back to back!

Macie won her school spelling bee again! She competed against 25 other 4th and 5th graders who had won tops in their respective classes! She is also the only person in the history of her school to win 2 years in a row! On to the St Louis Post Dispatch spelling bee in March! Smart girls rock!!!

updates

Awhile back, I asked Stew if he would help me install a backsplash over Christmas break. He painfully agreed. Stew is not the guy who likes to do this kind of work. Ask him to play ball with the kids, he's your man. Fold laundry, clean-up after dinner, taxi the kids around, play a game, he's your man. Home renovation and updating, not so much. He's more than happy to write a check to the person that will do all the work for you. I, on the other hand, enjoy this kind of thing. I don't come by it honestly. Neither of my parents had any clue when it came to this kind of thing. I really didn't either but after owning 4 homes, you kind of figure out how things work. Part of me likes figuring out the mechanics of a project while the other part enjoys it as a creative outlet. I will tackle just about anything within reason. It seems that whenever Stew and I do a project together things don't go as planned. The end result is always good but the means by which we get there is always difficult. This project went amazingly well! The pieces fit, we worked together, the kids cooperated. Barring a minor trip to the ER when Avery fell off a stool and had to get 4 staples in her head, it went off without a hitch! We even bought a wet saw and still have all our fingers! Most importantly, we did it together. Stew even said he wants to try tiling Avery's bathroom! 2010 is off to a good start!

ps-thanks papa sam for paying for our supplies!

pss-avery is one tough cookie. she cried for about 30 seconds. staples come out on Monday and she has been initiated into the "club" as Macie calls it.

Christmas

I can feel the excitement of the kids mounting with each minute. Christmas is such a special time and even more so with young children. We have enjoyed being together and doing all of the things that make this time of year memorable. We've added a new tradition of trying to watch Christmas movies that we(the kids) haven't seen. So far we've seen Christmas Vacation, A Christmas Story and A Christmas Carol(with Patrick Stewart). I'd like to find It's a Wonderful Life too. We also participated in a canned food drive with our swim team and will be donating to the local food pantry. We managed to give to charity while giving gifts this year too. We gave Mimi and Pop a gift card from CharityChoice as well as purchased the book FamilyPrint(www.familyprint.org this is about my very best friend and her husband and family), for several people, with the proceeds going to help family's of deployed veteran's. We've stood by our old traditions too of baking cookies for neighbors, making mom's peanut brittle, lighting her candle, visiting Santa and my favorite, having the kids read "Twas the Night Before Christmas." This year is Owen's turn. I can't wait to see his face and hear his little voice as he reads the story to all of us. All of this is a reminder of what is so important in our lives, family. I am so lucky to have such a unique and beautiful family. They are such a gift.

and then there was one

I finally managed to kill one of the goldfish that we have had for nearly 5 years. I originally bought 3 when we moved to this house but quickly killed them. They were replaced by 2 from a neighbors water garden. I am the only person in this house who even knows they are here and I religiously feed them, change their tank water and filters. These guys really put some meat on their bones so to speak. I had many goldfish when I was a kid and never did any grow this big let alone make it past 3 months. It was with great sadness that I watched him spin round and round and round into the big fish bowl in the ground with one big flush. I wonder if the kids will even notice?

Lucky 13

13 things I love about Stewart:

1. I love that he makes me laugh every day. He is absolutely the funniest person I have ever met.

2. I love his passion for all things Kentucky. It doesn't mean I don't think he's crazy but he is true blue all the way!!!

3. I love that he will tell me what he thinks, not what he thinks I want to hear.

4. I love that he provides for us.

5. I love that he wants to coach our kids teams.

6. I love that he is the voice of reason when I need it most.

7. I love that he is spontaneous.

8. I love that he fights fair.

9. I love that he is a believer in God. Never doubted, never will.

10.I love his beautiful blue eyes.

11.I love that he'd rather be at home with us more than anywhere else in the world.

12.I love that he doesn't mind that I'm not a good cook.

13.I love that he said "yes" to a blind date 18 years ago.

Happy Anniversary Stewart! I love you!!!!

Laundry Fairy

I don't fall behind very often, but when I do it becomes a serious undertaking. I am talking about laundry. I do a pretty good job of staying on top of it although it is one of my absolute least favorite things to do. If there were ever something I might wish for( not including the obvious like health, world peace and education for all) it might just be a laundry fairy to wash, dry, separate, fold and put it all away. This is the mountain I am tackling tonight and there is still one load in the wash and another in the dryer! Laundry Fairy--take me away!!!

Halloween 2009

2 chickens, candy corn and a hobo!