Our year in a nutshell!

Dear Family and Friends,

Since I'm feeling a little bit guilty about not sending cards, I thought the least I could do was post an update of what's going on around here...but much of it I've already posted!

Each of us has had our own share of accomplishments this year, and I'm proud of them all, so I'll go one by one.

Sarah - Well, this is a big one...my baby girl is out of diapers!! Once she finally decided to do it, it was smooth sailing! Chase and I figured that between the three kids, we'd changed 8 years worth of diapers (we had one free year before Sarah, but one year when both Caleb and Emma wore them)! And the number cruncher in me couldn't help but figure out that about $42 a month x 96 months is over $4000!!

Besides that, Sarah is just blossoming in so many ways. She cracks me up with the words that come out of her mouth.  When Emma started losing teeth, Sarah made sure to show us her "loose teeth" too.  She loves to play dollhouse, babies, and pretty much whatever Emma does.

Emma - First grade has been great for Emma. She has become such a fluent reader this year. I am so proud of her school work. This year she had her first dance recital, but decided she wanted to try other things than dance. So now she's in Daisies (Girl Scouts) and will be in her school's play after vacation. Then she wants to try gymnastics. Or soccer. Or karate.  It changes day-by-day.

You may have noticed some missing teeth there, too. She has lost five teeth in first grade so far, a record in her class! She's becoming such a mature little girl, but I think the best thing about her is the way she loves her little sister. When Sarah was born, I was worried that she might not have the bond that Caleb and Emma had, since the older two were much closer in age. But the 3 1/2 years between Sarah and Emma are nothing. Emma is Sarah's best friend, and sometimes, I think Sarah is hers too. 

Caleb - Baseball is his life.  He played two seasons this year, and was invited to play on a tournament team with some of the best players. And he held his own. He has a head for baseball, and the skills to go with it. He's become quite a strong pitcher and an awesome first baseman.

But that's not the only place he succeeds. He's doing incredible in school. Things just come easy for him, and I'm grateful. I try to make sure it doesn't go to his head, and for the most part, I think he understands that. 

Chase - Chase has developped a new passion for motorcycles. He got a new one this past summer and has even named it (you'll have to ask him what it's named!)  He passed the safety course and got his license...and finally convinced me to take a ride on it last week. And although I was really scared, I have to admit it was kind of fun.

You probably have heard that he lost his job in the fall. We were both so disappointed, not just for the sake of money, but because he had finally found something he was really passionate about. With the state's budget the way it is, pickings are slim all around right now, and education is taking a particularly hard hit right now.  We're hoping that things will turn around soon, but in the meantime, his job future is in God's hands.

Me - Well, I'm still in second grade, same school, though I'm proud to say we're the highest achieving elementary school in the Anaheim City School District! It didn't come easy, but I'm proud to be a part of it.

I still enjoy taking pictures, scrapbooking, and blogging, but it sure is hard to fit it all in! This year, I've tried hard to enjoy life, make more time for the kids (which means less time cleaning =), ) and just make sure that my kiddos, particularly Sarah, don't just sprout right before my eyes.  I feel like I've done okay with that!

Overall, we've had a tremendously blessed year. Despite the job loss, when I look at all we have, the beautiful neighborhood we live in, the wonderful school the kids attend, the family that is close by to us, the church we've become a part of, and the support we have all around, I feel overwhelmed with gratitutde to God.  I hope that you can find these blessings in your own lives as well this year!

Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!!

Love,

Carrie

Merry Christmas!

This Christmas, I really wanted to make the year enjoyable. I wanted to have time to spend with the kids, just doing nothing if we chose. To do that, though, I had to scale back a bit. So I haven't baked quite as many cookies as usual. And I didn't write Christmas cards.  And I bought a few less gifts (well, that was the planned, but there's a mountain hiding in my closet!) And I did most of my shopping online, which really saved a lot of time.

It worked, though, and I haven't felt the need to run around crazily during this last week's rush. Last rainy Saturday we had fun in the house, and even took a rainwalk.

 We spent a day at the snow. We cuddled up and watched Elf together. Emma and I saw The Princess and the Frog, and yesterday, the girls and I went to Disneyland. So I'd say my plan worked, but I'm still feeling a little bad about the whole cards thing. So I decided to write my "Christmas letter" here, and even add a few pictures to go with it! I realized in doing this, though, that those of you who actually read my blog have really been able to keep up with us this whole year, and in that case, the letter's not even necessary.

Nevertheless, here I go!

Let it Snow, let it snow, let it snow!

We don't get to sing that song very often, but after a very rainy Saturday, we (well, Chase) decided to head up to the snow for the day to let the kids have some fun.  I must admit, I was dragging my feet a little, okay, a lot. I just didn't want to be cold and wet, particularly with Sarah newly done with diapers (yay!).  But, I'm glad Chase made me do it, because we all had a wonderful day!

I couldn't believe Sarah. After one trip down the hill with me, she was ready to go on her own! She slid down on that little orange disc and just flew! By then she was done with me.

We made a little snowman, had a few snacks, and before you know it were heading home. The girls were cold and tired, but they'd done really well. All in all, it was a great family day!

All I Want for Christmas is...

my two front teeth!

Emma has been working on these two teeth for about six weeks, and was hoping they'd both be missing right about now, just so she could sing the song! Her wish came true. 

Isn't this the cutest thing you've ever seen?

Last year I tried to put Sarah in footed pajamas but she would have nothing to do with them. I was surprised last week when she spotted some ballerina jammies in the store with feet and was incredibly insistent on buying them. (She had been just as insistent on buying some rubber ducks at the store before that, but I held a firm no on that one and just didn't have the strength to go through it all again, so she was already well on her way to new jammies!) 

I tried to show her some cute top and pants style jammies, but all she wanted were the ballerinas. And when a two year old has made up her mind, don't even think about trying to change it, because it's purely wasted energy on the grown-up's behalf!

Anyway, she LOVES them and wears them everynight. And for one more winter I'll get to reminisce about when she wore those little tiny footed sleepers and she can be my baby for just a little while longer!

Thanksgiving Performances

I love vacations! I was lucky enough to have this whole week off for Thanksgiving, so I got to participate in Emma's and Caleb's Thanksgiving celebrations at school.  Emma was part of the 1st grade feast and I volunteered to help set things up. Then today Caleb was in TWO different performances,one for 2nd, and one for 3rd since he's in the combo class.  Although going into yet another classroom is not always my first choice of how to spend my time off, how can I resist when it's my own kids' classes?

The first graders did a crazy relay and had a great time doing it. And the feast was filled with delicious treats!

But what surprised me the most was hearing Caleb actually recite some poems with his class! Speaking in front of others is not something that comes naturally for him, but he did a great job today!

Okay, I tried really hard to figure out how to post the video of him doing the poem, but am stumped, the video link is gone!  So if you want to see it, you'll have to check on Facebook instead.

Trying something new

So I've been experimenting with using Picasa by Google for my pictures, and I just wanted to try this way to upload my pics and see what happens.  Here goes!

Fun, fun, fun!

Last weekend my "little boy" turned eight years old! The same little boy who couldn't stand knit caps now has a collection of baseball caps. The little boy who had an arm to throw that pacifier with now throws pitches every weekend. The little boy who once hid behind a tree at the park and cried when I tried to introduce him to his new baseball coach now checks in with that same coach for pitching advice. And the little boy that I held in my arms late at night on November 1, 2001 now takes off out of the house almost before I can say good-bye.

That's not to say he's all grown up. He still can't keep his room clean or keep track of his clothing (though come to think of it, I think that's true with many grown-up men I know as well!). But he's flying through school at astounding speed, learning things left and right. All in all, he's a pretty good kid...and I'm proud to still be his Mommy, the one who still prays and sings with him each night. (And every night, I wonder how much longer it will last...)

Okay, now here's the fun stuff. On his birthday we had family over, and he got a hunting game for the Wii where you shoot ducks and other things on the screen. And guess who got the high score for Round 1....GRANDMA!! Here's are some of the reactions of that mighty accomplishment!

And I can't forget a few pics of the birthday bash itself!

Isn't he cute?

Testing...testing...Halloween!

Well, we finally got it...a new computer! I'm excited to be able to sit down and blog and share pictures without it being an hour and a half ordeal that ends with frustration and hair pulling! Let's hope this works out.

Here's Daddy, already passing out candy!


So last weekend was one of my busiest yet. Caleb had his game Saturday morning, and of course there were Halloween festivities to follow, and the next day was his birthday which led to a trip to Disneyland followed by a family party. Whew! Didn't even get to the laundry or grocery shopping.

This Halloween Sarah and Emma decided back in September to be "Minnie Mice." Actually, Emma decided, and Sarah copied. Because that is what Sarah does these days. Luckily for her, Emma is still flattered (I hear these days may be numbered, so I will enjoy it while it's here!) Sarah would tell anyone who asked "Emmy big Minnie Mouse, I lit-lel one." Actually, she usually said Mickey Mouse, but she meant Minnie. (On a side note, she told Emma tonight she wanted to be Mickey Mouse when she grew up!)

I spent most of Halloween with the girls. We went to the church's Light the Night which was great fun for Sarah. She couldn't believe they were just giving her candy! After all the times I tell her no. Then we came home and hit the streets...while eating pizza between houses (I held the piece and she game back for "one mo bite" after each doorstep.)

Sarah's best friend, Hayden, and her brother Brenton, trick-or-treated with us. Too bad I didn't bring the camera then...would've been hard, though, with pizza in my hands! Though we were all exhausted, we made it back in one piece.

Family Time

Last Monday I had the day off, and since Chase was home, we decided to surprise the kids and take them out of school at lunch time. We headed to Disneyland (along with tons of other people who must have had the same idea) for some family fun. Since it was so crowded, we explored some of the things we hadn't done before, including the canoes and Tom Sawyer's island. It was great!

One of these days I'm going to make an entire album of merry-go-round pictures.

Self-portrait on Dumbo!

Okay, I love this picture!! Love, love, love it! Sarah did not want to wear the life jacket that was required for her to go on the canoes, but we put it on her anyway. After a bit of crying, she finally stopped and attempted to enjoy the ride. I held up the camera and told her to smile. This is what I got!

Disneyland does a great job of fall decorating. Can't wait 'till Christmas!

And we can't forget Maggie the cow!