The Frederick Family

January Stuff

2012-02-10T11:03:00.000-05:00

The morning after Madi's overnight girls retreat at church...

Melted snowman cookies...

(idea from smashedpeasandcarrots.blogspot.com)

Donut snowman...

(idea from familyfun.go.com)

Madison attended an overnight church retreat January 27-28. Boy, did she have fun, and boy, was she tired the next day! Well worth it! We spent much of the month going to our first middle school info sessions and discussing which courses she should choose, and a huge chunk of time in January has been spent in the pool, practicing and at swim meets (that take entire days!). Madi also spent her own money to adopt a manatee. Her manatee's name is Zewie, and she is pleased as punch to have received lots of information/calendars/etc. from the organization. Madi can also view an online map showing where Zewie has been spotted in the Gulf waters off Alabama over to Florida. Fun stuff for Madi!! :)

Delaney is working on a "special project" with her teacher at school. Delaney does great in school and could further benefit from a little extra practice in certain areas. Her teacher has set up this amazing "special project" filled with rewards that are right up Delaney's alley. Delaney has also spent huge amounts of time in the pool in January as well as several afternoons after school at her K-Kids meetings, planning good deeds for others and her school.

Sadie absorbed Madi's enthusiasm for adoption, and she adopted a sea turtle of her own! Yes, she, too, spent her very own money to adopt "Timmy" (she named him), and she was especially thrilled to receive a stuffed sea turtle in the mail!! This month it struck me how cute it is that Sadie typically calls me, "Mom-Mom". Wanted to write that down somewhere before I forget. :) Sadie also made a very large purchase in January. She spent money (allowance and birthday/Christmas) that she has been saving for years to buy her very own Nintendo DSi game. She couldn't be happier with her pink game!

Bodie and I get to spend lots of time together with all three girls at school all day this year. Our favorite thing to do is go on a "date" after school, which usually involves a quick lunch. He asks almost every day when I pick him up from school, "Mom, can we have a date?" I usually oblige once a week. :) Bodie loves to write in a journal almost every night before bedtime. He has been doing it since early last summer. At the time, I would usually write about his day and he would draw a picture. Sometimes it would go along with what we had done, but more often it would be a random picture. Gradually, as his writing and drawing skills have improved, he is now able to sit down and draw a picture, write a word to go along with it, and practice writing his name. It's really quite amazing that he can sound out short words and actually write the sounds he hears. He recently called me in to tell me he had drawn and written the word "baseball". Sure enough, he had written "basb". Bodie can write many short words just by sounding out the letters. The toughest letter in his name is "D". He prefers to write what I call a "lazy D" that looks more like an "O". We joke about his lazy Ds, and they are improving every day! Bodie will be ready for "Kid Writing" next year in kindergarten when he will be asked to draw a picture and write a sentence (a few by the end of the year) about it. I also had a conference with Bodie's teacher in January. He basically has a few things to work on: 1. telling the truth (we prefer to think of his "fibs" as a really creative, imaginative way of thinking...but I guess we should help him with it) :) 2. some gross motor issues with alternating steps and hopping on one foot (may be due to his eye--will check with his eye doctor) 3. rhyming words (he only rhymed one of four words on the assessment...the funniest was his response to "what rhymes with pig"...PIGGLE! :) I laughed so hard I cried when I read it on his "report card"!

Mike and I spent time in January piecing our basement back together after our August flood. We finally got carpet installed just a couple of days before Christmas, so we spent alot of time getting everything back in place that had been stored all over our house and garage. The only thing still missing is a sofa and loveseat. After all the hassle and grief, we are treating ourselves to a new sofa and loveseat. Well, actually, we have decided to move our old ones from upstairs down to the basement and get new ones for upstairs. We took alot of steps last fall toward preventing another flood...rerouting downspouts and new sump-pump pipes, the builder regraded much of the side yard so the run-off from the neighbors' yard goes down the hill and not straight into our foundation, we had a patio put in to eliminate any sitting water near the foundation at the back of the house. So, as a result of our flood, we now have a completely painted, better organized, cleaned out basement (I need to take pictures), and a beautiful new patio (mostly covered by the porch off the back of our house) that will be like an "outdoor room" for the kiddos this summer. We used Christmas money to buy a picnic table to put on the patio. It was a beast to put together, but it will be amazing to have this summer!

In January, Mike won his neighborhood Fantasy Football League, and even though he has been practicing since November or early December, his church league basketball games began in January. He has at least one game every week, as well as a practice on Sunday afternoons. He really enjoys playing. After bragging just after Christmas that I hadn't had a cold in years, I had three colds in the month of January. Two of them were probably the worst colds of my life. I got a new camera in January (love it!) when my old camera broke just after Christmas and couldn't be repaired for less than a new one would cost. I also spent lots of time in meetings for committees I am on at the girls' school, Bodie's school and church, and I spent nearly every Tuesday morning in Sadie's class. They do a writing curriculum called "Create To Write". On Tuesdays, they create a piece of art. On Wednesday, they write a draft about their piece of art. On Thursday, they write a final draft and "publish it" by mounting their art and writing on a big piece of construction paper, which is then put on display in the classroom or hallway for everyone to see and read. I have been able to help with all three steps, but I am partial to the "create" day, so if you're looking for me on a Tuesday morning, you know where to find me. Sadie is always so happy to see me!! In January, we have also tried to turn our Friday nights into sort of a "Family Fun Night", where we try to make time to do something special together. Watching a movie has been a favorite thing. Sometimes we have done a special craft (most in January involved valentines...I'll post about them soon) or had a special snack (see snowmen above). It's a nice way to wind down the week and kick off our weekend.

Our New Chalkboard

2012-02-07T13:59:00.001-05:00

A few weeks ago, I painted an entire wall at the top of our stairs going up to the kiddos' rooms with chalkboard paint. I needed a place where I could quickly write notes/to-do lists/etc. to the kids, and I had been eyeing that wall for a very long time. This chalkboard wall has turned out to be lots of fun for everyone, a helpful reminder tool, and a new favorite thing in our house!!

2012-02-06T10:20:00.000-05:00

February 4, 2011: Mike took Madison and Delaney to Spring Mountain to go tubing Saturday evening, and the girls had the time of their lives! They were full of funny stories and even got a lesson on how now to behave as a teenager. They just had a super-fun time! Delaney was apparently dumbfounded when the ski lift stopped, leaving lots of people dangling, and then noticed why: "That guy stopped the lift to BLOW HIS NOSE!" Mike said the delivery of what she said was actually funnier than the words themselves, but that sounds just like something Delaney would say! Madi spent part of her time at Spring Mountain pining over the snowboarders. She really, really wants to try it sometime. She has tried on friends' snowboards just in the neighborhood and seems to have a knack for it. Maybe someday her Daddy will take her back to try snowboarding, because we all know her mama isn't going to! :)

Christmas In Virginia

2012-02-05T14:59:00.000-05:00

New pajamas from Granny for all the cousins!!

Cousin piles!

Sadie & Brie

Sage, Sophie, Madi, Laney & Bodie

Green Granny (Sadie nicknamed her that a few years ago and it has really stuck, especially with Sadie and Bodie!)

Bonnie

Todd & Kami

Kevin & Joy

December 27, 2011: Two days after Christmas, the kiddos and I headed south to Virginia to celebrate Christmas with my family. The full set of "Beddingfield" cousins only gets together a couple times a year if we're lucky, so when they do, they have the best time!! Usually Sadie and Brie pair off and go do their own thing together (this time they managed to get themselves in a little bit of trouble...), while the older girl cousins play together. Bodie really is a third wheel in this family full of girls, but he holds his own with each group and this year had some good bonding time with his uncles over a Nerf gun given to him by Uncle Todd's family! :)

We loved our time spent with Granny, Bonnie, and my brothers and their families! It's just never long enough!

Christmas Eve 2011

2012-02-04T11:31:00.001-05:00

Can you believe I am still updating from December?!

Delaney, an angel, getting ready for the 5:00 service...

Bodie and the Cherubs...ringing the bells...

Madi singing with the Praise Band...

Madi was the voice of Lamby the Lamb, the puppet on the far left (a bit hard to see--double-click to see it larger)...

Sadie's choir, God's Little Children, singing in the 5:00 service...

The 5:00 drama...

Madison and Delaney's choir...

Back at home after church..."Happy Birthday, Baby Jesus..."

Matching Captain Americas!!

Christmas Pajamas from Grammy & Poppy...

Sprinkling reindeer food in the yard for Santa's reindeer...

December 24, 2011: Our Christmas Eve is always filled with church and traditions. Our church offers 5 or 6 services on Christmas Eve, and our kiddos are involved in two of them. The 4:00 pm service is a children-led "preschool service", and Bodie's choir is very involved in this service. "Come On Ring Those Bells" while the Cherub Choir sings and shakes bells is a time-honored tradition at our church. Every child is handed a set of bells when they enter the sanctuary for this service, and it is a sight to behold (and hear!). At the end, the Cherubs sing "Happy Birthday" to Baby Jesus and blow candles out on a birthday cake. Madison sang and played the piano and various percussion instruments in the 5th & 6th Grade Praise Band during this service, and for the first time Madi was the puppeteer for "Lamby The Lamb" in the puppet show. She was given the part because she has the perfect lamb voice. I do mean perfect! The next time you see Madi, ask her to speak "lamb" for you! Hearing her tell the story of Jesus's birth with a lamb's voice was priceless! One of the pastors said to me, "Your daughter just made me cry!" It was that sweet.

The 5:00 pm service is a children-led "family service". The girls' choirs, including Sadie's, lead this service. Madison also played in the praise band again, and the big girls were involved in a drama called "The Backwards Christmas Pageant". Delaney was an angel (literally!), and Madi was a sheep (again, getting to use that adorable voice!). The girls were thrilled to have Grammy & Poppy in the audience for these services!!

After church, we, along with Grammy & Poppy, returned home to lasagna dinner, birthday cake for Baby Jesus, presents from Grammy & Poppy, sibling gifts to each other (that they bought with their own allowance money--one of my favorite parts of Christmas this year--they were so proud to give these gifts!), and leaving reindeer food for Santa's reindeer and birthday cake and chocolate milk for Santa! So many fun traditions on such a special Eve!

Kindergarten Registration and Middle School

2012-02-01T13:55:00.000-05:00

(photo taken last week at a birthday party--a "glow party" at a bounce place--with my new camera!)

February 1, 2012: Well, it's official...Bodie is registered for kindergarten as of this morning, and the school district just announced last night that the first day of school next year will be September 4, 2012. Before that big day, Bodie will participate in Kindergarten Round-Up (an observation day) in April and a week of Kinder Camp in August. It is hard to believe that we have come to this day!

And almost harder to believe is that just yesterday Madison came home with her 7th Grade course selection paperwork for middle school! Madi has to turn in her course selections next week! She has some big decisions to make. One big decision she has already made is that she will begin Spanish as her two-year language study. She also has to decide whether she will take Chorus (a year-long commitment) or do two half-year electives (choices include music, drama, Adventures in Leadership, art, team sports, and fitness). Madi's science and social studies teachers have both recommended her for honors classes, so she will need to decide if she wants to give those a try or take the non-honors classes. She will not know if she has been recommended for honors literature and for what math class she has been recommended until later in the year when additional assessments have been completed. How crazy that we are thinking about such things with Madi at the same time we are registering our youngest for kindergarten!

What a week for us Freds!

Mummers Party

2012-01-31T22:20:00.001-05:00

The 6th Grade, waiting for their surprise visitors...

A mini New Year's Ball was dropped... :)

The kiddos still couldn't see the Mummers at this point, but they could hear them!

Teaching the kiddos the "Mummer's Shuffle"!

A quick lesson for Madi and her buddy!

Parading through the entire school...

Madi's class!

Before class parties, each grade participated in a Holiday Sing-Along.

6th Grade singing "Mele Kalikimaka" with Madi's teacher leading...

Delaney (far left in navy) and the 4th Grade singing "Deck The Halls"...

I didn't get a photo of Sadie and the 1st Grade singing, but this was my view of Sadie (center in teal) from the front of the gym when the parents were called up to sing "Frosty"...a disaster!

December 23, 2011: Boy, was I one lucky mom to be one of the helpers for Madi's holiday party on the last day before Christmas break. When I first arrived at the school, the parents were invited into the gym where the entire school was gathered for a Holiday Sing-Along. Each grade sang a song, the staff sang a song, and then they asked the parents (5 per class are allowed to help at parties) to sing "Frosty". We, as a group of silly parents, realized about 5 words into the song that we didn't know the words! Like...hardly...any...of...them!! I'm not sure who was laughing harder...the parents or their kiddos laughing at them! It was really funny! The kiddos definitely outsang their embarrassed parents!

On to the party...like all public schools, I assume, the kiddos are only allowed to have a "holiday" party--not Christmas, not Hanukkah or any other specific celebration.. So, the 6th Grade classes decided to have a combined New Year's party. Each of the kiddos got a party hat, 2012 glasses, and they even celebrated when a mini New Year's Ball was dropped. :) But the hit of the party was a big surprise to the kiddos. The grandfather of one of the boys in Madi's class plays in a Mummers Band, a huge Philadelphia tradition! Mummers Bands play in the Mummers Parade on New Year's Day through the streets of Philadelphia. Around here, the Mummers are legends! So, the grandfather of Madi's classmate and his Mummers Band performed for the 6th grade's New Year's celebration!! It was such an amazing little "concert", and the 6th Grade was thoroughly entertained. The grandfather taught them the "Mummers Shuffle" dance, and Madi was even pulled out of the group with one of her buddies for a special little "lesson". After the band played several songs, they then paraded through all of the halls in the school with the 6th Grade following behind, dancing along the way. It was, by far, the funnest holiday party ever!! It was also Madi's last elementary school holiday party!

An NBC cameraman arrived with the band, and Madi and her fellow 6th Graders made the Philadelphia news at 10:00 pm...a whole 10 seconds of it! :)

Sadie's 1st Grade Holiday Program

2012-01-27T15:02:00.002-05:00

This is how we are much too often greeted! :)

Sadie's special dance part...

Sadie's 1st Grade class (not quite everyone)

1st Grade Buddies!

December 21, 2011: Sadie's 1st Grade Holiday Program was filled with holiday songs, rhymes, and lots of hand motions. Sadie was also pulled out with five other children to do a special little "dance" (in a circle) that was so cute while the other children sang. Sadie is too cute for words!

Bodie's Christmas Concert 2011

2012-01-26T21:21:00.000-05:00

Some crazy, fist-pumping thing Bodie did...

Waving to everyone he knew...this wave was for his preschool 3s teacher from last year...

"Go Tell It On The Mountain..."

"Away In A Manger"...with the motions he learned from singing it at church...notice, none of the other kiddos are doing these motions. :)

I like a little man who has the confidence to clap for himself!

December 19, 2011: As always, one of the highlights of the holidays was Bodie's preschool Christmas Concert. This year, I couldn't help but think...over and over...that this was the last preschool Christmas Concert ever for the Freds, so I enjoyed it that much more! There really isn't much cuter than a sweet little boy, towering over most of his friends, waving and blowing kisses to everyone, doing the hand motions he learned at church (not at school), go-telling-it-on-the-mountain very loudly, and clapping for himself. Precious!

Christmas Eve Final Rehearsal

2012-01-24T21:24:00.000-05:00

Still updating December events...

Madison & Delaney's choir

Bodie's choir

Sadie's choir...do they look tired or what?!

Early in the morning on December 18, 2011, all of these kiddos performed in the Christmas Pageant with their Sunday School classes. That evening the children's choirs had 2-hour final rehearsals for Christmas Eve services. Two of the Christmas Eve services, held at 4:00 and 5:00 pm, are lead by children. The 4:00 service, a "Preschool Service", highlights a 5th and 6th Grade Praise Band (Madi sang and played the piano), a puppet show (Madi was the puppeteer for Lamby the Lamb), and Bodie's choir. The 5:00 service, a "Family Service", highlights the 5th and 6th Grade Praise Band, both Sadie's choir and Madison and Delaney's choir, and a drama performed by a creative arts group and Madison and Delaney's choir. As you can imagine, these kiddos were tired by Sunday evening rehearsals, but they had a big, huge, important responsibility to rehearse: telling the story of Jesus's birth. What a long, amazing day these kiddos had!

Sadie Lost Her First Tooth!

2012-01-21T21:49:00.000-05:00

Leaving the fairy house out for the Tooth Fairy...

(photos from Mike's phone...still no camera)

January 21, 2012: Sadie lost her first tooth today!! Her tooth has been wiggly for months, very wiggly for weeks, and super-duper wiggly for days, and Sadie couldn't be more excited that it finally popped out today! Mike brought home donuts for breakfast this morning, and Sadie ate about half of hers. She got out a plastic container, put the rest of her donut in it, and put it in the freezer. After lunch, she pulled her donut out of the freezer and bit right into that cold, hard donut. She hesitated, looked a little funny, walked over to where I was standing, and mumbled something about her tooth. Sure enough, that tooth had popped out, and I seriously thought she had swallowed it! About that time, someone noticed that Sadie's donut looked funny...bloody and with a teeny, tiny little tooth stuck into the side of it! Thank goodness, because I would have been so sad if she hadn't had her little tooth to leave in the fairy house for the Tooth Fairy at bedtime! You can see from the photos above how excited she was to do just that!

Bodie was a little nervous about the whole "fairy flying around our house" thing. So, at bedtime, Sadie and Bodie (mostly Bodie) dictated a little note for the Tooth Fairy that I transcribed for them.

"Dear Tooth Fairy,

Take the tooth. Don't use your wings, but walk quietly.

Love, Sadie & Bodie Frederick"

Sadie said that if she hears the Tooth Fairy in the night, she will just pretend that she is still asleep, so it won't scare the Tooth Fairy away. Sadie cannot wait until tomorrow morning to see what the Tooth Fairy leaves in the fairy house!

Sadie Love, losing your first tooth only happens once in a lifetime, and Daddy and I were so happy to be there to share in your excitement today! We love you!

Christmas Pageant 2011

2012-01-16T07:19:00.002-05:00

Madi as the Angel Gabriel...

A sweet little angel...

Madi and buddies before the show...

The Angel Gabriel and Mary, chatting on stage before the show began...

Sadie and the 1st Graders singing "He Comes"...

Mary and the Angel Gabriel singing their solos in "Gentle Mary".

The preschool Sunday School classes singing "Away In A Manger"...see that cute angel towering over all the others. :)

Delaney and the 3rd and 4th Graders singing "Miracle At Midnight"...

The 5th and 6th graders had fun in between the first and second performances...

These last three photos are from the second Pageant service...

December 18, 2011: This year's Annual Sunday School Christmas Pageant was a bigger deal than usual for the Freds. The 5th and 6th graders perform the "drama" portion of the pageant, but the 6th graders get the "big roles". Madi auditioned and was chosen for one of the biggest roles of the show: the Angel Gabriel! She and "Mary", one of her best church buddies, had amazing solo parts in the song "Gentle Mary". Their solos have really tough notes to hit, and they sang them beautifully! Perfectly! It was quite an honor for Madi to play the part of the Angel Gabriel. I am sure she will always remember it.

Delaney sang "Miracle at Midnight" for the second year with her fellow 4th graders and the 3rd graders. Next year, she will "move up" and be in the drama. That will be an exciting move for Delaney. Sadie sang "He Comes" with her fellow 1st graders, and Bodie sang "Away In A Manger" as a preschool angel for the last time.

The pageant is always performed twice. The first is the full-blown pageant with the 5th and 6th graders doing the drama and each Sunday School class (in some cases, two grades/age groups) sing a song at some point within the drama to help tell the Christmas Story. The second performance of the pageant is not the entire show. The 5th and 6th graders do a good portion of the drama itself, but all of the other Sunday School classes do not sing. Instead, this year, Bodie's choir sang "Away In A Manger", and Sadie's choir sang "Miracle At Midnight". Delaney was the only one of our four who was not involved in the second pageant performance. Bodie was an absolute stand-out at the second service--he sang above everyone else in his choir! During the first performance, Bodie waved and blew kisses to everyone he knew when he was in place and facing the congregation. I was sitting on the floor in front of the kiddos, right beside our Head Pastor, and he leaned over and said, "That Bodie, he has waved to everyone in the sanctuary. He knows everyone." I replied, "Well, he is a little Mike!" Bodie had the quote of the day, too. In between the two services, two different people came to find me to tell me the funny thing Bodie said. When they tried to put the angel costume (little white choir robe) back on Bodie for the second service, he resisted and said, "I have already worn the dress today!!" They did finally get him back in the "dress"! It may or may not have involved a little bribing with a lollipop! :)

I also took on a new role with this year's Christmas Pageant. Two of the directors of the pageant were stepping down this year, and I was asked to be one of the new directors. I was honored to have been asked, and it was a "job" I couldn't say no to even though I couldn't imagine taking on any more than I was already doing, especially in the two months leading up to Christmas. My brain was telling me, "No, no, no, you can't do this!" but my heart was telling me, "Yes, yes, yes, you can't say no!" So I said yes, and it was a big time commitment. My co-directors and I worked with the 5th and 6th graders on the drama every Sunday during Sunday School during the months of November and December. During the last couple of weeks before the pageant, even more time was spent getting costumes together and running a full-blown dress rehearsal with every Sunday School class. It was alot of work, but it was so worth it! It was also a big sacrifice for my sweet husband, too, who basically had to get all the kiddos to and from church with little help from me, sit in services without me for two months, and allow me lots of extra time at church without the kiddos. He's a good guy and never, ever complains. Thank you, Michael! I really enjoyed working so closely with my co-directors and the 5th and 6th graders, and one of the best perks of being a director was having a front row seat, literally (sitting on the floor in between the pews and the "stage" to prompt the kiddos), to watch all four of our kiddos help tell the story of Jesus's birth for our church. It was the last time all four will be in the pageant, because Madi moves up from the children's program to the youth program later this month, and youth are not involved in the pageant. Instead, Madi will be in a live nativity on Christmas Eve next year.

Now you can see why this year's Christmas Pageant was a "bigger deal" than usual for us. It was quite an event in the life of our little family and quite an honor to be so involved! Thank you, Grammy & Poppy, for being there to share this big event with us!!

Jelly Belly: Our New Favorite Company

2012-01-11T10:40:00.001-05:00

The Freds have a new favorite company (and yummy goodness!): Jelly Belly! Jelly Belly has always made a peanut butter jelly bean, and because they use the same machinery to make those as they do to make other flavors, Madison has never been able to eat Jelly Belly jelly beans. Since the other three kiddos have eaten the same way (they are finally old enough to eat foods "processed on the same machinery as peanut/nut products"--less risk of developing an allergy the older they get), we have really never had Jelly Belly products around. Well, this year for Christmas, friends of ours gifted us with a gigantic box of 40 flavors of Jelly Belly jelly beans. I honestly would never have even looked at the ingredient list and just assumed Jelly Bellies were still unsafe, except that Madi's friend's mother, who is a nurse and has allergies in her own family, told Madi to tell me that the gift is safe. No way, I thought. Jelly Belly has never been safe and probably never will be with the million flavors they make. Madi insisted that I read the ingredient list...no disclaimer saying that these products were made on the same machinery as peanut/nut products. I must just be reading this wrong...it has to be here somewhere. I searched and searched but couldn't find the normal disclaimer. I told Madi I would call the company to verify this, still skeptical. I decided to check out the website first, and sure enough, here's what I found:

"Question:

If I am allergic to peanuts, can I eat Jelly Belly jelly beans?

Answer:

None of the products that we currently manufacture contain peanuts as an ingredient. We no longer process peanuts in our manufacturing plants.

However, please continue to carefully check all ingredient statements on packages and bulk bins for peanut ingredients. We discontinued Peanut Butter flavor of Jelly Belly beans (this flavor contained peanut butter and peanut flour); however, it is possible this flavor may still be included in packages sold in retail stores until inventories are depleted."

We still can't believe it! In the past few years, many companies have gone in the other direction. Companies that were once safe are no longer safe, in part due to the struggling economy and some companies having to downsize and, therefore, process more types of products on the same machinery instead of having the luxury of separate processing lines for each item. One example is Duncan Hines. Their cake mixes, icings, etc. were safe until a couple of years ago when they began processing all of their products on the same lines as products with peanuts/nuts. They are no longer safe for Madi. We are now down to only one brand of chocolate chips that are safe for Madi: Hershey's. There used to be many choices; now there is only one. If that company decides to go the way of so many others, Madi will not be able to eat a chocolate chip cookie. Can you imagine?! Another example of a company going in the other direction is Rita's Water Ice. For those of you not familiar with Rita's, in this area, Rita's is a staple during the spring and summer months! Rita's water ice was always a safe desert for Madi while most ice cream shops are not an option for her (we are lucky to have a couple in our area that go to great efforts to provide a safe ice cream for kids with allergies--most do not). Last spring Rita's began producing a peanut butter flavored water ice, and even though they advertised that some flavors were still safe, Madi's best buddy did have a reaction to one of those "safe" flavors. Hoping that maybe the new flavor wouldn't catch on and would eventually disappear from their cases, a friend of mine called Rita's, only to find out that it is their best selling flavor...ever. It's not going anywhere, and they've lost the business of the many, many families for whom their stores are no longer safe.

So, thank you Jelly Belly! You have opened up a whole new world of delight for the Fred kiddos! Thank you for having the guts to cut something from your production line in order to make your products available to the many, many families affected by allergies. I will tell everyone I know that your company has done an amazing thing, and I'm pretty sure our little family alone will keep you in business! Jelly Bellies for everyone for Christmas next year!! :)

On a side note...I took so many pictures in December that while I was driving home from my mom's house in Virginia on Dec. 30, I vowed to myself to take only the essentials in January...not realizing that my camera would break the very next day. Photo-taking came to a screeching halt! Since then I have taken only about a half dozen of those "essentials" (including the Jelly Bellies!) with Mike's phone camera. Not exactly how I wanted the break to happen, but it is allowing me to catch up. So for a while, until I figure out whether or not my camera can be fixed or if I need to get a new one, I will be updating you on December events...there are still many! I'm pretty sure I have never gone 12 days without taking a photo since I saved up my money and bought myself my first SLR camera when I was in high school!

All Pro Dad: December 2011

2012-01-06T18:44:00.001-05:00

TOUCHDOWN CELEBRATIONS!

This is a good friend of ours...a fellow Wahoo...so funny!

December 14, 2011: Mike hosted this year's second All Pro Dad breakfast! It was the funnest and funniest All Pro Dad ever in my opinion! The topic was "Being Humble", and Mike began the discussion with a video of NFL touchdown celebrations. The kiddos got a kick out of that...and an even bigger kick when Mike asked all of the dads to stand up front and do their own touchdown celebration!! Funniest thing ever! As you can see, some of them really got into it. Others stood with their arms crossed and refused to move, but most had fun with it. The kiddos were asked to do the same. Then Mike gave them the punchline: "The next time you feel like rubbing it in someone's face how well you've done, that you beat them, etc....think about how silly your dads looked up here celebrating. Maybe you'll think twice about it." Mike and I laughed so many times in planning the topic for this breakfast, because he could have played his own "sack dance" highlight video from his football days!! The approximately 100 dads and kiddos discussed the importance of humility and who the most humble person they know is and why they admire them. The homework assignment this month was to go to or watch a football game and point out the players acting humbly. As the dads left the building, I heard a couple of them laughing and saying, "I can't wait to tell my wife that Mike said we have to watch football for homework!!"

Winter Chorus Concert

2012-01-04T11:40:00.001-05:00

These photos are from the afternoon concert for the entire school...

December 13, 2011: Madison and Delaney performed with their school chorus in the Winter Chorus Concert. This was Delaney's first school chorus concert. The formal concert was held at night, and an informal concert was performed for the entire school that afternoon, sort of a "rehearsal". Each of the girls had special parts. Delaney, even as a 4th grader (the first year chorus is offered), had a "group solo" part in a song called "Our Gift For You". What a beautiful voice she has! Madison also had a solo part in "Pat-A-Pan" (Traditional Burgundian Carol), she played the Bass Metallophone on "Ukranian Bell Carol", and she had a speaking part in which she introduced Delaney as a soloist on her song. Madi is quite a talented young lady! The girls were thrilled to have a special guest in the audience: Grammy! Thank you, Grammy, for being there to hear our girls make beautiful music!

Reflections Contest and Awards

2012-01-03T14:45:00.000-05:00

December 13, 2011: Madison, Delaney and Sadie all three won awards at an all-school assembly for their entries in the Reflections contest sponsored by the PTA!! The theme for this year's contest was "Diversity is...", and all three of their entries were in the "visual arts" category.

Madison titled her entry (flower collage) "Colorwheel", and this was her Artist Statement:

"Everyone has different personalities, every talent is different, like a color. Each petal represents a difference, but all together we can create something beautiful."

Delaney titled her entry (hands) "Hands Around The World", and this was her Artist Statement:

"These hands represent the diversity of many different types of people."

Sadie title her entry (hearts with people drawn in them) "Family", and this was her Artist Statement:

"Diversity means that everyone is different, and every family has different people."

Good job, Fred girls!

Girls On The Run Wrap-Up

2012-01-02T20:24:00.002-05:00

November 30, 2011: Madison and Delaney ran a practice 5K after school with their Girls On The Run team in preparation for their Dec. 4 5K. The practice 5K is such a fun time for the girls, earning a "reward" after completing each lap (of 16). Families are invited to cheer them on or even run with the girls...so I cheered, and Sadie and Bodie ran! Sadie ran with her big sisters as well as many, many of the girls' friends, and Bodie charmed one sweet 5th grader in particular to run with him. :) All 4 Fred kiddos came home with painted fingernails, hair accessories, body writing and tattoos, Twizzlers, candy canes, hand sanitizer, and many other fun rewards! What a fun (cold!) afternoon!

Receiving "energy awards" from buddies!

Sadie ran lots and lots of laps...anything for fingernail polish, hair clips, body writing, and candy canes!

Bodie's running buddy!

December 12, 2011: Girls On The Run Award Dinner...each girl on the team receives an original award created by their amazing coaches. Madison received the "Outstanding Teamwork" award, and Delaney was presented with the "Bubbly Girl" award!

Christmas Caroling

2011-12-31T07:37:00.001-05:00

This is one nice crew of kiddos who gave up their Sunday afternoon to sing to the residents of a local retirement center!

This sweet lady has been at the retirement center for years. She absolutely adores the kiddos, sings along with them, and this year passed out stickers and high-fives to every single one!

December 4, 2011: One of my favorite things that our kiddos get to do with our church is Christmas caroling at a local retirement center. Our church makes it alot of fun for the kiddos, who get to ride a bus to and from the center, singing Christmas songs along the way, and they all enjoy pizza and a little fellowship time back at the church afterwards. In all their fun, the kiddos don't even realize how important their visit with these residents is! For some of the residents, the kiddos might be their only visitors during the holidays. Some of them are able to communicate while others are not, and having this group of kiddos come in and sing and play the bells for them is such a gift to them. And even more important than the singing and bell playing is when each kiddo greets every single resident who has come or been brought to listen to their music. It is truly a blessing to watch these interactions!

It took some effort to get our girls there for the caroling this year. The 5K was also that afternoon. As soon as the race and after-festivities were finished, Mike took Bodie, and the girls and I raced over to the retirement center. We missed the busride and the first little bit of caroling, but we made it for the majority of the event, and the girls were able to ride the bus back to the church with so many of their buddies! It was worth every bit of effort to get them there!

This caroling event is open to kindergarten through 6th grade kiddos, so this was Madison's last year of caroling. The youth program she will be moving into in January has it's own caroling event that she will be able to join next year. Bodie will take Madison's place next year! Now that will be fun to watch!

First Swim Meet 2011

2011-12-30T21:59:00.000-05:00

{photos by Mike using his phone}

Madi (middle), ready to swim...

Delaney, ready to go...

Delaney (top lane) ready to start backstroke...

Delaney (bottom lane) getting ready to swim her relay...

...in she goes!

Madi (bottom lane) getting ready to enter the pool...

...there she goes!

December 3, 2011: Madison and Delaney had their first swim meet of the season. It was also Madison's first swim meet ever. This was a relay meet, and both of the girls were on relay teams with buddies. Delaney loves everything about swimming and the meets. Madi isn't so sure yet. This is really the first time she has given something a try and hasn't excelled immediately. At 11 years old, she is swimming with kids who have been swimming on teams for as many as 7 years. It has really been a challenge for her to swim as a newcomer with that kind of talent, but it has been really good for her. Madi also overcame a couple of obstacles in this first meet--diving off the blocks, and doing a flip-turn during one of the relay races that she was scared she would mess up and disqualify her team. But she did it, and she did great! Delaney was in her natural element at the meet...she loved it, and she had so much fun, and I'm so happy swimming is her "thing".

Merry Christmas 2011

2011-12-26T15:43:00.001-05:00

Merry Christmas! We had a wonderful day yesterday! Santa came, and the kiddos were maybe more excited than ever. It seems that a couple of them thought they might be on the naughty list, but it turns out they were okay. :) Santa leaves their stockings on top of their pile of gifts, so they always go through their stockings first. As usual, they were filled with a little candy, a couple of small trinkets (erasers, squinkies, lip smackers, socks this year), and undies! I forgot to write in our post about visiting Santa that he even made a comment about bringing a big bag of undies for our kiddos for Christmas! It was so funny, and Santa is a man of his word!

Here is what Santa left the kiddos this year:

Madison-Fijit Friend, hot pink Uggs, an Ugly Doll, and "girly things" (lotions, nail polish, etc.)

Delaney-Fijit Friend, DSi, Lost Hero book series, and an Ugly Doll

Sadie-Fijit Friend, Rainbow Magic Fairy book series, Zoobles, and a Lite Brite

Bodie-Fijit Friend, a light-up globe, Lincoln Logs, and a race car track

Later in the afternoon, the kiddos decorated a gingerbread house. I "built" the house itself and then set out all the supplies and candy and left the kiddos to do it all themselves. I think they did a beautiful job!

After dark, we piled in the car and went for a drive to look at Christmas lights. Each of the kiddos had made an "award" to place in the mailbox of their favorite house. So much fun!

Both the gingerbread house and the Christmas lights drive and awards are usually done earlier in December, but we have had such a busy month that we never got around to doing either. But guess what?! We loved doing them on Christmas Day so much that I think they will become a Christmas Day tradition! It was the perfect day to do these Christmasy activities!

Hope you had a wonderful, unforgettable Christmas, too!

Back In November...

2011-12-23T20:57:00.000-05:00

November 6, 2011: Madison and Delaney had a blast at a church hayride and bonfire at Highland Orchards with lots of church buddies!

November 9, 2011: Bodie's class finally made it on their Pumpkin Patch/Hayride field trip to Milky Way Farm after being rained out in October.

Early November 2011: Delaney excitedly began her swim season...and Madison decided to give it a try for the first time, too!

November 11, 2011: Mike was invited for the second year in a row to be a celebrity reader for our school's book fair "Community Read" event! The kids love that he reads books like "Dinosaurs Love Underpants"! He also took his Eagles helmet and jersey for the kids to check out. Mike was also asked by the school to kick off "Red Ribbon Week" (a drug awareness program). He spoke at a school-wide assembly and was the official ribbon-cutter to start the week. How fun for the girls!

November 12, 2011: Sadie's soccer season ended with a medal!

Here are some soccer photos from earlier in November:

The biggest takeaway from these photos is that this girl knows how to have fun!

November 30, 2011: This handsome man (the photo below is typical of Bodie out in the sun--he has to squint because his good eye is always dilated to make the weak eye work harder!) got another great report at the eye doctor! His doctor told us that Bodie does have measurable depth perception--great news because they originally didn't think he had any depth perception! The vision in Bodie's weak eye has improved to 20/25 with glasses--a tremendous improvement! And the best news of all is that Bodie's doctor does not think he will need surgery! The muscle in his eye is tightening itself, and if it continues at the same rate, he will definitely not need the surgery. Very, very good news! I am positive his improvement is because he is such a good patient when it comes to his eye. He is so good about wearing his glasses, and he is so cooperative when we have to put drops in his eye (a Hershey Kiss doesn't hurt either).

Here are some other things I jotted down throughout the month of November that I want to remember:

Madison is suddenly all about "fashion". She worries about her outfits and notices other people's clothes and hair-dos. I love that Madi does so many things with her own hair--she wears it a different (sometimes wacky!) way every single day. Changing the subject, Madison reads a ton, and she reads well above grade-level, so this fall she has begun going to the Gifted Support Teacher for reading. It has been quite difficult to find books that challenge Madi as a reader but that have "appropriate content" for an 11-year-old, so her new reading teacher is helping with this.

Delaney is the best orthodontic patient I have ever seen, and her orthodontist says the same. She feels no pain or discomfort, she never complains, and she looks forward to her ortho visits. One morning in November, Delaney woke up with a swollen lip--like someone had punched her in her sleep swollen. It turned out a wire had popped out and had punctured her lip. Never complained once! Delaney got two more braces put on her teeth in November for a total of four on her top front teeth.

Sadie has her first wiggly tooth, and she could not be more excited about it!! The permanent tooth is coming up behind the baby tooth, and even though she discovered it was wiggly in early November, it is still "just wiggly" now in late December.

We took the rails off of Bodie's bed in November. Just like that, the only thing that reminds us that there was ever a baby in our home is the one baby monitor that still remains in Bodie's bedroom (because the kiddos are upstairs; we are downstairs). Bodie also began mass-producing artwork in November--real artwork, with people and creatures and real, identifiable objects. So cute! I think this newfound skill is the result of a very important other newfound skill: learning to hold a pencil correctly at preschool. He also began to have much more control over writing his name and other letters. It's amazing what can begin to "click" just by learning to hold a pencil.

Grand Betty Christmas Night 2011

2011-12-19T17:47:00.000-05:00

December 16, 2011, was a very special night indeed...Grand Betty Christmas Night 2011!! A few days with the gifts under our tree were just about more than the kiddos could handle. They were so, so excited to open their Grand Betty gifts and then call her on the phone to tell her all about it. The big girls are old enough now to realize how much thought Grand Betty puts into each gift she gives. Madi even said, "Grand Betty knows us so well!" That she does! And once again, we had a marvelous Grand Betty Christmas Night to remember! Thank you, Grand Betty, for all of these wonderful memories and for all of the very, very thoughtful gifts! Grand Betty Christmas Night is a treasure, just like you! :)

Christmas Card 2011

2011-12-15T21:31:00.000-05:00

This is the photo we used on our Christmas card for 2011. {I am not technologically savvy enough to post the actual card.} This year was unlike any before--I managed to get dozens and dozens of amazing shots of our kiddos at the beach, and I would have been equally happy with any one of them as our Christmas card. Even on this particular evening back in August, I got so, so many great shots. Amazingly, out of hundreds that I took, this was the very first! I love that the very first was my very favorite!

As our card says, "warm wishes"!

O' Christmas Tree 2011

2011-12-14T19:30:00.001-05:00

It's fun that our kiddos can now take photos of Mike and I!

Bodie really wanted to bring home this crooked tree!

Sadie wanted to bring home every tiny tree at the tree farm. I have at least a dozen similar pictures! Sadie insisted on having her photo taken with every single one!

The Fred Family Christmas Tree 2011!

The Sunday after Thanksgiving, November 27, 2011, the Freds trekked up the street to Windridge Tree Farm to find our 2011 Christmas Tree. We found a tree we loved, got a tractor ride back to the barn, had a quick chat with Santa, and enjoyed a cup of hot chocolate on an unseasonably warm day. The kiddos love this tradition that is one of my favorites, too.

A Visit With Santa 2011

2011-12-11T21:47:00.001-05:00

December 11, 2011: The kiddos visited with Santa today. In years past, they have had breakfast with Santa, and even years when we have had to visit Santa at the mall, we have chosen "slow times" for our visit--early in the season, usually meeting Mike at the mall on a weekday after school and work. Well, our schedule is so crazy this year that we seriously do not have a free afternoon or evening from now until nearly Christmas Eve. A Sunday after church two weeks before Christmas was really our only choice...and we stood in line for 1 hour 40 minutes to see Santa!! I'm not sure how we survived it, and I hope to never have to do it again. But the smiles on their sweet faces sitting on Santa's lap really is worth every excruciating minute of our wait!!

A funny story...at bedtime tonight, I asked Bodie what he asked Santa for, and he told me he asked him for a dollhouse for Sadie. Bodie is the biggest story-teller/fibber in the family, so we're not sure whether to believe him or not. If he did ask Santa for a dollhouse for Sadie, isn't that the sweetest thing ever?!

What strikes me most about this photo is how big those kiddos look on Santa's lap! We could hardly see Santa! They really are growing up right before our eyes!

5K...Delaney's First!

2011-12-09T21:40:00.001-05:00

This one's going to have alot of photos!

Pre-race fun...

...including hair painting...

...the best little fans ever...

...warm-ups...led in part by Madi...

...a little dancing...

...a little nervousness...

...the whole team...

...ready to run with running buddies...

...a strong run and happy finishes!

Two of your amazing coaches!

Last Sunday, December 4, 2011, Madison and Delaney ran their Girls On The Run 5K...Madi's third and Delaney's first!! Race Day is a very special day. There is so much excitement and enthusiasm among these girls, and they just have so much fun together. It's an amazing thing to see girls from three different grades and many different social groups all come together as a team, encouraging and cheering each other on along the way! The girls love this program, and Race Day is the highlight of their season!

As a 6th grader, Madi has taken on a role as a leader on this team. Wow, was it fun to watch her leading her team at times through warm-ups, younger girls looking up to her and following her every move. It was hard to believe it was Madi, our girl who as a preschooler could hardly get through the morning when her best preschool buddy wasn't at school. Madi's goal for the race was to beat her time from the spring race...she wanted to finish in 35 minutes. She beat her goal and finished her 5K in 34:26!! Way to go, Madi!! Madi's running buddy was her best buddy's mom, who is also one of her coaches. After the race, she pulled Madi aside and presented her with a necklace and a note congratulating her on completing her 5K. That's just an example of how amazing their coaches are!

This was Delaney's first 5K experience. Delaney had a ton of fun with her buddies before the race, but she still was a bit nervous...and she doesn't like to run. To be honest, I was a little worried about her, and, boy, did she surprise me! Delaney ran with her Daddy as her running buddy, and she finished the race in 41:08!! More importantly, she crossed the finish line with a smile on her face! She finished before alot of girls who I thought would finish before her. I couldn't have been prouder of or happier for her!! Delaney's goal was to finish. She did way, way more than that in my opinion!! Mike said that after she finished, she went to find Madi for a hug. It's so cool that they could do this together!

Way to go, Fred Girls!!

Lunch And A Christmas Show

2011-12-07T12:08:00.001-05:00

The Wiatrowski Family

The Sudholz Family

The Frederick Family

On the Saturday after Thanksgiving, November 26, 2011, all of Mike's family met in Lancaster, PA, to enjoy lunch and a Christmas Show together...our Christmas gift from Grammy and Poppy! The lunch buffet at Bird In Hand Restaurant was delicious and gave everyone time to sit and chat and catch up. It was the first time all of our kiddos sat at the "cousin table", and Mike and I both sat at the "grown up table"!! What a milestone for us!

After lunch, we headed over to the American Music Theatre to see the 2011 Christmas Show! There really is nothing better to get you in the Christmas spirit than a show like that! The theatre even posted a special greeting/welcome to the Frederick Family on their big screens! Someone joked that it must have been because we spent the most money on tickets of any group there! :) There may or may not have been a nap or two taken during the show--how anyone could fall asleep with all of that loud noise is beyond me! And I'm not just talking about little ones. :)

The day was alot of fun, and the show was great! Thank you, Grammy & Poppy, for another wonderful Christmas "experience"!

A Sleepover With Logan

2011-12-03T09:18:00.001-05:00

On the sidewalk, looking up at the stars and identifying constellations!

The next morning...not sure how much sleep actually happened!

The Friday after Thanksgiving, November 25, 2011, we had planned a very special surprise for the big girls. Their cousin Logan, whom they adore, was coming for a sleepover! We didn't tell the kiddos until just before Mike put the big girls in the car to drive to meet his sister and pick up Logan. They were absolutely delighted and had the best time with Logan! The girls played and rode bikes all afternoon, and after dinner, we took a walk to see the Christmas lights throughout our neighborhood (there were alot already). When the time came to set the room up for the sleepover, even the little ones wanted to be included. Bodie ran to his room and came back with his pillow and blanket! Mike did have to go up to the room a couple of hours later just to get Sadie and Bodie to fall asleep, while the bigger kids went to another room to "hang out" for a bit. They claim that they were awake into the wee hours of the morning, but I don't believe them. I am the world's lightest sleeper, and I didn't hear a peep out of them after 11:00 pm. :)

The day following the sleepover, we were meeting all of Mike's family in Lancaster, PA, to enjoy lunch and a Christmas show together...so we returned Logan to her family there. The kiddos had such a blast with Logan and can't wait to have her back again!!

Hermie Is Back!

2011-12-01T08:25:00.001-05:00

December 1, 2011: Look who came back! Hermie, our Elf On The Shelf! The kiddos have been anticipating Hermie's arrival for days, wondering when he might show up and suspecting it might be December 1. Sure enough, Hermie slipped in sometime in the night, and the kiddos found him perched on top of a cabinet in the playroom. They tiptoed around him, because they know they're not supposed to touch him, and within minutes, many notes had been written to Hermie himself as well as Santa, to whom Hermie reports each night.

"Dear Santa, I am in all hopes that I made the good list, and already began to prepare for your arrival. Can't wait for Christmas morning! {heart} Madi Frederick"

"Hermie, Can you tell me if I'm on the good list. Write here __________________. Can you bring you girl friend. I hope she has blond hair, glassies & braces. Bye. Laney or Delaney Grace Frederick"

"Hrmmey am i on the gob list _________________. Will you stit on my rshr _________________. Will Santa give me presinis ______________________. {drawing of an elf} Love Sadie"

"Elf, I hope we're on the good list. Tell Santa to bring us presents. Love, Bodie"

And another from Bodie, transcribed by Madi...
"Dear Elves, I hope you bring good presents on Christmas Eve, but not too many because it will make our house explode. Just bring a few."

Turkey Trot 2011

2011-11-30T08:30:00.001-05:00

Sadie, pulling the turkey's feathers (a 4th grade boy we know)!

"What, I didn't pull your feathers!"

The youngest of the trotters chased the turkey! This was Sadie's group!

The morning after Thanksgiving, November 25, 2011, the girls ran in the local Turkey Trot!! The race is organized by their school's Wellness Committee, but it was also opened up to the community this year, and the option to run a 5K was also offered. Since the big girls will be running a practice 5K today and their real 5K this Saturday for Girls On The Run, they stuck with the 1K Fun Run this year. The girls had alot of fun, and all three crossed the finish line with smiles on their faces. Bodie opted out this year. Perhaps our silly Turkey Trot chasing Uncle Todd on Thanksgiving Day wore him out! :) Bodie did have the quote of the day, though:

"A Turkey Trot is kind of like tag, except you chase a turkey!"

Charlie Brown Thanksgiving Dinner

2011-11-29T08:44:00.001-05:00

November 23, 2011: Our annual Charlie Brown Thanksgiving Dinner! First, we watched the show (while I nearly burned the house down by burning a bag of popcorn in the microwave). Then we dined on the finest foods--popcorn, pretzels, jelly beans, toast and ice cream--by candlelight.

A funny story...Sadie came home from school one day recently telling me that the kids at school were laughing at her when she told them what she eats for Thanksgiving. They were working on a writing assignment in class, and while all the other kids were saying they eat turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, etc. for Thanksgiving, Sadie told them that she eats popcorn, pretzels, jelly beans, toast and ice cream for Thanksgiving! She just could not understand why they laughed at her, and she thought that her meal sounded much, much better than what they eat anyway! We did have our own quick little lesson on real vs. silly Thanksgiving meals and that the indians did not teach the pilgrims how to grow jelly beans! :)

9 1/2

2011-11-27T21:00:00.001-05:00

November 27, 2011: Delaney is 9 1/2!!

Thanksgiving Day 2011

2011-11-27T14:03:00.001-05:00

The girls had so much fun with their cousin Sophie!

Uncle Todd, pretending to be in a "fowl" mood! :)

Getting the trot started...

Todd & Kevin

Uncle Kevin took a turn as the turkey, too.

Granny and five of her grandbabies!

Mike took a turn with the turkey hat just before everyone headed home.

November 24, 2011: Our Thanksgiving Day was really, really good. For the second year, we hosted my family, and it is so nice to have everyone here. It is also so nice to not be the ones traveling. :) We half-prepared and half-bought the meal, which left us with more time to just enjoy hanging out. The highlight of the day was our little "Turkey Trot" around the neighborhood. It was my sister-in-law Kami's idea, so I recruited her hubby, my brother Todd, to be the turkey! I found the funniest turkey hat, and Uncle Todd was a very good sport to wear it and let the kiddos "chase the turkey"! My stomach muscles still hurt from laughing! :) The kiddos chased him (a couple lapped him) around the block 5 times, the equivalent of a mile. A special request by a cute little 6-year-old came in for Uncle Kevin to wear the turkey hat for a 6th lap around the block, and he happily obliged. I'm fairly certain that a new tradition was born! We also began a new tradition of having the kiddos sign and draw on a cloth tablecloth, which we hope to continue year after year! Other than our silly Turkey Trot, we just hung out and visited and watched football, and the kiddos played and played. It was a fun, relaxing day, and I was so thankful to spend it with my family.

(We missed you, Joy, Sage & Brie...they were in Florida visiting Joy's family.)

Bike Bash

2011-11-17T15:04:00.001-05:00

Ready...set...race!

Madi approaching the finish line!

Delaney approaching the finish line!

Madi's award!

Two Saturdays ago, November 5, 2011, Madison and Delaney participated in our school's very first Bike Bash. It was held at our township park, organized by the school's head gym teacher, and there were many "stations" set up with fun activities at each. Some of the stations were Slow Race, Musical Bikes, Relay Race with bike parts, Tire Toss, Obstacle Course, and there was a Timed Race where the kiddos "raced" in pairs. Madison and Delaney both did a great job. They were good sports, too, and were very patient with younger bikers when they could have blown right past those little guys to get faster times on the Timed Race. And in the end, Madi won a medal and t-shirt for having the fastest time in the 6th Grade (we left the event before the awards were presented). The Bike Bash was alot of fun. Good job, Fred Girls!

4 1/2

2011-11-15T19:07:00.001-05:00

November 15, 2011: Bodie is 4 1/2!!

Mama: "Bodie, you're 4 1/2 today!"

Bodie: "Yep, just like I was 6 1/2 last year!"

First Snow

2011-11-12T14:00:00.001-05:00

The view out back mid-morning...no soccer could be played that Saturday morning!

Because most of the trees still had their leaves, even just an inch of snow began pulling the trees down. Mike and our neighbors spent a good part of the day shaking snow out of trees.

It was great snowman-making snow, and the girls made a huge snowman that was taller than Madi! Sadie was devastated when a certain little brother "helped" that snowman fall over right about the time I came out with my camera.

Sadie is trying to put on a brave face. :)

This was the scene by evening.

Our first snow of the year arrived, unbelievably, on October 29, 2011...before Halloween!! There is just something fundamentally wrong with having to bring your pumpkins in to thaw before you can carve them! Thankfully, all of the kiddos' boots from last year still fit, and they had a blast during the first snow of the year. Mama, from inside the house, grumbled about it all day long! :) I think we ended up with 6 or 7 inches of snow. We were so, so lucky, though. Our neighborhood was the only one for miles that didn't lose power. The snow was so heavy in the trees that trees were snapped off everywhere, closing roads and knocking out power. The girls even had a 2-hour delay on Monday morning because many roads were still closed and some of the schools in the district remained without power! One of Bodie's teachers lost power for over a week! I've never seen anything like it in October, and I hope to never see it again!

First Choir Performances

2011-11-12T13:20:00.001-05:00

The kiddos had their first choir performances of the new year during the month of October. Because we have at least one kiddo in each of the three choirs, we have at least one singing three out of every four weeks per month during the school year. Sometimes they sing in the sanctuary for the contemporary services; other times they sing in the chapel for the traditional service.

Sadie moved up to the 1st-3rd grade choir, God's Little Children. They first sang on October 16, 2011.

(Sadie is wearing the pink dress, third from the right in the front row.)

Delaney moved up to the 4th-6th grade choir, God's Children. This is the choir I help with, and Madi just began her final year in this choir. They first sang on October 23, 2011.

Bodie is still singing with the same 3 yr old-kindergarten choir, the Cherubs. They first sang on October 30, 2011.

After Madi's October 23rd performance, she raced off to a bake sale her 6th grade Sunday School class planned and hosted to raise money to buy mosquito "bednets" for those in need in Africa. They raised $350, which was doubled by a donor, and they are hoping to have that amount doubled by an international bednets foundation!

Our kiddos are pretty lucky to go to a church where they are able to have alot of fun and do alot of good things for others!

Halloween Parades 2011

2011-11-04T08:44:00.000-04:00

October 28, 2011: The Halloween Parade at the girls' school!

Madi arriving at the field for the parade...totally ignores mom!

Didn't get to see Delaney arriving at the field, but she hid from me behind her friend during the parade...mom, once again, totally ignored! Yes, I was told that I embarrass her. UGH, using her own words!

Sadie, on the other hand, was very happy to see me...Bodie and our friend Alison, too! Thank goodness someone was happy to see us! :)

Here comes Madi's class...

...this smile and wave was for Bodie and Alison!

This is the only glimpse I got of Delaney when she wasn't hiding behind her friend...only then because she didn't know I was there.

October 31, 2011: Bodie's Preschool Halloween Parade!

Getting ready for the parade...

The parade had to be held inside, because there was about a half of a foot of snow still on the ground!

Bodie's entire class...

Masked men sizing each other up...this makes me laugh!

The adorable little candy corn witch to the left of Bodie is Bodie's school "girlfriend" (as opposed to his church girlfriend!). She is the cutest little red-haired, Irish girl ever!

Singing a few Halloween songs...

Why waste time with manners?

I believe this is my last Halloween update. Halloween is a busy time for us!

The girls had their school Halloween Parade on Friday, October 28, 2011. Bodie and our friend Alison went to the parade with me, and it was a beautiful, chilly fall afternoon. Madison and Delaney ignored me, but my sweet little Sadie couldn't have been happier to see me. Boy, was she a cute Snow Princess!

Bodie then had his preschool Halloween Parade and party on Monday, October 31, 2011. He was one handsome little Captain America! The girls and Mike actually got to see the parade, because they had a two-hour delay from school because of the snow--tons of trees down across roads and wide-spread power outages. I am one of Bodie's class moms, so I sprinted down to the classroom after the parade itself (while a Halloween book was being read to the kids) to set up for the party...the very last Fred preschool Halloween Party ever! Bodie had a spooky good time!

Fred Jack-Os 2011

2011-11-03T12:27:00.000-04:00

Madi's Jack-O...glittered...I forgot to get a photo before she began decorating.

Here it is glowing...

Delaney's panda bear Jack-O...so creative...

Sadie's Jack-O...the happiest ever!

Bodie's Jack-O...with a crooked smile just like Bodie...

The Fred Jack-Os 2011 are some of my favorite ever! The kiddos are so creative and design their Jack-Os from start to finish. The only thing I did for them was carve out the shapes (that they drew) for Delaney, Sadie & Bodie...Madi carved her own for the first time (using one of those little mini cutters from carving kits--very safe). I should mention that they carved and decorated their pumpkins last Saturday, October 29, 2011, while snowed in!! That's just not right...but at least we had a fun project to do on a snowy day! :)

Trick-or-Treating 2011

2011-11-02T10:14:00.003-04:00

Madi & her buddies!

Bodie was so happy to see his buddy who lives next door before we went out!

Here we go...

Delaney & her buddies!

Sadie & her "boyfriend"...he tells everyone he's going to marry Sadie...and she agrees!

Sadie & her buddies!

Bodie's buddy "Woody" had the coolest smoke bubbles I've ever seen!! So cool!

Bodie, charming high school girls!

October 31, 2011: This year's trick-or-treating was all about buddies! We have entered a whole new era with Madi...she trick-or-treated with her buddies without a parent! I'm still not terribly okay with it, 24 hours later, but we let her go, and she did beautifully and had the best time with her friends! I was sad, though, to not be able to watch her trick-or-treat. We met up with some of Delaney & Sadie's best buddies (and boyfriend) and trick-or-treated with them. The girls had a great time! And how crazy is it that they trick-or-treated with several inches of snow still on the ground?! Sadie's Snow Princess costume was the most appropriate costume of the night!

Bodie got to see his buddy before we left, and we saw a few others along the way, but he didn't really have time for buddies anyway. He ran from house to house, yelling, "Let's go to the next house!" as he ran down each set of stairs. Bodie ran out of steam after about an hour, because there is no way a 4-year-old could have kept the same pace that he set during the first hour! So I took Bodie home, and he passed out candy to the rest of the trick-or-treaters, very generous servings I should add. His adorable little personality charmed everyone, including a group of high school girls who thought he was the cutest thing ever...and he is!

The candy total this year was...

24.4 lbs!!

Not bad considering Bodie only lasted an hour! So, the kiddos each picked out 30 safe (nut-free), braces-friendly pieces of candy to keep, and we will pay them off for the rest...$1 per pound, divided by 4 kiddos = $6.10 each...and the rest of those pounds of candy are gone! The non-chocolate candies will be donated to Bodie's school to be packed in Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes, and the chocolate candies will be donated to someone who has more willpower than me!

Happy Halloween 2011

2011-11-01T21:54:00.000-04:00

Happy Belated Halloween from our Bedhead, Pajama Princess, Captain America, Snow Princess...

...and our Vampire ~~Bunny~~ Bat! :)

Painting Pumpkins

2011-10-29T07:48:00.000-04:00

Madi's pumpkin

Delaney's pumpkin

Sadie's pumpkin

Bodie's pumpkin

Two weeks ago on October 15, 2011, a very good friend of ours (who happens to have been Madi's 3rd grade teacher and Delaney's 3rd grade math teacher) and her adorable girls came over to play and paint pumpkins! It was sort of like a mini-version of the pumpkin painting parties we used to have every year (but had to stop because they just got too big!), and it was so much fun! The kiddos created masterpieces with paint and feathers and pom-poms and jewels and stickers. We hung our pumpkin bean bag toss game for outside play, ate pumpkin-shaped cookies, and handed out goodie bags with pumpkin necklaces, bubbles, stickers, and erasers (all left over from our parties)! It was a much-needed, festive, fun time for all!!

Captain America

2011-10-28T17:04:00.002-04:00

For a somewhat crafty lady, I'm not very creative when it comes to Halloween costumes, and I have never, ever attempted to make one for any of our kiddos. So when Bodie spotted a Captain America mask and shield in the toy section of a local chain store that we frequent much too much, he decided that he wanted to be Captain America for Halloween. A few weeks later when the costumes were put out, sure enough, there was a Captain America costume...but it was that really yucky polyester material that feels just awful on your skin with fake muscles and costs way too much and never fits right. I just couldn't spend that much money on it to have it worn only one day. Instead Bodie is going to wear navy "super-sweats" with this shirt that I made for him! The t-shirt cost less than $5 and is big enough that he can wear his navy fleece jacket underneath if necessary. The best part is that he will be able to wear the t-shirt long after Halloween is over! I hope my little superhero will love his partially homemade costume as much as his practical mama does!

I'm in love with Madison and Delaney's practical costumes, too: pajamas!! Delaney started the trend last year, and they are both wearing pajamas this year along with robes and slippers. Several of their buddies were sporting pajamas in the school Halloween parade this afternoon, too!

Sadie is going to be a snow princess this year--a normal store-bought costume, and she is adorable in it! A perfect pick for her!

Sadie Lady

2011-10-22T07:25:00.000-04:00

October 22, 2011: Sadie is one funny little lady! A friend of ours who also has a 1st grader invited Sadie and several other school buddies over to their house last Sunday to decorate Halloween cookies...and eat them, of course. Sadie was instrumental in the planning of this party--I do believe she even suggested the idea to the mom who was nice enough to oblige. The evening after the party, I received an email from that mom, along with several photos of Sadie with a black ring all the way around her mouth from eating so much black decorating sugar, and in it she wrote: "Sadie has a ton of personality wrapped up in that little body!" That is the perfect description of Sadie! A ton of personality wrapped up in a little body!

Sadie has alot going on in her little life. This week alone, she scored her first two goals of the season in soccer, she had her first choir performance with her new 1st through 3rd grade church choir, she celebrated her half-birthday (and lobbied hard for a party!), helped her daddy with the first All Pro Dad breakfast of the school year, and stayed after school for the first time ever for a Kids Yoga class! She also has lots of big kid homework to do every night and is reading like a champ! All that and she still takes the time to be silly!!

Sadie has been so funny about this whole yoga thing. About a month ago, our school had a Fit Fest, hosting lots of local vendors and organizations that promote "wellness" (they asked Mike to set up a booth for All Pro Dad). A lady did a yoga demonstration and had the kiddos participate and then sign up if they were interested in doing an after-school yoga class. Sadie was ready to go to her class that night. She...drove...me...crazy asking when he class would start. Finally, an email came about registration, and this past Monday was her first class. She was almost as excited to stay after school (like her big sisters) as she was about the yoga class. She was so stinkin' cute getting on the school bus with her yoga mat and a great big smile! I must say it was a strange feeling to be responsible for only one kiddo until 4:15 in the afternoon! When I picked Sadie up from school, she couldn't wait to show me her yoga moves...so excited, in fact, that she laid herself right down on the sidewalk! For two days, every time I turned around Sadie was doing another move. And she insists that she will never again sit criss-cross applesauce...only yoga-style sitting from now on! :)

I am no less amazed by the learning-to-read process the third time around than I was with Madison and Delaney. It is fascinating, and I can't believe we have a third reader in the house. During the fall of kindergarten (a year ago), she was reading sight words to me everyday and little rhymes that we would work with all week long for her homework, but she hadn't really begun to read books at all. In fact, she was resistant to even try. Right after Christmas, one day she just sat down and read an entire Dr. Seuss book with very little help...the entire thing...and she would only read to Madi. Mike and I could be nowhere near. She was so funny about it. We would hide around the corner and listen to her read, amazed! Finally, she began to read to me...eventually Mike...and anyone else who would listen. One of my favorite things in the world is to find her and Bodie snuggled up on the sofa together under a blanket with Sadie reading to him. Sadie is reading so much now, and she can pick up just about anything and at least try to read it. She uses so much expression when she reads and puts emphasis where emphasis should be. Sometimes she sings the words, like she's in a musical. Other times she gives the character an accent. She's hysterical, and it's alot of fun to listen to her read! Likewise, when she began kindergarten last year, she could write only a few words without asking me how to spell a word and was quickly introduced to "Kid Writing" (writing the sounds that you hear, whether they spell the word correctly or not). I was a Kid Writing helper in Sadie's classroom all year long, and it was amazing to see how she and her classmates went from very slowly coming up with sounds/letters they were hearing at the beginning of the year to writing two sentence descriptions of their pictures by the end of the year! It's an amazing process to watch. This year, Sadie is reading and writing and doing math homework and spelling (word study) homework, and she has had numerous tests already, and now she's even staying after school. I'm really not a big fan of all this growing up!

Sadie is so, so silly. The other day, she made up her own little song, sung to the tune of "Peer Gynt" by Edvard Grieg for anyone who might know classical music (the tune of "We're off to save the kite parade..." for those who watch "Little Einsteins" with their kiddos!). Here is her song:

"I'm a little snuggie poo,

snuggie poo, snuggie poo.

I'm a little snuggie poo,

a snuggie buggie poo!"

....followed by "I like to make up my own songs!" :)

That girl is something! Sadie Lady brings alot of fun and silliness (and sometimes sass) into our lives! I'm so glad she's ours!

Ghosts & Goblins

2011-10-21T11:14:00.000-04:00

There has been some serious, scary haunting going on around our house! The ghosts and goblins just won't leave us alone!

All Pro Dad: October 2011

2011-10-20T07:41:00.000-04:00

There were still more dads and kiddos out of the picture...

October 19, 2011: Mike hosted the school year's first All Pro Dad breakfast, and we kicked it off with a huge crowd! There were at least 125 dads and kiddos in attendance, which is a phenomenal turn-out for a yucky, rainy morning at 7:00 am!! There were so many new families--about half of those who rsvp'd had never previously attended. The topic of discussion was "Caring For Others". Dads answered the following questions for their kiddos: "The nicest thing someone ever did for me was_____________." and "Someone who could use our help is _______________. I say that because________________." The kiddos answered similar questions for their dads: "The nicest thing someone ever did for me was______________." and "One way we could help that person is by________________." Mike did a demonstration of "putting others first" by asking the boys to throw away the trash of a girl sitting nearby, followed by the girls doing the same. It was a very, very fun demonstration! Mike also showed an inspiring video about NFL quarterback Tim Tebow "caring for others". The dads and kiddos have homework to now go out together and help someone!

6 1/2

2011-10-19T17:48:00.003-04:00

October 18, 2011: Sadie is 6 1/2!!

Safety Patrol

2011-10-15T12:00:00.000-04:00

The world is a little bit safer now...

Cutest Pumpkin Ever

2011-10-14T06:08:00.002-04:00

We have the nicest young couple who live down the street from us. When the kiddos painted happy rocks and left them for friends to find this summer, Bodie left one on this couple's mailbox. They guessed who painted their little rock and suggested that the little artist might make them one that looks like a pumpkin for Halloween. So he did. And it's so cute I didn't want Bodie to give it away. But he did, because he did paint it especially for them, and this adorable "pumpkin" is proudly displayed on the front steps of our neighbors' house. Isn't it the cutest pumpkin ever?! :)

We Like To Boo. Do You?

2011-10-13T12:44:00.000-04:00

In this year's "boo bags"...a light-up pumpkin, glow sticks, halloween oreos, and a foam craft kit. And the absolute best part is sneaking around the neighborhood with 4 giddy kiddos and flashlights! We laughed about how last year when we were sneaking around, a policeman drove past us! And this year, the girls thought they should throw themselves down on the ground every time a car approached! So funny!

40 Years

2011-10-12T21:29:00.000-04:00

The 4 best birthday gifts in the whole world...

October 12, 2011: Today is my 40th birthday! I don't feel old, but it certainly does sound old! Despite a rainy, dreary day, it has been a good one. I heard from so many family members and friends today that I spent most of my birthday on the phone and computer, reading and listening to and returning calls and emails and texts. I received birthday serenades on the answering machine; unexpected, generous gifts from family and friends; and my sweet little family took me out to dinner (anytime I don't have to cook is a celebration in itself!) and showered me with love, cake, and a new bike! Mike even tried to have a little surprise party for me, but I managed to mess up his plan. I do feel very loved today. :)

Two funny things...

My first birthday wishes came from Mike's dad...two days ago! He said he wanted to call ahead of time in case he forgot on the real day! :)

Here is my text exchange with my brother Kevin today...

Kevin: Hi cheryl, happy 40...Good grief thats a lot of candles. ;-)

Me: thanks i think

Kevin: Mom told me to say that

Thank you to everyone for all the birthday wishes and gifts today!! I am one lucky, blessed 40-year-old to have such loving family and friends!

Pumpkin Patch 2011

2011-10-11T12:25:00.001-04:00

The whole crew in the pumpkin patch!

On the hayride...poor Bodie, that bright, sunny day is just a little too bright for his dilated eye!

My friend Wendy and her girls!

This past Saturday, October 8, 2011, was one of the prettiest fall days ever, and we were lucky enough to spend most of the afternoon at Milky Way Farm. After being rained out the weekend before, we met my friend Wendy (who I went to high school with down in Virginia and lives nearby) and her girls for hayriding, pumpkin picking, corn maze adventuring, animal feeding and ice cream eating at the creamery! We were there for hours. We made the most of our time with our friends and a beautiful fall day at the pumpkin patch!

We loved Milky Way so much that we went back the next day at 1:00 pm and 3:30 pm. I'm not kidding...both Sadie and Bodie had birthday parties to attend Sunday afternoon. And the weather was a perfect repeat of the day before!

Before the fall is history, Bodie will go back one more time for his school field trip! We do enjoy this beautiful local farm! Especially their ice cream! :)

Last Weekend

2011-10-07T14:11:00.001-04:00

For those of you wondering why I haven't been blogging very much...we've been very busy...busy with back-to-school stuff, busy with basement flood stuff, busy with activities stuff...you name it, with 4 kiddos, we're busy with it! I am also making a conscious effort to take a few less photos. I know, I've lost my marbles, but I'm overwhelmed by the number of photos I take every month, and I just don't have the time to edit, order and scrapbook all the photos I take anymore! The rain helped me take a few less photos in September--it has rained so stinkin' much that I just haven't been able to tote my camera around like usual. Guess the rain has been good for something. Certainly not our basement or our sanity!

I figure I should report on last weekend (it was a fun one!) before we get to another one!

Last weekend was filled with games. All of the kiddos in our school district were given a free ticket to the high school football game Friday night. I love that they do this, and the kiddos love to go. It was a cool fall evening, and as you can see, there was a ton of excitement about going! There was, however, a good chance of rain, so I left the camera at home. It never rained, and the kiddos had a blast! Mike and I were exhausted by the end of the 3rd quarter from keeping up with Sadie and Bodie and trying to keep track of the big girls by walkie-talkie who were running around with their friends. Yes, we are those parents who refuse to give in to the whole cell phone thing. I do believe Madison is now the only one of her friends without a cell phone. She's 11...come on!

After yet another game, Sadie's soccer, early Saturday afternoon, Mike and I geared up to head downtown to the Phillies Playoff game!! We were so lucky to have tickets, and Mike even made arrangements with his mom to watch the kiddos before he told me about the game. A date with my cute hubby is always fun...but a playoff game...it was a blast! Again, rain was threatening, so we opted for a few photos in our matching Phillies gear before we left instead of taking the camera. And I should also say how cool it is that I can now ask Miss Madison to take a photo of Mike and I!!

The photos below were taken with Mike's phone. Not bad.

I have to say, the atmosphere at a Phillies playoff game is unbelievable. I've been to alot of games (mostly football) in my life, including the Super Bowl, but never have I seen such team spirit and amazing fans! It was literally a sea of red! There wasn't a single person in that stadium without some kind of Phillies gear on! Mike and I had such a fun time and stayed until the last pitch was thrown and a video of Harry Kalas singing "High Hopes" was played on the jumbo screen. If there had been stadium cups to stay and pick up, we would have, even in the rain (that's a joke for Grammy!). We didn't even mind the nosebleed seats (4 rows from the top!) or the fact that we were sucking wind by the time we walked all the way up to them...or sitting in traffic after the game...it was that fun!!

And while we were at the game, our kiddos were taking part in a super-cool event at our church. Grammy was nice (and brave!) enough to take them all to Family Mission Night where they filled shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child. The boxes they filled and decorated will be sent to needy children all over the world. I would not have gone to the playoff game if it meant that the kiddos wouldn't have been able to participate in this event...so THANK YOU, GRAMMY, for being willing to take them!

11 1/2

2011-09-28T14:36:00.000-04:00

September 27, 2011: Madi is 11 1/2!!

New Seasons: Fall 2011

2011-09-25T16:30:00.000-04:00

New seasons for Fall 2011 are beginning.

Sadie is playing soccer this fall. So far, it has rained quite a bit, and her practices/games have been quite chilly. Downright cold at times. But this little cutie isn't complaining. She already knew three of the girls on her team, and being the little social butterfly that she is, that makes going to soccer alot of fun! She actually does really well at the game itself--she has good instinct, just needs to get that tiny little body to catch up. :) Sadie is also doing church choir and piano lessons (though we just found out Friday that our piano teacher is leaving us in two weeks--we're so bummed!) this fall.

Girls On The Run begins tomorrow, and Delaney is excited to finally be old enough to give it a try this fall. She has lots of friends who are doing it as well, and she's excited to be able to stay after school. We'll see how the actual running goes. She did voluntarily run this summer to get ready for the season. :) Delaney is also doing church choir and piano lessons. Being in 4th grade opens up a whole new world of activities at school for Delaney, too. She is going to try K-Kids (a service organization--they do community service projects as well as special projects around school, such as raising the flag and morning announcements), she has joined the chorus, and in January she will join the Art Club. All of these activities meet during recess time.

Madison is also doing Girls On The Run for the 3rd time. She has lots of buddies doing it with her, and that girl could run all day long. She, too, did mile-runs for fun this summer just to stay in shape and be ready for the season. Madi is also going to try a 4-week intramural co-ed soccer session run by her gym teacher after school for 5th and 6th graders. With GOTR on Mondays and Wednesdays, and soccer on Tuesdays and Thursdays, Madi will stay after school four days a week! She is also doing church choir and piano lessons. Madi has also joined chorus at school, will begin Art Club in January, and has applied to be a member of the Safety Patrol.

Bodie is along for the ride most of the time, but he does join his sisters on Sunday evenings for church choir. The girls' soccer league just opened up a class for kiddos Bodie's age, so we're considering it. Just not sure Bodie's ready for anything quite so organized. :)

Back-To-School Bash

2011-09-12T08:40:00.001-04:00

Friday night, September 9, 2011, was the Back-To-School Bash at the girls' school. At several events throughout the year, our PTA hires the coolest DJ to play music and entertain the kiddos, and this was one of those events. This DJ is so, so good at his job. He plays awesome (appropriate!) music and gets up and dances with the kids and teaches them the steps and hand motions for songs like Electric Slide and the Chicken Dance and the Macarena (and other similar songs). In our family, there is nobody who likes to boogie-woogie more than Sadie Love, and she certainly "cut a rug" Friday night. That little girl could dance all night long! And I promise you have never seen anyone concentrate harder than she does to learn the dances and hand motions! After the Bash ended and we were walking past the DJ's table on the way to our car, Sadie said to me, "I really like his music!" I suggested that she go tell him and say thank you to him...and she literally ran over to his table, tapped him on the arm and said, "Thank you for the music!" She was so adorable, and he was so appreciative. It was so fun to watch Sadie shaking her groove thing and even funner to watch her absolutely make someone's day!

Rehoboth Beach 2011

2011-09-09T12:57:00.002-04:00

Day 1

My favorite photo from the entire week...

Day 2

Madison and Delaney's first time out in the ocean together!

A rare family photo...a nice man on the beach stopped to ask if he could take it. :)

Day 3

Candy Kitchen!

Day 4

Best activity ever for Bodie...he spent hours throwing a soccer ball into approaching waves and then chasing the ball when it came back to him. Hoping Santa will bring us a wave machine for our backyard!

Twins Danielle and Olivia whom the girls met last year!

Mesmerized by the rides at Funland while they waited for Daddy to buy tickets...

Back to Funland after a sunset photo break...

Day 5

Hair wraps...Sadie's first ever!

Day 6

Jungle Jim's Water Park

A visit with Rehoboth second-cousins...all the cousins of this generation with the last name Frederick are pictured!

August 20-25, 2011: Our annual trip to Rehoboth Beach, DE! We had to go a week earlier than usual, because our school district decided to send the kiddos back to school before Labor Day instead of after. It is still a great week to be at the beach--smaller crowds than during mid-summer and lower rental rates. And we love having our vacation to look forward to at the end of our summer! Unfortunately, vacationing on the east coast at the end of summer means there is always the chance of a hurricane brewing in the ocean. The last few years, hurricanes have created such huge, choppy waves that the kiddos couldn't even play in the water. Even though Hurricane Irene was churning and did force us into a mandatory evacuation by week's end, the surf was not rough, and the kiddos were able to play and ride waves in the ocean for the first time! The big girls had a blast in the water this year, and Sadie did, too, as long as Daddy was holding her. Bodie loved playing along the edge of the water but wasn't very interested in going all the way in.

As mentioned, we did have to evacuate Rehoboth on Friday morning. The evacuation was actually announced on Thursday night, but we let the kiddos get a good night's sleep before hitting the road. The other excitement of the week was the Virginia earthquake that was felt in Rehoboth, too. The consensus was that people who were sitting either in chairs or in the sand itself felt the quake, but those who were standing did not. Neither Mike (in the water with the girls) nor myself (I was standing) felt it, but the people all around us who were sitting did. The girls claim there was an especially big wave shortly afterward, but we're not sure. By 5:00 pm, one of the gift shops had printed up t-shirts that said, "I survived the 2011 Rehoboth Quake". So funny! As soon as we were off the beach, we contacted a couple of our loved ones in Virginia to make sure everyone was okay, including Grand Betty who lives only about 20 miles from the epicenter of the earthquake. She was fine and joked that her fish had her own personal tsunami. :) Granny seemed to have felt the quake almost as strongly from about two hours away.

Among the kiddos' favorite memories from our 2011 vacation are...

seeing their second-cousins

Jungle Jim's Water Park

being able to go in the ocean--learning to ride waves, get in and out

hair wraps

Candy Kitchen & ice cream

jumping waves with Daddy

playing "mermaids" in the sand with cousin Lina

playing "construction" on the beach

getting a pet hermit crab named Zebra

Funland

Mentos & Diet Coke eruption

"ocean soccer"

Even though we had to leave a day early (for the third year in a row), it was worth every minute that we were there!!

Bodie's First Day of Preschool 4s

2011-09-08T13:24:00.000-04:00

Something about Bodie peeking over his glasses at me just melts my heart!

The majority of the photos, however, look a little something like this...classic Bodie!

Love the underbite...

Big sister insisted on a photo with her little brother who isn't going to be "little" much longer!

Anxious to get to school...

Wonderful teacher #1...Miss Carol.

Wonderful teacher #2...Miss Jan.

Yesterday, September 7, 2011, was Bodie's first day of Preschool 4s! In the days leading up to the first day, Bodie wasn't 100% sure he was ready to go back to school, but on the big morning, he was excited and anxious to get there wearing his new Captain America backpack and his new sneakers that he insists are Skechers but aren't. :) The first day was basically a "playdate" for about an hour, and parents had to stay with them. Bodie loved exploring his new classroom and said his favorite part was the pretend kitchen area. We did a scavenger hunt together, and Bodie caught up with friends from last year and made some new ones. About half of the kiddos his class were either in his class last year or we already knew. We also already knew Bodie's teachers, because Sadie had them when she was in Preschool 4s. We love them and know that Bodie is in good hands when he's at school.

Today was Bodie's first day by himself, and he was so anxious to get there again. There was zero separation anxiety from me--he literally ran into that classroom and didn't look back. I got a great report from his teacher. And the report from Bodie went a little something like this...loved "playtime in the big room", which was indoor recess...and his friend Kemma brought his favorite snack ever, cheese sandwiches. I should add that Kemma is Bodie's imaginary friend who is always doing really nice things for others. She's also to blame whenever Bodie gets himself into trouble. It's good to have a friend who's there for you during both your ups and downs. :)

Hard to believe this is the very last "first day of preschool" ever for the Freds...next year our handsome little man will start kindergarten!

Summer List 2011: Craft Projects

2011-09-02T14:18:00.001-04:00

Swaddle Softies...the kiddos sewed these adorable dolls (mom helped with the little ones) that were taken to South Africa by a friend from our church! She said she has quite a story to tell our kiddos about the little girl who received them. :)

Friendship Lockets...made out of hinges, scrapbook paper, tiny photos, jewels, and ribbon. The kiddos made one for themselves and at least one for a friend (Christmas gifts).

Tie-Dye T-Shirts...always a favorite summer activity!

Magnetic Tin Can Planter...another favorite...the kiddos were sooooo excited to leave these on the mailboxes of four of our neighbors! They painted recycled tin cans, attached magnets, planted flowers in the cans, and left them on mailboxes for our neighbors to find when they checked for mail. :)

Sidewalk Chalk...made with plaster of paris, tempera paint powder, and water in toilet paper

rolls. The chalk is so big, they last forever! See the big pink ones compared to the smaller ones around them??

Cornstarch Sidewalk Paint...cornstarch, food coloring, and water!

"Best of My Days" books...little handmade books in which to write your favorite thing about each day. The kiddos used recycled cereal/cracker boxes for the front and back covers, and we printed the monthly pages on the computer. The kiddos want to give one to each of their teachers for Christmas as well as their church teachers and choir directors.

"Something Fishy" Stones...stones painted and decorated to look like fish.

These are Delaney's.

These are Sadie's.

Garden Stone...we only made one this year, and everyone in the family contributed. Our gardens just aren't big enough for one per child every summer!

Paper Circle Owls...

Duct Tape stuff...this is a journal Madi made. They also made bracelets and other crafts as well.

Summer Journals...fabric attached to composition notebooks with iron-on fusible webbing. We also made these for their new teachers with a pen attached.

Finally, this was actually a craft for mom...Treasure Stones. I wrapped small trinkets (charms, little keychains, etc.) in tissue paper and then in aluminum foil. I then dipped them in plaster of paris. They begin to harden almost immediately into small "treasure stones". After they dried (on wax paper), I painted a different color for each kiddo. I hid them in the yard, and told each kiddo to search only for his/her color. After they each found their three stones, they broke them open by throwing them on the ground! Really fun!

One of the things on our Summer List this year was "Kind things for others every day". We really wanted the kiddos to think every single day about something kind that they could specifically do for someone else. They could choose to do an extra chore to help our family, they could help someone in some other way, they could write a note or draw a picture for someone, they could make something for someone...you get the idea. Many of their craft/art projects were their "kind things". :)

I think we had a pretty fun summer! :)

Summer List 2011: Art Lessons/Projects

2011-09-01T14:16:00.000-04:00

Happy Rocks...left on doorsteps and mailboxes of friends all over the neighborhood! Each of the kiddos painted smiley faces on 6 rocks.

Mixed-Media Collage...different papers, paints, markers...lots of different materials. This one is Madi's.

Colorwheel Bouquet...one of the happiest art projects ever...might have to frame all 4!

This is Madi's. She decided to submit this for the school's PTA Reflections contest this year. The theme is "diversity means..."

Delaney's...

Sadie's...

Bodie's...

"Wash Your Hands" paintings for our bathrooms. We placed letter stickers on the canvases, painted over top of them, and then peeled them off to reveal "Wash Your Hands".

Wind-Up Toy painting...this was a project for Sadie and Bodie using wind-up toys that would "walk" (dinosaur) or "flip" (bunny) with paint on their feet. Sadie & Bodie giggled through the whole project!

"Keep Cool And Have A Popsicle" painting...same idea as the "Wash Your Hands" project...stickers on canvas, paint, peel stickers off to reveal message. The only difference is that this was only one canvas that all 4 kiddos worked on together. Bodie painted first...and on down to Madi painting last.

Inspirational Quote painting...pick any phrase/quote/rule, write it, and doodle around it. This is Sadie's.

Map Of My Heart...we do these every summer. They are a favorite...a heart filled with the things they love! (Madi hasn't finished painting her's yet. She ran out of time after writing about 200 things inside her heart!)

This is Delaney's.

This is Sadie's. Can you tell that her "boyfriend's" name is Trey?!

This is Bodie's.

Lady Liberty...one of my favorite projects of the summer! Love, love, love the final results!! I think I may have posted these earlier in the summer, but they're worth taking another peek at!

This is Madi's.

This is Delaney's.

This is Sadie's.

Lady Liberty is holding an ice cream cone!

This is Bodie's.

Gotta love her crown!

Glue-Resist Dinosaurs...traced a skeleton, went over it with glue. After glue dried, the kiddos watercolored over it to reveal a "fossil".

Sadie's fossil turned out the best.

Grid Painting...draw a simple picture, then draw a grid over it. Paint each square in the grid individually, leaving white space near the lines. Very cool effect. This concept was a bit much for Sadie and Bodie, but I loved the way Madi and Delaney's turned out.

Venetian Architecture lesson...only Madi and Laney did this one. Draw a line dividing the paper in half, draw buildings. Then draw their mirror image "in water". For example, where there were straight lines in the original buildings, draw them wavy "in water". Color original buildings bright colors, more muted "in water". They then watercolor painted the sky above the buildings and the entire "in water" image.

100-year-old portraits...I saw this idea at Bodie's preschool last year and couldn't resist trying it. The kiddos were told to draw on a circle what they think their face will look like when they are 100 years old...then crinkle the paper up to create "wrinkles". Glue face to another paper and then draw the rest of their head, body, etc. This is Bodie's...so cute!

Watercolor Butterfly Collage...the kiddos each painted an entire sheet of watercolor paper...they were instructed not to leave any white on the paper. After the paintings dried, they cut out butterflies (because our butterfly-shaped paper punch got broken), bent their "wings", and the big girls hot-glued them to a pre-painted canvas (I did it ahead of time). It is even cooler in person than it is in the picture!

Here is what Delaney's painting looked like before it was cut into butterflies...

...and here is the butterfly collage...

Finally, here is the beginning of the mosaic flowerpot that still is not finished. We may still be working on it next summer...

Summer List 2011 Craft Projects still to come...

First Day of School 2011

2011-08-31T09:44:00.000-04:00

"Silly faces" pictures are always my favorite!

New backpacks...last year's new ones fell apart in about a month, so we went back to the old ones. Let's hope these hold up a little better!

Madi...6th Grade!!

(our 6th grade is still in the elementary school, thank goodness!)

Delaney...4th Grade!!

Sadie...1st Grade!!

Despite Hurricane Irene's attempt at delaying the first day of school, the girls did start school on Monday, August 29, 2011. It's a really good thing when all of your kiddos are thrilled to go back to school and thrilled with their teachers! When I told them that school was almost cancelled for the first day but that they were going after all, Delaney said, "Whew, thank goodness!"

So, Madi began 6th grade. It's so hard to believe we have a 6th grader! She has a male teacher who she really likes and who seems to have a great sense of humor. I have laughed out loud at several of his comments that Madi has shared from her first two days of school. We have a new principal this year, and she has shaken things up a bit. Instead of putting all 4 girls in her grade with peanut allergies in the same classroom (including her best buddy), they have all been split up. Guess it will be a good year to take them out of their comfort zone before middle school. I think Madi's going to have a great year, and she's off to a great start!

Delaney began 4th grade. This was a big jump from 3rd grade for Madi, and we are planning for it to be for Delaney, too. The expectations just skyrocket. Delaney loves that her classroom is downstairs for the first time. Just like last year, though, she will have a long-term sub for much of the year, because her teacher just had her first baby on the first day of school. Delaney loves her sub, though, and will be equally happy with her teacher when she returns from maternity leave. Delaney's best buddy is not in her class again this year, but Delaney has plenty of friends in her class and actually prefers to go to school over being home. :)

Then there's our little Sadie Lady who is now going to school full-day for the first time, which is possibly harder on mom than it is on her. There is just something so strange about sending your child off for the day...just as strange the third time around as it was the first and second. I told Sadie that I was going to call her teacher and demand that she be sent home with the kindergarteners! So when I didn't actually follow through with that call on the first day of school, Sadie asked when I was going to do it. I assured her I would have that talk with her teacher when she calls me for a mini-conference tomorrow! :) Speaking of Sadie's teacher, in our opinion, she got the best teacher in 1st grade! Ever! She was Delaney's teacher, and she is just amazing. We did a collective family jump for joy when we got her teacher assignment in the mail! Sadie is one of the luckiest 19 kiddos in that entire school! Favorite things about Sadie's full days at school: lunch and riding the school bus home. Least favorite thing: having to use the automatic flushing toilets (she refused to go to the bathroom the entire time she was at school last year for half-days!).

Bodie's first day will be next Wednesday, September 7, 2011. You can bet there will be pictures! :)

Hallelujah...

2011-08-29T13:36:00.000-04:00

August 29, 2011: The first day of school almost didn't happen today. Hurricane Irene did a number on us. First she sent us packing from our vacation in Rehoboth Beach, DE. We then had one heck of a night with tons of rain and strong winds and four little Freds sleeping on our floor, and we woke up to a flooded basement. We spent a miserable day pumping water out as water continued to pour in and bagging up at least 25 big, black trash bags of what is now trash...most of it wet trash. The pump had to be watched all day, the cleaning out and drying up is still going on, and we had to get the girls ready for the first day of school today. Nearly more than a mama can handle. And then the final straw comes in the form of a phone call from the school district: several of the schools were still without power last night and the first day of school might not happen today. I think I may have lost consciousness for a moment.

But here's the silver lining...Hurricane Irene could have been much, much worse. Yes, we had (and still have) quite a mess on our hands in our basement, but it could have been worse. I credit our early-to-rise son and my caffeine addiction that led me to the basement refrigerator in the wee hours of the morning for saving the day. If not for that early morning trip to the basement, we would have had feet of water instead of inches. At that point, water was pouring in at about the rate you would run water into a bathtub. I...am...not...kidding. Another silver lining...though our electricity flickered all night long, it never went out. Neighborhoods all around us did lose power, and those families did all of the pumping and cleaning and getting kids ready for school...without power. Quit my complaining! I credit our wonderful neighbors for saving my sanity!! One of them was at our house with a pump before most sane people are even out of bed, and he and another one helped Mike buy and install a sump pump when it was apparent that the water wasn't slowing enough and we would most likely be up all night pumping water. Good, good friends!! And thank goodness Mike is the kind of guy who isn't afraid to call a friend and ask for help!

So, 30 hours, one sump pump, and about 25 huge trash bags later, we are alot wiser...and, hallelujah, power was restored to all the district schools, and the first day of school did happen after all. Today is a much, much better day...and I got a clean basement out of it all. :)

Pix of the girls to come...

Summer List 2011

2011-08-27T22:09:00.000-04:00

Mentos and Diet Coke Eruption!

This was the tail-end of the explosion...it happened so fast that I didn't get a photo of the beginning!

"Dirt" for snack!

Treasure Stones Hunt!

Making ice cream in a ziploc bag...

...the result in about 5 minutes!

Before we report on our awesome week at Rehoboth Beach (that, unfortunately, included a mandatory evacuation for Hurricane Irene), we wanted to let everyone know that the Fred kiddos finished their Summer List 2011 the week before we went to the beach!! Woo hoo! It was a short summer for us between getting out mid-June and going back to school before Labor Day this year. So we cut back on our list a bit this year, added a few things as we went along, and had a fun summer filled with fun, meaningful activities! I plan to do a couple of separate posts to show pictures of some of our art and craft activities. As always, we celebrated our summer success with Happy Meals from McDonald's...Happy Meals with Smurfs in them, I should add. :) Here is what we have been up to these last few months...

Summer List 2011

1. Happy Rocks (rocks painted with smiley faces and left on doorsteps and mailboxes all over our neighborhood...24 of them to be exact!)

2. Mixed-Media Collage Art Lesson

3. Colorwheel Bouquet Art Lesson

4. Swaddle Softies (little dolls the kiddos made and were taken to South Africa by a member of our church)

5. Polka Dot Shakes

6. Mosaic Flowerpot (started but haven't finished...a ton of work!)

7. Friendship Lockets made from hinges (some will be Christmas gifts for buddies)

8. Tie-dye t-shirts

9. "Wash your hands" paintings for bathrooms

10. Wind-Up Toy painting

11. "Keep Cool And Have A Popsicle" painting

12. Cake pancakes (for Mike's birthday)

13. Magnetic Tin Can Planters (left on four of our neighbors' mailboxes)

14. Inspirational Thought art

15. Catch lightening bugs

16. Lemonade Stand for Charity (Special Olympics)

17. Summer Reading Program at library

18. Make ice cream (ice cream ball)

19. New Book Day (everyone gets a new book)

20. Fireworks

21. Journal Jar (writing prompts for journals...made but wasn't actually used much this year...kiddos came up with their own ideas)

22. Make summer journals

23. Letter to new principal

24. Make sidewalk chalk

25. "Map of My Heart" paintings

26. Write letter to favorite author

27. Ice Cream Sundays...every Sunday!

28. Cornstarch sidewalk paint

29. Pajamas and donuts in the park

30. Visit at least 5 different playgrounds

31. Sprinkler Walk (search for sprinklers to run through)

32. Reflections Contest entries (fall PTA program)

33. "Best of My Days 2012" books (Christmas gifts for teachers--to write the best of each day)

34. Lady Liberty Art Lesson

35. Glue-Resist Dinosaur Art Lesson

36. Grid Painting Art Lesson

37. Venetian Architecture Art Lesson

38. 100-Year Old Self-Portraits

39. Volcano

40. Treasure Stones Hunt (treasures hidden in plaster of paris "stones")

41. "Something Fishy" stones

42. Jump in pool wearing clothes

43. Garden Stone

44. Makeachildsmile.org letters

45. Camp out on back porch (or in playroom!)

46. Teach big girls to do their own laundry (yee haw!)

47. Paper circle owls

48. Watercolor Butterfly Collage

49. Rainbow Jello

50. Kind things for others every day!

Things that were added to our list throughout the summer...

51. Fishing

52. Strawberry yogurt-covered pretzels

53. Teach Sadie to put away her clean laundry

54. "Dirt" pudding for snack

55. Duct tape crafts/art

56. Teach Sadie to tie her shoes

57. Make ice cream in a ziploc bag

58. Mentos and Diet Coke eruption

There you have it...a fun-filled summer that I hope our kiddos will always remember! I'm already collecting ideas for next summer!

And here are a few other things I want our kiddos to remember from the Summer of 2011...

The Smurfs...the movie (first movie I have ever taken all 4 kiddos to by myself!)...drawing pictures, writing stories, playing with figurines in our little wildflower garden...

big girls did many a mile-run around the barn block...

new computer set-up (I got a new laptop and we set up my old computer in the playroom)...

Build-A-Bears...

Mom went on 5 am walks all summer so my exercise was finished before the kiddos were awake (made our days much smoother somehow)...

we planted a beautiful little wildflower garden with seeds given to us in Disney World...

also grew pumpkins, cucumbers, sunflowers and a cabbage (Delaney)...

created a new fun family collection: Pez dispensers :)...

big girls did quite a bit of pet-sitting/walking...

more camps than usual (day camp, VBS, lacrosse, music & drama)...

instituted an hour of "Quiet Time" every afternoon (a sanity break for both Mama and kiddos!).

Summer of 2011, you will be sorely missed!!

Here We Go...

2011-08-20T08:15:00.000-04:00

(August 2010)

August 20, 2011...in just a couple of hours, we'll be headed to Rehoboth Beach, DE, for the week!! We will return next Saturday, Aug 27, refreshed and ready to start the new school year on Monday, August 29!! Here we go...

A couple more photos from years past...

(August 2009)

(August 2008)

Lemonade Stand 2011

2011-08-18T11:46:00.000-04:00

Last Saturday, August 13, 2011, the Fred kiddos set up their annual lemonade stand for charity. This year they decided to donate their earnings to Special Olympics. They have a couple of special connections to this organization: they have buddies at school and a second-cousin with Down Syndrome who all compete in Special Olympics. Unfortunately, what was supposed to be a beautiful Saturday at the pool turned into a rainy afternoon, so their lemonade stand had to be cut short. :( There were some very good sports at the pool that day, though, including one girl who went home and brought her mother back to support the cause. The kiddos made $14.75, but that total was added to the $30.00 that they started with out of their very own allowance "donation jar"! Mike and I also promised to double their efforts, bringing their total donation to $89.50!! We will round it up to $90 that will be mailed off to Special Olympics shortly!! Thanks to their own very generous little hearts, that's not bad for a rain-shortened lemonade stand!!

Most Valuable Salesperson Award goes to Bodie! He was relentless but in a charming way. Anytime anyone came anywhere near the pool area, he was telling them about the lemonade stand. And then he would go back and tell them again. And sometimes again. And one time he even asked a lady if she brought her "money purse". He has his Daddy's skills for sales. :)

A Pumpkin

2011-08-16T07:05:00.000-04:00

Look what's growing in our garden?! And there's a tiny pumpkin growing right behind the larger one (along with some rocks the kiddos have painted in previous summers). It has been so fun to watch this little guy grow. Our vine is huge, so we're hoping we will have even more pumpkins to watch grow.

Braces

2011-08-15T11:14:00.000-04:00

And a little closer...

August 15, 2011: Delaney has had her expander for 3 weeks, and it has worked so well that her front teeth spread like wildfire. So, phase 2, BRACES, unexpectedly began this morning! She actually jumped up and down and clapped when her orthodontist suggested putting the first two brackets on today. She is thrilled with her new smile and green and purple rubber bands!

Prettiest Dessert of the Summer!

2011-08-15T06:36:00.000-04:00

Rainbow Jello!

Layer Jello and Cool Whip, allowing to set up in between layers. This may be the only time I ever make this because it was incredibly time-consuming, created alot of waste (extra Jello left over), and tasted good, not spectacular. One Fred kiddo only took one bite out of the whole thing! :( Seeing how pretty it turned out, though, made it worth making once!! :)

Music & Drama Camp

2011-08-14T08:02:00.000-04:00

Day 3...

This is Delaney practicing her solo...the only 4th grader who got a solo!

This is Madi practicing her duet. I couldn't get through even one run-through of this song, "I Forgive", without tears and goose bumps. It was that beautiful! The voices of these two girls blended and complemented each other perfectly! The two directors of the camp called this song the "showstopper"!

Delaney was also chosen for a small group highlight in one song.

Delaney couldn't have been more thrilled with her flashy costume! She and a buddy from church were the "Teen Girls Squad". They had several jobs--carrying signs, putting hats on the 3 Josephs, putting the Coat of Many Colors on Madi (as Joseph), tossing one of Joseph's brothers into the "pit".

Day 4...

The 3 Josephs

The Teen Girls Squad bringing Joseph his coat.

Madi, as Joseph, being sold at auction as a slave. Notice the "cheap" on the sign...so funny! :)

Day 5...Show Day!

Two weeks ago, July 31 through August 4, 2011, Madison and Delaney participated in Music & Drama Camp at our church. On the final night of camp, the nearly 30 kiddos at camp performed the musical "Joseph: From the Pit to the Palace". Evenings 6-9 pm were spent learning music, drama, choreography...and having a great time with great friends! Even Madi's best buddy who doesn't go to our church came to camp for the week, making it extra special for our girls. I was a "helper" (in every non-musical sense possible!) for the week and got to see the amazing process of practicing for four nights and putting on an amazing show on the 5th! More importantly, I was able to watch our girls having the time of their lives all week!

This was Delaney's first year doing Music & Drama--it is only offered for upcoming 4th through 6th graders. She was fearless and not at all nervous about being one of the younger kids in this camp. She did such a great job in her audition that she was chosen for several highlighted parts: the only 4th grader to get a solo, a special group melody part in one song, and a member of the "Teen Girls Squad" (a very special role that was perfect for Delaney!!). Delaney really got some special parts in this show, especially for a 4th grader! She worked hard all week, had alot of fun with several buddies, and put on quite a performance on show night!! She especially sang her solo beautifully! Delaney was amazing!!

This was Madi's last year doing Music & Drama (she did it two summers ago but wasn't able to do it last year). Next year she will be too old. Madi has developed an amazing confidence on stage. She is quite the performer! She, too, nailed her audition and came away with the role of Joseph (one of 3), including a special scene reciting visions for Pharoah, and the most stunning duet, sung alongside one of her best church buddies. It was the only song in the whole show that didn't involve the entire cast, and it was so beautiful that the music director would like the girls to sing it during a regular church service in the church's chapel (as opposed to the big sanctuary where the show was performed). Madi was the first of the entire cast to know all of her lines, and her performance was phenomenal!!

The show itself was so, so good. It is amazing that these kids come together for only 5 nights and put on a 45-minute show that you would think they had been working on for weeks. It was a blessing to be able to help out with this amazing week this year and an even bigger blessing to spend the week with our big girls and watch first-hand all of the work and all of the fun that they put into this show.

I should also mention that much of the fun of the week happened in the car on the way to camp! We took an extra three kiddos to and from camp most days. It was like a party on wheels!! My ears are still recovering :)

Sadie Tied Her Shoes

2011-08-13T06:43:00.000-04:00

Sadie is one quick little learner. Yesterday, August 12, 2011, she decided she wanted to learn how to tie her shoes, and she did just that! We had gotten her these cute Converse for back-to-school, but we told her that she couldn't wear them to school until she learned how to tie them. You see, Mike and I don't have a good history of teaching kiddos how to tie their shoes at an acceptable age. We've been very lazy (velcro is just soooo easy!) with our first two, so we decided to get in the game with the third. Mike even made a little "practice board" with drilled holes and a lace to try to make the learning process fun. I picked up the little board yesterday to try to show Sadie the first step, and she wanted no parts of my lesson. Bodie, on the other hand, tried and tried to make an X and loop it through. Apparently, Sadie was taking in much more of the lesson than I thought, and a couple of hours later, she brought the board to me, asking me to teach her the next step, because she had perfected the first step all on her own! I showed her how to make "bunny ears" a couple of times, and she had it all figured out. She quickly moved from the board to her new shoes she wants so badly to wear to school, and she tied them, first try!

I really need to stop underestimating what our kiddos can accomplish when we take the time to teach them! I do think Sadie's a little bit of a wizard, though! :)