Week in Review #4 (I think!)

I don't know where January has gone. We jumped back into school and WHOSH! the month is almost over. It feels like we are in the "thick of things" with the kids coming and going and both of us working. I remember my own homelife when I was a teen and was coming and going and all the commotion of a houseful of busy kids. Somehow my mom managed to get us everywhere, cook, teach, serve others, visit with neighbors, teach 4-H, help my bothers with Scouts, encourage us to develop our talents (which no doubt included more driving us to and fro) and the list goes on and on. Yet she and my dad were still able to keep us connected as a family and I am grateful for that. And so as I stand in this spot where my mother once was; at the helm of a busy, happy, productive family, I look back with some sadness that my kids are growing, but also look forward, knowing that we kids turned out happy and responsible, and have faith that my kids will turn out just as well.
Our last few weeks have been spent getting Kelsey ready for 2 big events in her life: Graduation and college, and getting ready for her trip to Europe as a Student Ambassador. Both these things are a lot of work to get ready for, but both, I am sure, will have a lasting and positive influence on her life. We got all the paperwork done for her passport and now just waiting for it to come back. She is also spearheading a donation drive to collect beauty products (lotion, shampoo, hair brushes, toothpaste, etc) to give to a shelter in town for battered women. Along with this she is also busy doing fundraisers to pay for her trip. And then there is the applications to colleges. She is 98% done with the application to BYU-I and hopes to be up there sometime this year. She hopes to get accepted to one of the semesters without snow. . . . . we Idahoans just smile . . .
We did have quite a weather week. We got rain rain rain! I am not sure of the total, but somewhere between 3-5 inches in a week. That is what we get in a year!! We loved the rain and the clouds-ate soup and baked banana bread--but rainy days are sure hard on teachers! My poor students were feeling quite cooped up after 3 days of not being able to go outside. Perhaps the change in weather made them act out more, because it was quite an exhausting week. I don't know how teachers in Portland or Minnestota do it! :) Hooray, the sun is out today and we can go out for recess tomorrow!

Christmas Eats

It just wouldn't be Christmas without some flour flying in the kitchen. We made our favorite sugar cookie recipe Christmas Eve so Santa would have something to eat. Then Kevin got working on the turkey and the pumpkin pies. Once again my kitchen was a construction zone. But of course it all paid off as we enjoyed a delicious meal Christmas Day.
We got some photos of the kids and their gifts Christmas morning, but they were all taken sideways and I can't get them to turn for the blog. But Kelsey and her prized present turned out. Yes, she got what she wished for: a brand new Mustang. It came with a bow and everything. Too bad she forgot to mention to Santa what size she wished for.
New Year's Eve came around and Kevin was still in the cooking mood (the sugar cookies were all gone by now). He found a great recipe for raised donuts. Mmmnmm! I don't think we need to drive to Krispy Kreme's any more! I think we just found another tradition.

Christmas Preparations

Christmas break has come and gone. Too quickly, I might add. Since the first few days of break was filled with shopping, I hadn't felt much like I was actually home from school yet. I still found myself up early and worn out by 4 p.m, just like a school day. Luckily I got everything done in 3 days and had the rest of the 2 weeks off to rest and enjoy the season with the family. We went as a family 30 minutes away to the Mesa Temple to see the lights. Breanna made us laugh when she saw the neighboring houses and sighed" I wish I lived this close to the Temple!" We reminded her that soon our Gilbert Temple would be built a mile away from our house and we would be this close to the Temple!
The kids also wanted to have their friends over one morning and make crepes for them. Dressed in their jammies, they ate and ate. I think this will become one of our new traditions.