Honest, creative, brave

This year Jack's teacher gave such a unique gift.  She asked each person in his class to give her three descriptive words for all of the other children in her class.  She entered that information into a program that tabulated the results and created a picture out of them.  The words that were used most often are displayed the largest, and the size of the words gets smaller with less frequency.  I have to tell you what a neat gift I think this is.  It gives a unique glimpse into what Jack's peers think of him.  And while I am sure they were asked to use positive words to describe each other, the fact that the largest word on Jack's picture is 'honest' makes me so very proud.  :)

And while I am on the subject of being proud, he also came home with a student all star certificate today for being 'friendly and kind-hearted to peers, and for thoughtfully adding to discussions.'

if you leave your phone lying around

this can happen...

Christmas Morning in photos

Christmas Morning we took some time to study the real reason for this holiday and then opened a few gifts. They each got a few little things-- Isaac's favorite was his set of dominos so he could be like his favorite Youtubers, Jack's was his bucks tickets, Lucy's was perhaps her training bras (!?!), and Cassidy told me hers was her new lunch box.

And the kids all loved their new PS3... we said we would never get one but alas, we found a great deal and decided to give it a go.  My favorite game, which they are playing here, is Just Dance. Not only is it super fun, but you work up a sweat too! Check out Zeekie, kinda hidden in front of the others, in his tighty-whiteys rockin' out!

And then that evening.... we enjoyed our first (annual... I hope) prime rib dinner with Jake and Al and Bre. It was delish!!

A few photos of the family

and perhaps my favorite of them all....

cousins and snow

 Isaac, Deakon, Owen, and Carson had a ton of fun sledding at our Lindner family Christmas Celebration.  They are pretty much the cutest ever.

tag

I love this little chalkboard in our mudroom, but I think that I love that Isaac tagged it, even more!

Christmas Eve cookies

While Lucy and Dad were ice fishing together, Jack, Isaac, Cass and I made one more batch of Christmas cookies.  This time we made some cutter cookies. Making cutter cookies reminds me of out snow days when I was a kid.  Mom would crank up the radio with Bing Crosby and Andy Williams and we would dream of a white Christmas with mounds of presents under the tree and piles of yummy treats to eat.

They really enjoyed the process, and as you can see from Jack's clothing and face (I wish I had a photo of his flour caked ear...) they really got into it!

Can you guess who decorated this corner?

I think I swept the floor at least 4 times before I felt like I had the majority of the sprinkles cleaned up.

They were delicious.  I love traditions like this.  I just wish Mom and Jenny could be here to help.

white Christmas Eve

We have been having a very unseasonably warm winter.  It has been in the 40's and we have had very little snow.  Whatever we do get typically melts within a few days.  Yesterday it was a balmy 41 degrees.  It rained all day- even poured at one point.  Then at 9:30 last night a Thunderstorm rolled through!  We have been braced for a green Christmas for quite some time now.  Andy told me he doesn't ever remember a winter as warm as this- and definitely doesn't remember having a green Christmas.

When I went to sleep last night, I never imagined that we would wake up and be able to do this! Turns out we will have a white Christmas after all. :)  Another perk to our new home is that there are some sledding hills around the house.  The kids were excited to try out their new tubes from Grandma and Grandpa!

in preparation

In preparation for the new Star Wars movie, we watched The Return of the Jedi with Jake and Grandpa.  Dad made the kids day when he got out his popcorn popper and popped some yummy movie popcorn.

Jack's Concert

Monday Isaac and I went to Jack's concert.  They sang some songs and also played a few songs with their recorders.  He did a really nice job!

 And for some reason here he is using his nose!

if I squint really hard...

With her hair all done, and those fancy clothes and heels on, I can only see my 'little' girl if I squint really hard...