It's a "count your blessings" kind of day

I love my calling at church. I'm over the childrens organization...or in Mormon terminology, the Primary. I love that I get to spend 2 hours every Sunday with 50 plus children and their teachers. I love all of the crazy things that they do and say. I love hearing them sing songs about the Savior and His love for them. I learn so much from them each week and my own testimony of Christ's love for all of us has grown just from being around these children.

But...

Maybe I'll get a blacklash for saying this, but I'm not loving the room that we have to meet in. When there isn't room for a teacher to sit next to a child that needs a little extra attention or a parent has to hurdle a chair just so she can get up and help her child give a talk...a talk that wasn't even able to be heard because she's a sweet quiet 5 year old talking into a microphone that doesn't work...makes me secretly want to call in the fire marshals so they'll ban us from the room.  I know it's not like this every week.  Sometimes we have less kids, but sometimes we have more.  And when it is like this, that sweet spirit isn't there as strong and the children feel it.  I feel it.

And so I come home and cry my eyes out.  Which then in turn leaves me with a massive headache.  So, I'm left to think about all of the good things that have been going on.

Tyler's Olympic Halfpipe Dream...He made this for the cake contest at the Cub Scout Blue and Gold Banquet.  It was all his idea and he really did do most of the work.

Evan will be 5 in a little more than a month and we just discovered that he has 2 loose teeth!!  So I guess we're going to enter the Little Person, Big Teeth phase which will hold a whole new meaning for us!!

I love Jared's drawing of JFK here!!  He did this for a character can project at school.

And since the Olympics have been going, on our home has turned into a speed skating rink and halfpipe.  My kids have gotten very creative with their Olympic venues.  Here we have Anna "snowboarding".  Our future Torah Bright!

Unfortunately, Anna will be left behind on our ski/snowboard adventure tomorrow.  The boys, of course, are more than thrilled.  I'm a little leery.  Evan and I will be learning how to ski.  The big boys will snowboard. Wish us luck!

I'm feeling better already.

Just thought we'd share...

Top TEN

I'm not sure how this happened, but ten years flew right by.  How blessed am I (are we) to have Tyler as our son.

 

Tyler's Top 10 from Feb 15, 2009-Feb 15, 2010

1. Our trip to Florida, especially Sea World and Kennedy Space Center

2. Harry Potter obsession, reading all 7 books in just a few months. 

3. Cub Scouts, having his dad as his den leader, 2 pinewood derbys and cub day camp. 

4. Baseball, playing on a team and going to see games.

5.  The trip to Utah, Zions and Bryce Canyon, Snowbird, lots of family fun.

6.  Camping, with the Zamoras, with friends, lots of camping trips over a year.

7.  Hershey Park x2, during the summer and in the winter.

8. Winning the schools Geography Bee.

9. Chicago and Massanutten, two separate trips, equally as fun in his eyes.

10.  Snow!  There could never be enough.  Missing so much school, sledding and learning to snowboard. 

HAPPY 10th BIRTHDAY, TYLER!

"Snoverkill"

I can't take credit for this perfectly descriptive word, but it's my word of the day, month, year...And I think Websters should jump on it.

 

02.10.2010 Blizzard

We took the kids sledding Monday night.  

Guess who will officially be learning how to snowboard tonight?

(Tyler and Jared)

And if things clear up...

We'll be heading to PA 

and Rob will be taking the boys snowboarding in lieu of Tyler's birthday party.

"Seurat! Seurat!"

That's what Anna has been cheering around the house.

Today we had school (and cub scouts) at home since the school parking lot still has not been plowed.

And if I'm teacher, I get to pick the subject.

So art it is.  With a little mix of science and French.

George Seurat and Pointillism.

 When two colors are right next to each other your eye mixes them in a process called, "optical mixing." Using optical mixing rather than physical mixing can create a brighter picture. Painting a pointillist piece is a slow and painstaking process. Seurat's famous "A Sunday in the Park on the Island of La Grande Jatte" (more commonly known as "Sunday in the Park"), which covered a wall (81 inches by 120 inches), took him two years to complete. He was known for amazing devotion and concentration. The dots in a pointillist painting can be as small as 1/16 of an inch in diameter! Based on these measurements, "Sunday in the Park" has approximately 3,456,000 dots!

 Now we have something more to see next time we go to Chicago!

The boys worked for 3 hours on their art projects, dotting away with their pencil erasers.

I think they turned out great and I can't wait to frame them and show them off.

No End in Sight

Local Weather > LOCAL WEATHER ALERT for Manassas, VA (20112)   

Winter Storm Warning for Prince William/manassas/manassas Park, VA

from 12 pm EST, Tue., Feb. 9, 2010 until 7 pm EST, Wed., Feb. 10, 2010

* ACCUMULATIONS... 7 TO 14 INCHES.

Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah...
I drove by the school today because we wanted to go sledding (no where safe to park).  It hasn't even been plowed yet.  The street in front of it hasn't been touched (driven on, but not plowed...we almost got stuck...three times).  Add another 7-14" on top of that.  Sigh. 

Good news, though.  The storm has convinced me that we should have a generator (Rob jumps up and down, thrilled that I have finally conceded).  And Rob is almost convinced that an SUV would be more reliable than a new minivan (I shout with glee, although this is several months down the road).

We have been enjoying our beautiful surroundings...

Should we play a game of  "I Spy"?

• Before and after the snow
• Our new kitty (she's cute as can be)
• Friendly Neighborhood Snowball Battle
• The most sinful dessert in the world.  I've never tasted a carrot cake better than this one.
• The most "Saint"ly pudding pie with peanut crust (sugar-free and yummy).
• Our mailbox
• A carrot nose
• the BBQ grill.
• chocolate truffle footballs
• a displaced minivan in the dark
• The Kunz family taking residence with the Beatty family
• More awesome Superbowl food...seven layer dip.  GO SAINTS!
• Rob's windshield wipers.

(click on photo to enlarge)

As you can see, we've been busy.  However, we're going to have to get creative inorder to stay busy.

Done! Done! Done!

Well, we happily survived.  

Our power went out.  And then on.  And then out.  And then on.

And then out...for hours.

Once night fell, we packed up the family and drove to our great friend's house for the night.

Our power came on three hours later.

Then we played games.

And Anna threw up.

All over their daughter's bed.

 We're so glad that we consider them family.

Makes me feel less bad for their daughter.

I need to get her an apology treat.

Maybe a nice air freshener.

What do you think?

I'm thinking our snow fall totals were between 25" and 30".

Or 3 inches above my knees.

Let's Start at the Very Beginning

See you in 24 hours.

Stain Glassed Memories

Memories arrived at our home today, courtesy of USPS and my Mom.

As a child, I remember visiting my Mom during the summer and watching her make "stained glass candy".  I would lick off the powdered sugar and hold the candy up to the window.  It was so pretty.  And it tasted even better.  Spearamint, cinnamon, apple, cherry.  So many beautiful colors.  So many incredible tastes.

I'd forgotten about these sweet little treats until they surprised me on the doorstep today.

I'm still giddy thinking about discovering the bag of them tucked away in the box.  A very cherished surprise.

I told my kids all about my memories of making and eating them as a child (and how much Grani Jani loves them).  And then I watched them enjoy them just as I remembered doing.

Now all I need is the recipe so we can re-create!

Dear Dad,

We would like snowboarding lessons. Can you, PLEASE, teach us?

Love,

Evan, Jared and Tyler


(The kids are home once again. Today for a teacher work day, but I'm sure school would have been cancelled. Gearing up for this weekends predicted snow. President's day off. Are my kids really even in school this year?)