New Style

Last night I was searching on You Tube for some instructional videos for styles to try with Naomi's hair. I found Styles by Katelynylyn. She also has an awesome website called Keep Me Curly.

I decided to try a style she demonstrated. It is called Veil Style with Box Braids. She is very happy with it and said she feels like a princess!

HSA Open House

Last night HSA had their Fall Open House. The first semester has come to an end. The boys really enjoyed their classes. Micah took beginning Spanish, Sun, Moon and Stars and TaeKwonDo. Jacob took beginning Spanish, My place in Space and TaeKwonDo.

Families are encouraged to set up a table displaying some of the work they have been doing at home. We had a nice display which included Flat Daddy. We got a lot of questions about him. I also had a slide show playing which shows pictures of things we did at home. It is posted below.

Next families are encouraged to visit the classrooms and see the work displayed. They always do such amazing things. We are SO blessed with great teachers.

State of the Union Address

One thing I am trying to do this year is make my kids aware of things going on around the world. It started with Darrick's deployment and why he had to go and what his job would be.

Yesterday night an opportunity presented itself so I thought I would give it a try. If you didn't know last night President Obama gave his State of the Union address. I realized that I have never sat down and watched a full one-what kind of American am I? So I thought if I am going to watch it, I am going to have the kids watch it too.

Thankfully we have DVR so we could pause it every time the kids had questions. It was 1 hour and 1 minute and the boys sat through the whole thing and listened. Naomi...not so much...she lasted about 20 minutes. The boys had some interesting questions:

• What is a Democrat and what is a Republican?
• Why do they stand, then clap and sit so many times?
• Why is there an empty chair for Gabbie Gifford and what happened in Arizona?
• How much does college cost?
• What is illegal immigration?
• Why does the government spend more then it takes in?
• What does it mean to freeze money?
• What does gay mean? What did he mean "because of who they love?"

I really hope that this can become a yearly tradition for us. So if you haven't watched it you should because our children follow our examples.

Kindergarten or not-that is the question!

While visiting with other moms at HSA last week I discovered that in WA the cut off date to enter Kindergarten is September 1st, meaning the child must be 5 by September 1st to enter Kindergarten. Naomi has a September birthday but it is a few weeks later.

So what is the big deal, you may wonder since we home school. Well not too much except Naomi was really looking forward to being in kindergarten and taking classes at HSA like her brothers. So I found out that we do have options, well 2 to be exact.

1. Don't put her in Kindergarten this year.
2. Get her tested by the state and if she passes, she can enter Kindergarten this year.

So I talked to Darrick about it. By the way, do you realize how hard it is for us to talk about important things? We hardly get to talk on the phone, skype has not been working and trying to have a serious discussion over email is hard and takes way too many emails.

We have come to a basic decision but plan to talk about it more while Darrick is on leave.

What are your thoughts?

Still Practicing

Have you seen the new Karate Kid? Well we are huge fans of it. Every time I watch it I look at Jayden's hair and think "I wish I could do that". So I decided to start practicing. Now mind you that I cannot just practice whenever I feel like because the head I am working on has to be in the right mood. Some days she does not want me to touch her hair. And when you are trying to learn a new skill it takes practice and some bribing. I told her "Do you want Mommy to do your hair like the Karate Kid?" This was followed by giggles and "Yes Mommy!"

I notice in the movie that Jayden has his hair parted around his ears and the bottom is braided separately from the top. So that is what I attempted. Well as you can see the bottom of Naomi's hair looks nothing like Jaydens but I do think that I am getting better on my corn rows. I know that they are not fabulous but I think they show improvement.

So what do you think? I can take it...

Happy 8th Birthday Jacob!

Today Jacob turned 8, I can hardly believe it! Where has the time gone? Before things got going this morning I brought Jake into my room and told him how much he means to me and I prayed for him and his upcoming year. Then I showed him a e-card that Darrick sent to him.

Since we had to get ready and go to church we did not have a lot of time so we let him open 1 present and it was a LEGO airplane.

After church Papa and Nana watched him open a present from them on Skype and then Da and Auntie Beth skyped him to wish him a happy birthday.

Later in the afternoon the Timmermans came over. On Friday it was Kayla's birthday, she turned 12, so we celebrated both their birthdays. First they had a few presents to open.

Josh and Darrick watched from the couch and had a nice time visiting.

Then after some playing it was time for cake and ice cream. We had two cakes: one for Jake that I made and one for Kayla that Jenn T. made.

Blow out those candles!!! Kayla had trick candles that made a lot of smoke!

Delicious!

Cake and Ice Cream was enjoyed by all!

Today's Finds

The very first time I went to the Goodwill was in college. I was instantly hooked-the prices, the variety, the cool finds, the great deals-I loved it all!

As you know we have lived all over and I have to say that Washington has the best Goodwills in my opinion. So I am adding this fun topic called "Today's Finds" to my blog. When I get the chance to go to the Goodwill, I will post it here and let you see what I found.

Today after running some errands the boys and I stopped at the Goodwill in Everett by the mall. Naomi was in Preschool which always makes for easier shopping.

Find #1 Price: $0.79

This will go in my collection of Halloween books. I switch out books seasonally and the kids love it. I have never heard of this book before but since it was about multiplication I pulled it off the shelf. This book is hilarious, well we think it is! It covers the times tables for 0-5.

Find #2 Price: $2.99

About 18 months ago, we became big fans of Tom Sawyer. Listening to audio books and stories in the car is a Hays family favorite. The story is read by Wil Wheaton (Stand by Me movie). It is 2 cassette tapes and since we have a CD/Tape player in the van this was a great find. We started listening to it on the way home from the Goodwill.

Find #3 Price: $0.79

I love deals like this! A book plus a CD! This is actually something I bought to pass on to another home schooling mom but we listened to it first. Jacob and Naomi had a lot of fun with it. It reads the book, teaches you hand motions and has another fun song. The illustrations are colorful and lively.

Find #4 Price: $0.99

This is also a book I bought for someone else but I copied it first. It is for Pre-K -Kindergarten. It is full of sequencing activities. The books starts with 3 events and ends with 5 events. Each sequence has a little story that is read and then the child places the cards in order.

I photo copied the whole book onto cardstock, which I will then color, cut out and laminate!

Total Spent: $6.07

Christmas Memories

I know this post is past due. Part of the reason I write my blog is to keep family and friends in the know with what is going on with our family. The other reason is to keep a bit of a family record. So I can't let Christmas go without recording some very special memories.

• If you are a reader of our blog then you know that my whole family came to spend Christmas with us. Whenever you find out that your husband is deploying, you mentally have to count out the months and check off what events and holidays they will be missing. I knew Christmas would be a hard time for the kids and I. But my family totally came through for us and were there when we needed them most. It meant so much to me that they all came to our house for Christmas. There was 15 of us total and we all stayed in our house!
• I loved seeing how happy my kids were having everyone here! It filled our home with noise, laughter, good things to eat and always someone to talk to or cuddle with. It is so hard being the only parents with 3 kids who all want my attention on top of everything else I have to do. There were so many people taking time with my kids and helping meet their needs.
• Having my family here for my birthday. I am a Christmas Eve baby and my birthday can often get overlooked in the hustle and bustle of Christmas. I felt so loved on my birthday. The day was filled with wonderful things to eat made by Dave and Laura, a nap, and tons of great memories.
• Worshipping together in church. I cannot even remember the last time we were are able to go to church together-we filled up 1 1/2 pews!
• My brother Jeff getting very emotional and telling me what great kids I have.
• Laughing until I was crying and my side ached!
• Uniting in prayer with everyone around Naomi's doorway one night while she slept and lifting her up to the Lord and the hard times we have been going through.
• My 3 brothers all hugging me and holding me, at the same time, while I cried my eyes out. I had so many emotions built up. I don't have time to sit around and cry because my husband is gone. Over the past 14 years of our navy career I have gotten really good at numbing those feelings when he is gone. It hurts so bad when he is gone and one night it all just came out. There with my brothers is a moment I will never forget.
• My Dad telling me that I am doing a great job with the kids. My Dad is great but he has never been one to pour out his feelings to you. But when he said that it meant the world to me.
• Seeing the joy in my newest sister-in-laws face as she realized we are now her family and having late night talks with her after everyone was in bed.
• Beth's DELICIOUS bonbons she made!!!
• Having many sit down meals together.
• Dancing to Justin Bieber after the Karate Kid movie.

I could just go on and on. I want to thank each one of you for coming and being there for the kids and I during this hard year. It is a time I will never forget.

Blessings

What would we do without friends? Every Thursday night since Darrick has left, the Alvine Family has brought us dinner. We are talking for almost 6 months people!!! Sometimes they stay and eat with us and sometimes they just drop it off. We met the Alvine Family through Bethany and have been in an adoption support group with them. They do not live close to us, at least 20-30 minutes away depending on traffic and every week they make the drive to bless us. It is so nice having that one night off from cooking! We love you guys! The picture above is from our dinner last Thursday: Potato Soup in sourdough bread bowls-amazing!

And I have to mention my dear friend Nicole Leonard. She lives in California and we became great friends while we lived there. I call her my soul sister because we are so alike in so many ways, it's scary. In December I got a package in the mail from her. Upon opening it I found a new book to read, a Starbucks gift card and a letter explaining that she had arranged childcare for me with a gift certificate to spend some time at a local spa! I was speechless. She had to contact Darrick, who got her in contact with one of my friends here and they set the whole thing up. I went to the spa last Saturday with Jenn T and we had a great time. We had wonderful pedicures and then sat by a fire relaxing and talking. Thank you Nicole!

On top of how amazing everyone at our church has been to us, we are just so blessed and well taken care of!

What Flat Daddy has been up to

Strangely enough I really like having Flat Daddy around. I usually have him sitting on the couch or sitting at the dining room table. I look at him all the time and it brings me comfort. It is so much different then just looking at a 4x6 photo of Darrick. Although one night I forgot he was sitting on the couch and almost gave myself a heart attack when I came in the living room before I turned the lights on!

Micah and Jacob feel the same way. They just like having his presence around us. But Naomi LOVES her Flat Daddy. She plays with him almost everyday, so here is what they have been up to:

Playing Dress up-Darrick is wearing Naomi's down hair and a necklace

He has dinner with us

He watches the kids play out the window

He cooks with Naomi and plays house time