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

School Supply Storage

Since we started Homeschooling, I feel at times, that our house has been overtaken by school supplies!!! I have tried many different ways of storing them but this one seems to be working the best.

I took a glass platter I have and put it in the center of our table. Then I took different sized glass jars and arranged them on the platter. Then I filled them up with the supplies we use most: colored pencils of various sizes, twistable crayons, markers, scissors and pencils.

For some reason we have always stored everything point up except our pencils. So I put some dried peas in the bottom of the jar to prevent the tips breaking off when the kids drop them back in the jar. Plus I think it looks cute.

You could get really creative and decorate the jars but this is what I have time for right now!

Our Chore System

As a parent, I am always looking for new and creative ideas to incorporate into our family. So I wanted to share what we use in our family for chores. We have tried many different systems but this one is working the best. We have two different ways of carrying it out, one way for the boys and one way for Naomi.

I found a pocket chart at the $1 bins at Target at the beginning of the school year. I wrote each child's name on an index card and then had them decorate them. I then wrote down on other index cards all the chores. I glued them onto cardstock, cut them out and then brought them to Staples to be laminated.

Every morning, well Monday-Saturday we take Sunday off, I put out the cards of what chores I want to have done and place them under the name of who will do them.

After they complete a chore they remove it and put it in the holder above the chart. It is a magnetic organizer. That way they can feel a sense of accomplishment and I can see what still needs to be done.

Naomi has picture chore cards since she cannot read yet.

Chores are almost done for today!

Everyday their chore chart needs to be empty. They like to do them in the morning, but they have all day to complete them. If they did all their chores everyday then on Saturday they get an allowance. The boys each get $5 and Naomi gets $1.

STRESS ON MILITARY KIDS WITH A PARENT DEPLOYED

Come Home Safe Darrick

Change

The last two video posts were a little introduction to a goal of mine for 2011. An overall goal of living a healthier lifestyle. So what does healthier look like to me, you might wonder.

• Eating Better: to do this I am learning how to cook more things. I am trying to cut out preservatives and artificial things. Going back to the basics. If we have refried beans I will buy beans, soak them and then cook them. It is going to be a huge learning process.
• As we run out, we replace: I am not throwing everything out in my kitchen and starting over. I have about 10 boxes of mac and cheese I got at Costco that I will use up. Then I will try to find a way to make it myself.
• I started to become more aware of how artificial things and food dyes affect kids behavior. We have been having behavior problems with Naomi and thought it is worth a try.
• I am also carrying this over to products we use on and in our bodies and at our house.
• I am going to incorporate exercise into my week at least 3 times.

I have been searching the Internet for new recipes and tried one out tonight. I found it on a website called Paul's Grains. The kids all loved it and I did too! I changed it a little bit but you can find the original recipe on their website.

Banana Cake:

Cream well: 1 cup honey and 3/4 cup oil

Add: 2 eggs and 1 cup mashed bananas

Beat till well mixed.

Sift together: 2 cups whole wheat flour, 1 tsp baking soda and 1/2 tsp salt

Add to creamed mixture with 1/2 cup milk.

Fold in 1/2 cup flax seed meal.

Bake in greased 9x13 pan at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.

Food Ad Tricks: Helping Kids Understand Food Ads on TV

Snow Day

Yesterday morning at 6:00am I got a call from the school district saying that the schools were being cancelled, which meant Micah and Jacob's space class field trip to the Planetarium was cancelled too.

It doesn't take much snow here for school to be cancelled and by late morning the snow was getting slushy. We were not able to sled but the snow was perfect for building snowmen and snow babies!

Nana came out to watch but Papa stayed inside where it was nice and warm and watched us from the window.

After we finshed them the boys had time for a snowball fight.

We had a fun time!

The Store Wars - Organic food versus chemicals and GMOs

Relaxing the hair

A couple of months ago I used a texture softener on Naomi's hair for the first time. I felt pretty confident after using it and since then received a free box of relaxer (Thanks Laura!)I thought I would give it a try.

I was a bit nervous and left it on for the shortest time. We are so pleased with the results. Naomi is LOVING her fabulous new hair and the best part is that when it is wet she can actually comb through it herself. She likes to stand on a stool, looking into the mirror and combing her hair.

We have tried two new styles with so far!

Ringing in 2011