Come on, 2008!!

Happy New Year to each of you...

Jackie Update

Hello All!

I haven't written much but that doesn't mean that things are not busy here for me! Senior year is going alright so far and it's becoming more difficult to believe that it's almost half over...my entire high school career is coming to a close. Wow. Along with academics, I still continue to work at my dad's office doing various clerical work. We recently had a move and I now have my OWN desk, computer and phone! Woohoo!! I have definitely moved up in the world. :o) The work is sometimes tedious and um, boring, but I get paid for it so can't complain much there.

This year I also began dancing again, which has been wonderful. Back to the studios and the world of tights, leotards, and all that stuff as I've taken ballet, modern and lyrical jazz classes. Exhilarating! I really enjoy this particular studio because everyone is grouped by ability and not solely by age like other places. Also, they have a dance company that I can audition for this summer; so it all doesn't end senior year as other studios do. All in all, it is a great place to be! And since Janelle and Jordyn take classes as well, we all have something to do together. I enjoy holding mini-classes for them in the basement....well, most of the time.

Here is a pic of me last week at my grandparents. Janelle & I wanted to show off the jackets from Nana & Grandad. Anyway, my last note is about my car. Ahhh, my car. Ooooh, my car. Well, it's not exactly my car yet, but I am buying it from my Mom & Dad. It's a 2005 Silver Honda Civic that I hand-picked this year at a used car lot owned by friends of my parents. I'm saving like crazy and already have put a chunk down, so just a little more to go! Fortunately, my parents have put some into the pot also. (whew!) All in all, life is going smoothly.

Well, that's a quick update...gotta run!

Ready for Carnegie Hall?

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

Feed the Birds

This is the most we've posted in one day!

But, it seemed important to include a project started and completed in one setting. Sometimes Mom's ideas take a little longer than that. Inspired by this tutorial on Bella Dia's blog, today we made some wild bird treats to hang outside on the tree. We used dental floss instead of upholstery thread and it worked well. Jordyn is slightly upset that no feathered friends have come to feast though the snacks have been hanging for a total of two hours. Be patient, sweetheart.

Today we are Reading...

Because the girls really enjoyed watching a Wind in the Willows DVD this summer, we decided to check this book out of the library for a cuddle-up-on-the-couch-with-Mom read aloud.

The illustrations are beautiful and we have paused to study each one just a wee bit more than usual--they're so detailed. The adventures of Rat and Mole and the return to making Mole End a home again will keep us cuddled up today for quite a while. It's a wonderful story of friendship and the celebration of the Christmas season.

Home Again

What a wonderful whirlwind trip to CT we all had! The children were of course very excited to meet their new cousin and visit with grandparents. Food...fun...and the falling of snow! Almost twelve inches of 'cold, cold' as Josiah calls it, but the next day was fine for travel.

We celebrated Christmas and Jordyn and Josiah came home with these rocking chair treats as a present from Grandad and Nana. Grandad couldn't resist he says. :o) Getting them into the van was a challenge, but worth the 'trouble'.

Mom set up the chairs, a table full of books and felt nativity pieces in the family room. The new 'book nook' has been very appreciated and used constantly. Thank you Nana and Grandad!

Slowing Down

Tis the season to slow down our school work and focus more on spending some extra time on the celebrations of the month. Right now, we are keeping up with our language and math studies through next week but the other subjects will pick back up in January. Fortunately, we've wrapped up certain projects....like the frog dissection. :o)

Along with academics, Janelle has been busy practicing monologues and songs for 2008 auditions at local theatres. The soccer champ turned drama queen hopes to get a spot in either 'Charlotte's Web', 'Schoolhouse Rock' or many of the other children's musicals in the area. But, this is all about to pause for a few weeks as well. Jordyn is beginning to read 3-letter words! We're working in a relaxed way on some basic phonics, and she is doing well. Her attention span has grown this year, so that's a big contributor to her success.

Being indoors more has got all of the children in antsy and funky moods. We don't mind the cold, it's the rain and muddy ground that has us using the basement as a playground as well as learning area. Oh well, par for the course....

As part of our celebration, each evening (or thereabouts) we pause for an Advent focus. This year we've decided to use the Proclamation Ornaments instead of doing a nightly story reading. Usually we try to add some singing since it adds to the activity and keeps Josiah interested! So far, so good. We'll see how it goes until Christmas morning.

Over the mountain & through the woods

Yeah! The perfect Christmas tree has finally been found!! This year we all chose quickly (maybe because of the cold?). The kids enjoyed the adventure overall; it definitely makes a difference that there are more opinions this year!

I think they enjoyed the free hot chocolate even more?

After a day of drying and hanging, the decorating began in full swing. Mom mostly took pictures, Dad gave overall supervision and the girls did the bulk of the work. Josiah roamed from room to room disappearing with certain items and reappearing again.

The final result...

Remembering December 2, 2005...

It was a beautiful day when we welcomed you into the world baby boy. All nine pounds, nine ounces of you was a precious gift we all waited eagerly for. Happy 2nd Birthday!

We're Back...

Yes, we're still here dear faithful blog readers! The end of November was full with our school projects and also just family activities and the like. One thing we enjoyed was what Mom labeled The Great Pumpkin Project! Lots of math as we predicted, estimated and counted the actual number of seeds, did mental calculations, skip counted, etc. Jordyn's predicted 7, Janelle 50, and Mom 150. After cutting the pumpkin open and looking inside, we estimated based off what we could see. Jordyn changed hers to 100 ("no more than that!"), Janelle 150 and Mom to a possible 300. Well, the actual count was FIVE HUNDRED NINETY-NINE! No, we didn't count from 1...599, but rather placed the seeds in groups of ten and went from there. The pumpkin then got baked and the insides are to be used for a pie at some point. Jordyn also explored how a pumpkin grows as we read about the seasons of a patch and she learned that other seeds can be eaten besides pumpkin--she was excited about that! All in all, it was a fun project! Now, on to Christmas...:o)