Birthdays, Math and Snow

So, this last week didn’t really start out too well. The kids got off to school and I worked on a bunch of random stuff at home with plans to get a bike ride in except I started feeling bad. I fought a headache all day and then later that afternoon, while I was working on getting my Christmas cards all ready to go, I started feeling pretty dizzy and nauseous. I forced myself to finish all the cards and then when Andrew got home, I went to bed and slept for several hours. I eventually got up around 10 and got a bowl of cereal and then went back to sleep. I felt somewhat better the next day, but it was so hard to get up and get moving. Thankfully I was better by that afternoon because I had signed us up to ring bells at Westlakes. Before we went, though, we dropped Ellie off at JC Penney where she went shopping with Granny for her birthday present. As much I was hoping the bell ringing would be a great experience for the kids, they weren’t too excited. They warmed up to it a bit and Westlakes was actually busier than I thought it would be. My mom came and hung out with us for most of the time-we were there for two hours. Thankfully it wasn’t a really cold day and we were in the front enclosed area, although they did have one of the doors perched open the whole time. They were definitely done by the time the two hours were done. It wasn’t all the great things I hope it would be, mainly my kids loving the idea of doing something  to help others, but I hope it was an experience that will lead to more.

We went to La Fuente afterwards for dinner and totally forgot about Jackson’s last basketball practice. Then after we got home, I ran out to do the grocery shopping and they all met me out in the garage when I got home to help me carry it all in. I really appreciate when they do that J. Wednesday I got a swim and run on the treadmill in since I wasn’t able to do anything the previous two days and cleaned the house for small group the next morning. There were little Christmas things I was able to get done like the cards and tags for the teacher and neighbor gifts. The twins played with the Tinker Toys, making swords and guns like boys do. I wish I could record their conversations without them noticing because they are pretty entertaining and I love their imaginations.

After school, Granny picked up Lincoln and Jackson and took them to pick out their Christmas presents. They were very excited. She holds onto them until Christmas, though. Ellie wasn’t feeling that great after school and went to bed for most of the afternoon/evening. She skipped out on dinner, but the twins didn’t get too and they weren’t too excited.

That evening I actually got to watch the Dolly Parton movie that was on and I worked on prepping the study questions for the next morning. Ellie ended up joining me partway through and I let her stay up until 10 to finish watching. I didn’t sleep well at all that night, so I think we were both pretty tired the next morning. I forced myself to get up and get on the bike before I had to get ready and get the kids to school. Ellie was thankfully all better because she didn’t want to miss her RAP class that day. With it being December 1^st, our elf made his way back to keep an eye on the kids and the kids started opening our Advent tree. My mom sent us some files to use as ideas of random acts of kindness to do during the month, so I decided to include those with our Advent tree tins and the kids have a new one to do each day. Our first day was “Tell someone why they are special to you.”

That morning we had another women’s study. Our group was pretty small but we were still able to have some decent conversation. While I have enjoyed learning the history of the church, I think the majority of our group has not. We just have one more week left though. We had our regular busy Thursday. I was able to work on some decorations for the twins’ birthday in between running people here and there for Little K, Middle School Klub, small group and dance. That night the twins really wanted me to read their new Christmas books they received at school. The problem was that they both wanted me to read their book, so we had to come up with some sort of solution. And then we had to put together the mangers that came with the story.

Andrew took the three oldest to school on Friday, so the twins and I didn’t have to leave the house until it was time to pick them up. I caught one small picture of them in the middle of play.

I got a run in and was also able to finish up decorations for the twins’ birthday party. I think the kids were all relieved that it was the end of the school week. Andrew texted me while I was picking up the kids and asked me to drop off the boys at the barber shop. I didn’t think about it until we got there, but the twins didn’t have shoes or coats, so Andrew just carried both of them in and they weren’t too happy about it.

Lincoln brought home a picture his teacher took of he and his friend, Miguel, and the book they wrote and illustrated together, When the Monsters Came to Town. He was so proud of it and that they got to put it in the library for other kids to read.

That evening we didn’t have much to do so I made dinner and Ellie worked hard on making Christmas decorations for her room. She made paper chains and snowflakes and made a really cool 3D snowflake. Then the twins and Lincoln wanted her to help them decorate their room too.

Andrew had to get a new oven for the rental house, so he took Jackson along with him to get that all taken care of. I got to work wrapping but wasn’t able to start the Christmas presents just yet. I had to wrap presents for the twins, Ainsley’s, my dad’s and Mary’s birthdays. As I finished up, I remembered that I needed to check my parents’ house for packages since they were out of town. I quickly checked Facebook and saw a post that the Arts Center was on fire and it was a big one. I decided to see what I could see as I drove to my parents’ house. You could see a huge cloud of smoke from our house and could see the flames from a bit away. They were shooting out of the top of the building. I went around another way when I came home and drove around the square where there were a lot of people out walking around and watching. I noticed Ellie’s dance teacher’s car parked on the square so I sent her an email to see how her studio was doing since it was so close to the Arts Center. She said so far it was okay but they hoped they were able to contain the fire soon. I think they worked on the fire throughout the night and stayed around Saturday to make sure everything was okay. It sounds like it was a complete loss for the art building-they think the fire had been going on long before people saw the smoke. And then it smoked for quite a while before the fire actually broke through the top of the building while the firefighters were inside trying to fight it because the windows were boarded up, so they couldn’t get water to it from the outside.

Saturday morning, Ellie and I headed out to Truman for her to attend her math competition. She was so nervous, so I tried to calm her down-just act like she was back in school and not at a competition and reminding her that she was smart (she kept saying she thought it was a mistake she was chosen to compete) and it was going to be hard because it was supposed to be hard, but she had to give her best. I brought my computer and worked on reconciling office bank accounts and cleaning up files on my computer.

Andrew was in charge back home and took Jackson to his last basketball game. I had hoped the get to it, but Ellie had her break from testing right in the middle of it, so it didn’t work out. Ellie had a lunch break, so we went over to the SUB and got Chick-fil-a and she actually liked. All these years, she has said she doesn’t like and she kept eating my lunch. We also drove around the square to see the aftermath of the fire. I got an email from Melody saying there was a foot of water in the studio and they were going to have to replace the floors so the last week of dance before Christmas was canceled. I guess she did have people help her before they blocked off the studio to get the mats, costumes and extra stuff out of it.

When we got back to the math contest, it was time for awards. Ellie was sure she wasn’t going to get anything but she ended up placing fourth in one test and her team, which was her and Grace along with another girl and boy, placed first and second. Then she also scored high enough to qualify to go to regionals. I think she wasn’t expecting it at all. We were so proud of her.

We didn’t get home until almost two, so that took up most of the day. Andrew was excited to show me that he cleaned up after lunch-actually wiped down the counters J.  Andrew went to the office I worked on laundry and then went grocery shopping while the boys watched one of the Star Wars movies. Then we were off to Ainsley’s birthday party out at Matthew and Kristin’s where she had a cute ballerina party. The next morning, we were surprised to wake up to snow on the ground and it was still falling. The kids were so excited and couldn’t wait to get back from church and get outside. Andrew made big snowman out back. He enlisted the twins help to get the second segment up. He put it on one end of the teeter-totter and then had the twins push down on the other end and it actually worked. I worked on getting everything ready to go for Ellie’s party at the Depot Inn.

I headed to the Depot Inn a little before 2 and Ellie and Faith went with me. They ended up actually double-booking for the party but it ended up working out. The first group just set up out in the lobby and they swam first while our group didn’t swim until later. I did a little decorating, set out the food and the craft along with a little help from the girls and we got it done just in time for the rest of them to show up. First the girls ate some snacks while also picking out their “gifs” out of the Samaritan’s Purse Christmas catalog. Instead of giving Ellie gifts, the girls used that money to purchase a “gift” out of the catalog that will go to help someone in need. Then we did our craft, an ocean in a bottle. We put sand in little jars and then the girls picked out some seashells to put in and we finished it with some blue water and vegetable oil. I hot-glued the tops on and then we put our “Mahalo” thank you tags on them. Then we followed that up with singing Happy Birthday and cupcakes before heading to the pool. I was so grateful that Leah ended up sticking around and helped me out. I really thought I could handle it by myself since the girls were a little older, but it didn’t go as smoothly as I had hoped. And she watched them at the pool while I cleaned up stuff. Andrew brought the three younger boys around cupcake time and then they got to enjoy the pool too. I figured they might as well get some swimming in since we were paying for it.

The girls were having a lot of fun swimming when I got in there so I didn’t bother with the game until a little later. They broke up into two teams and we had a relay race where they had to put on certain items, swim to the other end of the pool and then take those items off and have the next girl put them on. I had grass skirts, leis, goggles and swim caps and I think that was enough. They had a lot of fun doing it and did it a few more times after the initial race. But then parents started showing up and it was time for everyone to go home. Andrew took the boys home and I cleaned up everything and loaded it back in the car. We took Grace and Faith home with us. That evening I got everything put away and Andrew went to Colton’s to pick up some dinner for us. 

Andrew surprised us by shaving his beard before he came to the party-we were so happy. But he sent me this before he did.

Sunday night, Andrew decided it would be fun to surprise the LaBeth's with a snowman. He had several fun ideas, but the snow wasn't working the way he had hoped. He enlisted Jackson and Ellie's help and the built a small snowman and set on the porch in front of their front door. Jackson rang the doorbell and they hid behind an electric box in our front yard. They said Ty came out and was yelling trying to see if anyone was out there. And soon I get this picture from Tiffany asking if we knew anything about a snowman :-).