Loving Life!

I know, I haven't added the pictures to my last blog update, but that will have to wait...I've been thinking of all of these wonderful things to share and before I forget them, here they are:
I have been loving life lately. Our trip to Florida was wonderful, and now we're getting back into our day to day routine. It has been a pleasure helping NCH and CAH catch on on school work. Really, I loved it! Their little minds are open and growing leaps and bounds...it's fun to watch them learn. This week was conference week. We enjoyed meeting with the 1st and 3rd grade teachers for CAH and NCH...boys and girls sure are different, aren't they??! Wow! We're so proud of the children...may they always love to learn!
Since NCH and CAH were off from school for the conference days on Thursday and Friday, we decided to enjoy "movie afternoon" on Friday while the younger two kiddos napped. We chose to watch "A Bear Named Winnie" and what a terrific movie it was!! It was the true story behind a real bear, named Winnie, who inspired A. A. Milne to write the Winnie the Pooh stories. We snuggled together on the couch, laughing and even crying a little. Another memory to treasure!
Funny stuff - NJH has been cracking us all up! We watched Monster's, Inc. last week and he's been walking around talking like the gravelly-voiced Roz, "I'm watching you, Wazowski. Always watching." Then, while munching on cheerios, he stood up and said the entire Pledge of Allegiance. He's also been taking my face with both of his hands and smooching me, head turned, eyes wide open...so adorable!
We've been listening to Christmas music in the van lately...although I have a few songs I am already sick of (Feliz Navidad, It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year, and Simply Having A Wonderful Christmastime, are getting annoying), there are a couple that make me cry: "Mary, Did You Know?", "Breath of Heaven" and "Feed the World" get me every time! I love listening to my children sing along with the radio. We were all singing, "Noel, Noel Born is the King of Israel!" the other day when I asked the Herd, "Who is the King of Israel?" CAH answered, "Pharaoh" and NCH guessed, "God." When I explained that Noel meant Christmas, they realized the song was about Jesus' birth and that He is the King of Israel. This led to a wonderful discussion about people all over the world singing the song "The First Noel" and wondering who knew what the song was really all about. This tied in so nicely with our project of packing Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes...NCH and CAH put a lot of effort into packing the box for their special child and even prayed over the boxes this year. I love carrying out traditions with my children!
Today I took the girls to the annual Claverack Reformed Church Bazaar. We try to get there every year...it's held at the church I attended as a young girl. I love going back to my old town, driving by my old house, seeing old friends. This year, I was hoping to see my aunt/uncle/cousin and grandparents. The girls and I started in the Yule Booth area, as we always do. We visited with the dearest of old friends and found a few ornaments we had to have. Next, the girls were eager to decorate (and EAT) their gingerbread girls. After that, we hurried upstairs, eager to see our family from Connecticut...but they were no where to be found! We had missed them! I quickly called my uncle and thankfully we were able to meet up in the parking lot of the orchard stand just down the street from my old house. It was wonderful to visit for a little bit, and then I tried calling my grandparents...sadly, no answer. I'd missed them too! The girls and I headed over to our traditional pizza lunch spot, LaBella's Pizzeria...and there was my grandparents' car!!! They were there!! What a treat it was to have lunch with them!!
I have so much more to say, but it will have to wait for another day. I am so thankful for my family...for the little moments, the memories and the traditions.