live in.  I'm thankful that I have a job and that I get to take Andrew and Katie with me and see them throughout the day.  I'm thankful for my parents and my brother and sisters and for their families.  I'm thankful that my parents raised me in the gospel and that I have a Heavenly Father who knows and loves me.  I'm thankful for His son and the Atonement.  I'm thankful for my husband. I'm thankful that he is always there for me and that he is a great father.  I'm thankful for my dishwasher and chocolate cake and Dr. Pepper.  I'm thankful that I live in a free country and for those who fight to protect us.  I'm thankful for a warm bed and a comfy couch and hot water.  I'm thankful for my friends.  I'm thankful that I have so much to be thankful for.

Happy Halloween

Halloween was fun this year (isn't it always fun?).  Eric wanted to be a bandit.  Easy enough.  Charles wanted to be a skeleton with a homemade costume and Katie changed her mind every other day.  She went from Belle to Sleeping Beauty to Snow White.  After going to three different stores I found black clothes for Charles and decided to use glow in the dark paint for the bones.  I should have used white paint first, then the glow in the dark paint.  Live and learn.  His costume turned out good anyway. Katie ended up being Cinderella because I wasn't willing to pay $40 for a Snow White costume. She was super excited because I put make up on her.  Andrew was the cutest little elephant ever!  Here are the pics of our fun.