Addison's Favorites 2012

Favorite Phrase or words: "literally", "seriously"

Favorite Food: Broccoli Cheese Soup, little smokies, spaghetti

Favorite snack: beef sticks

Favorite candy: kit kat, reses peanut butter cups, Hershey's chocolate bar

Favorite movie: Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Favorite TV Show: Jessie, Cosby Show

Favorite book: Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Favorite game: Life, Ticket to Ride, Go Fish

Favorite toy: Ladeeda dolls, Barbie's, Tasty Science Kit

Daily Activity: 2nd grade Mrs. Drescher's class. When she isn't at school she enjoys doing crafty things, drawing and coloring, reading, playing with Oliver her pet hedgehog and allowing her little brother

Mommy and Daddy love it when you: clean your room without being asked, are kind to your brother, giggle, draw us pictures

Favorite Restaurant: Olive Garden

Favorite activity with mom: cooking and art

Favorite activity with dad: board games, legos

Favorite activity with Rhett: play family

Chores: keeping her room clean, taking care of Solomon and Oliver, helping with the dishes and folding towels

Friends: Kenna, Chade, Brenna, Ruthie, Kristen, Mauryn, Landon, Brittany, Kinzy, KeyLee, Ramie, Alyssa, Bronson, Gabrielle, Patricia, Katelynn, Emma, Avery

Nicknames: Addie Gracie, Addie Grace Face, Punkin Pants, Sunshine Girl

Birthday: She had an owl birthday this year and invited her friends (13 of them) over for a owl pajama party in the evening. We had owl cupcakes, with "owlple juice" and ice cream. We enjoyed a game of pin the feathers on the owl and she enjoyed opening gifts (per usual). It was fun to have so many of her friends over. She is blessed with many friends.

Favorite Place: Home

Favorite thing to do outside: Play in the snow, Surround house ( a made up cousin game) :)

Favorite color: yellow and green

Other moments:
* played her first year in Upwards basketball and did very well. Especially when Daddy told her that he would give her a dollar for every basket she made. Then she did even better!
* She enjoyed swimming lessons again with Ms. June and did a lot better this year. She wasn't apprehensive and jumped off of the side and diving board with little difficulty. She is a fish!
* Daddy bought her a new bike at the beginning of the summer. It's a bit big for her but she will grow into it. She loves to ride her bike!
* She was able to spend some quality time with her grandparents and aunt and uncle while her parents went to England in June. She enjoyed trips to the zoo, the cabin, McDonalds, and many other fun excursions.
* She lost her two front teeth this summer and it was quite an ordeal.
* She went to Genesis camp with Mimi because mommy was in England with Daddy. She had a lot of fun with the girls!
* We spent a weekend up at the cabin in August with Mimi, Bapa, Tee-Tee and Uncle D. We always have fun there.
* She began 2nd grade with her teacher Mrs. Drescher who she loves! She was in trouble a little at the beginning of the year for being too chatty but has quickly learned the ways of her classroom and even was awarded student of the week.
* She was a pirate girl for Halloween this year!
* Addison has turned a corner in 2012 with her behavior. We began to notice that when she watched certain programs on TV (that weren't necessarily bad but were maybe geared to children a bit older than her), that she would become more defiant and selfish. So - we put our foot down on what she was watching and since then have noticed a big difference in her behavior. She is kinder, more compliant, more respectful and easier to get along with. She giggles all the time and loves things that make her laugh. She is pure joy ( most of the time) and I'm so thankful that we've worked through this phase. She still has her moments of extreme selfishness and entitlement but we continue to pray and ask for guidance in parenting her because she has so much compassion for others and has a very soft spirit with a strong desire to give. We have also noticed that she has grown up a bit this year, wanting to do and be involved with things alongside the grown-ups. She has a desire to play games more often, and loves conversing with the adults in the family. She's growing up - and too fast!!! I loved that she still believed in Santa this year and still wanted Barbies and girl toys. Who knows how long that will last? Next year is may be different. So I cherished her this Christmas and love who she is becoming. I look forward to 2013 with my Addie girl. She is continues to be a bright ray of sunshine wherever she goes!

Oh man!

Well.........let's see! Where did my desire for blogging go? The truth is - nowhere! I still love to get my thoughts down and post about our adventures and everyday life. I am at a loss as to where to begin, or catch up I guess. It seems that I am SOOOOO far behind that I can do nothing but either rewind 6 months or start fresh. I think I'm going to do a quick recap (which pains me due to so many things that have happened in 2012.....England trip, Addison lost her front two teeth, My sister being pregnant, trips to the cabin, the retention of our President (oh my thoughts on this were intense), a fun packed holiday season among many other things that make life so great and then I'm going to start fresh. And I'm looking forward to it!

As of late I have been blogging in my mind - that is when I think (sometimes out loud) about certain things or events and I want nothing more than to write it down. This is my avenue to do that - my opinions, my family, my friends, my life! I know I have lost a few (if not all) of my readers which were few anyways. BUT - - - - this isn't for them (no offense) - it is for me and my family and my sanity at times. I need the release of writing and I've missed it.

2012 was a GREAT year - much better than 2011 in which I was wallowing in a bit of "getting older" blues as well as dealing with some fear and grief over the loss of some of my favorite people "my grandparents".

So many plans for 2013 - and so many aspirations which I will share after the 6 month recap that I will get started on and complete sometime in the next few days!

Thank you to those whose blogs inspire me. I love reading the blogs of my friends and family!

March - May Recap in pictures

March:

Went to Wahoo's to bowl for my 33rd birthday!

Jeremy played on a city league basketball team!

We went to the cabin for my dad's birthday! It was icy, snowy and cold!

April:

 

Addie's spring program at school!

Pedicure's for Gma's birthday!

Easter 2012

Afternoon at grandma's with all of the great - grandkids

Rhett met his cousin and partner in crime - Natalie! They got along great!

May:

Climbing Trees

Cousin play time

Mother's Day!

Planning a trip to the UK

Cousins!

Settler's Park

Tractor rides

That is a brief recap of what I've missed! Many of the pictures should have required their own post - however, I'm way behind! So now I'm caught up to the present. I look forward to posting about our trip to the UK and our summer :)

It's about time.....

It's been so long since I've blogged anything, and our lives have been so busy that I honestly completely forgot about the blog until today - when I was on the computer and I was thinking about our trip to England and then I remembered - I have a blog - I need to update it! Yikes! And so, my goal for this next week is to get caught up. I don't think I will think back to March and recap everything we've done - but I'll do my best!

And I've been having a love, hate relationship with the computer lately! I enjoy being on the computer for things like daily checking facebook, email, pinterest, my blog, etc . . . But I also enjoy looking on ebay, looking at homes that are for sale in the area, looking at cars we need to buy, looking at all of the great sales at all of the stores that I love, checking Amazon for any good deals, searching endlessly for good teaching strategies and teaching tools and by the time I am through I have wasted (yes, wasted!) a good portion of my morning and have neglected my children.

My goal from now on is to spend time on the computer only when my kids are otherwise engaged, asleep or having playdates. I have found that if I do that my house stays cleaner, my kids are happier, and I am happier.

So - when time allows - I will update!

I feel . . .

That I am so far behind in my blogging that it would take a week or two to even get caught up - and so what do I do? I continue to postpone the posts. It's frustrating and discouraging - but after this week I have my spring break and so then I will be able to "hopefully" spend a few hours and get all caught up on this thing.

Random Rhett-isms

To Mimi and Bapa: "My mom has a man, his name is Jeremy, and he's at work."

At Mimi's in the middle of doing a puzzle he gets stuck, puts his hand on his head and says, "think, think, think!" He is watching too much Winnie the Pooh.

Rhett: "My bottom is nervous!" Me: "what?" Rhett: "Yeah, it really hurts!"

(Sneak one in for Addie) My kids pulled out a really old piece of ornate metal from under my parents pine tree. Addie looks at it and says, "there is a bee's bottom". She was right - the remains of a bumblebee's behind was attached to the metal.

Talking to Rhett one day after preschool he says to me, "mom - there are NO swings at my school! AND - there are no frogs at my school, there are no plants at my school and NO fish at my school."

Also talking to Rhett about preschool one day, "Mom, at school today I was singing and pouting"

"Mom, when you were a baby you were in my tummy"

Addie is chasing Rhett around with a pillowcase over her head making ghost sounds - Rhett runs, screams and says, "Addie - don't say that - it's a crying word."

Rhett stabbed a random women in Cracker Barrel with his retractable knife. Luckily the woman played along and said that she was part of that renassaince re-enactment team and she was used to bigger swords so it was no big deal.

After checking out at Micheal's Rhett tells the cashier, "You have a beautiful day!"

To a random lady at Old Navy Rhett says, "Hey, you look like my dad, but you have a woman head!" - what?

We were at my aunt's house and my cousin Dani brings over her boyfriend that no one has met yet. Rhett climbs up next to him, gives him a funny look and says, "Are you her wife?"

Randomly says, "Life is Hard"

My sister picks Rhett up from daycare on Wednesdays. One day she picked him up and was listening to him chat in the back seat. When she asked him where Uncle D was he said, "He is dancing with Jesus" To this Katie said, "No, he is not dancing with Jesus." Then Rhett replied, "Uncle D is all around us".

To Mimi, "Mimi, it's o.k. to pee on mean people!"

To Mimi and Bapa at dinner one night: "Thank you Mimi for a wonderful dinner!" This was said as he was chowing down.

To Addison while they were in the car: Addison had said something that must have made him angry because he said, "Addison, you are breaking my heart".

We were walking on the greenbelt with Landon and Mauryn. We proceed past a gopher hole and Rhett sticks his hand in it. I tell him that if he does that the gopher might bite his hand off. He looks concerned and then Mauryn asks, "Rhett, what is a gopher?". Rhett says, "you know - it's a wet hog."

We are ending our journey on the greenbelt and Rhett and Mauryn are lagging behind. Rhett says, "Mom, my feet are tired can you please carry me?" Then Mauryn says, "Rhett are your feet twinkling?" Rhett looks at her, looks at his feet and says, "no!" - this was all a very matter of fact conversation! I LOVE this age!

Rhett woke up on Saturday morning and comes walking into my room saying that his brain hurt. I asked him if he had a headache and he said no. I asked him if his head hurt and he said no - then he pointed to his throat and said that his brain hurt. Apparently he meant his throat.

The very next morning, Sunday, he comes into the room in the morning and says that his breath hurts. I assume since our discussion yesterday that it is his throat that he is talking about again.

January 2012

January flew by this year - I always expect it to go slowly but now that our kids are a bit older and involved in more things the time seems to disappear more quickly. We also had crazy weather this January with warm temperatures (for winter), very little snow and plenty of rain and sunshine. The kids have played outside many, many times and I find myself eagerly searching for the tips of my daffodils - but it's not that time yet!

So - January was a full month. Full of - stuff!!!

We begin the month with a yearning to buy a house by the lake. And we seriously considered it - for a few days - until we realized that it already had an offer that was probably going to be accepted. Then we hung our heads for a few days - realizing that God had other plans for us. I do however think of that house often and the opportunity that was at our fingertips for change and it gets me excited. We still want to live on the outskirts of town, with some land and space. So, we get on the MLS frequently and search.

Here are a few things that went on this month:

Books Read:

A Light in the Window

2nd book in the Mitford Series - good, easy read

* Robinson Crusoe

 Bible Cure for High Cholesterol

I hate that I have high cholesterol - and it's taking me a year to come to terms with it - and I still haven't fully accepted it either. I'm in a little bit of a rebellion against it actually - and it's been frustrating. My mom got me this book for Christmas - it gives very good pointers as to how to change your lifestyle. Now I just need to do it!

The Bracelet

teacher book

Jesus Calling devotional book

So far - this is my favorite daily devotional of all time!! I LOVE it!

 Divergent

pure entertainment!!! Great story!

Recipes:

stir fry - Yep - I have never stir fried before and I LOVE it!!! It will become a monthly, if not sometimes weekly meal choice!

gluten free bran muffins - Bran muffins have always been my fav. And since I'm trying to stay away from gluten if possible these were a must make - and they ended up being very yummy.

lemon buddies - lemon version of puppy chow with the chex mix! I love anything lemon and these were divine. I will be making them from time to time.

Family Activity:

 Build a Fort/watch a movie and sleep in it!

Movies:

We were able to watch a lot of new movies this month - it was fun because all of those that we watched we would recommend to anyone. They were all amazing!!

Sherlock Holmes

 The Warrior

The Smurfs

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

 Mars Need Moms

Other January stuff:

 new Beth Moore bible study on James

 Upwards basketball

- can't believe I don't have any pictures yet - I will for February!

 caravan's badge ceremony

 trip to the aquarium with mimi and bapa

- bapa left his camera at home :(

 building a snowman with bapa

New games played:

Jeremy and I love games! We are willing to try any new game. The two new ones that we've played this month and loved are

 Shadows over Camelot

 Lord of the Rings

Other January randomness

Addie's craftiness! She did this mostly by herself!

Right now they will not sleep unless it's together. It's sweet right now so we are contemplating bunkbeds for them in the same room. If they do not sleep together they wake up multiple times a night and bug us. Right now - it's worth it!

This is where I find Rhett watching movies on the ipod

Nights at my parents with Tee-Tee and D are favs for the family

"I can write my name mom," says Rhett. I say, "No - really?" So he proves it!

Storytime with Bapa Jim

Puzzles with Daddy - everyone helps - it's a family favorite!

Uncle D's bday party!

January 2012 was tons of fun!!!!!