But wait! There's more!

If you thought the Christmas festivities were over, oh boy, were you wrong! We had some holly jolly gift-giving with the Franklin side of the family Saturday afternoon. This holiday extravaganza had been postponed from Christmas Day as Keith and Zack's plane was delayed. And then Glenn and I made everyone wait even longer with our post-baptism clean-up. When we arrived at Grandma and Grandpa's house, we found the gifts had been handed out and everyone was in their places ready to go!
How lovely to be cheered on as you open your gifts...(and oh yes, this went on for every. single. gift.)


We sure are loving having the whole family here!

Man of the Hour

So Andrew turned 8. (Which apparently I never blogged about. Oops.)

And we all know what that means. It means it's time for a baptism.

(If you didn't know that's what it meant, you can read about it here.)

Once again, just like last year, the family came together for this extra-special day in Andrew's life. Once again, it was tagged onto the end of Christmas, which meant a little more stress. Once again, there was no reason to be stressed because everything turned out fine. Once again, we were so proud of the simple faith of a child.

But there were a couple differences this year. Andrew got to share his special day with a friend. And this time around, there were a lot more kids involved in the program. Andrew asked Tyler and Zack to give the talks, and Emma and Leah took over the music. Can you say wow? These are some pretty impressive kids.

After both Andrew and my tears were dry, there was of course, one fantastic meal.

So grateful.
So happy.
So proud of my boy.

Did ya think I forgot?

At last, the long-awaited answers to the Christmas crossword puzzle...

(I know it has just been BUGGING you to death)

Across:
1. SWIM
3. PRESIDENT
5. CUB
7. OUTDOOR
9. GREETINGS
12. THREE
13. BALLET

Down:
2. BAPTISM
3. PLAY
4. REUNION
5. CLASS
6. WEEKEND
8. WORKING
10. TEETH
11. HIGH
14. SOLO

So how did you do? Anyone get 100%?

(Anyone care?)

So this is Christmas...

...Christmas Eve Eve party at Jill's...

...Christmas Eve pizza and game night...
(Grandma and Grandpa took care of the movie part by taking the kids to see Alvin and the Chipmunks in the afternoon)

...Ready for Santa...


...Together again for Christmas morning...



So this is Christmas...

...and so is this...

Christmas...family, food, carols...and a dance party!

'Twere the two weeks before Christmas...

...and all through the city

The school music programs were showing no pity.
Band concerts, choir concerts, even a 4th grade play--
There must have been a performance every other day.
But the music and the singing and the acting of parts
Brought the spirit of the season in to each of our hearts.
So while all those performances made for extra duress,
Watching those angelic children was worth all the stress.

Leah at the choir concert

Emma at the band concert

Brooke as Jangle the Elf

A warning to those family members who will be visiting this holiday season...
we recorded the play off of the local cable access channel, so there may be a viewing or two of Brooke's oustanding performance!

Bah.

Why does having the Christmas spirit mean that I have to drape every inch of my house with fake greenery and hokey decorations? How on earth could I ever feel like fa-la-la-ing when my halls are already decked with with backpacks, shoes, dirty dishes, bags of groceries, piles of papers, and tossed-aside clothes?

Christmas, I was just not that in to you.

But the kids persisted, worrying that Christmas was getting closer and closer and we still did not have the tree up. So I very half-heartedly (is there such thing as quarter-heartedly?) agreed that we could start the decorating Sunday night. The tree came up. Then the box of ornaments. Then the four boxes of more stuff. I became less enthusiastic as more junk found its way upstairs.

The kids took care of the tree and I got to work on my job of filling every possible surface with all things Santa, snowmen, and nativities, dragging my feet all the way.

Until I was done. I just had to be done.

Next year the counters will be wiped down, the table will be cleared off, blankets will be folded and put away, and the house will generally be in a much neater state before we add more clutter. Lesson learned.

Monday afternoon I was feeling much more positive towards the most wonderful time of the year. While I didn't put out everything that I have in the past, the untrained eye will never know. Glenn put the lights on a timer and the empty boxes back downstairs. And by Monday evening we were ready for the crowning moment of Christmas prep.

Yeah, this is the first year Glenn has not had to assist in the tree topping.

So I've finally come around. It is looking a lot like Christmas around here. And I'm ok with that.

T.G.I.B.F.

Top ten reasons to be grateful for Black Friday...


10. It means that the morning before we lazed around watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade.

9. It means we are full of great cousin time, a delish turkey (thank you Reynold's oven bags), and side dishes to die for.

8. It means the tip the the fingernail I sliced off while chopping herbs for the sourdough dressing has had 24 hours to heal.

7. It means three more football games are under our belts.

6. It means we have gone through the ads over and over and made our plan of attack.5. It means the kids had a great sleep over with the Ryans.

4. It means that I got to eat my traditional sourdough-turkey-mayonnaise-cranberry-jello-salad sandwich. I don't care what you think. It is mighty tasty.

3. It means that we survived little sleep, long lines, and the crazy people in front of us at Walmart who DID NOT grasp the whole Black Friday concept AT ALL.
(Listen, peeps, ya don't buy 4 quarts of motor oil and baby lotion at 5 a.m.
You're wasting my time, and the time of the hundreds of people in line behind me.
And while you're at it, learn how to use the ATM thingy that is at every single cash register at
just about every single store across this great country. Seriously.)

2. It means that I had another day with Glenn home.

~And the number one reason to show Black Friday some love~

1. It means that after all that yummy, stuffed-to-the-rafters food and all that warm and fuzzy family togetherness...

there is still pizza and movie night.

No room for haters.

With Shaq now a part of the Cavaliers, we knew we'd be at the Q at least once. I bought tickets the day, nay--the very hour they went on sale. And I bought six tickets. All six of us were going to go, regardless of whether or not one of us happens to hate sports. Oh yes, we dragged Brooke right along with us.

Does this look like a girl who is having a horrible time?

The big man himself...can you believe I took this from the last (and I mean last) row?

The starting line up.

What's missing? Oh yeah, SHAQ.
Boyfriend is on the DL and didn't even show up.
I am so totally going to another game.

Wait...what's that I see? Is that Brooke? Cheering? For the Cavs?
Did I just hear "Let's go Cavs!" and "De-fense" come out of her mouth?

Things got really exciting in the 4th quarter. Our section was full of champion texters who won us each a pair of Moondog's "Noise Bones." (Huh?) The noise was deafening. But we cheered our Cavs on to victory. All six of us.

The biggest fan in the arena gathered all the "Noise Bones" (really?) he could to bring home as souvenirs. Yeah, we gotta go back.

And they're back!

Back 45 minutes late.

Back less muddy than I thought.


Back with stories of falling into creeks, building survival shelters, and stinky toilets that didn't flush.

Back with good friends that became best friends.


Back with three nights away from home under their belts.

Back to a brother and sister who kept asking "I wonder what Emma and Leah are doing right now?"

Back to a mom who read and reread every word they wrote in their letter home.

Back home, safe and sound, with a whole slew of memories of their new adventure.

And they're off!

Off to Mohican.

Off with their over-stuffed duffel bags.

Off with their waterproof boots.

Off with their sleeping bags, flashlights, and plastic soap containers.

Off to their dorms.

Off to study nature.

Off with their friends.(Do you really think that jacket on the right is still going to be white on Friday?)

Off on their own.
Are they cold?
Are they wet?
Are they happy?
Are they getting along with everyone?
Do they have everything they need?
What are they doing now?
Are they safe?
Are they OK?

I can't wait to find out.

The times, they are a changin'

Two weeks ago--

100% stay-at-home mom with all four kids in school
Leisurely trips to the store
Clipping coupons and saving over 50% at Giant Eagle
Long lunch while watching a TV show
Naps on the couch till the kids come home

One week ago--

New part-time job as special education assistant at North Olmsted preschool
Efficient trips to the store
Piling coupon inserts up on the desk on top of the Giant Eagle ad
Lunch on the run
Naps on the couch when I fall asleep at 9:30pm

Now--

All of the above + Relief Society president.



From 0 to 60 in record time.

4th Grader's Got Talent

So today was the annual Holly Lane Veteran's Day assembly. Despite the immediate drama of (a) finding out that the new music teacher had told the kids that the Coast Guard was not a "real" branch of the armed forces and that she had been planning to leave their song out of the line up and (b) the principal deciding to take away the honor of posting the colors away from the Girl Scouts who had been practicing all week thus leading to some major tears, I thought that it was going to be a typical, run-of-the-mill ceremony. Sure, I knew I'd get choked up as always--I can't even handle everyone saying the Pledge of Allegiance, let alone hundreds of children singing God Bless America--but I was there to sit back and enjoy the show.

Brooke and her fellow Peace Ambassadors greeted the guests at the door.
And Andrew was sporting a snazzy patriotic hat.


And then there was this (grab some tissues, Grandma):


Let me just say that it got pretty difficult to hold the camera with tears streaming down my face. When it was over, Jill turned to me and exclaimed, "I didn't know she had a solo!" My response? "Neither did I!" In fact, Brooke herself just found out this morning. What composure! And what a sweet voice!

Then it was time for the songs of the armed forces. And up in the front I see Andrew walking in holding the Air Force emblem. Watch him wave it high for our veterans (a little shout out to Grandpa Brooks, perhaps?). And notice that the children do in fact sing the Coast Guard song.


Who knew I'd go from being a nameless face in the crowd to the proud parent of a couple of elementary school superstars?

Boy, I picked a good day to fix Brooke's hair.

A tale of two seasons - Same ol' Same ol' {by Guest Blogger Glenn}

Andrew has now played 2 years of flag football for 1st and 2nd graders. Each year was very similar:

• they lost their first game and won the rest to finish as the champions
• he had the same coach each season
• mom and dad were at every game
• 3 sisters always wondered why the games took so long
• his game improved over the season

This year did have one difference (besides no memory stick in the camera for the last game) - Andrew finished the season with a long run for a touchdown. We have no photographic evidence of this, but take our word for it.

Andrew's favorite sport is whatever the season is so for now his team in his favorite sport finished as the champions. Now on to basketball where he hopes to repeat the same thing for his basketball team except there his father will be his coach.

{Thank you, Glenn, for this season's wrap-up! And congrats, Andrew, on an exciting season!}

Halloween III: Invasion of the Candy Snatchers

Done and Done.