Winter Weather

We are bracing for a storm this week... the weatherman says it is supposed to be the coldest weather the county has had in 20 years. It is so windy that this is what we walked out to this afternoon:
Looks like we need a chainsaw!

A chapter closing...

It has been a very difficult time for us lately... we closed our church at the beginning of December. Rick and I started it almost 10 years ago with some friends. Over the last couple years, it has been slowly dwindling in numbers. The Spirit was still very much alive, but we were not growing. God pruned us until we felt like we could be pruned no more. So, we threw out a fleece to God asking Him to bring a couple specific things to us as a "sign," if you will, that we were to stay open. Nothing happened. So we prayed hard, and decided that we felt the Lord was asking us to give it over to Him. So we feel like this was sort of an Abraham & Issac story... we offered the sacrifice. We raised the dagger. We prayed he would stop us from plunging, but knew if He didn't, it was His will. Unfortunately, we had to plunge.

We are incredibly sad and overwhelmed with having to find a new direction. Rick was faced with having to look for a new career. This is a horrible time to be looking for work, but we are confident God will provide everything we need. Of that I am sure. Our prayers were answered only one week after the church closed with a job in the Title Insurance industry as the business Rick worked for before full time ministry. What a blessing. We are so thankful for God's provision. We are uncertain of what the future holds as this position is temporary, but we know God is in control, and we look forward to seeing Him reveal His plan daily.
Thank you for your prayers. They are deeply appreciated. Please continue to pray for us and for our church family.

What if...

Thank you, Diana, for posting this on your blog. It was just what I needed to see this morning...

Maddie

My Maddie girl is growing up right before my eyes. She has LOVED being in 1st grade. Her teacher is wonderful. Maddie loves her friends, and especially loves to TALK. Can you believe that? At her parent/teacher conference last week, Mrs. Evans had only good things to say about her academics, but had to admit Maddie's biggest downfall is her socializing. I don't know where she gets that from.

Maddie chose this year to try playing basketball. The district has teams for every grade, so she is going to actually be on a team. I think she may not be playing much this first year, as she has not had much practice, let's see, dribbling, shooting, or even PLAYING basketball. She has been to a couple practices, and the coach already gave her homework - dribble 10-20 minutes a day. She has her work cut out for her.

Go Maddie!

I am so proud of the little lady she is becoming.

Taylor

Well... it's been awhile since I last blogged. School is life right now. But I thought I'd post a few of the happenings over the last couple months to play catch up. This is Taylor's blog.

Taylor and his preschool class went on a field trip last month to Stoney Ridge Pumpkin Patch. It is a wonderful family-run farm that has pumpkins, christmas trees, hay rides, a dessert cafe, and a wonderful festive atmosphere. It is pricey if you go with your family ($10 just to get in), but with the school, it's better. It was a gorgeous day! Blues skies, 60-degree weather... perfect Fall day!

Each child gets to pick their own mini pumpkin. Taylor looks so tall in this picture.

They have the best desserts at this place. HUGE pumpkin pie pieces, fresh apple pie al-a-mode, caramel apples... so good.

They also have a huge apple orchard, so we decided to take a few home with us.

This is Audrey. She is Taylor's best friend at school. They really are pals. They are very similar in personality - introverted - so they get each other. They really are a cute pair, no?

Taylor is a big help around the house. Not a day goes by that he doesn't ask me I am going to vacuum. I got so tired of him asking me if I was going to vacuum, that I finally asked him if he was going to vacuum. So he did. And he does. He loves it. He has an affinity for vacuums. I can't explain it, but he loves them. More power to him.

He is also quite the mathematician. Here is a video of him playing his video game. He is kind of freaking me out! Should 4-year-olds be able to do this?

Update on our Summer Project

If you will remember, last month our "Summer Project" started out like this:

And now it looks like this:
Can you even believe how beautiful it is?! It is so full and feathery. I actually mowed it for the first time this week. I am so impressed with my brother-in-law's strategy to spread fine bark dust on top of the seed to keep it in place and moist. THAT is why is looks so good... oh, and the 8 straight days of rain we got the week after we planted.
Thank you again Mike and Jim for all your hard work on this yard. We could not have done it without you!

Writing books

Maddie's teacher, Mrs. Evans, is a huge advocate for reading and computers. She was the computer lab teacher at her school for 12 years until being a first grade teacher this year. So she has computers in the classroom that the kids are learning to type on. Every week, the kids write a couple books, Mrs. Evans has them laminated and bound, then they can check them out to bring home.

The first day of school, their first book was appropriately titled "On the First Day of School."
The kids got to color one picture to put in the book of something memorable about the first day. They also got to type and print the words that went along with their picture.

Most kids drew pictures that said "We rode the bus," or "We ate lunch," and even "We had free time."

What did Maddie think was so "memorable" about the first day of school?
So it begins...

First visit from the Tooth Fairy - Updated

It has finally happened! Maddie lost her first tooth!!
She was the only kid in Kindergarten last year that didn't lose a tooth. She had a few loose ones, but didn't lose any... until last night!
Our bedtime ritual includes brushing teeth, reading for 30 minutes, prayer time, and wiggling teeth. We have been working on them for months. Finally, last night, she told me when she was eating an apple at lunch time, it felt like her tooth loosened up even more. So we got the tissue out and started wiggling. I bent it forward, and her eyes got HUGE! She joyfully yelled for me to pull it out. So, I did. She was so excited, and a bit grossed out at the blood in her mouth, but nevertheless, ecstatic!

We put the tooth under her pillow for Ms. Tooth Fairy to visit. Check out that reward:
**Update: I need to mention this: the first tooth in our house is a big deal with a big reward ($5)... BUT, after that, Mr. Fairy's prices go WAY down...

She even got a personal letter from Ms. Fairy herself:

Congratulations, Missy. The next one should be out soon...

Taylor's Big Day

Last week, Taylor started pre-kindergarten. I can't believe he is already into his second year of preschool!

He was SO excited! He is going to a new school this year. It is actually Maddie's old preschool. He couldn't wait to get there and see his new teachers!

This is his school, Gardenview Montessori

These are his teachers, Amanda and Kelda. I think Taylor has a teeny-tiny crush on Miss Kelda... :-)

We are so proud of you, Mister. Learn well... laugh a lot... play hard... We love you.

Quotes from the 1st Grade

"Mom! Guess what?! Today we were in the gym practicing for the jog-a-thon, and guess who we saw?? REAL, LIVE CHEERLEADERS! Can you believe that?"
~Maddie

Maddie N. Norris, 1st grader!

Well... here it is! The big day - First Grade. At Public School! She was so excited to go... so was I...

Complete with her Tinkerbell backpack and HSM lunch box.

This is her teacher, Mrs. Evans. Mrs. E has been teaching for over 30 years! Maddie was thrilled to see all the books in her classroom, but even more thrilled that her classroom has its OWN bathroom!

This is Allie, one of Maddie's best friends. They met the first day of kindergarten. I took this exact same picture on that day, and so it was only fitting they get one for First Grade. We are so excited that Allie and Maddie are in the same class!

There is nothing like a Watermelon Italian Soda with a DumDum sucker! Happy first day, Maddie girl.

On the second day of school, Maddie took the bus by herself for the FIRST TIME! It was so exciting! She couldn't wait to get to school. When she got home, she was so thrilled that she met a new boy on the bus. When I asked why she was so happy to meet him, she said it was because he was really nice, shared his seat with her, and read her a book about mummies. Uh oh... so it begins!

Good luck, Maddie girl! See you after school...

The grass grows greener...

We came home from dinner tonight and this is what we saw:
Maddie, Taylor, and I have been praying every night for God to give us rain so our grass will grow. God, being as good as He is, has blessed us ABUNDANTLY with 5 days of straight rain! Maddie said today in the car, "Mom, I know I asked God for rain, but did we really need THIS much?" We actually got worried that the grass might drown. But He was good, and we were blessed tonight with the sight of our first sprouts!
Maddie was so happy she yelled "I KNEW God would make it grow!" Hard work rewarded!

A girl and a horse

Maddie had a "girl day" with her Grammie yesterday, and what better way to spend it than riding horses! Maddie is a little girl who loves horses. She loves animals, in general, but she really loves dogs and horses. She continues to ask when she gets to have her own horse. Anyone have a good response to that question?
Yesterday was like a dream day for Maddie. One day, she will learn to ride one. And just maybe, one day, she might get to have one of her own. Thanks Grammie for the wonderful day!

Our summer project

Today, we began (and finished) a HUGE project - we put in a new yard! Front AND back! Watch the event unfold....

First, you need a yard in desperate need of help...

The weeds outgrew Maddie

One truck load of dirt...

One yard ready to go...

Two huge piles of bark dust and beauty bark...

Two guys playing on big boy toys....

And finally, two little helpers!

Let the FUN begin!

The finished product!! With a little help from A LOT of water, there should be little sprouts popping up in about 7 days.... stay tuned!

My sweet little flower mound. I am SO excited about this. It is so pretty.

This was a CRAZY undertaking that took a better part of 12 hours, but we are excited to have a yard for the kids to play in next spring... Yeah!

MAJOR thanks goes out to my brother-in-law, Mike, and my father-in-law, Jim. Thank you both for ALL your help today!