Published Letter to the Editor

I know I've been bragging about my kids a lot lately, but if I don't who will? It's not like I made them... I'm really bragging about God's wonderful creations. He did a really great job! I promise I'll stop maybe for a little while.

Erin's English teacher made them write letters to the editor and she sent in the best few and looky loo... she brought the paper to me and I didn't even know! Hopefully I've left it big enough so you can click on it and read it. The one beside it is by her friend Savannah and it's hilarious so I left it on there too. Oh ya, and where it says half the world's population, 3 million, that is the newspapers mistake not hers she let me know. Really our newspaper needs better proof readers, they make SOOO many mistakes all the time!

She's a Keeper!

What a good little knitter! She made a scarf for her friend for Christmas! Great job! Twisted drop stitch is a good fast one for her. I made the hat for Erin, they aren't a matching set :)

Clarification

Kevin made note after reading my last post that it wasn't the reason he does such things - to be voted upon! Doesn't that just make him even more wonderful? He'll love that I posted this :)

So Many Blessings

So Kevin is voted #1 husband by 4 out 6 voters last night! I guess 2 of them still really like their own husbands. Erin is definitely voted #1 daughter because they all have boys (except for Rachel whose daughter is 20). The 3 of them put on a wonderful party for me with quite a spread of food which I did not get a photo of. Jacob was on decorating team and putting the food out. Erin made a few dishes totally on her own inluding bruschetta!! Kevin was good at phoning Joey's and picking up my favorite appetizers and washing tonnes of dishes. I am so blessed by my family and by this group of women! Thanks for a wonderful evening of good laughter and chat, even a little wisdom thrown in there for a fun evening! That and the name that song game Erin made up- these girls are really lacking in their country music skills.

Got a nice family shot with the "birthday girl"

That's a bright light of candle flame!

My 2 ladies that we "Second Cup" every second Wednesday guaranteed even if there's more chat in between, those are the KEY moments. We've worked together on committees and played together, prayed together and figured out each others problems!

What a great pic of everyone! Then there's that middle girl who is a wealth of wisdom, and the one on the floor at the back that you may recognize from last week (although she was wearing a wig) who can make any one laugh or feel at home!! LOVE YOU ALL!

This one is funnier and there's video of it too, something about the Jiggle Gym! Marnie on the end just lost 70 pounds! Isn't she amazing?

It's Friday

Happy Birthday to me! Happy Birthday to me! OK-- I know I just freaked out Randi who's thinking it's still a few weeks away. It is! No worries. But today is my party. Last year Kevin tried to plan a party and no one could come because of Christmas commitments. I have issues! It's really not fair to have a birthday in December. At least it's not on the 25th!! I know people who have that. So I know I should stop complaining. So a week or so ago, my wonderful husband decided we would do an early birthday, so a few of my favorite girls are coming over tonight. The hardest part is I'm not allowed in the kitchen!!! It was smelling like a few things last night as I worked on some things downstairs and heard giggling and laughing from the rest upstairs, and was continually shooed away when I tried to be my usual nosey self. One thing I do love about having it at this time of year is that it's always decorated and pretty with lights. It doesn't feel like it's right without the tree up. I don't need to have balloons because there are already lots of other pretty things.

Did I tell you my Mom is coming for my real birthday? Last year she completed my nativity set for me! I put it out the other day and I just LOVE it!

We are doing 24 days of service leading up to Christmas - thanks to Randi's great idea.
Every day the kids have a "challenge" that involves thinking of someone else first! Yesterday they had to bake cookies for our church's Living Nativity Christmas outreach thing. It's kind of hard to explain what they do, but we get about 7000 people to it every year. They have an actual Bethlehem that you walk through with live animals and it's like a market with actors making you sign the census. Then they take you inside where you watch a dramatic presentation of the Christmas story, and then you go to the Great Hall which a Victorian decorated amazingly beautiful setting in the gym, where everyone is served hot chocolate and cookies and they have live mannequins posing in all different period costumes. It's magical! The first year we went we couldn't believe the mannequins were real people. There are trees and lights and snow and waitresses in little white hats. It's so neat!

That was a total aside that I didn't need to explain to you... anyways... my mind is a little wacky today. Jacob is home this morning because they are having Family Life at school. Well we'll do family life at home thank you very much. I'm not opposed to most of the material they present in grade 5, but the principal of it and the fact that they do it co-ed!! Boys do not need to learn about getting your period at age 10! Kevin didn't even want to learn about it when we got married!! I am very opposed to the material that starts to get presented in grade 6, 7 and up!! WAY TOO much information!! Is nothing sacred people? And I think it breeds a familiarity between the sexes when they do it together! But I'll get off my soap box now!

Today I...

• photocopied 2000 sheets of paper in various forms. I can collate, staple, hole punch, sort, you name it, I can do it! Photocopiers are fancy nowadays. Jacob's teacher should be good til the middle of January! He loves when I come in :) I enjoy it too and get to see more up close what the day goes like over there. Mr. Stait is fabulous! A great teacher and fabulous role model. It's a big class of 30 with 20 boys so he has his hands full so I like to help where I can.
• sewed the last bits on a Christmas gift to be sent out
• scraped my windshield for the 2nd time
• might do my Christmas cards
  
• am heading to the fabric store as it's the last day of the sale and I want to make a duvet cover to replace my 17 year old one.
• am going to drop by an Avon open house and get some stocking stuffers
• am having family over later to watch Survivor and eat chips

How's your day going?

My Girl Cracks me up!

Well I was going to post the funniest video of her laughing, but it seems the file has been deleted- that makes her even more funny- little stinker! She doesn't like movies of herself. How many of us do really? I don't know how big name actors could see themselves that huge on the big screen, like their faces 50 feet across!! Really good self esteem I guess. The clip really was funny though, she was just laughing and laughing and laughing! Just imagine it in your mind.....

Check out her blog because she's put some funny stuff on there.... and have a good belly laugh today.

I'll post this instead. The tree is up- probably the most BROAD tree we've ever had! Had to trim some major branches.