Memory Box

Our very blah memory box. We started the year with a new concept - the Family Memory Box. Throughout the year our plan is to put momentos into the box. Then, at the end of the year, we will go through the box and have a fun family memory evening. I think this should be fun. My plan is to decorate the box a little, but certainly not before we move. So, here it is just begging for some decoration. I haven't even taken off the instruction papers that it came with!

Day 2

We survived another day! Our objectives for today were: (1) church @ 8:00am, (2) take down the Christmas trees, (3) catch up with laundry, and (4) thank you notes. Well.....all missions were accomplished!! Jonah just makes me laugh. He wants to match Eli. So, they wore red shirts to church today. I laugh because I'm not the type of person to dress my kids in matching outfits. Pretty ironic that my kids are that type of person. Here is the girl of the hour. See that missing spot in her smile? Anna decided (with tears) today that she needed her tooth back. So, she put a note in the tooth fairy pillow asking for it back. Well, this morning.....wallah....it's back! The tooth fairy asked her to keep her tooth in her special box.

Here are Anna and Felicity eating breakfast. You may not have met Felicity yet. She's our new addition. I still can't believe we have a $125 American Girl doll. Yikes!!! She does everything with Anna, and Anna is doing a great job taking care of her. Anna used all her savings to buy Felicity a jean outfit and a vanity yesterday.

Anna just came up with a great idea. She's thinking about leaving her tooth under her pillow every night and getting money from the tooth fairy every night. Is that how it works? Will the tooth fairy know it's the same tooth? Hmmmmm.....we'll see. Mark has an interview this afternoon and another Wednesday. We can't wait to see him back here in Texas.

Day 1

We made it through the first 24 hours without Mark. Last night everyone cried at bedtime. It was tough. Tonight just a few tears from Anna. Big milestone - Anna lost one of her three front teeth tonight!! It is now safely resting in our new tooth fairy pillow. (Thanks, Ellen!!) She was wiggling it all night, and seeing the tooth made Jonah queasy. He even told me that he didn't want to grow up. Isn't that funny? We're doing something new which I LOVE. I've assigned a dinner helper for the past three nights. The kitchen work sure goes much quicker with help. I hope all our chore routines are easy to re-implement after we move. We were out and about quite a bit today. It's been good training for Eli and for me. He did a great job today. I was quite surprised. What a far cry from our mall experience this past week! Oh, well. The mall experience just reinforced my belief that the mall is not a place for our family for so many, many reasons. I guess I am now officially anti-mall. :)

Epiphany

We celebrated Epiphany for the first time this year. In preparation for the feast, we have been reading The Legend of Old Befana and The Three Wise Kings, both by Tomie dePaola. One of my goals this school year is to celebrate the liturgical year more fully. We'll see how it goes.

My grand plan was to make a King Cake. We tried, but it was a flop. I think I killed the yeast. Oh, well. Mark saved the day by picking up a cake on the way home from work.

After dinner, we put the play silks on the kids kinda like the kings wore. Then, they had a treasure hunt to find their Epiphany gifts. Anna read the clues while Jonah audited the numbers to make sure they were going in the correct order. Eli just ran around while Sarah tried to make a break for the stairs.

After they found the gifts, we ate our cake and I read the bible story of the three wise men. It was a fun evening! Notice the stategically color coordinated dishes. Yep. That was unplanned.

I think we are done with special events until after we move. It's only 2 weeks away!

January is making me tired.

We updated our calendar this morning at breakfast, and W-O-W. What a month. Mark works all this week and then drives to MN on Friday on the 9th. He interviews on Monday the 12th and then drives home. Then, the packers come on the 21st, the movers come on the 22nd, we clean on the 23rd, and then we leave TX on the 24th. We should be in MN by Feb 1. Whew!! Why, oh why, are we moving to MN in January??

Cuties

If you are looking for Little S, this is where you are most likely to find her. She stealthily waits until our backs are turned and then she makes a fast and furious break for the stairs. That little girl is fast! She goes up the stairs almost as quickly as E2. Here are the little cuties together.

And here's E2 being cute. He voluntarily headed to the corner for a picture. Guess he knows his spot. I must say that he is finally talking up a storm, and he's darn cute at it.

And....We're Outta Here

Well, not really. But, we do have a timeframe. Since Mark's brother has changed his mind and is willing to rent his empty house to us, we will be moving to Minnesota in January. That looks like a typo, doesn't it? Do people really move to Minnesota in January?