The things kids say...

My child is not saying something cute or silly, which is usually why I would blog. No, it's not some wonderful insight of child wisdom, or interesting tidbit about bodily functions. Nope...this blog is about the word 'stupid'. I've tried REALLY hard to keep my children from using this word, and synonyms for it, since their first word was spoken. Claire understands the harm of the word and doesn't use it often, and when she does, knows immediately what look her mother is going to give her. Landon, on the other hand, has yet to make this connection. It's just been in the last couple of months that it's become an issue. It used to be here and there, without thinking, and remorse quickly followed. But this morning he called his Daddy stupid while telling him to stop doing something...major punishment ensued. I asked why he uses that word so freely now, especially because he knows how much Mommy despises it. His response: "My buddies at school say it all the time. It's just a normal word, Momma." This Mommy has a lot of training ahead of her to get that word from the 'normal' list back to the 'never use' list!

Academic Success

Claire was recognized with several of her classmates for academic achievement during the first semester. This was for all A's on the report card. Most of you are saying "big surprise"...but Claire really had to work for the A's she received. Not necessarily in reading or language, but math. Math does not come easily for my baby girl, and we work often on it. She earned that A this semester, which I think gave her a good sense of accomplishment! Way to go Claire!

I love my kids

Have I mentioned lately how much I love my kids? It's always implied, but not always stated on this blog. Well...I LOVE THEM! They make me laugh, they make me cry, they make me beam with pride and sometimes pull my hair out! They are my joy, and I am truly blessed to have them both in my life. When they look at me for something, whether it be sympathy, encouragement or a glass of water, I am reminded of what perfect little beings they are, and how lucky I am. This morning, as I prepped Claire for school,I could here the TV in the other room. The report was about the young girl gunned down in Arizona, and my heart ached for the parents. I hugged my girl twice before she left this morning, and made sure she knows that I love her more than anything. I'll do the same to my little man when I drop him at preschool. Because you never know. So one last time, with emphasis...I LOVE THEM!!!!

Snow Day!

Ok, so as you have probably learned, it doesn't take much to have a snow day in NWA. There's probably an inch on the ground, but an inch of snow and sleet is about all it takes to make untreated roads slick...especially hills! The wind chill is 1 degree. But we still went out and enjoyed a little of the white stuff. Not enough (or sticky enough) to make snow balls or snow angels, but still fun!

Other Holiday Pictures

Claire and her friends at the class Christmas party.

Landon's preschool class made their own antlers for their Christmas party.

Claire as an Angel for the church Christmas play.

Landon as a very powerful wise man in the play.

Landon sliding at his birthday party.

Landon's birthday party at Jumpzone.

Landon blowing out the candles.

Playing with the new ipod for his birthday.

The cake.

Christmas Pictures

Finally...pictures! These are not edited in any way. I was too excited to actually have a few minutes to put some on here and didn't want to lose the chance!

Thurston in his new wagon. Isn't he beautiful?

Scott, Landon, Geoff and Sara working together nicely on Legos!

Landon received the "golden goose" from Silly Santa. That's a story for another time...

Geoff and Fred with their "stormy kromers" and a beer.

Claire and Landon at the salt mine in Hutchinson.

Claire with the coveted Laney-doll.

Snuggie for cousin, Lucy.

Lucy and Claire.

Cousins.

Christmas in Kansas

We left Arkansas Christmas morning loaded to the hilt for Kansas. I mentioned in the last post that Landon got sick. We decided he must have had too much milk too fast, because he was perfectly fine afterwards (he's prone to this and it's happened before). Precautionary measures were taken and away we went. We arrived in Pilsen first where we opened presents with Gram, Poppy, Uncle Frank, Fred, Staci and Baby Thurston. Geoff made ribs for dinner, which were awesome! Sunday afternoon my uncle and aunt came over for a visit and we played and ate. Monday morning we headed to Hutchinson to tour the underground salt mine. Well, not all of us. Gram got sick early that morning. The tour was really cool and the kids enjoyed having Unkie (who works for Morton Salt and was an "expert" according to the kids) at their disposal to answer all their burning questions, like "Do you think anyone gets forgotten down here?" and "Why can't I download a game on Mommy's phone down here?". Tuesday included a trip to the farm to ride Barney and crack ice on the pond. Geoff had to work in Wichita on Wednesday, so we loaded up and headed that direction. As a side note, Geoff, Uncle Frank, Landon and I all got sick after Gram did. We took turns toughing it out!

We rested on Wednesday after we arrived in Wichita, as Nana and Papa didn't return from Virginia until late that evening. Thursday morning awoke to a whole new flurry of excitement! More presents and cousins to play with! The kids had a blast opening presents and then playing with their cousins all day Thursday. Friday started again with playing. Nana was nice enough to let the adults go run some errands kid-less...Thank you!!! The men took on the project of putting a new TV in the hearth room that evening, which was quite a job! But they all thoroughly enjoyed watching football on it afterwards! Our family did not stay awake for the new year, with the exception of Geoff. Sometimes the best way to ring in the new year is to just sleep! Saturday morning the kids and I went over to the Hooper house to play there. Those kiddos play so well together. They rarely fight and generally treat each other well. They are all "leaders", but have learned to take turns being "followers". It's been heartwarming to watch them grow together, even when it's only in spurts! Loaded up again, we headed for Arkansas Saturday afternoon. Miraculously, no one else got sick while we were in Wichita!

Christmas!!!

Ok, so I'm VERY far behind. And this blog will not be in order for probably the next month. With that being said, here are a few of the memories I want to get down before I post the New Year post and get pics on from the holiday!

Our church's children put on a Christmas play this year. Claire was an angel and Landon a wise man. It was darling and went off without a hitch! Both kids had lines to say, and spoke them perfectly!

Both kiddos had parties at their schools. Landon's included a little show for the parents where the kids recited a bible passage about the birth of Christ and sang some songs. Claire's party was fun too...Mommy's a room mom again and therefore helped with it.

Claire got sick the first weekend of break with a nasty virus. Landon played with his friends. We also went to see a movie, went out to dinner and got ready to host a party for Daddy's work team. Landon came down with an ear infection the day before Christmas Eve. Antibiotics seemed to heal it, and it didn't damper his Christmas spirit in the least!

Christmas Eve was spent with our good friends, the Symons'. They came over for dinner and a gift exchange. It was nice to spend some quiet, but fun time with our "extended" family. We are truly blessed to have found such wonderful people to make memories with! That night we put out our decorated cookies, with a thank you note to Santa. Claire pulled a loose tooth that morning so she put it in her tooth fairy pillow that night. A visit from two mystical people in one night!!! Christmas morning was filled with oohs and aahs and lots of toys. Also a little vomit from Landon...but that story will continue later!

Catching Up

It's the game I play every year for the last five years. After Christmas is "catch up". Getting Christmas decor down and put away, making sure presents have a place, getting kids back in the school routine, and then figuring out what's next on the agenda. The first three parts of my game are pretty much completed, with the exception of the tree upstairs. The kids say they wanna help take the ornaments off, but are too busy playing catch up with their friends or activities to do it! The last part, the agenda part, is filling up fast. Dance is back in full swing, as competitions start the first of February. And both of the kid's school responsibilities started up the first day back. I'm ready for this new year, and what it will bring. My sweet girl dancing, my little man playing some ball, and Mommy and Daddy bringing up the rear...cheering all the way!!! Let's get this game going!!!

(Once again I realize I have left out the best part...pictures!!! I'm working on it!)