Fresh Snow!!

We still are fighting the colds in our house this week, but we couldn't resist getting outside and playing in the fresh snow.  

We met up with our friends at a local park that has a great sledding hill. We had a blast!!

When we were stuck in doors due to some single digit temperatures - what could be more fun than Papa's bag from traveling on a wrestling trip?  Now that I know he fits I'd happily ship him to you!  Just kidding - well... no seriously - he's feeling much better which we are so thankful for. The one downer about the medication is that it makes sleep difficult and can create irritability. Check. Check. Brother decided that 4:30 would be the time to start our days this past week - even that's a little early for a morning person like myself and I do believe he has figured out every single way to annoy his sister.  He's done with treatments now, so hopefully we'll get back on track with some decent sleeping hours and back to our easy going little man.

So blessed to view this sunrises from my classroom this week.  I knew I'd eventually catch the cold my family was dealing with and it hit hard on Wednesday.  I am still playing catch up from being home with the sick kiddos the previous week.  Then my dear friend back in South Dakota suddenly lost her father this week.  My spirit was low and my heart was heavy... I love how God speaks through nature.  I literally stopped my frantic planning and grading papers and just took a deep breath and watched the sun come up. My spirit was lifted as the promise of His faithfulness was evident in the sunrise.  

Then to be blessed with direct sunlight into the living room today! It only lasted about 20 minutes before it was back behind the mountain - but that little bit was a strong reminder to keep on shining brightly. The kids were even dancing around the living room in the sun beams.

Here's to the end of January already?!? Wow - and looking forward to what's in store for February.

Boogers, Boogers, Boogers

Yes, so the lovely three day weekend I was looking forward to, turned into a weekend of taking care of sick kiddos.  I made it to work on Tuesday, but the rest of the week I was home looking after sick kiddos.  Brother has cold induced asthma, so when he gets the common cold, it takes on a whole new meaning.  We didn't get on the treatments right away so that meant a pretty sick kiddo. Every time his nose would start to run, he would use his robot voice and say, "Boogers. Boogers. Booger."  Sister caught the bug too - we are all blaming Papa as he started it.  I told my family, I was going to move out for 7 to 10 days until everyone was healthy again - no one thought that was funny.

Almost 2 years ago we learned about Brother having cold induced asthma. So thankful that he recognizes his breathing treatments as a helpful thing. When we first started it was quite traumatic to try and get him to do the treatment.  Now, he knows how to put everything together and turn it on.

I just love this sweet girl's smile  - even though she's feeling pretty crummy, she wanted to smile for Papa (as he is away on a wrestling trip). 

After three days home with the kiddos, I'm feeling a bit behind on school work - but I know my role as a momma was priority this week and my students I'm sure all survived without me. 

Hoping you all are staying healthy! 

(By the way - it's actually snowing here today! We Alaskans were a bit depressed with the lack of winter - Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!!!)

Cheeseburger Smiles

Since the return to school 2 weeks ago, I have been a bit overwhelmed with regular duties of teaching, an additional 12 IEP meetings, my 2nd formal observation and other commitments - plus Papa has been super busy with coaching wrestling and had 4 nights in a row of meets.  Needless to say, by Thursday night - the monkeys and I just needed a cheap reward...

Cheeseburger smiles it is!

1) Momma didn't have to cook!
2) The monkeys eat all their dinner because they want to go play.
3) After eating - engaged in playtime for a good 10 minutes - Momma can have a break!
4) Monkeys are worn out and ready for bed!!

We have a three day weekend - so thankful for a much needed extra day of rest. 

New Year Goals

With the first week of the new year complete, I find myself reflecting on my goals for the year.  I have a variety of goals written down for the new year ranging from spiritual, physical health, financial, marriage/family and personal goals.  

One of my goals for 2015 is to take time to do some kind of craft at least 2 nights a week.  This past summer, I finished a scarf I was knitting on our adventure to Montana.  I loved that I had time to just sit and knit while the kids were napping in the car.  With this new year, I asked myself what was stopping me from knitting again.  My answer was exhaustion.  I'm so tired by the time school is done and then switching the hat to being mom until the kids are in bed, that I don't have much mental focus to knit a specific pattern.  So- when my mom was visiting over Christmas and I watched her crocheting, I thought - yes! That's something I could do in the evenings...  So with a quick refresher lesson from mom, I made a wash cloth.  When my mom saw how much scrap yarn I had she suggested I make Granny Squares.

And so it began... I'm up to almost 40 Granny Squares and have only 4 balls of yarn left to use up. I love that it takes me about 15 minutes to make one square. I feel accomplished because it's finished and I'm loving practicing a new skill.  When it's all done, I plan for it to be a big ugly beautiful blanket. It feels so good to be crafting again.

Monkey 1 and Monkey 2 still continue to keep us busy...

We are about 90% potty trained with Monkey #2 - will be so glad to have this accomplished! 

Here the little monkeys are riding the stick horse together.  They actually gallop together and then take turns holding the reins.  So fun to see this new stage where they can play together. 

Who doesn't love a good old fashion balloon fight?  I love the smiles on their faces!

Another goal of mine - under the category of family - has been to make sure that I'm giving my kiddos my full attention after work - to engage with them and have fun with them. They will only be this age once and I want to embrace it! 

We hope you have set yourself some goals for 2015! 

Have a wonderful week!!

Happy New Year ~ 2015

Happy New Year ~ 2015

This sweet puppy above, Penny, was our guest for 10 days over this holiday season. 

We sure did enjoy having a four legged friend in the house.

We also had Grandma Julie visit us for the Christmas week!

We had fun playing outside.

We had fun making reindeer out of very old clothes pins Grandma found at her house in Wisconsin.

We had fun playing the "Frozen" version of CandyLand.

We had fun being silly in our new jammies and hats!

We had fun cheering on the Packers together!

It was a very Merry Christmas around our house this year. 

So fun to be able to have Grandma here with us.

(Okay Mrs. Dillydally - I know you are laughing out loud when you see this one!)

Sister was happy to receive some Princess toys this year as well as

a "Frozen" microphone that repeatedly sings "Let it Go."

Brother enjoyed receiving a train track  and of course

a new race track for all of his cars.  He even tries to get his dinosaurs to go down the tracks.

We sure were blessed this Christmas season and hope that you were too!

Time to ring in the New Year!

We were invited to a Puzzle Off with a group of friends...

Here's Papa with Grammy working hard at being the first group to finish their puzzle and they did!

Were was Momma during the exciting puzzle off?  Doing what I do best- keeping the kiddos entertained.

Okay, honestly it was 9:30pm and I put on one of our favorite shows to watch, Paw Patrol. The kids snuggled in their jammies had fun watching the show while the big kids did puzzles.  And...

I spent time loving on this sweet 6 day old little guy.  Yes, one of our friends gave birth to a beautiful baby boy on Christmas Day.  As much as I enjoyed loving on this little guy, I'm blessed with my ONLY two little ones.

We hope you and your family and friends had a wonderful holiday season!

Wishing you all peace and happiness in the New Year.