Elly's Christmas present

I want to tell you a little story:

One day we were down in Grandma and Grandpa Taylor's basement, and Elly found something that she really enjoyed. She found a little kitchen that Grandpa Dean had built for his daughter Julie when she was about Elly's age. Elly fell in love with it. I asked Dean if he was going to do anything with it or if it would be okay if we took it to our house so that Elly could play with it. He told me that it was fine with him, but that I had to call Julie and make sure that she didn't want it. I immediately called her and she said that she would love it if Elly could use it. Well... we took the kitchen home and we fixed it up. We re-painted it, put new hinges and knobs on it, and we re-did the counter top (actually Ryan did it). It turned out beautifully. We gave it to Elly for Christmas and she hasn't stopped playing with it. Cousin Joe drew Elly's name for Christmas and got her some dishes and some plastic food to use with it, and without even knowing about it, Grandma Wendy got her a counting cookie jar that fits perfectly on its counter. What a great Christmas for Elly.
Thanks to all who contributed, whether you knew it or not.

Blood Stain

So I am just throwing this out cause I have no clue as to what I should do. I just bought Elly a new bedspread because I am turning her room into a "girl" room. (The people who lived in this house before us had all boys, so needless to say all the rooms are painted for boys.) Anyways... back to the question at hand... I bought her this bedspread and sometime in the night Elly got a bloody nose. Well blood is all over the new blanket. The blanket is one that I am not sure if I should wash. I was just wondering if anybody had a neat way of getting blood out of material without actually washing it. I was able to get the blood out of the sheets just fine, but blanket, I'm not so sure. HELP ME!!!

We had a White Christmas!

Wow!!! Can I just say... Oh my gosh! I think this is the most snow that I have seen EVER! On the night before Christmas Eve it started to snow. Then on Christmas Eve it snowed even more and more heavily. The snow never stopped. It snowed all day and night. We got over 8 inches overnight. It was so cool. Not so fun to drive in, but fun none the less. We have been playing in it for days now. The day after Christmas we took the 4-wheelers and sleds out to the "Pit" in Roberts. (That is where Uncle Mark works, it is a sand pit with tons of hills.) We had a blast! We wish you all could have been there. Then yesterday Jordan and his Daddy made a snow cave. I have never actually seen one until now. It is way cool. There is a first time for everything.

I want my family and friends, that we are far from, to know that I miss you guys and I really wish we could have seen you this season. I wish that you all could have come up here and played with us in the snow. We love you all. We hope that you had a Wonderful Christmas and are enjoying the season.

I will get pictures on soon, so check back.

Ryan Comes Home tomorrow!!!

YAY!!!! We get Ryan back tomorrow. He is done with school. He did very well, he passed all of his tests and practicals. We are so proud of him and we can hardly wait to have him home. we have been counting down. As we have opened pockets to count down to Christmas we have also been counting down the days until Daddy got home. It has been fun. Jordan really enjoyed it. Jordan looks forward to opening a pocket on the calendar each day.
What an exciting day!

Elly's Hair

Elly's hair is finally long enough for me to put it up into a teeny tiny pony tail. It is so cute. She is my little Who from Whoville!

Funny and sweet things Jordan does

Yesterday I was baking and I was making chocolate chip cookies. I told Jordan that when we were little kids Grandma Wendy (my mom) used to give us a spoonful of cookie dough to eat. I gave him some and he though that was the coolest.

This morning Jordan woke up almost in tears and he said, "I want Grandma Wendy". He couldn't get over it. He either wanted her to come here or he wanted to go see her. The only thing I could do was wake her up this morning at 6:30 and let him talk to her.

I told Jordan that we were going to deliver cookies today and he said, we can't take some to Sam and Melissa, they live too far. We won't know how to get there. Where that comes from I will never know.

We were on our way to the store ( I had to get a new candy thermometer, mine breaks EVERY year) Jordan turns to me and says "Mom, did you bring your phone? I said, "yes, why?" He said" I need to call someone." I said, "who?" ( I mean he's 3, who does he need to call?) He thought about it for a minute and he said "Grandma White hair". (She is Ryan's grandma, we call her that because her hair is pure white)

These things were just from today. He is so funny. He keeps life interesting. He always makes me giggle.

"Mary Did you Know?"

I absolutely love this song and I love the slide show that goes along with it. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Weekend projects for Ryan

Ryan got to come home this weekend. He got in Friday at about 3:30 and had to leave Sunday at 11:30. It was short but very enjoyable and he got some things done for me that I couldn't do myself or didn't want to on one of them. When he got here he put up our Christmas lights. Yes, I probably could have put them up myself, but he does such a good job and it is just so cold outside that I didn't want to get up on the roof. He did a WONDERFUL job. The second project was our microwave. Our old microwave finally gave up the ghost and we have been without one for about 2 months (not so fun!) We bought an over the range microwave and it ended up that we had to re-wire before we could put it up. He got it wired and put up for me. Now I can eat some left overs and heat up water for hot chocolate. YAY!!! It looks beautiful. Boy did I get lucky when I married this one. He is so handy and I just love him. Thanks again Ryan. I REALLLLLLY appreciate it!

Happy Birthday Ryan! and Melissa and Richard!

Today is Ryan's Birthday and unfortunately he is still in Virginia. So, he got to spend his birthday at school, and then his friends took him out to dinner! That was nice of them. They even bought his meal....How sweet! I just wish he could have been here to celebrate. We are going to have a little party for him on Friday when he comes home for a visit. We sure do miss him. We hope you have a Happy Birthday. We hope the song from Jordan cheered you up a little bit.

Happy Birthday to all the others whose Birthdays are on the same day. There are so many! I hope your birthdays were wonderful!

Merry "CHRIST"mas

Yes, I am celebrating the birth of Christ. He is our Savior and I love him. I am tired of people changing the whole meaning of Christmas. There wouldn't even be a holiday to celebrate, had it not been for Him. They say Happy holidays in place of Merry Christmas. If people don't like it then they can ignore it, I will say it! Anyways... I just thought I would express my frustration.

Have a MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Boots!!! (Our new cat)

A lady from work had been taking in a stray cat. Her husband told her to get rid of it or it was gonna have to die. So... I told her that I would take him. The cat is beautiful and so friendly. It is even trained to go potty in the litter box. It is so nice! Jordan and Elly absolutely love this cat. Every time Elly touches the cat, she giggles. It is so cute.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

I absolutely LOVE this time of year! It is just a nice feeling. I love the smell of the Christmas tree inside our house. I love baking, service, Christmas music, etc. The list could go on and on. I look forward to the Christmas season each year. Anyways...It is just really wonderful. I just wanted to share. I love you all and hope everyone has a wonderful season.

Geography

Okay... So I have never been good at Geography. EVER! So, you are probably thinking... "And you're a school teacher?" Well I teach second grade and we don't get that deep into it, although I have learned a lot since I have been teaching. Mary Denmon sent this e-mail to me that tests your knowledge of where the states are at. I did pretty terrible to begin with. I have kinda become a bit obsessed with this game and I am pretty darn good at it now. I know where all 50 states are at, give or take a few miles. YAY! Here is the link if you want to test your skills.
http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/states_experiment_drag-drop_Intermed_State15s_500.html

New York on Thanksgiving (Day 2)

We woke up at about 8:00, got ready, ate, and then headed down to see the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. By the time we got there it was about 9:30 and there was NO WAY we were going to get to see any of it. There were so many people, so many that we couldn't even shove our way through. We did see a few of the HUGE balloons but then we left. I am glad we did. We found out about the subway, and we took it to Battery Park, where we hopped on a ferry to see the Statue of Liberty. That was amazing. After spending some time there, we took the Ferry yet again to Ellis Island and saw where the immigrants had come to be free. That was a perfect way to spend Thanksgiving. What a neat place. They have turned one of the buildings into a museum, but the feeling there is incredible. After that we took the subway to Ground Zero. There is such a reverence felt there. New York is a loud place but when you get to Ground Zero, where they have a plaque that honors the men and women who died in that event, there is a silence that sends shivers down your spine. We had REAL New York pizza for Thanksgiving dinner and we had a hot dog from a vendor for lunch. We really enjoyed ourselves.

New York (Day 1)

We drove from DC at made it to New York at about 1:30, but then we had to find our hotel. That was a mess. I will NEVER drive in New York again! People would just walk out in front of you whether they had the right of way or not and taxis were honking constantly. Oh my gosh, I am not cut out for a big city like that. We did make it to our hotel successfully (meaning... we didn't kill anybody.) We found a place to park our car because there was no way that we were gonna drive. We walked everywhere. We were just a few blocks from Times Square so we walked there and saw all the amazing views (signs, lights, etc.) It was really neat. There were lots of people trying to sell you tours and things. We did stop for one guy. He sold us tickets to "The Broadway Comedy Club". That was a blast. The show didn't start until 10:30pm, and it lasted until 1 in the morning. It was fun though. There were comedians from Comedy Central there. It was FUNNY! We walked to the Empire State Building and what a view! It was so incredible. We also tried a New York pretzel (Not at all what it is cracked up to be!) But at least we can say we tried one! It was a fun day and we were so tired when we got back. We planned to wake up fairly early to catch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. Well, we woke up just a tad too late.

Washington DC

We headed to Washington DC after Ryan got done with school. We got there, checked into our Bed and Breakfast, and then went sightseeing. We took the bus to the "Mall" (that is what they call the strip with all the Monuments on it) I'll tell you what.... Looking at a map you wouldn't think that it would take you that long to get to each monument. Yeah Right! It is quite the hike. We saw the Washington Monument first, holy cow that thing is HUGE! Then we walked to the World War II Memorial. Then we hiked some more to the Lincoln Memorial. WOW! It was amazing. It is so big and it is just so amazing how much history there is in one area. From the Lincoln Memorial, we walked to the U.S. Capitol. From a distance we were able to see the White house. We just couldn't see everything that we wanted to. At 7:00 we met our friend Collin at Union Station, and then took the Metro to meet up Rosemay and Josiah. It was fun to catch up and see how they were doing and to see their baby. He is such a sweetie. What a neat experience!

Got to Norfolk!

This is going to be the longest time that I have ever been without my kids. We left them with their Grandma and Grandpa Taylor. I hope that I do okay. I am sure the kids will do fine, it is me that I am worried about. I left Saturday morning and it was an all day event. I brought a book for me to read and I had it finished long before I ever reached Atlanta. Needless to say, I will be buying some more books for me to read. I haven't had the chance to actually sit and read for along time. It was very enjoyable. I got in Saturday night to Norfolk where Ryan picked me up and then we went to Red Lobster for dinner. YUMMY!!! I love their coconut shrimp. I would have to say that it is my favorite. Then we came home and just hung out for a little while. We ate ice-cream and watched a movie. How relaxing.

Ryan's Visit

Some of you have asked when Ryan is coming home for good. Well... The end is drawing near. He comes home on December 20th, just in time for Christmas! What a wonderful Christmas present. The kids will have their daddy back and I will have my husband. YEAH!!!! I am anxiously awaiting his return. 5 months is a long time, and I don't want to be a single mom anymore! It is hard work. Ryan was able to come home this weekend to visit and it was just so nice. I am always reminded of how much I love that guy! He is just so amazing and he loves his family. We are so lucky to have him. The kids especially loved to see him. They had a lot of fun!

I've Been Tagged (Thanks Allie!!!)

I am supposed to tell you 6 things about myself. Hmmmm....


1. I am with Allie on a few of the things. I hate to have a dirty house. I feel like I am constantly cleaning. I put one thing away, and the kids get out 10 more things. It feels impossible at times, but my house is pretty clean.

2. I enjoy quiet. I used to think that I loved being where the action is. I do love being where there are things going on, but it is so nice when there is nothing going on, when the kids are in bed, and I have just a little quiet time.

3. I find any and all reasons to celebrate. I like to get together with friends and family. It can be anything!!! Birthdays, holidays, BBQ (just because it is a nice day), Bonfire in the neighbor's back yard...who cares. Any reason to DO something, I am up for it.

4. I hate lotion on my hands. I love the smell of lotion and I love that it makes my skin soft, but I hate the feel of it on my hands. I do like it when Ryan puts lotion on my feet.

5. I hate it when people leave cupboard doors open. It is a pet peeve. Close them when you have gotten what you need!

6. I am Obsessive Compulsive. I have to have all my clothes hung up, they are all color coordinated, and they all have to face a certain direction. Yeah... I know, I am weird!

Who would have guessed. I could tell you lots more too.

I tag Fong, Mom, and Brandy.

Have Fun!!!

Family Pics (November 2007)

We got our family pictures taken today. Why is it that your kids will be so happy, right up until the moment that you are supposed to pose for your pics. Why can't they just be happy? Well that is what happened today. Elly was so happy right until we stepped in front of the camera, then it was pure misery. Oh well... here is what we got. Please let me know which ones you like best.

My Two Cuties

I got the kids ready for church today and they looked so dang cute! Yes Jordan's hair is a bit long but Ryan is going to cut it when he comes to visit this weekend. I have some sweet kids.

Puzzle Mania!!!

I just happen to think that Jordan is a genius. Here he is, 3 years old, and he loves doing puzzles. He would choose a puzzle over most activities. I am having a hard time keeping up with him. We started with the wooden puzzles that you find the matching shape, animal, etc. and put the piece in. Then he graduated to doing puzzles with a board that has the shapes outlined on the board. He was doing those ones way to easily. So I started giving him jigsaw puzzles, we started with a 24 piece puzzle and the pieces were really big. He did that one over and over. Next I gave him puzzles that were 25 pieces but the pieces were smaller. I got him 5 different puzzles and he did them all. Yesterday I thought that I would try a little bit harder puzzle. So I got him a 63 piece puzzle and guess what? He did that one too! It took him a little bit longer, but he did it. Next I am going to have to get him 100 piece puzzles.

Halloween Costumes 2007

So this year we dressed Jordan up like a dragon (he picked it out himself), Elly was a monkey (she really is one, which is why I chose the costume!) Every time we went to someone's car (we went Trunk or Treating) Jordan would of course say "Trick or Treat" but after they would give him candy, he would growl like a dragon for them. Some of the people thought his growl was so good that they gave him more candy. He was really funny. He always remembered to say "Thank-you". What a good boy!