MERRY CHRISTMAS!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Yes, I'm posting on Christmas Day 2008. How weird is that! This December has been a crazy filled 25 days. The first week seemed calm enough, but then the second week was a whirlwind. Grandma came to visit and see the school Christmas program. We have the pics to prove it! After some shopping and a nice visit, she had to return home....just before the snow blew in!

And did it blow in! The last day of school before Christmas break for both girls was canceled due to blizzard conditions. Coco hates too much wind and getting too wet. So he spent his blizzard days curled up in Dad's arms because Dad couldn't get to work either. Then the weather calmed for a day, but stormed something awful on Sunday and church was canceled. So we had no real social contact for at least 3 days! Talk about making the girls (and mom) cranky!

But Monday, the 22nd, was no picnic either. It kept snowing and blowing and Dad had to stay home again because his boss called and told him to. And driving around on Tuesday and Wednesday was no picnic! The parking lots were snow packed and with mounds of snow pushed aside, try seeing what's at the corner when you get there.

So today .... on Christmas Day we finally have a little sunshine! The girls had opened their gifts by 7:30 a.m. and were onto the rest of their day. They both really liked what they got, considering they didn't have anything on a list. We just guessed at what they might like.

Coco got a couple of new toys and a pair of sunglasses and a scarf from Grandma! Of course, he wants to destroy both things and not wear them. I took quick pics and they're not great, but they'll suffice. :)

May all of you have a very Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year!!

Thanksgiving!

Well, November shot by like a rocket. Whew! A lot has happened.

At the beginning of the month, my youngest daughter was in the Christmas parade. Of course, she wanted me to walk with her and it was windy and chilly. BRRRR!! The pictures did not turn out because my hubby was in a crowd and too cold and jostled to get a good angle.

Then my youngest daughter had a living history night at school. She drew a name from a hat and it was Laura Ingalls Wilder. She had to give her "speech" in first person...."Hi, I'm Laura Ingalls Wilder. As a young girl, I grew up in the prairie..." She did a great job. She was also to dress as her person. Do you know how hard it is to find a prairie girl costume? Thank the good Lord that our backyard neighbor, Amy, has a daughter who was a prairie girl for Halloween. She let us borrow the hat and skirt!

Once again, I had to smile at the sovereignty of God. Here is our little Michigander doing living history night. And who does God have her choose? A pioneer girl from South Dakota, which is where her Dad hails from and her Grandma and most of her cousins still live! Whether she likes it or not, God is making her learn more about the Dakota's than she probably ever wanted to know. :)

And my oldest wanted the Chex puppy chow/muddy buddy mix for Thanksgiving. There are pics of her licking the bowl. No big secret....she just loves chocolate!

Then Thanksgiving. Driving to family in Illinois with the dog! Quite a road trip!!! But we had fun. Like making gingerbread houses with Aunt Kathy and her grandkids. Our oldest made her house for Grandma and left it with her, but our youngest brought hers home. She wants to eat it so badly, but we're trying to hold off for a little while longer. I'm pretty sure it won't make it past the 8th (which is A. Kathy's & Karen's birthday...and our now late but wonderful Grandpa Leroy). Maybe we can dig into it then to celebrate their lives!

AUTUMN!

WOW! Time flies! I've been meaning to update this site for a month, but didn't get it done.

The end of September was Coco's birthday! He now officially a dog and not a puppy. He acts like an out of control teenager too. We celebrated his birthday by buying him a cupcake (white cake and frosting). He didn't think too much of it. In fact, he wanted the brownies I had made for everyone else. So he ended up with a few crumbs of brownie and lots of ball play time. :)

Then October was just crazy with activities, ending with Halloween. One girl was a cat, the other was Nancy Drew. Coco was barking at everybody, so he was left in the house while we sat outside on a beautiful evening (60 degrees and cloudless) and offered treats to the kids.

Coco spent the next morning digging under our white pine tree for a rabbit. We know it lives there because he chases it out every so often. Still hasn't caught it though. BUT he came in with pine sap in various places all over his fur, which I had to clip out because you can't comb it out. He ended up getting a real clipping this week and now he looks like a different dog. :)

But Thanksgiving is coming and he will be traveling with us again! Hopefully the hair will grow in a bit more and he won't be so "bald". I'll also try to update this real soon as there are several activities coming up that I will have pictures to share.

And doesn't it make you feel good to think you're reaching your children...after election day, my youngest went to school and they were finishing up a puzzle of the USA. When they were done, my daughter said, "This is what Obama's going to do to America." and then destroyed the puzzle. Her class (except for 3 kids), laughed, clapped and said, "Yeah!" Kudos to my child!

CELEBRATING SCHOOL!

School is back in session and Coco is a little pouty. While he was stressed about summer in June - the girls were home all the time!!!!! - now he's adjusting back to them not being here all day. So he's pouting. I have walked him twice and played with him, but he walks around and sighs and then lays down and just looks at me over his paws with his puppy dog eyes. It's kinda pathetic!

The latest pic is one of the last few of the summer. Both were having ice cream. One of our precious times!

Now for just a little non-Coco comments. Sarah Palin - finally something this conservative Christian can vote FOR!!! My one girl has asked me what makes more money than rock stars or models. I told her CEO's. So now she would like to be a CEO. When Palin was nominated, I told this child of mine that if she wanted to be a CEO, this was a woman to look at as a great example of a successful "CEO". I mean, when you're the governor of a state, that's a "CEO"!

I'm so thankful I can actually go to the polls in November!

A dogs life...

A lazy Saturday summer day! Too hot for kids or dogs to do much, except play with water. But since Coco doesn't like the sprinkler or water balloons, he stays inside. As you can see, he naps with Dad and waits for the kids to come in and play. Talk about a dog day afternoon!

Time Flies....

A dog came into our lives due to the whining of our youngest child. She was old enough to take care of it and help with it and I must say, she has done a good job of training it. The dog has been named Coco Bean and he has his moments of sheer delight and pleasure and moments of "Why did we get a dog?"



Coco is a silky terrier...but looks much more like an Australian terrier. He has an alpha dog personality and Dad has had to scruff his neck several times to curb the behavior. We know it will never truly leave, but Coco does have much more respect for all of us since the last half-hour ordeal. Now when he's being alpha dog, one scruff and hold produces results in one minute or less.



He has eaten 3...no 4 pairs of shoes. He hates flip flops and if you wear them, he considers your toes fair game. (We are trying to train this out of him.) He loves to toss his bones in the air and then chase them like wild game. Digging for the voles in the backyard is something he considers to be his duty. He begs for birds and rabbits to "come and play." I'm not sure what he would do if he caught one. We have watched him "play" with flies on the window. When he destroys it, he bats at it with his paw to make it move, and then pouts that it doesn't play anymore.



Our children wanted to create this blog about this silly dog. So here it is. Hope you enjoy!