Kids Christmas craft day!!!!

So it was a success!!! Overall 32 kids came with parents to create some fun items for Christmas.  It was a bustling event with 5 tables set up inside-for fear of rain-and lots of glue and laughter.  We had cookies, lemonade and chips.   A friend took some pics for me because I am still waiting for my camera from the repair center (thanks Alex!).  I was able to pull it off with lots of help from my sister, but also small things Jason did before he took off to California to watch the Chevron World Challenge Golf Tournament.  My friend Alex also helped by loaning me a few tables a chairs that allowed me to set up a few more stations.  I think at one time we had about 15-20 kids outside playing in the backyard before it started to rain.  They would come in a craft a bit, then run outside a play a bit, inside to craft, outside to play.  Lots of planning...but totally worth it.  My kids were so excited to have so many friends of every age here at home to hang out with for a few hours.  It was just great!!! Thanks to all that came and enjoyed the day with us. Hope your memories are a good as mine are. 




          

Makayla and friend Kayla



JJ with friend Hayden

   

           

              Tyler taking a lunch break, along with a
                break from the chocolate chip cookies



Carter mostly played with all the little
 kids and hung out ih his room

   

         

Friends enjoying the day

  

                  

                           Outside play. Makayla with friends Brianna,
                         Mia, Michelle, Jakob and Matthew





          

Working together



                      

So much fun!!!

 

Thanksgiving means family...

I think this is the very 1st Thanksgiving that I didn't have a drop of Turkey on Thanksgiving Day.  We shared an early Thanksgiving feast with Jason's family in California the Wednesday before.  It was great.  Love sitting around a table with my in-laws, shooting the breeze, making jabs at eachother and laughing while the kids run all around us in enjoyable chaos. We talked a little about some serious stuff, but I love that this crowd is always looking to smile, rather than staying in the gloom that life can sometimes deal you.  On Thursday, after a quick visit with in-laws and a goodbye, we headed to Parker to visit my family.  We stopped to see my niece, nephew and sis-in-law (my brother already went to work :(, which stunk) for a few minutes before heading over to the theater to watch Arthur's Christmas with my mom.  That was an awesome show.  We all loved it.  We chatted with mom for a few minutes and were on the road by 7, heading home.  We needed to get home and get the kids in bed so I could go...shopping!!!  Yeah, well, not really me, but I wanted to check out the laptops that were super cheap and get two games for the kids and I-hey I play the Wii too..ha, ha.  Well got the games, but the lines for the laptops were ridiculous.  Some were in line for about 6 hours.  Sorry, but I'm not that dedicated.  Friday, we decked the halls with Christmas cheer.  Got it all up except the lights to hang from the house-stucco house (new territory).  I love the warmth that comes from holiday decorations.  Saturday my family came for a visit. My sister from California with her family and my parents.  We did not have another feast, but we did enjoy some tamales my mother brought with her-yummy!  It was fun talking and chatting with everyone.  We went to JoAnns to pick up some material, and I bought a cricut (craft machine). Hello toy! My mother and I also sewed a few dresses for my niece for her Charlie Brown's Christmas play she was in.  It was nice working on a project with my mom, and I think they turned out great.  On Sunday, we went to church, then came home to finish up some projects-like my sons' new bunkbed and prep for an art class I was teaching on Monday.  I look back and am glad that I have the family I have, they are all a part of me and help me be a better person.  For this I am truly thankful!

ahhh...Sunbeams

I am currently the Sunbeams (3-4 yr olds) teacher in my church.  I love my calling.  I find that this position, as well as Nursery Leader, are probably the hardest in Primary, and God must really love us to try us, and trust us this much...lol. I prepare my lesson each week with a few "in-case" scenarios.  I have about 3 children who have a tendency to become disruptive, and I have to plan for these interuptions and how to steer the children back to listening and participating in the lesson.  Somedays that can be a real challenge-like today.  One child stuck her fingers in her ears because she didn't want me telling her to sit down in her chair, then proceeded to skip around the room.  We played fishing as an activity in our lesson and another child threw a temper tantrum because someone else got a fish that they wanted, and another because they didn't go first.  So I felt like just giving up-I already struggled through Sharing Time with some more disruption than usual behavior, and I was tired.  I had a few more words to share and sum up the lesson and a question to ask (but doubted anyone heard or listened).  So I asked, "So we all have callings to help the church...what can you do to help our church, or help our church building?"  I was completely in shock when a child that usually adds to the comotion says, "clean up our mess and love eachother".  And from there the last 5 minutes of class was awesome! :)  I guess you can say I live for those 5 minutes..ha, ha.