Feb 8-Sleep tight

I finally gave in and bought a new down (fake down anyway) blanket for our bed. Our new comforter is really just a coverlet and while it's great most of the year here in Texas, it really doesn't cut it with temps in the teens. I'll be cozy tonight while I listen to this next storm blow in!

Feb 7- Silly Bekah!

She thought she looked like Velma until she remembered that Velma had orange clothes not orange hair:)

Feb 6-Just like his brother

Daniel likes all this musical, just like Matthew. Here he is with his 'tar. He loves it, even if it doesn't have batteries. And it's pink. And it really belongs to Elizabeth.

Feb 5-Biscuits and gravy

I've been craving biscuits and gravy and finally made some. That's all!

Feb 4-Ice, ice, ice...then snow!

After having ice-covered streets for three days, we finally got some snow!!

Cheddars had some really cool icicles hanging down from the roof! If looked like the snow was starting to slide off, and then everything refroze.

Feb 3-Lizzie's flowing mane

I took this picture of Elizabeth's hair in the bathtub because I told her her hair looked really neat in the water and she wanted to see it!

Feb 2- My littlest helper

Daniel is learning the fun of helping mom cook and is becoming quite the egg expert!

Feb 1-Soup's On!

Our winter storm blew in over night, so it's a soup kind of day! This is my mom's hamburger noodle soup recipe. The directions say to cook it in the crock pot. My big crock pot is *full* and this is without adding the noodles at the end. My crock pot is way bigger than anything my mom ever had. How did she make this? I don't really remember, but she did. Oh... and it was good!

Jan 31- 14?!?!?

Not quite sure when this happened, but Matthew is 14 today! We are very blessed to have this smart, funny, kind-hearted boy!

Jan 30-My big boy

We had to get Michael a booster seat for the Pilot today. He's five years old and over 50 lbs, but I'd still rather have him in a harnessed seat. There are only two real options, though, and neither really works in the Pilot. He likes his new seat well enough, but wanted another one like he has in the van. It's hard to believe this guy's going to be in kindergarten next year!!

Jan 29-Mommy and Me Tea

It's not often that I get to spend time with just one of my kids, but this Saturday Elizabeth and I got to go to the Mommy and Me Tea for Daisy Girl Scouts. We had a great morning out with some great girls and moms and some yummy food!

Jan 28-Beggars can't be choosers

What do you do when it is 10:00 at night, and you realize that your seven year old has been shoving her feet into dress shoes that are two sizes to small, and she has a Mommy and Me tea in the morning? Head to Walmart, of course! We have a brand spankin' new Walmart in town, so I didn't have to drive into one of the two neighboring cities to do my late night shopping. Unfortunately, although I really like the store, they have very few children's shoes. So, this is what we ended up with. Not bad for $8, and she likes them, so I guess that's all that matters!

Jan 27-Musical Matthew

Matthew just bought this flute off of Ebay. He got a great deal on it and it appears to be a decent flute. The list of instruments he has taught/is teaching himself to play is growing: flute, piano, guitar, trumpet, and ukulele, and he plays clarinet in band. The boy has a lot of natural talent!

Jan 26-It's Girl Scout Cookie Time!

With only days left to sell, Rebekah and Elizabeth finally hit the streets! They have lots of enthusiasm and love to sell cookies...unfortunately, they have a mom without a lot of time to take them:(

Jan 25-Game time!

Michael and I got a chance to play a game of Yahtzee Jr today while Daniel was taking a nap. We had a great time and he loved shaking the dice!

Jan 24-My beloved St Jude

Just a quick pic of the front of our church as I walked in to the education building to teach 1st grade RE. Or rather help in the classroom so the teacher can teach:) I'm up here so often during the week, I don't always think about it, but our family is so very blessed to have this parish!

Jan 23-I need a clothes line

This is what the door to my laundry room looks like on any given day. I really wish we could have a clothes line! Not that it would have done me much good in the last week with our real winter weather, but most of the time it would be great! Darned HOA!

Jan 22-This is Mason

This is Mason. He's old and he's tired and he's not in his crate. After Christmas we moved his crate out to the living room. He likes to be where we are, and the wood floor isn't very comfy when you are an old dog.

Jan 20-She's done.

When Elizabeth gets really whiny, it usually means that she is tired or hungry, or both. Unfortunately, I don't seem to remember that until later. She was pitching a fit when I was trying to get our late supper on the table and I sent her to my bedroom to do her reading. This is how I found her at 7:00 when I went to go get her for dinner. She didn't wake up until morning. Poor tired baby girl!

Jan 19-It's Done!!!

Science Fair, that is! Rebekah turned in her science fair project today! She worked hard, learned a little bit, and got an A!

Jan 18-Monkey see monkey do

This picture is compliments of Michael. He and Elizabeth were taking pictures of each other taking picture of them! Elizabeth has been a very busy photographer herself since getting a camera for her birthday!

Jan 17-Oh, that face!

Daniel has a very expressive face. He makes some great faces! This is one of my favorite. I think he was mad at me:)

Jan 16-The princess and the Barbie cake

Elizabeth Grace turned seven years old today. Not sure how that happened. She *really* wanted a Barbie cake. I *really* didn't have time to make one. But I did it anyway. It was quite an adventure. The batter completely overflowed the bowl it baked in. That should have been my picture today as it was quite a site! Whoever wrote the recipe for the Pampered Chef batter bowl was wrong. Really wrong. That's ok, though, because she still got a Barbie cake and it made her happy. My sweet curly top, baby girl.

Jan 15-Me, me, me!!!

That's what Daniel says when he raises his hand. I'm not sure how he learned to raise his hand. I'm guessing from his siblings, but I don't remember them doing it very much. As soon as he sees or hears of something he wants, that hand shoots in the air and he shouts, "Me!"

Jan 14-Green Eyes

Rebekah is the only one in the family with green eyes. They started out blue, but changed to green when she was about five.

Jan 13- Cake is great!

Being iced in at home has its advantages. I get to catch up on this blog that is pitifully far behind! I think I managed to get a photo every day, but I'm not sure. This was taken the day after Daniel's second birthday when we actually got a chance to celebrate! He was so excited about his bright yellow Barney cake. I love the excitement of little children when they are happy. You can't help but smile with them!

This is the reason

This sweet boy, sleeping in my lap, is the main reason this blog hasn't been updated in days. This sweet boy, the one with cream cheese still on his face, a bruised eyelid, and a mystery scratch close to his eye, keeps me busy. It's not that I don't sit down at the computer, I do, but I usually forget why I'm there. This sweet boy, the one full of mischief and energy, cuddles and kisses, is the reason.

Chillin' on his birthday

Wednesday was my little man's birthday. He is now two. Because he has older siblings with busy schedules, we didn't have time to celebrate until later. I needed a picture of him on his birthday, though, so here he is, unaware that it's a special day, and staying up way too late.

Why quiet means trouble

Not a particularly bad mess, but still a mess. Someday I'll learn to jump up and run when it is quiet.

Playing catch up again

I've managed to take pictures each day, but getting them posted daily is proving to be more difficult. My computer memory is woefully inadequate and running iPhoto zaps every bit of it. More memory for this computer, and a new computer altogether, are hopefully coming in the not-to-distant future, but for now I'll put up with this slow moving one.

January 8- Photo compliments of Michael, age 5. It's not a particularly flattering photo of either Elizabeth or me, but Michael was very proud of it, so here it is.

 On Sunday we got the first snowfall of the season. We usually get one or two snowfalls that stick each year. We were luck last year and got 9". This weekend we got about 5" It had been raining all morning, and when it finally started to turn to snow, the kids were very excited! Snowdays are very special in Texas!

Jan 9-Lizzie out in the back yard just after it started showing hard.

Rebekah in her favorite spot...in front of the camera:)

Daniel was quite excited, too. He was too little last year to remember the snow.

What a difference two days makes! This is the view from my front door on Sunday!

Jan 10- Ellie is such a sweet, playful cat. We are really enjoying her. Plus, when it's nearly midnight and I realize that I hadn't taken a picture yet...she's always up:)

The view from my front door tonight

Michael is five!

 Here are yesterday's pictures. It was Michael's birthday and he turned five. It was also the beginning of birthday season at my house. He is the first of four January birthdays. Next is Daniel on the 12th, Elizabeth on the 16th, and then Matthew on the 31st. I should have lots of great pictures of him, but I don't. What I do have is a picture of his cake, which he helped decorate...hence all of the Lightning McQueens, and picture of him blowing out his candles...after he took so long making a wish that the 5 candle fell over and started melting all over the cake, and a hilarious picture of Daniel. He looooves ear buds and iPods. LOVES them. Here he had his sister's iPod and his own ear buds. Yes, he has his own because he has destroyed those of his siblings, and they no longer want to let him use them. We used some of his Christmas money (thanks Grandpa) to buy him his own buds. He hasn't bitten the covers off yet:)

Cars! Not quite like the cake from Target, but close!

What happened to my sweet baby boy? I can't look at this picture without cracking up, though!

Epiphany

View from the carpool line. By the time Daniel finishes 6th grade I will have been picking up kids in this carpool line for 17 years.

Playing catch up

 Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes. Matthew and McKinzie were teaching Daniel. It technically was still New Years Eve here, but it was Jan 1 somewhere not too far away!

Jan 2- Elizabeth ice skating for the first time. She did really well!

Jan 3-Eating Chinese food. The waitress tied the kids' chopsticks together so they could use them easier. They had fun, even Rebekah, who really, really does not like Chinese food.