January 26, 2011

Claire has 5 bottlecap necklaces (1 from a craft fair, and 4 were made by sister Allyson at Christmas).  I've noticed that Claire wears a different necklace every single day.  They've become her trademark at this moment in time.  This particular one was one that Allyson made for her.

January 25, 2011

Claire had surgery 3 years ago to loosen the muscles on her right eye (to keep it from drifting to the side).  The surgery was deemed a success, but there are still times when the eye drifts.  The doctor said Claire's vision is perfect, so no other surgery is 'necessary' at this time.  Since we can't afford to pay for a an elective surgery, Claire wears a patch several times a week.

January 24, 2011

I *finally* took the time to make the highly-touted cinnamon rolls from the Pioneer Woman's cookbook.   I must say that these are so yummy, and worth the time they take to make them!  Yummmmmm-O! 

January 23, 2011

Toys, toys and more toys!  Max usually has his toys strewn throughout the house, but I *try* to keep them in one room most of the time.  When I get tired of the mess, Max is really good to put his toys away when asked.  He loves to "line things up"...and this is what his toys looked like after we asked him to tidy up a bit.   They practically took up one whole wall.   Cute!

January 22, 2011

When we heard the forecast for snow, we figured the kids would be out of school...meaning lots of time for playing in the snow.  We went to a local hardware store to buy new sleds, and Max found these cute "horse" rubber boots.  They were a couple of sizes too big, but we bought them anyway.  Max was SO excited to wear his horsie boots in the snow that he had to practice wearing them in the house! :-)

January 21, 2011

Today's photo is something we've had to deal with that is NOT so much fun...but still a part of our life.  Medical bills...lots and lots of them.  Since Randy was diagnosed with diabetes in 2006, and the eye problems resulting from that disease, we have had more than our fair share of medical bills.  Randy has had many, many eye surgeries and monthly check-up visits.  To top that off, Allyson hurt her knee late last year, which resulted in x-rays and and MRI.  I added to the fun by having two sleep studies near the end of the year.  Thankfully, we do have insurance and they have covered a lot, but we still have quite a large amount out-of-pocket.

January 20, 2011

The meteorologists were right this time.  We went to bed with cloudy skies, and awoke to lots of snow!  Another snow day out of school!  I thought it was cute seeing the kids watch the snow fall.  We also played out in the snow (those pics will end up on our family blog at some point).

January 19, 2011

Can't believe I'm putting a photo of myself on the blog, but I'm trying to document our daily life, and this just happens to be part of it.  I've had sleep issues for many years, and high blood pressure since I was in my 20's.  Last year when I went for an exam, my doctor referred me to a sleep disorder specialist.  After spending two nights in a sleep study center in December, I was diagnosed with pretty severe sleep apnea.  My new bed partner is now this lovely mask (which is connected to a CPAP machine).  I'm still getting used to it, but am certainly feeling the benefits of sleeping better.  I'm hoping this will also help to regulate my blood pressure (the doctor said high bp is often caused by sleep apnea..who knew?!).

January 18, 2011

Thanks to Becky Higgins' blog, we've started a new family tradition of recording things we are thankful for.  I put a piece of posterboard in a frame and told the kids to write whatever they felt like on the poster.  We are all using a different color of ink, so it's easy to know who is writing what.  I'm going to leave this up all year; hopefully it will be completely filled in by the end of the year (then I'll start a new poster).  It's nice to have a reminder to be thankful for all the things we take for granted.

January 17, 2011

We *finally* had time to attend one of the WJHS basketball games.  Since Emily is a cheerleader, we attended LOTS of football games, but this was our first basketball game.  I was trying to photograph only the cheerleaders, but the b-ball team got in the way...I think I actually like it this way though.

January 16, 2011

Every Sunday evening, my friend LouAnn and I work with our church's children's choir.  We took a long break over the holidays; tonight was our first night back.  We'll be busy working with this group of kiddos to produce a program in May...seems far away, but really we'll only have about 12 more practices before the program!  Yikes!

January 15, 2011

It was such a nice day today (after the snow and bitter cold temps earlier this week).  We took the dog to the groomer and decided to stop at the park for a little while to let the kiddos run off some steam.  We all had such a great time (mom even went down the slide with Max!).  Poor Max cried when we told him it was time to leave though. 

January 14, 2011

So proud of the girls!  Emily made the "A" honor roll for the first semester; Ally and Claire both made the "A-B" honor roll.  They all brought their award certificates home today, so they're my pic of the day!  :-) 

January 13, 2011

Max's breakfast.  Doesn't look very appetising you say?  Doesn't matter because this is what he chooses EVERY day!   As soon as the girls leave for school, Max runs to the cabinet and grabs his choice of cereal (today it was Reese's Puffs), and a cup for milk.  He also loves these little yogurt cups.  It doesn't matter what other types of breakfast items I offer him, Max ALWAYS wants dry cereal and a cup of milk.

January 12, 2011

This is what our kitchen table looks like after school each day...homework and reading.

Hmmm, looks like I need to take a different picture of the kids studying.  Claire didn't wear the same shirt twice in one week - I just happened to snap several pics on one day in order to stay caught up on my photos!  We do practically the same things everyday though.

January 11, 2011

We had a snow day and I was busy entertaining the kids today.  I didn't take a photo today, so I'm swiping a copy of Emily's photo from today.  :-)

January 10, 2011

On Mondays, I always pick Claire up from school choir practice, and then we head straight to piano lessons.  After lessons, there is lots of piano practice time at home during the week (for all 3 girls).

January 9, 2011

Our youth director at church (Rob McClelland) was officially ordained this evening.  Rob took over as interim youth director, and was then given the job later.  He & his wife, Samantha, have been a really good influence on our youth. 

January 8, 2011

Even though it was a bit chilly today, the kids really needed to get outside and run off some energy.  Allyson and Claire grabbed their scooters, and Max jumped on his motorcycle.  Max basically just went in circles, while the girls zoomed around him on their scooters.  The kids paused just long enough for me to take a photo.

January 7, 2011

Our family always eats dinner together every night at the dinner table.  We have always enjoyed fun and interesting conversations during these times.  Recently, I found these little "Table Topics" cards, so we have been reading one card each night.  They have just added more fun to our dinner conversations!  Sometimes, the questions help us all to really think about our life and the choices we make.  The kids can't wait to take turns reading a new topic each night. 



January 6, 2011

Randy meets fellow deacons, Carl and Paul, each Friday at church for an hour of Bible study.  On Thursdays, he can usually be found studying and taking notes in preparation for their meeting. 

January 5, 2011

Emily got her driving permit on December 21, 2010.  I forgot to take a picture of her with her permit until today.  Emily was nervous about driving at first, but now wants to drive everywhere we go.  She won't be able to drive alone until she is 16 in 2012!

January 4, 2011

The Arkansas Razorbacks played in the Sugar Bowl tonight.  It was their first Bowl Championship Series (BCS) Bowl game, so it was a pretty big deal for all the fans.  Our schools even got in on the spirit and asked the students to wear Hog shirts today.  In this photo, the kids are calling the hogs....Wooooo Pig Sooooiiiieeeeee! (Emily wants me to note that she is in shorts because she just went to tumbling practice.)  :-)
Sadly, the Razorbacks lost to Ohio State - final score 31-26.
 

January 3, 2011

Both Emily and Allyson love Toms shoes.  They are one of the "in" things these days (for kids and adults).  While shopping for shoes for the girls, I mentioned that I really liked the look of a pair of plum colored corduroy Toms, as well as a black grommet pair.   

While doing our Christmas shopping online, we ordered a pair of the black grommet shoes for Allyson.  Unfortunately, they didn't fit so Claire ended up with them (she was one very happy little girl!).  Santa Randy also surprised me with a pair of black grommet Toms (the plum was out of stock).  Claire and I both wore our shoes for the first time today.  Claire was SO excited that we matched, so I wanted to make this our picture of the day to remember our "special moment".  :-)

January 2, 2011

This was the first Sunday of the new year. As is usual for Sundays, we were at church (for Sunday School, church, choir, and a deacon's meeting...all in one day!). Since this is a big part of our lives, I thought it appropriate for the first Sunday photo of the new year. We are blessed to have such a wonderful place of worship.

January 1, 2011

We stayed up late on New Year's Eve to watch the ball drop in New York City. The girls said it didn't count unless we stayed up until *our* midnight. We succeeded, but then went to bed right after midnight. :-)

This is our first family photo of 2011. We quickly cut the 2011 numbers out of cardstock, set the camera timer, and this is what we got. Some of us haven't aged very well in the last year...where is that fountain of youth?

New Blog

As if I needed one more thing to do...I've decided to take on another task. Project 365. One photo every day.

Sounds easy, but it isn't. I've started this twice before, but I'm determined to make it work this year! OK, so I've said that before too...but I *am* really motivated this year. :-) This blog will be my journal for this photo project. Let the fun begin!