March Update

March has been filled with lots of activities, lots of working, lots of school, and lots of pretty weather (until today) - it is YUCKY out there! Alec finished all of his "official" school requirements on Thursday evening and Kirsten will be done with all of hers today. So that is ONE big accomplishment for us. We will take a week off and then start on some extra school things that will supplement our school year. One thing I want us to focus on is penmanship and writing. I am not a creative writer, but I hope that with a little encouragement that the children can learn to be better than I am.

Another thing that is keeping us busy is Cross-Country practice. We started meeting once a week this month and will continue until sometime in May. The kids are supposed to run at least three days a week and also have a cross-training day. They are enjoying it and I am staying active along with them. I am running two to three days a week, myself, and walking many of the other days.

Last Saturday, we drove to Pontotoc so the kids could run a race that they have run several times before. It is a challenging course, but one that they enjoy.

Alec, Brandon, Claire, and Kirsten act silly before the start of the race. The girls were trying to have their "game" faces on and the boys were just being goofy.

The race was a little smaller this year, but the kids were raring to go.

Preston stood on the fire truck while we were waiting for the kids to finish.

Brandon ran a flying fast race and finished in 22:47 and won 3rd place in the male 10-14 division. He just turned 10 and entered a new level of competition - a tougher one!

Alec ran a very good race and finished with a time of 26:56. He was disappointed that he didn't medal, but it was a very good time for him.

Kirsten sprinted up hill to finish with a time of 30:30 and was so excited -- she also placed 3rd in the 10-14 female division.

Claire was more focused on encouraging the other runners than running a fast race. Several people told her after the race that they were happy with the sweet way she encouraged them. She finished with a respectable time of 31:42 and was very happy with her time.

Alec won this camo hat as a door prize.

Kirsten is so happy with her medal.

Brandon is also happy with his medal.

That evening, our family drove to Tupelo to eat at Chili's to celebrate Alec's birthday and our anniversary. Both of these were on Sunday, but we decided to celebrate the night before.

18 YEARS!!! Hard to believe!

YUM!!

DOUBLE YUM!!

Alec was so excited about his birthday that he woke up at 4:15 and finally got me to crawl out of bed by 5:30. He said he couldn't wait any longer.

This LEGO set was what he requested and he couldn't wait to put it together.

On Sunday afternoon, we had a small gathering for cake and ice cream and 4-square. A girl from our church is 1 hour older than Alec and I invited her family over to play and eat cake. Alec also asked two other boys to come after church, so a small party turned into a bigger one. We had a great time and are looking forward to Alec's party in April. He has asked to have a NERF war party with a bunch of boys from cross-country. More pictures will come from that day, but maybe that catches everyone up on our family for now.

February Update

We have been pretty busy this month. We are trying to finish school in the month of March. At my job, two girls will be going on maternity leave very soon, so I have the possibility of working extra hours. The kids have really buckled down and are doing a good job at their schoolwork. We have been doing "double days" for a month now and can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I do not recommend this as a regular school day, however, it is only for this semester and we will be done. I do not plan to let them be idle until July. I am looking at writing and history books that will interest them and that they can accomplish something every day while I am working extra hours. We will be done with all of our "official" school work hopefully in the next two or three weeks.

We have been doing a little extra housecleaning as well -- spring cleaning!! The weather has been so pretty the last two weeks and we have opened the windows and turned up the stereo and cleaned, cleaned, cleaned. We had company this past weekend, so I did have a goal in mind while cleaning. Since we don't have company coming this week, I have let a few things go, but I hope to get them caught back up on Saturday.

Cross-country practice is getting ready to start back up and the kids and I have been trying to follow their schedule of running and workouts. I was trying to exercise every day, but have had a little trouble with my back and have not been as faithful as I had been before. All three of us want to run the Coca-Cola 10K race in Corinth on May 7 so we have a lot of miles to put in between now and then.

Kirsten's Birthday Party

This past Friday, we had a pool party/sleepover at Mr. Marshall's pool house. Most of Kirsten's friends were able to come and we had a BLAST!! Most guests arrived by 4:30 and didn't leave until 10:00 on Saturday morning. The girls wanted to swim first of course and they swam and swam and then swam some more. They enjoy just being together as much as doing fun stuff like swimming. After they got somewhat tired of swimming, it was time to eat supper. We had sandwiches, chips, veggies, and fruit - YUM!

We managed to get all the girls at one table and there was a whole lot of talking and laughter going on.

After supper, it was time to open presents. Kirsten got so many pretty things and some fabulous hand made gifts. I took pictures of all of them (I don't want to post pictures of too many of them, because most of the girls were still in their swim suits). One of her favorite gifts was a beautiful handmade nightgown and robe set made by Mrs. Heather and her girls.

Olivia made her this awesome owl bag and all the girls were squealing when this one was opened up.

This AWESOME cake was designed by Kirsten (on paper) and handcrafted by my friend Sherrie. She always does such a fabulous job with her cakes and each one is a TRUE MASTERPIECE! Every part of this cake was edible -- even the knitting needles and the surprise Knifty Knitter (on top). It is always a highlight of our parties to UNVEIL a Sherrie Creation!

All the girls sing Happy Birthday to the birthday girl.

After all the festivities, the girls snacked on candy and popcorn while watching "Singin in the Rain." Of course, they all had to pull out their knitting or crocheting while they were watching the movie. They girls hands are always moving -- almost as much as their mouths move.

Olivia shows off another one of her many abilities -- braiding hair.

Danielle always has fun at the parties.

Thing 1 and Thing 2, Martha and Catherine, show off their amazing skills as the double elliptical team.

Lexie and Danielle proudly display their mind linking head bands that Julie made during the movie.

A group picture on Saturday morning -- the girls had to swim ONE MORE TIME!

Kirsten is 13 Years Old!!!

I cannot believe that my baby is 13!!! Scary thought!!! On her birthday, Kirsten requested a Mom and Daughter excursion to Tupelo. She wanted to spend her Hobby Lobby gift card, get stuff for her birthday party, and eat lunch somewhere yummy.

After we went to Hobby Lobby, I asked her if she wanted to go get her makeup done at the Clinique counter. She thought that would be fun, but she also had a few reservations about the experience.

Once she could see each step of the makeup process, she started grinning bigger and bigger. She could really tell the difference with just a little foundation, and was excited about each new addition to her face.

This look is with foundation, eye shadow, and a little blush.

This is the finished look -- completed by mascara and lip gloss. She was so excited and I know that she will remember getting this done on her 13th birthday.

After we were done being "super girly", we went to Applebee's for a fabulous meal. Kirsten wanted the chicken finger basket and I changed my mind about what I was going to order and got one of the same thing. We had to choose something non-carbonated to drink (because we have cut that from our diet for now) and we chose to drink lemonade. Mine was a pomegranate lemonade and Kirsten had the raspberry lemonade -- both were WONDERFUL!

After eating, we finished shopping and then drove home. Kirsten had to look in the mirror several times to "check her makeup" and I was thinking, "Boy, have I created a monster!"

We had a very fun day and I am glad that we got to spend it together.

TIme with the Thomas Family

Every year, between Christmas and New Year's Day, we travel to Marion, AR, to share Christmas with some really good friends of ours. Their son, Steven, and our children have always been really close and enjoy seeing each other when we can visit.

They are super ready to exchange gifts.

Alec and Steven especially are close (in age and in likes). They both love Star Wars Lego sets and Nerf guns. When they get together the air around them is teeming with flying darts and light saber duels. It is always a wonderful day of visiting and eating good food.

SNOW 2011 -- A Winter Wonderland of FUN

We woke up this morning to over 8 inches of snow. In some places it was near one foot deep, but most places were anywhere from 8.5 - 9.5 inches deep.

One of the first things that Alec always does, is to make a snow angel.

Kirsten loves to make a snow angel too.

Redneck sledding on pool floats. Around these parts, it is difficult to find a sled and it is too expensive to have them on hand for the little amount of snow that we get every year. So we southerners have to do the best we can with what we have. And we will use anything that will slide on the snow.

Kirsten had a great time having a snowball fight with her Uncle John. She had fairly good aim, too, and got him in the face more than once. Go Kirsten!

This picture shows how much snow we really got! Amazing! I don't remember this much snow in over 25 years.

Alec loves to slide down the hill.

Kirsten poses with the snowman that I made.

I decided to pose with the best snowman that I have ever gotten a chance to build. The snow was perfect and plentiful.

Alec made his own "camouflage" snowman. It was really cute.

Parker built this man all by himself. Good job, Parker.

The guys worked together to build this "ginormous" snowman.

This afternoon, we went for a long walk in the woods. We tramped all over -- for over an hour -- and burned a whole lot of calories. It was hard work to walk in the snow and our legs and knees and cardio got a great workout.

Rachel and her kids paused for a group picture in the woods.

Lisa and her kids took time to take a picture too.

Luke was almost buried in the deep snow. So much fun for the kids!

The Blue Mountain College golf course provided a blank slate for walking in the untouched snow. All the kids had fun making their own way through the snow.

I thought this made a great picture.

So did this one.

Kids and the Gator Bowl

New Year's Day brought with it the Gator Bowl -- an awesome football game between the Mississippi State Bulldogs and the University of Michigan. It was a very good game and one that we enjoyed watching and cheering for our Bulldogs. The kids were wishing that they could ring their cowbells, but Mitch was asleep so we had to cheer quietly (or should I say responsibly. For those of you not from Mississippi - the State fans are supposed to ring their cowbells responsibly - that is, only at approved times). It was a fun game either way.

***** HAPPY NEW YEAR *****

Wishing everyone a very safe and happy new year!! We spent part of the evening with some great families from church. Then we came home to watch the ball drop in New York. We managed to stay awake until 12:00 and then off to sleep.

Here's hoping and praying for a productive and enjoyable 2011.