Snow Prep 101

Matt and I both LOVED snow days as kids. I'm sure his were more amazing than mine considering I was in SCHOOL for most of them. None the less, I did love it when we city folks got out. We'd make snow forts, have snow ball fights, make snow angels--we'd spend the day out in it. We probably appreciated it more than the Warren Countians =). I'm sure my mother made us come in--it certainly wasn't by choice. Matt equally loved snow days. He and his cousin Adam (who was also his next door neighbor) would go "exploring" looking for indian tracks and animal trails. Matt said snow completely transformed his world. Come to think of it, it transformed mine. Snow makes everything look different. I remember one snowy day going up to hospital hill with my family which landed us in the hospital. My dad and I rode down the hill (me on top) and dad on his stomach. I don't remember much of what happened except that I was thrown across the street and bumped my head pretty bad. My dad wound up in the hospital with a cracked kidney. Hospital Hill has sent many sledders to the hospital. One of my friends broke her back, and I heard about a guy yesterday breaking both his legs coming down the hill in a Kayak. Good times!

We didn't experience any broken bones yesterday and had a grand time in Richardsville. The kids spent Friday night over at Pap and Nana Deaton's. Matt and I spent Saturday morning trying to wrangle up some snow apparel for the kids. I do not invest in things of that nature simply because it's not practical. Matt and I have things for skiing, but our kids simply do not enjoy being in the snow. We thought they might have a good time sledding though so we went out on an adventure to find some snow gear. By adventure, I mean taking the van through the snowy streets of BG, and by snow gear, I mean rain boots, athletic (nylon/active) pants, and latex gloves. Yes, latex gloves. What is it about kids gloves? Who really wants those stretchy, cheap, non waterproof gloves. I want some nice, Gortex, rain repellant gloves for my kids which are IMPOSSIBLE to find. Last year, I came across some for Karson at Kohl's--a true miracle but have been unable to find any like it this year. So, my bright idea was to put latex gloves over the lousy stretch gloves to keep their hands dry. You can see how thrifty I am--all of my purchased items have more purposes than SNOW day gear.

We arrived in Richardsville at Daniel and Lisa's house around 1 p.m. all bundled up and ready for fun. Steve Maglinger had to drive down the treacherous driveway in his 4-wheel drive to pick us up. The old white van couldn't make it. We met up with everyone soon after and started our sledding adventure. Matt and I had spent over an hour preparing, gathering, stuffing, layering, "Randying Up" the kids for a time of fun in the snow which lasted a total of 1 minute. Miles and I went down on a snow disc much like Clark Griswold in Christmas Vacation. The snow blew up in our faces the entire way down--Miles thought he was dying. He absolutely despises getting his hair washed and this was like a shower in the face. We were soaking wet. In the meantime, Matt and Isaac were also sledding their way down the hill. Isaac had tears streaming down his face afterwards and was immediately ready to go. Karson came down in a cattle trough (courtesy of Kirk Young) with Paul and Elizabeth. She liked it and was ready to go again. I think she only did it one more time though and was done. By that time, I was already back at the Garica's house peeling the boys and arranging pediatric counseling sessions for both.

Highlight on my day: getting to hold the Garica's adorable Abby Kate. She was born January 22. Isn't she just the sweetest! I can't wait to get back out there and hold her =).

All in all it was a great snow day. I'll take excellent company over freezing in the snow any day of the week. Thanks Garcia's and Maglinger's for the invite, entertainment and hospitality.

The Good Cousins

Kids have the most amazing hearts. My children have taught me a lot about the fruits of the Spirit. Joy-waking up each morning with a smile and excitement, Peace-well, my kids haven't learned much about this particular fruit, Patience-taking turns, Kindness-sharing, Goodness-being aware of the feelings of those around them, Faithfulness-believing Mom and Dad won't let them down (one day they'll learn, if they haven't already, that we are flawed human beings and will let them down but God never will), Gentleness-showing concern when someone is hurting or upset, and Self-Control-learning not to take action into their own hands, being the bigger person and not throwing fits (again, one they and WE need to work on more). Then, there's the most important fruit, the thing we're supposed to always do as people of God and that is to LOVE. I admire my daughter Karson because I feel she is especially good at this. Not only is she beautiful on the outside, she is beautiful inside. It's evident when she is creative and expresses herself on paper. She loves her cousin Elizabeth and came home with this paper last week.

There's about a two year age difference in Karson and Elizabeth, but they've developed a sisterly bond. It's important to have someone in your life to lean on and someone to lean on you. I was fortunate to have a sister. Shannon and I have spent countless hours talking, shopping, crying, hurting, arguing, you name it--that's a relationship. It takes a lot of work and forgiveness on both ends to make relationships work especially the one's that count. My hope is that Karson and Elizabeth will be that for each other--BFF's.

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Karson sure does love her brothers and her cousins. Here is one of her more recent books:

The good Cousins

We are the good cousins are names are Evan, Isaac, Miles, Karson and Elizabeth

We like each other

We play with each other

We never leave anyone behinde

cause were cousins

don't get angry.

we love you.

We fight ulot

to have fun

We look into Friendship.

The End

My BIG Chicken

Isaac is five and my wild-haired little man is no longer little. We celebrated his birthday with a bash at Chick Fil A. Chick Fil A is hands down his favorite place to eat. I seriously believe if I ordered a party tray for him, he'd eat every piece of chicken on it. Saying he LOVES their food is an understatement, he could eat there every single day and every single meal for the rest of his life. When I asked him where he wanted to have his birthday, Chick Fil A was the choice. I figured since his birthday fell on a Monday, that would be PERFECT. Is there anyone who eats out on Monday nights??? I called Chick Fil A this morning to prepare them for the chaos this evening in which they politely replied--It's Briarwood Spirit Night. Oh my, my stressors sky rocketed and I had to call my mom and sister for resuscitation. They told me it would be fine and it was.

Spirit Night is actually the perfect night for a party because the Chick Fil A cow made an appearance. At one point, I had to tell Miles to stop harassing it =).

Everyone having some Chick Fil A fun!!!

Wal-Mart sure can make a tasty, cute cake. Chick Fil A gave all the kids free ice cream or ice DREAM as they like to call it. Our local Chick Fil A does not do birthday parties like McDonald's or Chuck E. Cheese's, but it is the perfect place for a party. I purchased all the kids meals for less than $3 which ended up being cheaper than the parties we've had at the other two resturants.

WE LOVE BIRTHDAY PARTIES, FAMILY, FRIENDS,

AND PRESENTS!!!

Me and my adorable 5 year old!!!

The manager took a family photo of us. Her name is Morgan, and she has to be one of the sweetest people/managers EVER. She catered to us the entire evening and was the perfect hostee. In fact, I will probably write her a thank you note this week for making the evening go so smoothly. Plus, she brought out chicken minis for everyone to sample and gave out free coupons for them =).

I love displaying all the birthday cards on our mantle. It's a nice reminder of how lucky we are to have so many people who love our children so very much. We love you Isaac!!!

HOARDERS

Those that know me well, know that HOARDER doesn't even touch the type of person I am. In fact, I will admit my biggest struggle is OCPD. I'm proud to be a person that struggles with OCPD--I personally like order and routine as part of my lifestyle (and function best in that type of environment). I don't struggle with every single level of OCPD, but if I'm going to be challenged by something, I would rather it be this than hoarding. I did, however, have some hoarder moments on Monday afternoon. We got new carpet in our living room and bedroom on Tuesday which meant we had to remove everything from both of those rooms Monday evening. We had stacks of stuff all over our house. It didn't make me uncomfortable in the least because I knew the end result (NEW CARPET) would be so worth the disorder of the house.

The kids had so much fun running around the empty living room and decided to stack all the pillows (couch cushions and all) in the middle of the floor to make a fort, wrestling arena, dance area, you name it =). Matt started tackling them in this picture which they always LOVE.

And, here are our new carpets. Okay, so I know you have no idea how they looked prior, but they were nasty. In fact, I'm no decorator, but most of our house needed updating when we moved in a few years ago. Everything in the house was white--white tile in the bathroom, white linoleum in the kitchen, white walls and worst of all white carpet. I've painted almost every wall, had the kitchen linoleum replaced immediately (kids + white kitchen = major disaster), we layed hardwood floors in the great room and hall, and now new carpet in two rooms. I'm itching to replace the carpets in the kids' rooms also but didn't want to do four floors at once. I know my mental limits =). Plus, I'm not sure if it's a good idea to replace them right now simply because of sickness, spills, etc. But, my desire might get the best of me--the new carpet looks and smells great. Come tax time, we may have to do theirs also =)!!!

Coach of the Year

Not sure how many people will read this post as it will be PICTURE-LESS. However, I did want to chronicle this MAJOR accomplishment. As many of you know, I coach Karson's basketball team the SPARKS. Prior to the season, we only had a couple of practices--meaning, there was NO WAY to cram all the fundamentals of basketball into three short hours. We covered the basics: passing, dribbling, shooting, defense, etc. I also took the girls to a Lady Topper basketball clinic. And, prior to each game, we practice for 30 minutes (which I use to review all the basic fundamentals). I knew we were in trouble yesterday playing the STARS. Not only were these girls enormous, they were running in-bounds plays, excellent defenders, shooters, ball handlers--no kidding these girls could easily hang with any high school girls team. We've only had three other games and were pretty well matched. In this league, you typically have one or two girls that actually KNOW what's going on. Every STAR player knew what was going on, and their coach was no-nonsense. I, on the other hand, am FULL of nonsense and really don't take coaching to seriously (however, I admit I have gotten on the referees at times) and make sure ALL the girls have a chance to bring the ball down the court, etc.. Anywho, our girls were whipped in a MIGHTY way. There was sadness all over their precious little faces. Even though we don't keep score, they knew we'd lost simply because the other team scored EVERY time they had the ball. We managed to score only ONE time, and guess who made their very first basket? My adorable Karson. I couldn't have been a prouder parent. She was just beaming with pride before being trampled by the other team while they inbounded the ball for their next major play =). It was a great day for her, and I felt like Coach of the Year!!!