~~PROJECTS~~

SJ and EM both had to take their projects to school yesterday. They were displayed in the gym while the children K-6 came through and asked questions and sampled the treats. I was lucky enough to be able to attend. They made me very proud.
MR's Creche is finished and 0n display in the hallway. It was very intesting so see all the different ways kids made a Nativity scene.

Visit with Santa

We have a neighbor and his wife that decorate and give gifts to kids! They have done it for years! JM really got excited by it all this year. It was fun to see! ST. NICHOLAS visited at church last night as well. We didn't get any photos there...but it was a nice evening!

~~CHRISTMAS PROJECTS~~

SJ and EM had to pick a country and learn about traditions at Christmas in that country. I think they did a good job!
Next week we will make a dessert from that country and take them to school to share with classmates! Never a dull moment around this house!

Beautiful visitor!

We had a "visitor" in our backyard last week. This hawk perched on our berry arbor for long enough for me to get this photo!
A beautiful site to see!

Christmas getting into "FULL SWING"

The kids were in a Christmas program at school on the 2nd of December. Michaela had a small speaking part and the other 2 sang and danced with all 220 kids in K-6. If I remember correctly this is the 38th annual program. It was easy to see a great deal of work was put into this! It was nice to see a real Christmas program. Nativity scene and all! We are blessed to have our kids in such a great school!

The family photo was after the performance and was taken in SF's classroom. Somehow I didn't get a clear photo of EM...but believe me he had the moves!

~~EARLY CHRISTMAS~~

Since we will not be heading back to Ohio for the Holidays and Grandma and Grandpa will not be here...we had an early celebration. One of our 3 trees is up and the kids really were excited to have an evenings of games and fun!

~FRIENDS AND PROJECTS!~

We enjoyed a special breakfast with our God-daughter and her parents on Saturday. Hard to believe she is 2 and growing up so quickly! The kids spent time working on projects this weekend. MR has a Nativity scene to make for a school project and we strung popcorn for one or our trees! The 4 day weekend went quickly. And how can the 10 days that Grandma and Grandpa were here be over already!

~~OUT DOOR FUN~~

Happy Turkey Day

We had a beautiful Thanksgiving this year. The weather was beyond perfect(who could believe 60 degrees on Nov. 24th in Minnesota) and we had friends and family with us to celebrate. My parents were here from Ohio and our friends the Lotti's from up the street came down to spend the day with us. A friend from church rounded out the 16 that spent the day together. Way too much food was enjoyed and outdoor games as well as some indoor cards and Guesstures rounded out a very enjoyable day!

NOVEMBER 16,2011

MR had a nice 12th birthday! She took oreo cupcakes to school to share with her class. She had some friends over to work on a school project and waited to celebrate till the 18th when Grandma and Grandpa R came for a 10 day visit! She is growing up so quickly! Love you so much MR. Thanks for changing our lives forever!

~~HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO SF!!~~

SF celebrated his birthday yesterday. JM colored a picture for him at OT and wrote his own name!
I made a coconut cake that he had requested. I had never made it before but learned that toasted coconut is really yummy!! All the kids and the grown ups too approved!

~NOV. 5, 2011 ~JM'S~FOUR YEAR GOTCHA ANNIVERSARY~

Hard to believe that 4 Years ago we met JM for the first time! He is such a special little boy and has already taught all who know him so much! We celebrated by getting our Family photos taken. Here are a few along with a photo from the moment we met JM~4 years ago!
The years do go quickly and children grow and change! We are so blessed to have all of our kids in our lives!

~~JACK-O-LANTERNS 2011 STYLE~~

~~OZ THEMED HALLOWEEN~~

While deciding what to dress up for this year we remembered that a Lion costume made by my mom over 50 years ago would fit JM this year! Since nearly everyone in my family has worn this well loved costume....he needed his turn. MR decided we should do a theme. So this year Characters from the Wizard of OZ seemed to fit. I didn't get a photo of SF...but he did wear his bow-tie and declared himself OZ!!
Fun was had by all. It was rewarding to hear the comments by friends in the neighborhood! The only thing I purchased were RED shoes for SJ (a must) and face paint! The rest we put together with things we had around the house!

St. John the Baptist

EM had the same assignment as SJ. They both worked really hard on their presentations. We were very proud of them.

St.Sarah The Matriarch

SJ worked hard last week to finish up her report for school. She did it on St. Sarah the Matriarch and learned a great deal in researching the project. I must admit her dad and I enjoyed the fact that she was spending time doing a "school" project that was a "church" project as well~

FALL FUN!!!

We have had an extended FALL this year! It has been a real joy! We know winter is around the corner and will most likely be long in duration...but that hasn't kept us from enjoying temps above normal for the month of OCT.!!!

Marble RUN

JM loves to watch the marbles spin and drop. All of the kids love to build with this, so we increased our inventory recently. I think it will bring many hours of enjoyment!

Trip to Dakota Village

We had a beautiful Fall day at Dakota Village yesterday. Not too many people came...all the better for us!
The kids (and I ) enjoyed the games! We were pretty good at the stilts and rolling hoops!
The weather could not have been better!

BROKEN CORD!!

JM loves his I-pad and he loves to "jump" He isn't too happy about the fact that the cord of his trampoline broke last week, but he still found it a comforting place to sit and use his communication device!! Two new cords have been ordered and should be on the way this week! That way we will have a backup for when he wears another one out!

SMORE'S !!!!!

MR wanted to make these cupcakes she had read about in a book.
She did nearly all of it herself. They were a hit. JM especially liked them. We had to watch out, because if you set one down he found it a took a bite!

Early FROST

I guess it wasn't really a frost... but a freeze last week. Too early for me. I saved some plants by bringing them in and others by covering them! They promise we are to have warmer weather by the weekend, so I decided it was worth the effort!
One never knows what the weather will be like in Sept. in MN!

Friends

We were able to get together with EM's god-parents last night. We are their daughter's god-parents as well. I can not believe she is two already! Special times with special friends!

Fun at the Fair

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We braved the crowds and went to the State Fair on Saturday.
We were blessed with good weather and many memories. We ran into friends which surprised us and had a great time! May even make us think we should do it again next year!