Can you Dig it? Tel Gezer, Israel

Saturday

2012-01-22T06:27:00.000+03:00

In Adam's words " we made it through another Saturday".
Today was crazy....even though we normally fly by the seat of our pants on weekends, we definitely overbooked and therefore missed some things. We started out with Ribbit in bed with us last night...she kept having scream fits. She would sleep for about 20 minutes, then cry, change positions and then repeat. She slept with her face on my stomach and her legs in Adam's back...so you can imagine the high quality sleep we got.
Then we had an early basketball game for Goober..his first one! Let me stop here to say how COMICAL it is to watch 6/7 year olds play basketball. Goober has the defense part down..in fact he was in that little boys face so much that I kept waiting for the kid to punch him and tell him to back off. Goober even guarded the kid when his team was trying to score....if the ball would have hit Goob in the face he wouldnt' have cared, because he was just too dagum busy guarding that little boy...oh that poor little boy. So anyways, after some sideline coaching (hehe) and a half time Goober did better and even tried to get the ball and make a point :).
I left early and went to my school where we had Open House for new students starting next year...yes, we have people already thinking about that and some of our grades are already at capacity with a waiting list. I got some work done at the school, talked to 5 different touring groups and then headed home.
We ate leftover tofu/chirizo enchiladas and then got down to buisness. Meaning Dad and Goob watched a movie while Ribbit and I headed to Southlake where the big fancy Farmers Market was having their big sale :). We got rolled oats, granola, lots of veggies, lots of berries, some supplements, sugar free vanilla cookies for the kids, some baking supplies and lots of Baked Organic Chips-i had coupons making them $1 a bag so we got 6 bags :).
The rest of the day was spent attacking the huge (taller than Goob)mound of laundry that both kids have been creating for 3 weeks-that's right...i haven't done kids laundry in 3 weeks, I know shame on me!!! We also spent some time trying out new recipes-Oatmeal Brownies (which the kids loved), Sugar Free, Gluten Free Pineapple Upside Down Muffins (for our breakfast this week). Then we made chirizo grits casserole and homemade Bojangles Biscuits for Sunday School breakfast tomorrow morning. The biscuits are sooooo good and so stinking simple....
So you take 2 cups of almond flour (or pecan flour, quinoa flour, whole wheat flour-whatever you have, even regular white flour),
add in 1/2 stick of crisco,
add 2 individual serving packets of splenda,
2 tsps of baking soda and
1 cup of soymilk ( I have made it with both coconut and regular flavor).
Bake at 400 for 12-14 minutes...watch them, when the tops start to get slightly brown they are done.
Then right when they come out of the oven you drizzle them with Imitation Honey-which you can find at Target and has 0grams of sugar unlike regular honey which will put you in a sugar coma real fast :). These biscuits are super duper good and creamy. This only makes 6 hearty biscuits so I normally double everything :)

The oatmeal brownie recipe I want to tweak and try some new things because even though they were good they were more like cake like than fudge like.....but they were stocked with oatmeal, applesauce, wheat germ, unsweetened cocoa and for the kids sake I left out pecans but next time they are going in!!!

The last part of our day was spent playing "spy" with Goober and listening to Ribbit count (sorta). Then we had a tickle war in our bed that was going well until Goob kicked Ribbit in the nose...it was all mom's fault though...he really can't control himself when I tickle his knees :).

OH And, we were supposed to be at church today from 10-12 for a conference we signed up for....we really did think it was next weekend, however we remembered tonight that we couldnt' have made it next weekend either due to a basketball game,football game and baby shower on Saturday :).

Here are three videos...in the first one you can hear me tell Adam that Goob is on that little boy like " white on rice"...the next two videos prove it :)

Nevermind, 20 minutes later and it still wont let me upload another video...I will try again later!
But here is Daddy (playing spy) with Goober and showing me Ribbit's new hiding spot :)

This is what happens when Goober sweetly asks for a turn in the basket, Ribbit gets out, Goob gets in and Ribbit falls to pieces...Adam and I just laughed and laughed at this picture :)

Recipes

2012-01-20T06:05:00.000+03:00

Adam's out having a bowling night with the boys, the kids are both asleep, I just finished off a big ole bowl of cut up apples with dark chocolate drizzle (no sugar) and unsweetened coconut..YUMMY!!!

Here are two recipes that have been a huge hit with the kiddos...and are gluten free, dairy free and under 3 grams of sugar for the whole dagum meal :).

Chicken Coconut Curry Soup
1 can of Lite Coconut Milk
2 tbsp. red curry paste
1 can chicken
dash of fish sauce-found in thai aisle

Mix all together, heat up and serve over rice!!

Tofu/Chirizo Enchiladas-makes 6 big'uns
1 case of extra firm tofu--holds up better and less slimy :)
1 link of chirizo
1 can black beans
1 avacado
1 tomato
1 can corn
1 green pepper
1 onion
gluten free wraps
1 can verde enchilada sauce

Cook chirizo for about 5 minutes on stove top, add in tofu--the natural oils from the chirizo will cook the tofu and give it a better texture. Drain meat-in same pan cook onion and peppers. To meat add all cooked veggies plus can of corn and can of beans. Put in wraps, top with can of verde sauce. Bake at 400 for 10 minutes, broil for about 2 minutes. Top with small chunks of tomatoes and avacadoes.....you won't even miss the cheese!!!!

This weekend I plan on tackling SDG free cupcakes and ice cream..WATCH OUT!!

I'll leave you with this sweet video of the two best things that ever happened to Adam and I. Can you believe that in 3 short weeks we will have been a family for a year? I can't remember not having them....I can't remember not waking up to demands of food and spongebob....I can't remember what it was like to get to work/church/anything on time, with everything I need in tow :). I CAN remember praying/pleading with God to give us children....having a physical ache for them in my arms. We are BLESSED!

Terrific Tuesday

2012-01-19T06:17:00.000+03:00

I meant to post this yesterday but alas, by the time I sat down, watched the Biggest Loser and researched healthy food options for an hour it completely slipped my mind.
SOOOO, here is why we had a Terrific Tuesday.
1st-Goober got a 100 on his math test and knows all of his spelling words perfectly...come on 100, I can smell you!
2nd-Ribbit started a new class today at her daycare...one where you have to wear big girl panties. When I picked her up in the afternoon she wasn't wearing the clothes I dropped her off in...my first thought was "crap". But the teacher quickly said "she is only wearing new clothes because she dropped her shirt in the potty" YAY!!! She went all day, even through nap time in big girl panties!!! Yay for RIBBIT!!!
I mean what we will do with all that money that we spend on diapers and wipes?.......heck, we may just go crazy and buy us a Minivan!!!

Her new teacher also asked us if we teach Ribbit spanish at home.....I said "why" and she said " well she told me to ANDALE all day loooonnnng! HAHAHA, we say that to her all the time because she saunters every where she goes, never in a hurry to do anything. Our little bilingual genius.

Diet, so far so good. We have had some Biggest Loser Pasta Salads, Tofu and Chirizo Enchiladas, Sugar Free Dairy Free Gluten Free (whew) banana muffins.....this weekend I am going to attempt homemade ice cream using Coconut Milk....the local farmers market was having a huge sale on Red Delicious Apples so we have also been tearing those up...gonna juice a lot of them and make some apple bread---same recipe as zucchini bread but subbing coconut oil for butter, agave for sugar and making my own pecan flour....I am thinking it will taste like an out of this world APPLE PECAN PIE!!!! YUMMY!!!! We have also been eating lots of roasted veggies-brussel sprouts, broccoli, mushrooms!

To much longer and we will be raising our own chickens and goats and planting a garden outback....heck, if I knew for sure how long we would be in this new house I may start tilling tonight :).

Pray for Adam, he starts back tomorrow---INTO HIS LAST SEMESTER OF SCHOOL...can I get a HALLELUJAH?....So from now until he leaves for Israel we will pretty much only see each other as we share a bathroom in the morning and on Sundays at church....oh the life :).

Here is a videos that should brighten your day. This is Goobers practice for the speech meet on Friday...we have since added a large smile between the reference and actual verse and a bow at the end....however, we picked this scripture for him to do for the long term benefits (wink wink)....we weren't about to let him memorize a story when he could memorize God's word on the importance of obeying your parents :).

Goober showing his love for the Chicken Curry Soup and Brussel Sprouts

Ribbit was a little less enthusiastic, but look at that sweet hand showcasing the soup :)

my little sweet heart!

2012-01-17T05:35:00.000+03:00

During dinner tonight Goober told me that I made the best soup ever--chicken curry soup and brussel sprouts!!! At the end of the dinner in the sweetest little voice he said " mom do you know what I like the best about your dinner?" " you made it with love".....Adam and I both laughed at his goofiness and then praised him for how sweet he is and how compliments are great to give people.
Goober really has taken to this new diet so well and pretty much cleans his plate and ask for seconds almost every night. The only thing he hasn't gotten on board with yet is the juicing....its okay, more for us :).
So far I think the best mixture was this morning-watermelon, cucumbers, lemon and lettuce (nice dark leaves).

Here are some more pictures...not alot going on today...we picked out new granite countertops for the kitchen and are playing with some different cabinet ideas, overall a restful holiday with the kids :)

Early in the morning, drinking our juice.

Doesn't that look scrumptious? Makes you want to lick the glass clean :)...no really its not that bad!!

Our fresh produce from the co-op.

Ribbit loves to wear her chef outfit...she will ask you if you want pop tarts or munch (lunch) or a snack :)

Ribbit Update

2012-01-16T05:40:00.000+03:00

I figure I should write down all the updates on Ribbit, as she is changing rapidly and doing lots of fun things that I don't want to forget.

1. She likes to say "knock knock" and then you answer back "who's there" and this goes on for 5 minutes but its hysterical everytime.
2. She shhhhes me ALOT. Except a shh to her means that you need to talk quieter, not quit talking. She gets shhed a lot herself at the dinner table during devotion. Normally I say " shhh Ribbit, Daddy's talking". So now, everytime she is sitting on the potty she shhhes me and says " shh Mommy, Daddy's talking". Its quite comical especially in public bathrooms.
3.When we change her she gets up really quickly (still naked) runs and jumps on her bed and then shows us her butt while shaking it and says " booty booty".
4. She can put on her two pair of boots by herself, not always on the right foot but 85% of the time they are correct.
5. She always tells everything and everyone bye. If she doesn't know you she will say "bye friend". She tells the house bye, the car bye, the killies (kitties) bye and her stroller bye. She also announces when she walks outside what the weather is by saying "its hot out here" or "its cold out here"
6. She pushes her stroller more than she rides in it.
7. She isn't fully potty trained and has weeks where she regresses but she does like to sit on the potty and sing or shh and is very proud of herself when she goes #2.
8. She is still very much a mommy's girl and ask me to "hold you" all the time. She is used to me telling her "okay, one minute". The other day I asked her to pick up her chapstick and she looked at me and said very matter of factly "one mimmic mommy, one mimmic".
9. Everything is hers, even things that are clearly Goobers.
10. She poses for pictures, no more squirming unless she is in a horrible mood.....and just like her brother she wants to see the picture right after it is taken.
11. She sings "fara jocka, fara jocka papaw"...."ring around rosies rosie"......."Give God glory glory".
12. She closes her eyes and holds hands during the prayer, adds in her own two sense and says Amen at the end.
13. She walks into our room almost every morning demanding a pop tart or yogurt. Now that we are sugar free the poptarts are gone, the yogurt is still around for the kids so she eats that and then request cheerios or pizza (toast) every morning without fail.
14. Her bedtime ritual is take off clothes, dance naked, change diaper, put on pjs, she turns on her nightlife by herself, she wants to climb in her own bed and then it varies between "mommy cover up" or "ribbit cover up" and she always wants her princess blanket, followed by her green blanket followed by her water and then kisses from mommy. We always say " see you in the morning". Then I say " night night sweet girl" and she says " night night sweet mommy" unless she is mad at me for making her go to bed and then I get "turn light off" :)
15. She insist that she and Goober do everything the same and get exactly the same food. If she gets up before Goober and is already at the table eating her yogurt, the minute he wakes up and comes to the table she says " mommy, goober want yogurt, pizza" as loud as she can.
16. She loves sitting on the counter with me and helping me stir dinner, put lids on tupperware, count fruit, lick spoons, put spoons away and sing while we are in the kitchen.
17. Our guest room is permanently CiCi's room and no one else can sing fara jocka with her because she will say "NO PAPAW"!!!!!
18. She sings her Lolly song in the shower and even though it takes her a while to warm up to Captain, the minute she does she tells him hi constantly.

Thats all I can think of tonight. I am a little anxious. Goober has a friend over tonight and so far we have had a dance party in the middle of McAListers...of course started by Adam and me to embarrass the kids and then they took over and started shaking their backsides :). I have also learned what running to the bathroom saying you have to go #3 means...never knew there was a #3. We have also talked about why its gross to kiss your sister on the mouth, instead of the cheek. Goob's friend is blonde and blue eyes so I know we were confusing lots of people at McAlisters...not that we normally don't confuse them. Goob's friend said " people probably dont' know that I am not in your family" and Goob said " NO FAIR, you look like my mom and dad". It was pretty comical.

Here are some more pictures left over from break...still trying to get them all on here and edited.

Convincing Papa to paint her toenails with her new chapstick.

Opening up Mom's food processor from Papa and CC....responsible for the yummy hummus!!

CC and Papaw reading their book from Goober...this got tears :)

Showing off his new do rag, riding gloves and leather jacket....he is super cool!

Playing with play dough with CC....CC and Papa are braver then mommy and daddy..play dough is now permanently embedded in their carpet....i think they were looking for a reason to get new carpet though :)

Making Papaw some playdough hair.....Ribbit may have a degree as a plumber in her future :)

Standing around the campfire with my kids, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and lots of cousins...out on a old dirt road surrounded by woods....one of my favorite memories from this christmas.

sparklers with Uncle Chris and Uncle Mason

Sparklers with CC

I guess this is another picture that we should submit for parents of the year...oh well, they had fun..we were supervising very closely!

Brainwashing my kids

2012-01-15T05:50:00.000+03:00

Well its working, this crazy new way of eating is working. Goob had two pretty solid weeks of behavior at school (and Adam needed sleep) so I took the kids to a dinner of their choice and two basketball games at our school. We went to McDonalds...duh. I spent about 30 minutes on their nutrition site to see what I could eat there....the answer is nothing....nothing that was both dairy free, low in sugar, and that didn't make me vomit on cue. So, I ate the new all white meat chicken tenders with hot mustard (no sugar) for dipping sauce and an unsweet tea. The kids both got happy meals, they totally deserved it after 2 weeks of eating so well.
I immediately felt sick to my stomach and hated myself for ever leaving the house without my own food (what I will do if there is a next time).
Afterwards, Goob said .................wait for it............duh duh duh...........its pretty exciting stuff............."Mom, next time we come here can we bring our own food and just play on their playground?".......YAY YAY YAY..he likes our food better. Take that Ronald. Needless to say he had a stomach ache today and passed some pretty potent poots. Mom-1, Ronald-0.
So what have we been eating? Tuna fish sandwiches, Lots of fruit, Tofu taco salad--yep Ribbit cleaned her plate, Hummus with cut up veggies, cornmeal grits made with soymilk---yummy Edamame, roasted brussel sprouts, sweet potato chips, kale chips, muffins made with turbinado, crisco, applesauce and we are looking into switching to almond flour/chickpea flour/oat flour. We (both Adam and I) have been learning about food and how they really do affect the body. We watched a documentary last night about a man who had a skin disease, took loads of medication every day for 9 years and simply got rid of medications, rid of the disease and lost 60 lbs. because he only ate micronutrient foods-beans, nuts, veggies and fruit. HELLO!!!!! A doctor on that show was saying that Americans now eat 60% processed foods, 30% animal products and 5% of both veggies and fruits...how sad. The sad part is that I didn't know any better...i thought that milk was good for you. WRONG...its one of the hardest things for your body to digest and therefore should only be consumed (along with all other dairy) once a week. So, to end my soapbox we are also starting to juice more of those micronutrient foods and have that juice everyday for breakfast. This morning was watermelon, kale, cranberries and bananas....it was so good that even Goob drank a whole cup....come to think of it maybe that is where his potent poots came from :). We also joined a local Co-Op to get fresh produce..today was our first pick up day and we were stoked....two laundry baskets of fresh produce for $15....cheap and healthy...can't beat that!

Here are some pictures that I just got around to uploading...leftover from Christmas...Adam and I were just editing some of them and agreed that we have THE two cutest kids ever!!!

A tiger tent from Nana and Papa....which is now in the playroom and used daily!

Opening stockings at Lolly and Cap's house.

1st Christmas for the Newlyweds

Mt. Dew pants.

Ribbit and Angel were fast friends...and naptime buddies :)

The great grandkids on Nannie and Papaws side.

Ribbit and her cousin Olivia opening gifts.

Me and my sweet cousin Heather...she was my Junior Bridesmaid in my wedding.

Mom pile...not sure how this happened, oh wait yes I am....UNCLE CHRIS!!!...but look at that sweet smile on my boys face!

Passing out gifts to Nana and Papa.

Take that Satan

2012-01-12T03:54:00.001+03:00

You may be wondering why I haven't written in a few days.....well because for two reasons, 1--WE HAVE BEEN CELEBRATING and 2--the dull in comparison answer of i'm sick.

God saved another lost soul on Jan 9th...at the dinner table in the Harvell home. At the end of worship service on Sunday Goober raised his hand when the pastor asked if anyone wanted to accept Christ. I didn't see it but Adam did--prayer peeker!! He talked to Goob about it some right afterwards and then again on Sunday but he was kinda timid and embarrassed about it. Monday night at dinner, after devotions we talked about having our sins washed away and how we are a new creation....Goob says we are a "new alien". He begin to spill about how he had asked Jesus into his heart and that is why he had raised his hand. He also knew that he was a sinner and therefore needed Jesus. We were both super excited but also careful to let him answer and talk...that way he will know that this was his salvation experience and nothing that we pushed on him...it was all him. He prayed with us to receive Christ and we talked about baptism, letting others know what we believe in and how he was now our brother and our son...he thought that last part was super neat.
We have been reminding him over the last couple of days that he is now accountable for his actions and that he needs to act in a way that shows how his heart has been made a new.
What a blessing and a great way to start out 2012....we added 2 new members to our family in 2011 and a new saint was added 11 months later :).
We celebrated with ice cream, no sugar , carb watch plain ice cream...watch out, we are PARTY ANIMALS!!!!

Please pray for Goob, that he would become strong in scripture and in prayer. That he realize his need for Christ everyday and be willing to repent when he is wrong.

No pictures or videos, like I said I am sick, stayed home from work today...Adam is sick too---dang, it always happens that way!!!

I wish you had a mind

2012-01-09T05:29:00.000+03:00

Yup, the title says it all.
While I was sticking plates in the dishwasher after dinner both kids were finishing up their dinner at the table. I heard them having a conversation....pretty much Ribbit repeating everything that Goober said and then I heard Goob say in a very practical voice,, " Ribbit, I wish you had a mind, that way we could really talk to each other"...She just smiled at him and kept repeating him :)

Tonight during our dinner prayer Goob asked that God could bless everyone in the world's dinner and then Ribbit added that she would like to have a pop-tart....I mean God cares about the little things too right?

Our lives have been completely consumed this weekend with our new diets. We have gone low dairy and low sugar. Which means....we have eaten lots of veggies, fruits, rice, beans, meats, wheat breads, hummus, smoothies and homemade carbs---no sugar fresh blueberry muffins YUMMY!
Its completely not fun to eat out on this diet...well for me at least. We went to Boston Market to use a gift card and I felt safe since they serve lots of veggies...wrong..everything is coated in cheese and mixed with a cream of some type or cooked in a pound of butter. So, I had 3 pieces of roasted chicken and then they made a special side of potatoes cooked in vegetable oil and seasoned with dill just for me.....sounds like a party right?
I have enjoyed making more things from scratch and knowing exactly what we are eating though.
I have not enjoyed the amount of time it takes me grocery shop....I normally only take one kid with me anyways since I already coupon and drive everyone in the store insane. Yes I am that lady that stands in front of the chip section and compares prices, matches a coupon with it and sings with her 2 year old at the same time. Now, I am that lady that does all of that plus stops and talks with everyone since we now live in the same town where I work and then I check how much sugar and sodium each item contains.....it took me about 7 minutes to pick out 3 microwave meals for lunch this week....all the while fake arguing with Ribbit about who was being more silly and giving high fives every 2 seconds (and she yelled at about 5 people that I was HER mommy and that I HAD TO PAY FOR IT!!! :).....i mean we are totally OBNOXIOUS!!!

We finally got Christmas completely packed up and our bags completely unpacked. The new presents are out (some of them are in the closet waiting for a rainy day) and the kids are ready to REALLY REALLY get back in the swing of things tomorrow....both in school, dad on normal work schedule.
Oh, and we got a couch for the playroom....YAY....Adam and I don't fit well on the bean bags...plus, its pre-loved and was free so they can't hurt it ;)

Oh, and guess what we celebrate in less than a month....OUR 1 YEAR OF BEING A FAMILY ANNIVERSARY....February 6th is the big day....Can you believe it?...I can't because we waited for what seemed like a decade to get our kiddos and I can because I feel like they have been mine forever :).

A Giving Heart

2012-01-07T07:29:00.000+03:00

Isn't it crazy how much we talk at our kids but don't let act on it or don't act on it ourselves?
We talk to Goob about giving non-stop and about what your actions say about your heart. However, this morning when he gave away some of his NEW CHRISTMAS presents I was a little hesitant. His classroom is doing a service project and teaming up with a classroom in Honduras to send them school supplies. Well fortunately Santa gave Goob a lot of "fun" school supplies with disney characters on them ...as well as A LOT of art supplies, paints, brushes, sketchpads. Goober dumped it ALL into a bag, never thinking twice and then said " mom can you go buy some paper to send as well". I ( in a very flesh filled moment) said " dont' you want me to go buy them supplies, instead of giving them your new things?" He said "nope" and went through the mess basket on the counter to dig out some more pencils and pens to throw in his bag.
I was so proud of him on the way to school and so mad at myself for not encouraging him from the get go. I mean that is the kind of things I am telling him to do right? That is the kind of thing that shows me how sweet his heart is right? Oh to have that faith and that kinda heart......he gladly gave :)

Ribbit news- she is missing lots of skin off her face tonight. Decided to try to ride brothers skateboard and instead face planted on it and took off the skin from her nose and almost all of it between her nose and lip...she looks like she has a hitler inspired mustache. She cried and cried but then got SUPER happy when she found out that she would get REAL band aids on her boo boos. Poor thing.

Now I don't mean to brag but this week was Homecoming at our school...another one of the 1294271610 reasons why I love CCA....which meant it was time to decorate our walls and doors and compete! I am proud to report that my group WON the door contest!!!!! I had 10 of the sweetest 7th grade girls and boys to work with and they worked hard!!! Also, my house won..GO INTEGRATIS!!!! and to top everything off the boys varsity basketball team beat our biggest opponent tonight at the basketball game...they Goober sat with me through and "let me" scratch his back the entire time:).

Here are some pictures from this week....

Cutest chef ever...check out those band aids..my poor girl.

Our theme for this year was "Movies"....so we did Batman....but tied it into CCA Cougars as well. This was the back of the door.

Here is the front...you can't tell from the picture but the action words are on springs that come out from the door!

Goober at the assembly sporting his Aequitas House colors.

6 of my 10 hard workers....go 7th grade!!

Making mommy some cookies and sausage and yogurt :)

A post from Adam's POOTER

2012-01-06T06:42:00.000+03:00

Pooter is what Ribbit calls these contraptions so I will too. (mine is still in rehab)

So things have been crazy wild here in our home this week. Nope, we aren't back in the swing of things and yes, we are dead tired. Luckily, this week is Homecoming at our school so Goob and I are enjoying a little bit of an easier schedule and all dress down days.....thank you Jesus, washing all those school clothes can be put off one more day :).
Adam has been a great little housewife this week, NO REALLY! He took down the tree, sorted out the presents, assembled new toys, did ALL the dirty laundry from our trip, scraped wall paper off the kitchen walls, removed kitchen cabinets, vacuumed and taken kids to the doctor :)...what a swell guy!
Goob has some weird stuff going on with his skin but the doctor thinks that hydracortizone and this other cream they gave us will help...luckily its not something he has to miss school for.

The biggest wrench in our plans is the fact that mom (me) is now on an all DAIRY FREE diet.....good one God, good one. Anyone who knows me, also knows that I can tear up some dairy....MILK, YOGURT, BUTTER, CHEESE and duh duh duh CHOCOLATE!!! So far the diet is doing what I need it to do and I have had three great days filled with meat, beans, rice, veggies, water and slim fast shakes (shocked that these aren't non-dairy and still taste awesome). If I am going to give up the cow, I better dag um loose some weight.
The kids and Adam are also suffering along with me, except I make sure they get plenty of dairy at breakfast and lunch....dinner is dairy free, this ain't no restaurant :).
They liked the biscuits made with shortening and soymilk, the edamame, the rice and beans, the roast made with flavored vegetable oil.....but tonight things got interesting with the TOFU.....I was trying to accomplish two things with tofu. One, give us a break from all the deer I have been cooking (we brought back a cooler full) and two, see if I could handle it fried, because it apparently taste like cheese when you fry it and then smother it on toast.
Ribbit didn't eat hers, Adam made faces at his, I scarfed my down and in the end found it appetizing and Goober ate 4 pieces and then announced " mom, i finished my squash".....I didn't correct him, if he wants to eat his squash, let him :)

I am glad to be back in my own home, own bed, own routine, our own little family doing our own little things but the one thing I could have given up for a much longer period of time is.......THAT 1st GRADE SPELLING LIST...it haunts me from Monday to Thursday night with Thursday night being the climax and normally the most heated night between Goober and I. Then on Friday morning we squeeze in as much practice as we can in a 2 block drive/walk. After that I think about it until I see him on Friday afternoon and hear how he thinks he did. I'm convinced that Goober will be the smartest kid in his grade if we ever leave our school (and if we dont :)....I don't think I learned the words that he is learning until like 6th grade...I mean come on, who knows what these words mean, better yet how to spell them at age 7? For example, here are 4 words from this weeks lists that have caused some tears : swelled, stacked, stung, felt---gee whiz.

Hopefully my computer will be fixed by this weekend and I can upload some videos and pictures from the last 1/2 of our trip to Alabama....goodnight :)

Still Alive

2012-01-05T05:02:00.000+03:00

Good News-the family is alive and well. We are safe back in Texas and except for a small rash on Goober we are healthy.
Bad News-my computer bit the dust.....Adam revived it but is still working on it to get it back to where it can be handled by a technology idiot such as myself.

Ill hopefully post this weekend and load up on pictures..if you are worried about all this free time I now have, please don't.....Goober's 1st grade spelling list is back and rearing its ugly head again :)

Sweet story to leave you with....this morning (2nd day back in school) Goober cried the whole way to school and walking down the hall to his classroom. Thinking that he was just uber tired I said "okay lets start this morning over". We got back in the car, came back home and ate some more breakfast :). Then we went back to school and he still cried as we approached his classroom. Finally he said, "mom, I just miss you everytime you leave" looking up at me with those big brown eyes. I realized that I spent two whole weeks with him and this being away for 7 hours a day wasn't sitting well with him. I told his teacher to call me whenever he wanted me and that seemed to calm him down....sweet boy.

Video Dump

2012-01-01T00:59:00.000+03:00

These are some videos from our holiday vacation....we leave tomorrow to head back to Texas (not really looking forward to that drive) but ready to see Goob start Upward Basketball, ready to start clay with my students and DUH DUH DUH ready for Adam to start his LAST semester of classes...whoop whoop!!!

This first one is of Ribbit and Uncle Ronnie...she was so sweet on him the whole night

Next, is the kids, daddy and Captain pretending to be asleep so they could surprise Uncle Jason and Aunt Erika on Christmas mornining...

This one is of Ribbit making Papaw paint her toenails with chapstick ( i paint her toenails alot...doensn't last long).

And the last is Goober complimenting my sewing skills......NOT

You might be a redneck if....

2012-01-01T00:36:00.000+03:00

....you rock your 7 year old to sleep in a deer stand.
....you hear a shot from an adjoining field so you hand your 7 year old off to your uncle who is in the same deer stand with you.
....you fire at the biggest of the two deer you see, high five your uncle and 7 year old and take off to track deer blood
....you spend the next 30 minutes looking through the woods with tractors and flashlights with all of your male cousins, uncle, grandad, brother and 7 year old
....you don't worry when you realize that you didn't kill the deer for two reasons 1)its super fun to shoot a 12 gauge shotgun and 2)your uncle already shot two this week and is sending you home with lots of deer :)

Yep, we did it, Adam and I went hunting together again. Goob sat in the blind with me and my uncle and at first I was praying for both a deaf and blind deer to walk by. With all the noise that Goob made I knew we were scaring away anything within 5 miles. He said he was hungry, had to pee, was bored, kept asking how much longer. Then he sat in my lap and I rocked him to sleep-which wasn't the smartest move. He kept having those dreams that scare you and he kept kicking the side of the blind. So therefore I had a death grip on his legs and his head (his little head kept rolling forward as he would get deeper into sleep).
That all changed when the deer came out right at dusk, several of my cousins and family were in blinds all over my papas land and within 5 minutes there were several shots. Adam never got a shot, he saw lots of deer though, and he plans on "blowing ones head off next time".

After that my family, my uncles family, my aunts family and my grandparents all went to my uncles for chili, dessert, campfire, football and fireworks. Goob and Ribbit had lots of fun holding sparklers and Goob set off about 4 packets of bottle rockets. Uncle Chris bought him some very large fireworks and they ran out into Kinzie Lane ( yes my grandparents road is named after me....I say its because I am the favorite, the rest of the cousins argue its because I was first :)) and would shoot them off together. He had a blast with all those teenage boys and wasn't scared of anything. At one point I looked over at him and he was shuffling close to a can, bent low and holding his hands up ninja style. He had apparently lit a dud and was being " safe" as he reapproached it :).

We all ended up playing spades and hearts until midnight (laughing hysterically, scaring each other with masks, eating ramen noodles at 9)....which for my family is normal and the kids fell asleep in beds and on the couch. Needless to say we all slept in until 8:30 this morning and then took naps this afternoon as well. I treasure this time that my kiddos have to bond with my family up on Kinzie Lane. Its where I spent every summer, where tons of my childhood memories are from and where almost all of my family lives. You can get away with a lot out in the woods and we take full advantage of it. Plus, Goob and Ribbit are being loved on and taught things by some of the best people I know. (So far Goob has learned how to drive a golf-cart, use a chainsaw, skin a deer, hunt, enjoy the river, play hearts-kinda, pick blueberries and how to RV with the best of them from family....something we can't offer in the city :).

One for me, One for you

2011-12-30T06:47:00.000+03:00

My grandfather is in the nursing home about 5 blocks from my parents home. I took Ribbit with me to spend some time with him on Wednesday morning and we had a blast. She brought along some goldfish and would feed one to herself and then feed one to my Papa. No, not put one in his hand, but in his mouth. One time she said he couldn't have anymore and when he made a sad face she gave him another. This completely dumbfounded me to see my grandfather behave this way with her...not that he isn't able to but the last couple of visits with him haven't convinved me of his overall health. She also sang him Jingle Bells and told him that he was her papa and that I was her mommy. Another man, whom I know from going to the same church all my life, also lives there now and brought out a teddy bear for her. He was interested to know that we live in Texas now and that my husband was/is attending seminary.
When we left Ribbit kissed papas hand and told him bye bye. I just know that our visit made his day....that and the fact that we brought him a snickers, that he downed with a coke :). I am going to take Goob with me tomorrow and I am hoping for a similar experience.

Even though Christmas is only a couple days behind us Adam and I have already changed our tune for next year. You see, all these presents are wonderful, very thoughtful and we feel very loved. We wanted our first Christmas with the kids to be memorable to to make up for lost time...to maybe give them the Christmas they never had. However, over the last couple of weeks I have been heavily convicted of the way I parent. I parent with words, not always actions. I want my kids to see me be the hands and feet of Jesus, not just preach about it. I want them to see me exhibit self control, not just yell at them about always wanting dessert. So, next year will not be about creating wish lists...instead we will create some homemade gifts and create memories of how to give. I think we will let them get 4 presents total.....one from us, one from santa (yes we do santa, geesh, who knew there were so many haters?), one from adam's parents and one from my parents. From there on out its all charity. I want them to be involved in making gifts for elderly and delivering them, maybe making some hospital calls, thanking firemen and policemen who are working that day, things of that nature. I want them to see that Christmas is not about them at all....but that we can use that time of year to minister, and probably be better received than any other time of year.
So once again, we are appeciative of the gifts we got this year, we will use them, play with them, cherish them but we are also excited to see what our kids will learn next year at this time.

I ask for your prayers tonight as well. We have a homestudy on January 13th of our new house.
Why?

We want to adopt again...its time....its obvious to both Adam and I. Its been on my heart for a while but I keep thinking " what if we mess up this good thing that we got?"...."what if we hurt Goob and Ribbit by bringing in more, more with baggage, more with behavior issues, learning disabilities, more with physical disabilities?, what if Goob and Rib don't think that there is enough love to go around?, WHAT IF WE ARE CRAZY?.
God always answer those questions with scripture.
James 1:27
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
John 14:18
I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.
Psalm 10:14
But you, God, see the trouble of the afflicted; you consider their grief and take it in hand. The victims commit themselves to you; you are the helper of the fatherless.

I'm pretty sure God wasn't kidding about any of this, so if I say I believe His word to be true, then I have to be willing to act on it.

Adam confirmed my thinking on one of our many drives all over this state in the last two weeks. He said " I think we can handle more"....coming from my husband, whose words are few, but are always well thought out and intentional, I practically lept for joy.....he's ready. He can't wait to get his hands on more babies.....right honey, right?

Here are more pictures of our holiday vacation

Tears from Lolly as she opens her angel boy apron...we get tears at least once a Christmas :)

Ribbit stole Captains chocolate.

Playing with Aunt Erika

Showing Captain his angel boy picture.

Papaw and CC reading their book that Goob wrote for them.

Goob showing off his motorcycle gear from Papaw and CC....yes, my 7 year old is a harley freak already...thanks dad :)

Ribbit and her Uncle Chris

Giving my papa some christmas presents from the kids.

Goob got a sling shot from Papa.

Pictures

2011-12-28T22:47:00.000+03:00

Goober is watching Peter Pan with dad and Ribbit is down for a nap so I have some time to post pictures over the last week and half. Enjoy!
Here is Goober showing off his new shoes from Santa :)

Daddy sitting in the Christmas vomit :)

Goober's gift to Mom and Dad...a nativity scene...complete with mohawk sporting Joseph.

Getting ready to go outside and play with their new toys.

Watching brother's football game later on that day.

Ice Skating with Dad..he only used that thing about two minutes and then he got the knack.

The oversized teddy bear from Nana Harvell :)

Thank you Nana Harvell for all the presents :)

Sitting in Nana's wheelbarrow

Pushing around her new Elmo and stroller from Santa.

Investigating dinosaur poop from Uncle Jason.

Highlights

2011-12-28T21:46:00.000+03:00

I really haven't had the time or energy to post over the last couple of days. Santa has come 2 more times to visit the kiddos....and countless other presents from family members have been given. Let's just say that Adam and I are very thankful for the hitch and cargo carrier we received from his parents...otherwise lots and lots of presents would be left here in Alabama.
Here are some highlights from the last couple of days.
1-we went to Nannie and Papaws and the kids got to play with the cousins...Goober spent the majority of the day playing with the boy cousins on the bike outside. He was thrilled when we he got a remote control car, several books and musical instruments. Adam's family has never ever treated me like a guest and they have passed that on with our kiddos as well. We ate well that night....too well!
2-Santa came that morning to Adam's parents home and we spent the morning opening gifts with his family and a special guest....Mrs. Rentscheler (I think I murdered the spelling) who brought the kids some sweet presents. We got tears from Lolly....a yearly tradition and everyone gave sweet thoughtful gifts.
3-The next morning we went to church and left promptly for Bay Minette. We got to my parents house where everyone was waiting for us. My cousin Heather couldn't wait to meet the kids and she was great with them the whole time. We ate well again, played cards (a Coleman tradition that occurs whenever at least 4 of us gather, swapped gifts and just had fun. Adam and I made plans to go hunting with my uncle and his son later on this week and then.....Santa came!
4-Santa came at about 9 o'clock at night....which meant we were up super late exchanging gifts with my immediate family. The kids got lots of clothes...all a size to big..something I am a big fan of. They also got lots of neat toys.....Goober's favorite being his football, receiving gloves and practice outfit (that he is worn 3 days in a row now and it smells like dog). Ribbit got a Dora tricycle that she calls her motorcycle. She also got a baggie of lipgloss that has glitter in it and she used it all over Papa's face that night and everyone else's face since.
5-My Aunt Robin knocked on our door early (well 9 o'clock) the next morning and we had fun eating breakfast with her, exchanging gifts and bringing my papa here to celebrate with us from the nursing home. Aunt Robin threw the football with Goober and he said that she is good for a girl :).
6-Adam and I left to go hunting at 4am yesterday morning. We sat in two different stands for about 2 hours. I saw nothing, but heard lots. He saw 3 but didn't think he was close enough to kill any. Luckily, my uncle had shot a doe the night before and gave us two hams. We are going again on Friday night---we are both determined to shoot something...its kinda funny. I felt like I had to kill something to feed my family...real Xena warrior princess like with my bright pink shoes on and my hand sanitizer just in case things got messy :).

We have tons of pictures and videos over the last couple of days but if I take enough time to edit and post them then I will miss the excitement around here.
MERRY CHRISTMAS

A Sweet Heart

2011-12-24T16:43:00.000+03:00

Last night we went to Adam's Dad's side of the family for Christmas. We ended up staying until 9:00 (way past kiddos bedtime) because we were enjoying the time with family so much. It seems like everyone came this year (minus Kristy, Jake and Selah :( ). The kids were getting to know their 2nd cousins, great aunts and great grandparents better, the food was good and the company was great.
Ribbit was working the crowd. She was really on top of her game. I mean the flirting with all the men, the uncontrollable laughter from the smallest thing set everyone else into laughter. She also decided that Uncle Ronnie is her favorite and gave him kisses through the stair rail. She repeated everything anyone said, sang songs, danced, ate well, took pictures (somewhat) and was overall in a very good mood.
Goober on the other hand, had been feeling sick all day, had rashes on both his hands and feet (im thinking from something outside) and laid on the couch the first 30 minutes of the visit. He eventually got up and started throwing ball with the male cousins and from there out his mood improved. He also received a bear that is as large as he is from Nana and that really made his day. Nana continued to give Goob and Ribbit little presents all night long and Goob said "thank you Nana" each time-----thats what I saw.
When we got in the car to come home though, Adam turned around to make sure the kids were asleep (and they were) and then started telling me a story about Goober with tears in his eyes.
Earlier yesterday, Goober saw Captain cutting up an old credit card and begged him to have it. Captain said he kinda took it in a manner that made him think that Goober thinks credit cards are really cool and so he had to have it. So later on that night, when Nana kept giving him presents Goober walked up to Nana and said "here" handing her the credit card. He said " it doesn't have any money on it but you can have it". Later on when Adam saw the credit card laying on a coffee table he picked it up and started taunting Goober with it (not knowing he had given it to Nana) and said " look what I have". Goober grabbed it away from Adam and said " that's Nanas, I gave it to her". When Adam asked "why". He said " well because she gave me something, and that's all I had to give her". Apparently he told Nana the same thing last night and she just thought he had the sweetest little heart....and he does :).
Adam and I told him the story last night about the widow's mite and how she gave all she had and God was pleased with it, even though it wasn't considered to be a lot. He liked that story and we praised him for thinking of others first. We also got to tell him why everyone gave Nana gifts last night....because we were 1)celebrating Jesus' birth and 2) we were celebrating the fact that Nana passed down Jesus ---to Randy, to Adam and now to Goober....so that is another reason we give gifts at Christmas, to celebrate family who have taught us well and passed down Jesus to us.
GREAT NIGHT FOR THE HARVELLS!!

Funny note. Adam's cousin Jared has downs syndrome and it just the sweetest guy.....super polite, hands out hugs, says Thank you, please, sorry and is just so loving. He was standing beside me and Aunt Candie and asked her who those kids were..pointing to Goob and Ribbit. She motioned to me and said "those are her kids" and he whispered back ( loud enough for me to hear though )...."they are not white". Ha, we both told him that they were adopted and they call themselves Carmel....he didn't even wait a second before he said "that's okay that you adopted them, ok". The rest of the night he smiled at Ribbit, complimented the kids and loved it when he found out that he and Goober were both left handed (which I told him proves that they are related). He told me at the end of the night that my kids were OKAY!!!

Another post for today...because I can :)

2011-12-23T05:27:00.000+03:00

This is really just a photo dump but since tomorrow we start the gift giving I know I will have lots and lots of pictures so I need to stay on top of things.
Goobers class after they acted out the Nativity...Goob was the innkeeper at Bethlehem. They also sang "Away in A Manger and Go Tell It on the Mountain" for us. He looks mad but he was just tired of getting his picture taken.

Getting stated on his prayer box....his first prayer request to go in was that we would all have a safe trip to Alabama.

Ribbit wanted to decorate something too so she put stickers on her forehead....

both of them working hard on decorating things...

like your cheek and lip with blue sharpie...look closely you will see it :)

Mom and Goober at the ice skating rink...we had lots of fun.

The night Santa came to our Texas home...Santa even sorted the gifts so that Goob's were on one side and Ribbits were on the other.

Opening their stockings..we forgot about them and went outside to play with all our new presents (thus ribbit's boots )

Both of the kids liked their Nerds Rope more than anything else in the whole stocking :)

I found slap bracelets with animals on them....Goob put both of them on instantly and then made Ribbit really mad when he went to slapping her to get her bracelets on.

Goober is going to get his Christmas wish this year...BOTH front teeth are coming in and FAST!!! I don't know if we will recognize our little boy when he actually has teeth!

Artsy Fartsy

2011-12-23T05:02:00.000+03:00

Here is some end of the year work by my students...MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

In Intro to Art we do a semester of drawing, then of painting..after Christmas we do a semester of ceramics, then the last semester is sculpture/printmaking. Therefore one of our last projects was to use 9 different watercolor techniques to portray two very different emotions. This is the best one, of course done by my male student who excels in art (when he is sitting down :)).

We also finished our 7th grade art with watercolor...but instead focused on the Fauve style of painting and did cityskapes that included a bridge. They had to use 4 of the 9 techniques that I demonstrated.

This 7th grade boy has a style all his own...hes almost always the first one done with his projects.

This young lady just started CCA this year and has tons of talent....she was pictured in one of my other blogs posing in her tacky christmas sweater.

This very simple cityscape was done by a fellow friend's daughter....she says she is super blonde ( and sometimes acts it) but has lots of talent. She's also one of the only 7th grade girls that I would leave alone with my children :)

This 7th grade girl is one of my favorite students. She is funny, always stays behind to help me clean and love love loves art!

This 7th grade boy is also new to our school this year...from Chicago...I worried about him fitting in but after he showed off his soccer skills in the first home game the boys befriended him.

I'm really not surprised at how aweseom this cityskape is (even though its really not one) because this 7th grade girl excels in art. During bible she always says how excited she is for art at the end of the day. She is my student who brought us home a 1st place ribbon for a print she made last year as a 6th grader :)

Sweet Home Alabama

2011-12-20T20:06:00.000+03:00

Well we made it..it only took us close to 14 hours but we made it. The kids did great. Goober was starting to get a cold and the medicine we gave him made him super sleepy the whole trip. Ribbit didn't use the potty in her diaper one time!!! She went potty at every stop and we were so proud of her!!! They watched DVDs and played with some of the car toys that Santa gave them.
We got to Lolly and Captains house on Sunday night, ate dinner and went to bed. Not before Captain and Goob had a war with Captain using his marshmallow gun and Goob using his new Nerf Machine Gun. It was quite loud and the whole house shook....we are still finding darts everywhere :).
Yesterday we woke up and went straight to Captain Dental Office to get our teeth cleaned. Everyone got a good report and no cavities. The kids even helped clean mommy and daddy's teeth. Ribbit went shopping there and we came home with lots of toothbrushes and mouthwash. Then we all came home ate lunch and crashed for about 2 hours. Later that afternoon we took Lolly some cookies to work and then Adam and I took the kids to the park. Adam and Goob practiced batting and catching the baseball while Ribbit and I went all over that crazy park.
Last night we all went out to eat at a Mexican restaurant and then went to Santa's Village downtown. The kids had lots of fun, there were reindeer, fake snow, Mrs. Clause, Santa, Frosty, cookies, all kinds of stuff. Both kids went straight to bed and slept through the night.
Tonight Adam and I are getting a date night out with some friends of ours while the grandparents take the kids to look at Christmas lights.
Here are some pictures from Santa's village.

This is at the entrance.

Frosty..Ribbit was so curious and just kept staring at him/her?

Sleigh Ride

The cutest snowmen ever!

The cutest snowwomen ever!

Listening to Mrs. Clause read a story

So this picture needs some explaining. Goob has been asking for a dss (dont' ask me what that stands for). Its some kind of video game...adam and I refuse to give in and get him one b/c he is too young and he don't want him addicted to video games. Anyways, his d ended up looking more like an a, so that is why his #1 request came out to be a curse word...we laughed so hard. He didn't get it :)

Mom and Goober

Daddy and his kiddos

Talk about being out of it...this girl was dead asleep with all kinds of drool. After this picture was taken she woke up and was ticked off, making mean faces for next little while.

SUCCESS

2011-12-18T05:00:00.000+03:00

Santa did well. He ate the cookies, left a thank you note, closed the fireplace door and lined up the kids presents nicely. Both of them slept in this morning and we all walked out together. Goober just stared and stared at his gifts and then asked " Can I open one?". When we told him that they were all for him he went crazy and immediately grabbed the Nerf Gun....his #1 request. Ribbit told Mommy and Daddy thank you constantly and put her baby dolls under the blanket so they could go nigh nigh. Goober posed in his new shoes and was estatic when he opened a gift from Aubie that had two new Auburn sweatshirts in it :). Somehow Santa knew exactly what the kids wanted :).
Goober got us the best present ever. He handed us this bag and inside was a clay nativity set he had made. Joseph has a mohawk...its just perfect...best Christmas gift so far :).
The rest of the day consisted of a Christmas Party thrown by the agency we used to adopt them. We ate pizza, played arcade games, got stockings from elves and visited from people that have a very special place in our heart :). The people working the party kept thanking us for adopting and for "what we did" . Its always great for us to be able to use that as a witnessing opportunity and let them know of the blessing these kids are in our lives and how we know God orchestrated everything...how it was a calling from him in the first place. Mom and Dad won an activity and ended up with a gift card to AMC Theaters....woop woop...DATE NIGHT!!!!!!
Then we went to Goob's flag football game...they lost but once again played an older team. He had one awesome catch and lots of good flag pulling. We finished off the evening by packing and watching Christmas movies.
We leave tonight for Alabama....i don't think you are supposed to post that kind of stuff online but if you plan on robbing us, please clean the house, run the dishwasher and vacuum while you are at it :).

I don't think I posted the video from last week's game of his awesome catch so here goes.. and then are some pictures of the kids working out with dad :)

Here is Ribbit rooting for her favorite brother :)

Santa's a comin

2011-12-17T07:44:00.000+03:00

Its 10:10 on Friday, December 16th and guess what? Santa has already made an appearance at the Harvell house :). We wrote him and explained that we wanted to spend Christmas with our family in Alabama so could he please please come early to our Texas home? We even got his reindeer some food for their extra work. Luckily he was okay with that :)
We made sure that before Goob went to bed he knew that Santa would only come because he knows that its Jesus's birthday and that as a little boy "Saint Nicholas" gave gifts to children to help them celebrate Christ's birth. Its quite hard as a momma to balance the whole Santa thing when you really want to make the holiday centered around Christ. Advent has helped, Goob's school has helped reinforce that but other than that its a constant reminder that we are giving gifts out of the love that Christ gives us and that we could never outgive God. I read a great article though.....one that took some of the guilt off this momma (one who tries to do everything to make sure her kids have lasting memories and look forward to traditions) Here is the link Desiring God.Org.

Today was a great day. We all (yup thats right all 4 of us) went to Goob's nativity play..he was the innkeeper and with his arms crossed told Mary and Joseph that they couldn't stay in his inn but in the stable. Then we stayed for his Christmas party where they made prayer boxes, read the story of the Candy Cane and ate. Then we ran some errands (bank, gifts). Then we went to Ribbit's Christmas party at her old preschool and they kids ate lunch with her friends and she sang Christmas Carols with them. Then the kids and dad came home for rest while I went to the faculty Christmas Lunch. When I got home we all loaded up and went to Home Depot and bought tons of wood for my Mixed Media class next semester....that was fun with the kiddos (where is that darn sarcasm font?). As if we weren't all ready pooped we went to Dinner at McAlisters, then went Ice Skating, watched a glass blowing demo and rode around to look at several neighborhoods that had great Christmas lights.

Back to the ice skating thing..Goober begged us to do it. He had never ever ice skated, but of course like all things athletic he took right to it. He was going so fast around the rink that the manager kept asking him to slow down and by the end of the night knew his first name :). Mom on the other hand clung to the walls and begged for Goobers help at the entrance where the walls stopped. Dad and Ribbit watched and took videos. There is a great video of Goob attempting a spin, crashing into the wall, reaching for the top of the wall and then hitting the ice :). There is also a great video of mom getting instruction from dad on how to ice skate while Dad laughs at mom and then makes fun of her to Ribbit....CAUGHT ON TAPE!!!! When we got home, poor Goober had 4 blisters on his ankles from those skates but he says he wants to go again :).

Gooberisms (before I forget)
1. Goob and I were playing with one of my christmas gifts (from a student) the other day and he started to throw it. I said "okay goob, thats enough" and he said " what, we are harvells, we joke, we kid" :)
2. In McAListers tonight Goob let one rip that could have cleared the whole restaurant....Adam, Goob and I were laughing so hard that I know people thought we were insane...especially when the TOXIN hit their nose. Then on the way home from ice skating Goober said " mom, do you like June Bugs?" I said "no" and he said " aw, why not, they stink and they are my #1 fans "....:)

Here are some videos from our day......they are pretty dagum funny!

Goober the InnKeeper

Jump Jump

What we are really proud of...our Goober memorizing scripture!

Ice Skating Fun!

Crash and Burn, while parents laugh :)

Jesus got bapatized

2011-12-15T05:33:00.000+03:00

Goober and Adam had a good long talk at dinner about why people get Bap A tized. That's Goobers way of saying it and I personally like it. I always give Adam the stink eye when he tries to correct Goober's sweet sayings....I mean let someone else crush him :). He and dad read the story of Jesus's bap a tism (okay, okay I'll stop) and how God told him that he was well pleased. I know that God is already working in little Goober's heart but please join us in praying that he will come to salvation soon!

Ribbit has really started to sound like a little priss lately. If I am walking somewhere in the house without her, heaven forbid she yells "mommy wait" and runs and grabs my hand and then we walk there together. If she can't find Mommy or Daddy she yells " Mommy, Daddy where are you?". She also tells Goober and the cats what to do constantly and with her pointer finger :). Tonight I was singing her to sleep and when I was done she rolled over and put her hand on my cheek and said "my mommy, see you in the morning"--melt my heart.

Goober is the InnKeeper in the Nativity Play at school this year. He has afterschool practice tomorrow night and the play is on Friday. We have our family christmas on Saturday morning, followed by a christmas party at our adoption agency, followed by a flag football game, followed by a 12 hour drive to Alabama.....yay!

Here are some pictures from the Cookie Swap and Tacky Sweater Party we hosted for the 7th grade girls.
This is one of my sweetest and most talented (artistically) girls!

She is new at our school this year but glad she came and is making friends.

This is one of my friends daughters...she can work it :)

Another one of my friends' daughters....leader of the worship team for our Logic School.

This is Adam during the party....hmm, I really thought he would be into the whole thing :)

ONESY!!

My tacky scrubs top!

Everybody!!

Silly Shot!

Shrek On Ice

2011-12-14T05:33:00.001+03:00

Over the Thanksgiving Break our good friends Sarah and Doug came up to visit us. I have known Sarah since middle school but we became close friends in high school. Little did we know that we both end up in Texas...she married a farmer and the rest is history. They are expecting their first child any day now...literally RIGHT NOW!
They really wanted to take the kids to see Shrek on Ice at the Gaylord while they were here so off we went. It was super cold but very very neat!!! Here are some pictures from the trip!

Goober on the ice slide!!

They ended the show with an all ice nativity...it was beautiful and the gospel was being read in the background.

Ribbit had no clue what to think :)

Back at home making crafts :)...these two are going to be great parents.

We love our sweet sweet Texas friends!

A great family shot while standing in line :)

Modeling the blue parkas we were given to wear.

Sarah, Doug and Baby Caroline

Shrek and Donkey

Early Christmas Presents

2011-12-12T05:57:00.000+03:00

I thought I had posted these but we just found them on an old camera card. Even though Christmas is quite close, both grandparents sent early christmas gifts....:), must be a thing you do with your grandkids b/c I never got any early gifts :).

And here are some pictures of the kids enjoying their gifts :)

Santa??? I know him!!!

2011-12-11T06:35:00.000+03:00

Here are two videos we made for the kids from Santa...thanks for the link mom!
P.S.- we know that their names are in them but Adam's says it not searchable! :)

To Ribbit, From Santa

To Goober From Santa

Sleep--the best present!!

2011-12-11T06:10:00.000+03:00

If anyone is still looking for that perfect gift for Adam and I...well look no longer....give us 1 maybe 2 hours all to ourself with a queen bed, heck we will take a twin and just let us sleep :).
In the last 48 hours we have worked, cleaned the house, hosted 19 7th grade girls, had the cops visit our house (thanks to a phone prank), re-cleaned the house, gone to a 7:30 am flag football game for Goober, shopped for Christmas presents, rode camels (yes a Sallie the Camel has 1 hump kind) and attended a Pajama Christmas Party.
It would take a warehouse of Red Bulls to keep me up another minute (after I finish this blog of course :)).

Goober got the first and last touchdown of his game this morning. He caught a ball from 1/2 way down the field....talk about being impressed. Yes, I do have videos of it, and No, I didn't scream like a banshee this time. Goob made me promise not to scream before we got out of the car this morning. We promised Goob a milkshake if he got a touchdown and therefore we pulled into Sonic at 9 this morning and got our two kids shakes....like I said, we are aiming for the parents of the year award!!

Ribbit has been learning all of the christmas songs and sings " Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells". She also has learned " Rise and Shine and Give God the Glory Glory" except her version goes like this " Glory Glory, God, Glory Glory, God". She has yet to unwrap any of the presents under the tree and instead of taking ornaments off the tree she just touches it and then yells " mommy I touch it"!!!

Her last day of preschool is this Wednesday. Then she will be with us for 2.5 weeks and then start a new preschool when we get back from Christmas break. I am so excited that she will be even closer to me now and that she will be in a Christian environment. We also found out that she will get to be in the 3 yr old class at CCA next year.....HALLELUJAH!!!! I will have both of my kids with me!!!!

Here are some funny Gooberisms...
#1-As we pass a pink Volkswagon Beetle Goob says " that car looks like a booger, its lame".
#2- He was trying to teach Ribbit how to say Hallelujah. He broke it down like this HA, Lay, Ew, Jahwah....he was so proud of himself.
#3 Goobers new favorite joke goes as follows.
Goob: Dad, say something mean to me
Dad: Your booty smells
Goob: I know my booty smells but what are you? your booty smells too!
Followed by hysterical laughter from Goob, Adam and myself---he is trying to do the joke of "I know you are but what am I?....he thinks he is super funny which makes it even better!!!!
#4 Goob at Christmas Party: Mom, can I have one more cookie?
Mom: how many have you had so far?
Goob: only one
7th grade girl: Mrs. Harvell, but he already had 3 brownies
Goob: she didn't ask how many brownies as he scowls at the tattletale :)

Here are some pictures from our exhausting yet not over yet weekend :)

Mommy and Ribbit ride the camel. The man made me sit on the hump to keep her locked in. It was kinda scary, especially when the camel growled at us! Ribbit kept saying "Animal walking, Animal moving"

And here is big boy Goober, who wanted to ride without parents :)

Last but not least pictures from Breakfast with Santa last weekend.

Meeting Santa

2011-12-08T05:27:00.000+03:00

First things first....GOOBER GOT A 99 ON HIS SPELLING TEST!!!!! He only missed a point for making a letter backwards. Can you say mom and dad happy dance? We both were standing in the kitchen when we saw the test and broke out into white girl and white boy dance times 10!! Then Adam started rapping and we sang a song about how smart Goob was. Both kids just looked at us and I bet they secretly wondered who these crazy people were. It makes that one night of heartache almost worth it.....almost.
We are continually making friends here in Bedford, thanks to Mrs. Ribbit. She charmed everyone in line at the bank yesterday with Adam. He said she flirted with everyone. Today at Wal-Mart she sang Happy Birthday to each passing person. The lucky lady in line behind us also got "Mary Lamb" and a rendition of Jingle Bells. Me and the kids went to an 8th grade girls basketball game the other day and and took our dinner with us. The minute we got there Ribbit grabbed her french fries, ketchup and hiked up the bleachers to sit with Mrs. Arce ( i have both of her daughters in art class) and offered to feed her french fries. Then she got her book out of her happy meal and took it to a mom from the opposing team and said " read it" and started turning the pages saying " mommy killy--translation Mommy Kitty", "killy sleeping", killy go nigh nigh". The mom was smitten and when Ribbit closed the book and said " De End" she laughed out loud...that girl will never have any enemies.
We have lots going on this week. We are hosting all my 7th grade bible and art girls here for a party on Friday night. Don't worry we haven't gone crazy but now that we live so close we can do fun things outside of school with my sweet students. So far 19 of them have RSVP'd so sounds like a full house :). We are having a Cookie Swap and a Tacky Christmas Sweater contest.....should be lots of fun! Goober has football practice and a game this weekend. We also have our new sunday school class Christmas Pajama Party and Kids Book Swap....we are very excited to go and get to know our new church family better.
Here are some pictures from a Christmas Party we went to last weekend......it was hosted by one of Goober's very best friends. They had Mr. and Mrs. Clause there and all kinds of food and crafts and games for the kids.

Enjoy the pics!
Making a pink reindeer ornament. This child is going to love us for the pictures with all of her chins!

Goob got mad at us for not letting him slide in the mud outside....such mean parents!

Ribbit's finished ornament!

See Mommy, I paint!

This picture shows their true colors....the three amigos!

Carols with the Mr. and Mrs.

Raise your hand if you know " Silent Night". When we started to sing not a one of them sang!

Mrs. Clause shared a story about Jesus with the children....awesome! Ribbit paid a lot of attention :)

I wouldn't post the same picture this many times except to show you what we go through to get a nice smile out of Goober...check out all of these great faces ...bwa haha ha.

Really Goob, Really?

Almost?

Goob lasted about 2 minutes and then went off with the boys....Ribbit stayed to chat a while.

Our first family Christmas picture with the Clause's ....Doesn't Adam look like a rich white boy?

Just charming away.

Look at how happy Goob is to be with his bestest best friend!!

All those sweet little boys!

Through my kiddos eyes

2011-12-04T07:19:00.000+03:00

Christmas season is a lot more fun when you have kids. Adam, you rock honey, but I have never seen you get as excited as Ribbit did today about getting her "silly face" painted on her cheek. I have also never seen you dance with as much delight as Goober did during " Winter Wonderland" yesterday in the car. I still love you but kids make everything new again and exciting!!!! (poor adam, he doesn't write blogs...but maybe if I talk about him enough he will :))
Anyways, we have been going full force all week long...recovering from thanksgiving break that is. I almost, almost forgot how much of a booger those darn 1st grade spelling tests are. Goober and I ended one night in tears from both of us over these two horrible horrible words, that should be deleted from our english language anyways....insect and brisk.....urrggh. We ended up hugging it out but there for a minute I thought we would never speak to one another again.
We also have been trying to send out Christmas cards ( look for Goob's awesome stamp work on the back of the envelopes), buy everyone's christmas gifts, make everyone a homemade gift and keep up with Advent--so far we have learned that Jesus is coming and that Ezra and Nehemiah are declaring a Savior...but he has yet to come...due to our schedule. Hopefully Jesus will be born this week and we can see who comes to visit him while in the manger.

This morning (saturday) we went to eat breakfast with Santa. It was really neat and a great idea for little ones. We ate pancakes and sausage (goob ate twice as much as I did..and he had already eaten at home too :)...can you say GROWTH SPURT). Then they went and visited with Santa and got their picture taken. Goober told Santa that he wants a "Nerf Gun" and Ribbit told him that she wanted a "Princess".....whew, thanksfully Santa is going to be able to follow through on those :). Then we got "silly faces" face painting done. Goober got a christmas tree and Ribbit got a "twinkle little star". We came home and cleaned out Goober's entire closet and dresser....the kid has way to many clothes...1/2 of which don't fit. So we sorted them, made a donate stack, a throw away sack, and a yardsale stack. His room likes a completely different world now. Then we watched some football, napped and went next door......

We are truly blessed. Not only did we move right beside my work, into a huge beautiful home ( with an island) but we moved right beside some very energetic, preach the word Messanic Jews. They invited us over tonight to celebrate the end of Shabbat (their Sabbath) and to watch a movie that their home church just finished making. We participated in Hebrew prayers, communion (their way), dinner (rabbini kosher with homemade hummus, pita, hallah bread) and then dessert. Our kids played with the kids from their home church and we just got loved on. Adam took over some of his artifacts and had the attention and awe of everyone as he spoke with such knowledge and intelligence about this land that they have such a longing for and connection to. Ribbit also put on a show during the movie..she went and stood in front of the TV and danced....shrugging her shoulders and stepping really high...she had everyone in stitches..i was sweating so bad because i was both laughing and praying that people would think she was being more cute than annoying.It was awesome. They are great neighbors and we can learn a lot from each other.

Tomorrow we are going back to the church we visited last week and fell in love with....Thank you God!!! Then we have a birthday party to attend and then we will hopefully go see one of my students in a walk through Bethlehem tomorrow night.
As if this post wasn't already long enough, I am going to attach some more pictures of my parents visit with us over Thanksgiving!

Making cookies--with our neighbors!!

Final product--oreo turkeys!

Goob likes to act like hot stuff when his friend is over :)

Goob's new best buddy and our new neighbor.

So papa and ribbit would fix each others booboos the whole week. He eventually pulled out some tape and started covering her "boo boos". This is what walked into the living room next.

Goobers turkey. He named him Bob Bobby Thom....thats a logical name for a turkey right?

Christmas Story-told through Facebook

2011-11-30T21:57:00.000+03:00

They showed this video before our reading of the Christmas Story and Singing of Carols today in Chapel. The students loved it....its the story of the birth of Christ told through facebook ( which they totally get and can relate to). Its a super neat video...PLEASE OH PLEASE watch it and pass it along!!!

Christmas Story-Facebook Style

Dollar Days

2011-11-29T05:23:00.000+03:00

While my parents were here over Thanksgiving break we went to the Dollar Day at the Zoo.....and it wasn't too crowded :). We were there for about 4 hours and didn't even see 1/2 of the zoo. They have a children's zoo and we spent 1/2 of our time there.
FYI- as I type this Ribbit is yelling at me " GET IN THE FORK" and "SING TIS OLD MAN". She is also asking me about all the boo boos on my face and when she finds one she rubs her pointer finger on the computer and then rubs that same finger on my "boo boo" and then kisses that spot....Thanks Papaw....she will never be the same :)...and we like it :)

Here are pictures from the zoo!

Our new home....finally

2011-11-28T05:47:00.000+03:00

I had been waiting to take pictures of the new home until it was somewhat clean and put together. Having company for Thanksgiving really pushed us to get that done!! We still aren't 100% done...there are pictures lying against the walls where they will go some day...and there aren't curtains on every window...and the playroom..oh, the playroom..its a war zone. But, its the kids war zone and I refuse to get bent out of shape over it!

Our first project will be the kitchen, there isn't a darn thing wrong with this house except its not cosmetically our taste. So starting this week we will be taking down the wall paper in the kitchen to paint it...next the cabinets will be painted and hardware changed out!!!

Do you see the centerpiece Goob made for thanksgiving out of pinecones?..the computer chair is at the dining table to add room for our friends Sarah and Doug...do you see my double over and my island..oh happiness :)
We will add after pictures!

Heres the living room....i'm in love with the built ins.

We situated the couch so we can look out and watch the kids in the play room and on the trampoline in the back yard. Yes, that's Adam watching one football game on his computer and another on the TV!

The kids reading corner and art display!

Goob's room...he went down to a twin bed for his new room....we aren't quite done decorating in here.

He picked this room to be his own after seeing the built in bookshelves and desk!

Kids bathroom...just revamped!

Ribbit's room....like her bow holders? Thanks pinterest for the idea!!

We are working on a big RIB (insert real name) with a frame to go over her bed.

Her closets...she loves her ABC stickers on her door!!

DUH DUH DUH....its the playroom....thanks to CC and PaPaw there are now two bean bags in there!

Our room....wonh wonh......we just could care less about our room...who has the time to clean it up when there is laundry to be done, dishes to wash, babies to hold, boo boos to kiss, hide and seek games to be won?

Our closet (also known as the christmas closet..NO KIDS ALLOWED) and the master bath....all of our bathrooms have heating lamps in them....thank you jesus!

I just realized that I forgot to take pictures of our guest room, guest bath and garage.

Picture a guest room with a black and white twall comforter set, two desks and lots of Auburn posters and degrees hanging up. Picture the bathroom with a shower only and a starfish picture waiting to be hung :)

Picture the garage...WAIT, don't picture it!!! Its a mix of bikes, strollers, scooters, pogo sticks, tubs of tools, leftover mixing boxes, extra fridges and a big ole element....and yes we still leave the door up most of the time!!!

Our Happy Home...i know the picture is fuzzy but its my only defense against weirdos.

Video Problems

2011-11-28T04:12:00.000+03:00

Apparently the videos aren't working of Goob playing quarterback so here they are again!

We just spent the whole weekend making christmas ornaments. I won't post pictures just yet as they are all christmas presents but I was so stinkin impressed with how well they turned out and how well the kids did. Goob did a great job and never complained...even though I made him come in from playing basketball to finish. Ribbit likes glitter....i mean really likes glitter...therefore its all over our dining room..but thats okay..it makes it look sparkly clean :).

We have decided that making christmas ornaments will be a Harvell Christmas Tradition...whats a tradition you have?

True Stories

2011-11-27T01:43:00.000+03:00

True Story #1-During a game of hide and go seek today I hid underneath my comforter and ended up getting a 20 minute nap out of the deal....SCORE

True Story #2-My kids have spent all afternoon playing TOGETHER with the new dishwasher box...it has been a fort, a rocket, a punching bag, etc.....from now on I am buying them boxes for birthdays!

True Story #3-Ribbit seems to be outgrowing naps and has thus slept until almost 8:00 every morning over the break.....HALLELUJAH!!!!

True Story #4- Ribbit can play with my scentsy bars for hours at a time. She opens and closes them and then smells them and says "eeeemmmmmm". Then she tells me and Adam to smell them...its quite cute and comical.

True Story #5-Goober eat as much as I do, or more at almost every meal....can you say GROWTH SPURT?

Heres Goober and CC making pizzas for us one night this past week.

In honor of the Iron Bowl today, here is proof that we are raising our kids right :)

I don't think my dad knew he was filming but he caught some great dancing!

Oh, and thanks for all the prayers for our home. Our renter decided not to move out and may be willing to work out a lease to purchase soon :).

Football-a rising star

2011-11-26T08:10:00.000+03:00

It just wouldn't be Thanksgiving without lots and lots of football. I am pretty sure that Adam has watched football for three straight days now....and tomorrow will be no different...especially with the Iron Bowl happening..and I will be the first to admit that I am praying for a miracle against UA.
However, I have some videos that top all of those games you will watch this week. I call him Cam, his dad calls him Ontario....but we all know him as Goober (and yes I know that I say his name in these videos but I think we are okay since videos aren't easily searchable :)).

I apologize for the loud shrill screaming....and I beg you to turn down your volume before you hit play. I'm pretty stoked that I had the camera on and running in time to catch his very first touch down!!!

Here are some videos of later on in the game when he got to play quarterback!!

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-25T06:18:00.000+03:00

Today was lots of fun.
I got up and immediately started cooking. Adam got up and started cleaning. My parents got up and spent the whole morning with the kids, playing basketball, walking up the school, playing games, etc. Our friends Doug and Sarah got here around 1:00 and we ate lunch about 30 minutes later. Then we sat around and watched football, played with the kids and caught up. My parents are leaving tomorrow morning to head home--I can already tell that their will be tears as they tell their grandbabies good-bye. Tomorrow afternoon Doug, Sarah, Adam and I are taking the kids to the Gaylord Hotel for Shrek on Ice....should be lots of fun!!!

For Thanksgiving dinner we had the following:
Turkey-cooked with bacon on top so drippings would fall on turkey ...yummy!!!
Roasted Cauliflower--with parmesan cheese infused oil
Buffalo Chicken--wrapped in crescent roll ring
Green Grape Salad
Honey Biscuits
Baked Potatoes-made pinterest style
Mac and Cheese
Cranberry Sauce and Gravy
Salad
Cheese Ball with Crackers
Fried Pickles with Sauce
Thankgiving Cookies
Ooey Gooey Pumpkin Butter Cake

We are stuffed!!!
Today I am thankful for many many things-first, Jesus who gives me peace when I lay in bed at night worrying about our finances, my kiddos future, etc. Second to God for orchestrating how the Harvell couple would become the Harvell family. Third, for my family..my parents and brother who love on my kids without holding back. Fourth, for my inlaws (mom, dad, brother and sister) for also loving on my kids and putting up with their crazy mom :).
Today however I also want to say how thankful I am for my husband....who took me on a date last night even though we were tired and gross (no shower:), who always whistles when I step out of the bathroom after getting ready for work, who cleaned the entire house this morning without ever being asked to, who buys me little presents all the time as he knows that its one of my love languages, who is constantly asking God for guidance as to what our next step will be. I am very thankful for you Adam!!!!

Here is Goob's mohawk that Adam gave him right before his first football game. He got to keep it this whole week but will have to shave it off before we head back to school.

This little thing found an Auburn bear ornament while we were decorating the tree and played with it for a long time.

Ribbit with the christmas tree....we put it in front of the window looking out into the play room. She keeps calling the angel "princess"

I will post pictures of our thanksgiving day festivities soon....but first I want to catch up on some other pictures/movies!

Here is a self portrait done by one of my Drawing 2 students in the style of Chuck Close.

Close UP

My other Drawing 2 student's portrait.

Close Up...i told the to use symbols and letters that were personal to them.

Intro to Art Painting assignment....we talked about color theory and what certain colors we associate with certain objects and why.

The actual positive space is created by overlapping magazine pictures.

The boys did very well on the project, the CCA cougar and gun came out very polished looking!

CC and Pawpaw

2011-11-23T05:48:00.000+03:00

My parents have been here since Saturday and my kids want nothing to do with us :)......i get it. Ribbit is borderline consumed with pawpaw every waking moment. We went to the Dallas Zoo today...it was $1 day and was such a great bargain. We rode the train, rode horses, fed every creature we could, jumped in puddles and rode the carousel. We are pooped.
Me, momma and Adam also stayed up late last night playing Settlers and that added to our fatigue.
The other nice things about my parents coming out is that they always stock my fridge and/or my mom does some of the cooking. They also put the kids to bed, give them baths and do all the little everyday things...its like we are actually on vacation :).....i must admit I am missing my share of kisses though :).

Here are some pictures from Goobers Thanksgiving Feast at school.

1st-here is a picture of a letter that Goob wrote to Solomon...can you read the 1st line? " Dear Solomon, how long has it been?".....hehe

Mom, please don't take pictures of me in this pillowcase :)

Then I discovered his Indian name that he chose for himself written on his headband " Lightning Baby"

Sweet 1st graders.

Bow and Arrow practice

HIs pumpkin and bunny painting all in the hallway.

The feast...dag um!

His 6th grade reading buddy.

And who is that in the front of the line?....of course little Goober.

Human garbage disposal....he's going through a growth spurt and cleaning us out.

Thanksgiving Break

2011-11-20T06:56:00.000+03:00

Ahhhh..one whole week off!!!! What makes it even better....one whole week with my parents here!!! What makes it even better? One whole week off with my parents here and we didn't have to drive to Alabama :).

We got a whole lot done today...Oatmeal shaped pancakes and bacon for breakfast, Christmas tree up, decorated, house decorated, shave Goobers hair into a mohawk. Stop...eat lunch, head to Goob's first football game--where they won by 20 points and HE GOT THE FIRST TOUCHDOWN OF THE GAME AND SEASON. Wait til I upload the videos, I'm even embarrassed at how loud and how long I screamed for that little man :). Then we got lots of things done, Ribbit and I finished two projects for her room (painting shelves and making three bow holders). Daddy and Goob got some basketball practice in. Daddy got lots of football in. We picked up the entire house, I made a small dent in the never ending laundry pile that stinks up our room :) and Adam hung all of the pictures, shelves and diplomas up in the kids room and guest bedroom....whew.

Adam and I joke that we get more done before 9 in the morning then most people get done all Saturday long...its true. When Ribbits up, everyone is up and going. She accomplished two new big girl goals to day. She A) got up out of her bed herself ( she acted as if she was still in her crib and would only let us pick her up out of bed) but yes she got up, walked into our room and told Daddy up ...ALL WITHOUT WHINING!!! We always tell her to come tell us good morning instead of lying in her bed screaming " mommy ALL DONE, daddy ALL DONE" all morning :). Then, she went to the bathroom, moved the stool over to the potty and climbed up on it and did #2 all without tons of help....MY OH MY we got a big'un on our hands :).

Here are some pictures of the cookies that Goob and I made for his Thanksgiving Feast at school..I'll post touchdown videos later (I gonna see if there is way I can edit the volume first.....your eardrums will thank me).
Putting the feathers on the turkeys.

He decided that a pattern looked better than all in one direction like normal feathers :)

Tails complete (please pretend that my cookie sheet is spotless)

Mini chocolate chips for eyes (all held on by drops of cream cheese icing YUMMY!

He was so careful with every little eye.

Beaks drawn on with colored food gel.

Feet drawn with colored food gel too....oh that cookie sheet is just gross!

He was really proud of himself..do you see that one cookie up front? It looks like it had been shot.....the red gel got out of control for a minute. Don't worry, he didn't suffer long....we ate him and put him out of his misery.

Ribbit was super proud too....I think for only eating 3 spoonfuls of cream cheese icing and not 5.

This is a picture of the looonngg # Goober wrote on my board to show me how much he loved me....I mentioned it in a previous post.

Oh, if you can pray for our home in TN (yes we still have it :(. Our renter gave us her 30 day move out notice so soon we will be paying a rent and mortgage once again...only difference is that this time we have two kiddos to raise as well. We know its all part of God's perfect timing.

Art Heaven

2011-11-16T05:28:00.000+03:00

One of my students laughed when I told her that I would be gone for 4 days to an art conference...little does she know how truly awesome they are!
We spent every day from 8-midnight in classes,seminars and art museums.....pure art heaven. The best part is that we are all artsy fartsy and therefore when one of us gets lost finding our hotel room (that we have been to 3 times already) or when another misses a meal while working on an art project or yet when another runs through the museum to see that one awesome piece with only 5 minutes left until closing...no one judges you...we all get it...we are all severely right brained people.
Each class is taught by a veterened art teacher and they not only give you the lesson plan, but they let you make an example!!!! I mean after spending all day teaching art, I rarely come home and work on my own art. It was so therapeutic and I got sooo many good ideas! Most of the classes have raffle prizes as well.
The second best thing is that the vendors come out in droves. They know that we are looking for the newest, brightest, strongest, kid-proof, goof-proof, project at a good deal. Therefore, they give out tons of samples and let you make examples using their own products. I also really appreciate the fact that even though I have been to their booth at least 5 times, that most of the vendors pretend they don't know me and give me yet another free sample :). I bought a ton of stuff for my students and a great deals. I also Goober a really neat flip book and some art supplies for Christmas.
Third, we had free reign of the Houston Museum of Art on Thursday night..complete with fruit trays, cheese trays, veggie trays, finger sandwiches and all the Pepsi a girl could drink :). They kept it open late for the night and I tore through that thing determined to see every last bit of exhibit " A sultan's gift, islamic art-including ceramics, textiles, paintings and prints...it was beautiful!!!!! I was one of the younger teachers there and like I said I waited til the last possible minute, soaking it all up and then tore off so that the bus wouldn't leave me....I was applauded when I got on the bus :).
Finally, save the best for last....I found another outlet for my oh so detailed pencil drawings of faces. For as long as I can remember I normally draw the speakers face...whether thats at church, teacher inservice, etc. At our old church in TN, I drew Pastor Reggie almost every Sunday ( while paying attention of course) ...he just had the most amazing profile. Anyways, the top forensic artist in the world came and led a workshop. She spoke about how she takes people who have just seen the worst thing ever or been a part of the worst thing ever ( rape, killing spree, traffic accident) and asks them to try to remember everything about the bad guy. Then she puts together a portrait to hand over to the cops. She has helped to solve over 2,000 cases and she is one of only 19 forensic artists in the US!!!! I was sooo intrigued. She got her start after being strangled in her own apartment when she was in her 20s. There is going to be a TV show about her soon....kinda like a CSI special. I was sooo inspired I drew portraits the rest of the weekend. Watch out nasty white boys, I am a pretty good at drawing Caucasian males!!!!!

So thats my weekend in a nutshell!!

Today after school Goober wrote this loooonnnnngggg number on my white board. He asked me if I knew what that number was. I said "maybe a badillion?" and he said " no, that's how much I love you".....heart failure...how did I get such a sweet youngun?

I'll have some more up to date pictures soon ( gotta find that darn camera...oh the joys of unpacking).
Here are some pictures of my students carving pumpkins on Halloween.

Ryan (my fellow Auburn fan), his girlfriend Adrianna and Trey ( another kid who has no idea how stinkin talented he is)

Some of my older guys planning out how to make a Spartan helmet out of the pumpkin, Lauren (redhead) brought. She looks thrilled huh?

They did it, two spartan helmets out of one pumpkin...I can't believe they put that on their head!

Check out these two prissy girls....they had to wear gloves or else they would get pumpkin goop on them...haha. They are both super sweet though!

They the boys decided they were also to delicate to touch pumpkin insides :). These four boys pictured are also responsible for those OU signs hanging by my Auburn banner in the background.

7th grade boys had fun :)

Back Home

2011-11-14T05:37:00.000+03:00

First, I just realize that I called Ribbit, "Goober" in the last post....oh well, you all know who I mean!!!
Second, I am home....4 days away and I longed to be home so bad that we got up this morning super early, threw on clothes and drove like crazy to be home by lunch! The kids and Adam were out playing basketball when we pulled up and Goober almost got hit by oncoming cars trying to get to me and Ribbit was carrying two paintings around (I didn't ask) and started saying " mommy, paintings, mommy painting!".
Four days is a loooonnnggg time for a momma to be away from her kiddos but they told me all about their fun adventures with dad this weekend. Goober got 5 stickers in a row last week for behavior and a 100 on his spelling test ( he better-we studied those thing morning and night!!!) so dad took them to the grocery store and they got pizza, french fries and ice cream for dinner :). Saturday they played, watched football, went to Goober's basketball try outs and then Dad set the tent up in the playroom and he and Goober camped that night! Both kids had made me presents (art pieces-which are the best).
I gave Goober his dinosaur flip book that I had bought him( its super neat) and I gave Ribbit two clay flip flop keychains....she has carried those things ever since..into the bath, during dinner and now to bed :). Before they ate Ribbit and PawPaw (Gramps to Goober) sang to each other for a while on the phone. She kept singing and singing and when he would try to interrupt she would say "my turn" and keep going. She sang him "Happy DirthDay", "Twinkle Little Star" and his favorite " Brush your teeth in the morning"...Adam said she has been singing like a madwomen all weekend.

Sometimes mommas have to get pictures of the their kids at school...right? Please tell me every mom sneaks in and takes picture?

Peeling apples for apple pies.

Reformation Day-kids either dress as one of God's creatures or a bible character. This is "Rapper Noah" ....his friend Emma the bee and his BESTEST friend, Armani as David !

Goober's finished pumpkin....a Texas Ranger "T". This was during the World Series. Still sad about that one!

So what did I do for 4 days? I went to Galveston to the 50th annual Texas Art Educators Association Conference. We stayed at Moody Gardens Hotel and Convention center. Its on an island and is more like resort, with rainforests built into pyramids, pools, its own Slitterbaun Water Park, spas, convention center, Imax theater and so much more. It was beautiful and we were treated like superstars for 4 days.

( I just wrote a whole page about my weekend and the internet flickered and I lost it...not in the mood to repost but since my weekend was so awesome I will later)

Proud Mama

2011-11-09T04:03:00.000+03:00

I meant to blog about this last week but in the whirlwind of moving, getting super sick and getting progress reports out I forgot.

Goober earned money during the move by going above and beyond what he should have helped us with. For example, he earned a dollar loading up the car with mom while all the older guys loaded the UHaul. He earned even extra money when he had to take out the trash which had Ribbit's diapers in it (that is where the extra came in). He had about $2.50 total--he works for cheap :).
When we went to get him from Sunday school the following day his teachers were loving all over him, telling us how much they were going to miss him since we were moving. Then his teachers told us that he had given all he had in his wallet towards Operation Christmas Child and that money was going to help them make at least one more box!!
Adam and I were so proud..we didn't even know that he had taken his wallet to church that day. He normally puts our check in the offering plate or we give him a quarter. We told him that his actions told us a lot about what was in his heart and that we knew that God was growing him up into a special young man!

I'm also proud of Goober-she has graduated from her high chair to a booster seat with no problems at all. She is starting to eat more foods-sliced peaches, fruit cocktail, sloppy joes. She still is very opinionated about food but I think that comes with being two. She loves loves loves her big girl bed!! She also loves both pair of her boots...she always wants to wear them. She can count to five all by herself and she will chase us and count to five!! She knows almost every animal in her "bigger, stronger, faster" book---even dolphins, ants, and elephants. The only one she gets hung up on are the eels-she calls those dragons :)

Here are some more pictures from October....WHAT A BUSY MONTH!!!!

Look Goober, there is mommy and brother!

Costume Parade...what a good big brother.

Pictures in the pumpkin patch!

She kept saying " mommy, too heavy".

At the Fall Festival, bowling booth.

Putt Putt booth.

He was a pro at basketball ...his little undies on his costume kept riding up.

More Time!!!

2011-11-08T06:01:00.000+03:00

Well we just don't know what to do with all this free time!!!!
I mean we get back an hour of our day every day!!!....We don't have to dart out the door at 6:55 just to make sure that we make it to school at 8. We dont' have to say " oh well" if we forget something at home. We don't have to tell our friends that we can't come to tonight's event at school because we live so stinkin far away. NOPE.
In fact we go to everything at school now, French Night, Picnics, Bike Rides, etc.

If you think about it pray for Adam this weekend. I am leaving him with the kids from Thursday until Sunday. It's not that I dont' think he can't handle it without prayer, but he does have lots of schoolwork to stay on top of....and all parents know that having that extra set of eyes and ears and hands around to help is wonderful!
I'll be attending an art conference in Galveston with another teacher from my school. I love this event, last year I learned soooo much, got so many free supplies for my students and was basically allowed to fall back in love with my job again.

So with that said, I thought I would share with you all the video I am sending in to hopefully win the "Mother of the Year" award....they really need to invent a sarcasm font.
This is from our first day here at the house...we had frappucinos and bacon for dinner...yay!!!

It's started....

2011-11-06T00:10:00.000+03:00

Well its started....the fact that we have now moved closer to our school friends means that we can actually go to their house and they can come to ours and we are invited to every one's birthday. Goober went home with a little boy for the first time ever yesterday. The other boy's mom told me that they walked to the car with their arms around each other the whole way. When I went to pick Goober up he cried and cried and told the other little boy that he wished he was his brother :)...what a sweet kid.
We are also about to gear up with sports...Goob starts Upward Basketball and a Flag Football League through our school next week....there goes our weeknights and Saturday mornings :). I am glad that both coaches and teams are christian though so I feel good about the things he will learn --both about the sport and character training.

Being this close to my school also means we get student visitors :). We have had three students stop by already, one bringing toys for the kids, another just hanging out and one that wanted to just help us with the move :). I am one blessed teacher :)

Here are some pictures from Halloween night!

Ribbit trying on her pumpkin outfit. She kept saying " daddy i a punkin"...he calls her pumpkin alot :)

My sweet 8th graders who helped me with trick o treating since Adam was sick.

First door....they both were too scared to ring the doorbell, so mom did it and then they yelled Trick O Treat!

I just think the little underwear on his costume is too cute.

Who says White people can't dance? :)

2011-11-04T05:15:00.000+03:00

I'm pretty sure that my son learned all his moves from Bill Cosby :)

Brain Fart

2011-11-03T04:56:00.000+03:00

The Harvell's routine, behavior and home all look like we have had one huge collective brain fart.
We are moved in to the new house....but we are not living in it the way we should....our stuff is everywhere. In fact, I told myself I would not blog again until I found my cell phone charger....Adam just found it two minutes ago. We are horrible packers...i mean horrible.I already knew this about myself since I lived with Mrs. Packer herself (virg) in college. She would pack everything in neat labeled boxes that all fit snug in her jeep everytime we moved. I packed in grocery bags that fell open on the way out to my car....but its more fun to unpack that way....you never know what you will find at the bottom of that Kroger bag :).
So, needless to say I have worn clothes that didn't need ironing ( we just found that tonight in the bottom of a trash can :). Goob had to wear a "faux" CCA shirt to school on Monday and Tuesday b/c I couldn't find that darn bag of dirty clothes I had packed with all of his school shirts in it. Good thing its cold..he just wore a CCA sweatshirt over his clothes both days.
The kids like the arrangements...its like they are living in a fort surrounded by miscellaneous furniture, boxes and clothes. They both still don't quite understand the layout of the house so they go through the living room to get to their bedrooms...always. Even though, they could just go straight from the dining room through the foyer into their bedrooms...but whatever.
We also have had the plague in our house...well it seems like it at least. Adam couldn't even move on Monday...he wasn't haven't luck with either end we will say :) ( oh he is going to love me for posting that one ). So, he didn't get to go trick o treating with us. Instead the kids and I went with two of my sweet sweet girls from last year (they are in 8th grade now) and they took Goob up and down 4 blocks in their neighborhood....he thought he was the man. Ribbit stayed with mom and we hit up between 15-20 houses. However, she got just as much candy as Goob because after saying " tri o treat" to everyone she met, they would give her some candy and then she would reach into their bowl, dig around, smile at them and charm her way into 15 pieces of candy from each home. I did learn one thing though....Ribbit is wearing a female costume next year....the pumpkin costume got her at least 5 "cute little boy" remarks....geesh people.
Now mom and the kids are all sick...we are all slathered up with vicks vapor rub tonight....chest, nose and feet ....I feel like a real country wife....putting vicks vapor rub on their feet then covering it with thick socks to chase away the coughs...we will see if it really works.

Some funny moments have of course happened though over the past several days.
Goob won a note pad at a fall festival. He came home and went to town drawing several things. Finally, he (only whitey tighties) brought out his masterpiece to show mom, dad and Mr. Ross. He had drawn the whole family and then shown how much armpit hair each one of us had. Thank the lord Dad had the longest :).

I drop Good off at his class every day and trick him into kissing him on the forehead by distracting him. Well one day this past week I dropped him off and his little friend said " E, I like it when your mom drops you off, she is HOT!!!". Goob turned around, without missing a beat and said " GRROOOSSSS, she is 27". I about lost it. Goob thinks that Adam and I are the oldest human beings on the planet right now.

Mrs. Thang (Ribbit) has become a lot more bossier. She keeps yelling at us to sing with her..mostly Daddy. She will sing " Happy Dirthday to you, Elmo, cha cha cha" and then look at Adam and say " your tuwn, sing Daddy". She also tells Goober to "PUT IT DOWN" a lot when he is touching her toys. She also sings " Mary lamb, mary lamb, mary lamb".....and "falling down, falling down, falling down"......Mary had a little lamb and London Bridge is falling down. I have a feeling that when she starts school everyone will know her name!!!!

Here are some pictures from our trip to Alabama...

This is what a full day of school and driving through the night looks like...

This is our sweet cousin Will. Goob calls him "Luke" and he calls Goob " Levi"...so I guess they are even?It just goes to show that you dont' have to know each others first name to know that you love them! Family is family!

Ribbit smiling for the camera, then refusing to eat her food for mom :)

Goob wanted a picture of mom and dad...so as dad walked down the aisle, Goob told me to lean out...haha

Goob took this picture of Captain and Lolly on the dance floor....we may have a photographer in our future.

Levi and Luke :)

Eating her cupcake that she longed for all night long! She sang Happy Dirthday Cupcake the whole way home to Texas.

Silly faces!!!

New Home

2011-10-30T04:32:00.000+03:00

We moved today....yup all 4 bedrooms, bathrooms, living space, garage stuff and attic stuff. Isn't it so crazy how you don't notice how much you have until you have to lug it all across town? Geesh. We had great great help packing and unpacking. Tomorrow we are going back over to clean the house, steam carpets and get some last minute things after church.
We tried to keep the move fun for the kids so last night while packing towels, Goob pretended to be Napoli (ranger catcher) and I was Holland (ranger pitcher). I'm pretty show the pitcher threw their arm out :). Ribbit kept calling the U-Haul truck a train and would scream at Adam as he drove it " All Aboard".
After spending all day moving we took the kids to a fall festival at a near by church. They played all kinds of games, both won cookies and cakes at the cake walk and both of them got to wear their costumes (i mean might as well wear them as much as they can since neither one will be able to wear them next year).
Goober was superman and Ribbit was a pumpkin...a plump pumpkin as Adam says.

We are so blessed...truly blessed. We tried to move closer to my job and the kids schools on our time and own doing and God simply said wait. Then he went behind our backs (hahahahaha) and set up a more than perfect situation in a big beautiful house (one that will hold way more than two children...hint hint wink wink).
I was talking to a co-worker earlier this week about how we are like little children, constantly tugging at God's hem saying " gimme gimme gimme" and he is constantly saying " don't you trust me enough to know that I already have that worked out, and its going to be the best?".

Goob and I have been singing this song on the way to school each morning--Ribbit is catching on....so simple but so so true.--"He's got the whole world in his hands, He's got you and me brother in his hands, He's got you and me sister in his hands"

Can you say EXHAUSTED??

2011-10-25T04:39:00.000+03:00

Yes, we did it. We drove to Alabama through Thursday night only to turn around and drive home Sunday morning. The drive there was great..kids slept the entire time, we even stopped at a rest area and got about an hour of good sleep. The way home was miserable....Ribbit talked the entire time, just ask Goober. They took turns picking out a DVDs but neither liked the others choice. Goober had to pee about 2000000 times so by time 1435000 we stopped on the side of the road and let him go....no more gas stations that take us 15 minutes to get in and out of. We listened to the Rangers beat the Cardinals in Game 4 of the World Series on the radio during the last hour of our trip and we high fived each other every 5 seconds, the kids liked that.

Goober and I went to school late this morning and I could tell that he was pooped when he got to my room after school .....that makes 2 of us....he still got a good behavior sticker though :).

The kids got to see all of Adam's side of the family this weekend, and even meet Pop and Sue for the first time!! They behaved well and were show stealers most of the weekend. In Adam's words " If one more person tells me how cute our kids are.....:)". We know we have hit the jackpot with these two :).

Although this weekend was fun and it meant that we got to see lots of family it was also very exhausting, not only physically but emotionally. We were dealt a very low blow, one that was aimed at Adam and I but was executed out on the kids. A blow that felt like someone literally punched me in the stomach and knocked the air out. Although my kids didn't fully understand what was going on, Goober understood enough to know that he was being left out (Thanks for allowing me the privilege of explaining that to my 7 year old). That kinda stuff is what draws out the crazy momma bear in me and it took all I had to keep my composure. Its that kinda stuff that reminds me that we aren't just "playing house", we aren't just fill in mom and dads for these two. We are their protectors, advocates, guides and they are always first in our book. Their pain is our pain (times two). I can't wrap my brain around it, I've tried to make sense of why anyone would shun my kids and I can't so I'm just going to (in Adam's words) let them "live with that regret".

There, rant done.

As I thought about this ordeal on the 12 hour ride home I got more and more upset.....but God humbly reminded me that he too was shunned, he too was humiliated by his own....to a much larger degree than I will ever know. He even knew it would happen that way and showed unconditional love to the one (judas) who would kick his humiliation into gear. Its ridiculous how much he suffered so that I could be at peace with God.That puts thing into perspective for me...makes me feel oh so small, oh so undeserving.

I don't have the time or the energy to post pictures or videos from our weekend since that would mean loading them, editing them, labeling them, etc. Plus, we are still packing and I can't find some things :)...but here are some pictures and videos from a fall festival we went to recently! Enjoy!

Ribbit--"Choo Choo mommy, Choo Choo, ALLLLLLL ABBBOOARRDD"

Decorating cookies with icing and sprinkles.

Decorating picture frames. He put all of our ages on the frame. He is obsessed with #'s and how old Adam and I are :)

Look at that sassiness!

Ribbit was showing her friend " him ja him" (Benjamin) her "silly face" (face paint)

She called this her "silly face" all night and wanted to show Daddy her pretty flower!

Bedtime Routines

2011-10-21T04:01:00.000+03:00

On Monday and Thursday Adam has class until 9. The kids and I have a routine of reading and singing for the 30 minutes before they go to bed. These are a few of our favorite songs and these moments are my favorites with the kids!!!
Listen for Ribbit to say " come on cc" and hit the book. She has worn this read aloud book out and now my mom's voice no longer plays :).

This is one of our favorites....Goober sings it all the way to school sometimes (thats a 30 minute drive right now and its what I get for praying for patience :))

Here is a verse that we have been working on...Goob is so smart!

We are leaving for Alabama in 1 hour.....thats right at 9 oclock at night. The kids didnt take naps today and I am keeping them up until we get on the road, hoping they will sleep for at least the first 8 hours of the trip....are we asking for it or what ????? :)

Turtle Did it

2011-10-20T04:58:00.000+03:00

Ribbit is in this phase where she blames things on her stuffed animals. Saturday I went to get her up from her nap and she was sleeping in her diaper and with shoes on the wrong feet. I asked her who put her shoes on and she pointed to her turtle and said " turtle put shoes on" without every flinching. It was super funny.

Goober was watching one of his new Disney movies in our bedroom the other day while Adam and I were packing up the kitchen. After a while I was thinking that the movie was a lot longer than I remembered. I came back here and saw him sitting on our bed with the remote pointed at the screen. I sat down with him and watched for a while until he hit "rewind" and then "play". I said "bud, what are you doing?" and he said " I stop it and rewind so that it won't ever end, its my new favorite". :)

Goober and I were talking about how funny Ribbit is after we dropped her off at school one morning. He said " mom, what are we going to do with her? (he listens to me way too much) I said " I don't know" and he said " she yanks on people, she has a big belly and she is funny......we should send her to the circus".....hehehe, that sibling love!!!

We are leaving tomorrow night to drive 12 hours and then turning around and driving back Sunday for 12 hours. Hotels aren't the best for our family getting rest and we are still dealing with everything that goes along with a move. Please pray for all of us as we do lots of make up work, prepare sub plans and miss work. Even bigger though is that Ribbit has been diagnosed with asthma and we have started her with breathing treatments and an inhaler. On top of that she has a sinus infection and is on steroids to open her bronchial tubes. Goob is also sick and we are keeping him full of meds as well.
One positive note....all 4 of us got our flu shots today so hopefully that will ward off any other sicknesses!!!!

Here are some pictures to enjoy!!!

Dressed up for a friends baptism.

Goob and his friend Emilee, they have been friends for 2 years and she invited him to her baptism!! We are so very proud of her! And would you like at my boy?...watch on, tie on, bible case in hand....such a little man!

This cracks me up. I was waiting for him in the hall one day and I started looking at some of the art projects hanging up. I saw this dark brown face and new it was my Goobs!!! Read what it says if you can!

I love this picture of Goob picking apples...such a sweet little face.

Emma and Goob....best friends for 2 years now...we sure do love our sweet CCA family.

Goob and his friend Lilly...her family are Auburn fans too and when she sees me she says " War Eagle!!!"

Apple Orchard Field Trip

2011-10-17T04:59:00.000+03:00

I had the privilege of going with Goober on a field trip to an Apple Orchard on Friday. It was a lot of fun, even if he got dirt all over me as he literally climbed my body to get the very best apple :).
I got to watch his class say their pledges to the American Flag, the Christian Flag and the bible ----another reason I love CCA. Then I got to watch their prayer time, ending with Goob leading the class in prayer with a huge smile on his face!!!
At the Apple Orchard we learned about apples, bees, cotton, butterflies and chickens. Goob was running everywhere and I got to see him interact with some of the kids I am constantly hearing about. I bought a fried apple pie to share afterwards and we both agreed that apples were really cool.

Here are some pictures from the trip.

His was stoked to ride the CCA bus. That's his sweet friend Emma to the right and one of his good buddies, Brock to the left of him.

I had no choice about whether or not I wanted 4 muddy footprints up my side....Goob saw an apple he wanted and used me as a ladder.

One of his seniors for this year, Andrew.

He stayed close to him the whole time....and gave him a huge hug at the end.

Class pic with two seniors.

They got to eat the apples they picked after they washed them and put honey on top!!!!!

Always saying "Sorry"

2011-10-16T03:14:00.000+03:00

On the way home from a fall festival last night I was thinking about how much I tell my kids sorry. Its definitely more than I have ever apologized to anyone else. Whether its for one of their many boo boos, or because something made them sad, or if my anger got the better at me, or if I am just apologizing because I couldn't control the situation.
Thats definitely something I never thought about before becoming a mom. Sure, after a fight Adam and I apologize to each other but that's not a daily thing. Where as with my kids I feel as if everyday demands one or two apologies.
I have noticed though that both of my kids are good at both accepting and giving " i'm sorry"'s. Ribbit says it when she spills something or bugs Goober. Goober says it all the time, about missing a chore, if he hurts Ribbit while playing and a lot of time he apologizes to me for my feelings. He is super sensitive to mom's feeling and if I am not 100% happy he will pick up on it and apologize, saying " sorry you got annoyed with that cop" ( did I mention I got pulled over again and was ticketed this time?) or sometimes he says " sorry that you made us late for school today, but i was ready and waiting for you in the kitchen :)".

This weekend was lots of fun for me...I had the kiddos all to myself!!! Adam had a convention at school all night Friday and all day Saturday. Friday night the kids and I went to a fall festival. The both loved riding the train, petting the animals, getting their faces painted or as Ribbit says "get a silly face mommy". They also decorated cookies and made pictures frames. We played hard and it paid off, they both slept in until 6:30---a record in our house!!!
Saturday we got up early and went on the hunt for some yardsales to find some things for our new house. Unfortunately we found nothing we needed but something we really wanted-----30 DISNEY MOVIES for $10!!!!! We found all of the good ones from The Aristocats to Lion King to Aladdin. They are VHS and lucky for us we have a TV with a built in VCR. We are watching Fievel Goes West as I type!! I put 20 of them away for times when we are in a video rut! We also went to our new house and painted Ribbit's room and the living room. Ribbit followed me around insisting that she wanted to help mommy clean....she couldn't understand that I was painting, not cleaning.
Goober found a book at the yardsale that he had to have....STARWARS!!!! Did it matter to him that it was written in Spanish? Nope, he sounded out those words and read it for about 4 hours throughout the day. Then in Aldi he told everyone that he could read and count in Spanish and that it was easy for him!

Artsy Fartsy 3

2011-10-15T05:53:00.000+03:00

Here are some of the better fingerprint self portraits from this year. I am a little upset with this class because on the day I had a sub they got into the white out. I normally say no white out and that keeps them from rushing anything and using the ink in layers. When I got back from my day out almost every project had white out on it. Therefore, I added it to my rubric and took off major points....okay, done with that soap box.
Now, aren't these great :)

This kid never touched the white out, he is one of my favorite students, partly because he and his family are huge auburn fans and the other part has to do with his artistic talent and great personality!

This young lady really surprised me on this project. She is normally kinda a goofball, not kinda, pure goofball. But she makes me laugh, she buys me fingernail polish :), and when I was at her last volleyball game her mom told me that I'm her favorite teacher :)....how sweet!

This young lady is gorgeous, and better yet doesn't know it!!!! She dates Mr. Dimples from the first picture and I give them a hard time about high school dating :). She is hard worker and got my Top Grade Award last year.

This young man is super talented in design but struggles with values. He kept saying" Mrs. Harvell I am black, how do I have value in my skin :)))"...sweet sweet kid

This young lady has never ever done well on any art project but exceeded all of my expectations on this one. This looks exactly like her except that her hair is fire engine red. She is beautiful and is everyone's friend. She doesn't have any desire to improve her art skills, which makes me sad, but she is a joy to have in class.

Happy Engage a versary!!!

2011-10-13T04:44:00.000+03:00

I always love this time a year. One, for obvious reasons concerning the weather. Two, for another obvious reason, Auburn Football-weather we win or lose. Finally, because this is the time of year when Adam and I got engaged and started planning our life together.
His proposal was seriously awesome. He planned a scavenger hunt that had me running all over Auburn to places where something meaningful had happened.....bowling alley (first met), Samford lawn (hung out as group and played frisbee), etc. Two of my closest friends were involved as well, handing me the next clue at some places. When I got back to my house ( the last stop) he was there in a tux with candles lining my living room and holding flowers.
He was totally cute.
He proposed....mixing up his words due to nerves and I said "yes".
Of course the ambiance was ruined at some point by my silly cat flinging himself against the back bedroom door. He hates to not be involved in everything and Adam had made the mistake of locking him in that room.

Honey, thanks for 5 great years of togetherness and 4 great years of marriage. Thanks for writing notes and sticking them in my lunchbox :), thanks for taking out the trash and changing the litter box (double ew), thanks for moving all over the United States with me as we seek out God's will and get our degrees, thanks for keeping your promise to me and actually taking me to the Louvre!!!!, thanks for putting up with me in Israel for long periods of time and not being embarrassed when I was asked to eat outside (i keep forgetting they are kosher there---girl's gotta have her milk), thanks for holding my hand as we waited in the kitchen for the knock on the door that would change our lives forever, thanks for loving on Goober and Ribbit from day one as if you had known them your whole life, thanks for studying until 2 or 3 in the morning so that you can devote all of the kiddos awake time to them, thanks for hauling booty with Ribbit as you race to the potty the minute she says " daddy stinky", thanks for leading us in family devotionals each night, thanks for telling me almost every day that I still got it :), you ain't that bad yourself ;).

I love you to the moon and back!!!!!!

Hanging out with lots of friends in front of Samford Hall-November 2005

Still just friends (sorta)-Christmas Party 2005

Together as couple-Adam moved back to Auburn in Feburary 2006

Engaged-October 2006

Comical

2011-10-11T05:21:00.000+03:00

Goob was just plain comical during the yardsale. He kept going behind me putting his own price tags on things. He insisted on selling our mini fridge for $29 instead of $20. He also put a price tag of 123, 456, 789 on the Element and another one of 210,000 on the house. He said that he would be willing to come down though. The funniest part was that he set up a little table at the front of the driveway to sell brownies at. He made a sign that said " Goober's (real name) Bakery"....brownies 2 for a $1.00. I never ever went that far up the driveway during the sale. However, afterwards we put some things on the curb and he had changed it to "2 brownies for $21.00". No wonder he only sold $2.50 worth of brownies :). We went straight to the Dollar Tree after the yardsale and he bought candy and a watch. We got home and he came out of the bathroom and said " that's funny, my watch stopped working right when the water touched it". Adam and I started dying laughing. He thinks that watch is so high quality and since he saw "a wave" on it he swore it was waterproof. I guess Santa will have to bring him a real waterproof watch!

Ribbit did great at the yardsale. They both were up so early with us and Adam and I were so busy getting things ready that I handed them both a Halloween goody bag and called it breakfast. Therefore, they were high on sugar from fun size snickers, reeses and hershey kisses...but they were happy!!!! I kinda felt like a bad mom at first but then I thought, ah, one morning won't hurt...and then on Sunday I made up for it by serving them Steel Cut Oats with lots of fiber :). Ribbit talked to almost everyone at the yardsale and charmed the pants off of them. She napped during some of it and threw a ball with one of our church friends for a little while.

Sunday we went and saw two students from CCA get baptized. The little girl has been one of Goob's best friends since last year. The older boy has been in my art class for the last 2 years. We are good friends with their parents and it was a really neat experience for Goob to see. After that we went and ate barbecue with them and then came home and packed.

Here is a picture that cracks me up of Ribbit. She found a pair of Adam's underwear that have Spongebob on them and she has been calling them her dress for weeks now. She puts them on and walks around and says " spongebob dress". Its awesome.

Let me know how long you laugh.....Adam and I couldn't stop!!!!

Texas State Fair

2011-10-09T04:14:00.000+03:00

Another part of Goober's reward for getting two weeks worth of behavior stickers was going to the State Fair on our off day. We went for about 3.5 hours and by then we were all wore out and ready to come home. We took our own sandwiches but Ribbit and Goober shared a HUGE bag of cotton candy and Adam and I shared a large and wonderfully delicious funnel cake. Goob thought that all the rides looked scary so he didn't want to ride a single one....fine with us, they were stinkin $5 a piece!!!! The kids got to decorate a mini pumpkin inside a green house listening to a man who grows huge pumpkins. They also liked looking at all of the art stuff and large machines, tractors, etc. We told them that since they didn't want to ride any rides that they could both pick out a souvenir. This became our mission and finally right before we left they spotted a man who was selling marionettes. Ribbit picked out an elephant whom she lovinly named "L fant" and Goob got a dog who he has named "Gabriel Noah Jacob".
We came home and I got ready to go out to dinner and to the Holiday Fair with several ladies from our church.
This morning we got up at 6 and had a yardsale from 7-1, trying to get rid of everything we don't use. I hate hate hate to move things that I do not use. After that Goob and I took the rest of the kids clothes to a consignment shop and with the store credit we got there we got Ribbit a nice dress for J and Erika's upcoming wedding. We also got Goob a tie and we walked out paying nothing! Then we took the rest of the stuff to Goodwill!
We are slowly packing, taking stuff over daily after school...its so nice to be able to do that!!!
Here are some pictures from the State Fair and some videos of the kids with their puppets.

We immediately went to the car show and Goob spotted this race car.

Daddy and kiddos in front of Big Tex

Mommy and Ribbit decorating pumpkins

Goob showing off his artwork.

I love these next two pictures....so much personality packed into such a little girl!

The kids showing off their puppet skills

Smash Brothers

2011-10-08T06:42:00.000+03:00

This post could probably also be titled #4637281 why I love CCA.
Goob got two weeks worth of stickers for behavior. That deserves lots of celebrating!!!! So, first just he and I went to the JV/Varsity Volleyball games on Thursday night, with our normal Chic Fil A dinner beforehand. He immediately saw his friend, my student, Jack and ran to him. Jack and several other high school boys come cheer at the volleyball games and call themselves the Smash Brothers. Goober was automatically a member. Since this volleyball game was all about supporting Breast Cancer Awareness the boys were all wearing pink bandanas,bracelets and such to show support. They got Goob everything he needed and he sat with them for all 5 games. He also danced during time outs and chased the ball everytime it went off the court. People in the crowd were laughing and cheering for him and he just ate it all up. Everyone kept telling me how precious he was.....inside I was saying "you think I don't already know, look at that toothless grin". Those boys were so good with him and just loved on him all night long....buying him brownies, cookies, gatorades and letting him jump all over them. He is a truly blessed little boy to have such great role models at his school.
Here are some pictures and videos

See that little guy up on stage?

He also charmed their phones off of the during the time outs :)

Catching a souvenir volleyball

Thats his friend Jack, standing facing towards the camera, to the right of Goob.

This video will crack you up....He is such a STUD!

Artsy Fartsy 2

2011-10-05T04:11:00.000+03:00

We have been going 90 to nothing here. Packing up the house, getting ready for our yardsale this weekend and of course doing 1st grade homework, staying involved at church and keeping up with every football (war eagle) and baseball (go rangers) game that we can!
We are going to move over a 3 week period...which will be very nice! We will make our big final move the last weekend of October....I CAN'T WAIT.....have I mentioned the island in the kicthen?...what about the double oven?

Here are some more works from my oh so talented students. We just finished our first nine weeks so they finally got lots of projects matted and/or mounted.

7th grade-blown ink trees, then we studied calligraphy and added a verse about creation onto it. I am so blessed to work at a christian school!

Oddly enough, my boys had beautiful handwriting, where as the girls struggled and pretty much just embellished their own handwriting.

7th grade-we studied foreshortening mainly from "The Dead Christ" and then they drew themselves as if they had just fallen onto a glass floor. We talked about what someone below them may see, what their facial expression would be like and how our body looks when we compact certain parts and extend others. They loved this project!!! The girls did better at using colored pencils but I loved my boys ideas on creating a story behind how they fell!

This student got my only 100...you may not be able to tell but she layered several colors for her skin tone. I love her :)

Isn't this cute....doesn't he look like a sailor? This student is super quiet but I hear him say one liners to his friends all the time.

Intro to Art: We studied Ruisdael (a dutch landscape artist) and they drew our campus based on his style of billowing clouds and a melancholy atmosphere.

Look at those clouds in the background...beautiful...this male student really paid attention...funny, I couldn't tell by how many times I had to ask him to stop riding his drawing board down the grassy hills :)

This young lady played volleyball for me last year. This is her first year in art....and she has no clue how talented she is. She was my featured artist of the week!

Dedication

2011-10-03T03:48:00.001+03:00

This morning we dedicated the children. We told them that we knew we were just borrowing them from God for a little while and that we wanted to dedicate their lives to him. We also told them that the church family would be dedicating themselves to them, to promise to help us raise them in a God pleasing way. Goob wasn't sure about going up on stage but did really well. Before going up he was even belting out songs during worship " I am free to run, free to dance, free to live for you". Ribbit was a different story. Since we had to sit up front she a lot of space to dance during worship and she did just that. She also cried out for mommy everytime daddy touched her. We wanted to do this a lot sooner but had to wait until the adoption was finalized. We are kinda sad to be dedicating the kids in this church and then leaving so soon afterwards. We picked this church because of the children's ministry but I know we will find another great church where we are moving to.
Here are some pictures from this morning.

So Goob came into our bedroom this morning while I was putting my make up on and announced that he had packed for the move. This is what he had in his bookbag :)....funny little guy.

Ribbit helping mommy put on make up

Family picture before leaving for church

Goob on stage..holding his new bible.

Daddy love

Bro. Al loving on Ribbit

He was showing her all the people who would be a part of her family now.

She started making the mean face at one point and everyone laughed.

She is over it by now.

Getting kisses from Bro. AL

Praying over Goob, he prayed that he would be a giant for the gospel...we like that.

Asking Ribbit to stop saying " hold you mommy" during Eli's prayer.

Psalm 127:3-Sons are a heritage from the Lord, chlidren are a reward from him.

5 in a row!!!

2011-10-02T04:17:00.000+03:00

Guess who got 5 stickers in a row this week?....my little GOOOOOOBBBBEERRR!!!
He was so excited and he didn't want to celebrate on Saturday so we went to Chuck E Cheese on Friday night, against everything in me. It actually went well...we were in and out within 1.5 hours. Both kids were happy with the candy and cheap toys they won...they both slept well...overall a great Friday!

Soooooo, we are moving!!!! We have been offered the chance to live in a house that is about a 3 minute walk from our school. I AM SO STINKIN EXCITED. Goob is too, he keeps saying that he is going to ride his bike to school everyday. Its a GOD thing. Adam and I have been worried to death about what our next move is. This house will help us make that big decision even though we are still waiting on God to make it clear cut. The house is 4 bedroom (wow, that's one more than we need, does anyone else hear a small voice saying "adopt again" over and over?) 3 bath, a huge living room, a kitchen ....wait for it...WITH AN ISLAND, a back porch with glass windows overlooking the back yard and TONS of storage!!!!! We will be doing the same thing there that we did to the house we are currently in....fixing it up for a cheaper rent. Everything that the landlords want done is cosmetic and they are leaving all the colors up to us. They are such good people and I can't wait to be there! It literally just fell in our laps on Tuesday and today we met with them to finalize some things.

So this next month will be SUPER DUPER CRAZY....moving, finding a new church, registering Goober for an upward team over that way and getting ready for the Holiday season....and can I mention the kitchen has AN ISLAND?

I am writing this while my husband and good friend are managing to watch 15 football games and 1 baseball game at one time.....so if there are major typos oh well!

WAR EAGLE....Lutzenkirchen, you are my hero!!!!

Big Girl

2011-09-27T04:58:00.000+03:00

Ribbit is getting so big...heavier, taller, wider :). She is definitely out of most of her 18m clothes and is quickly outgrowing her size 5 shoes. She doesn't eat anything that is good for you besides oatmeal, milk, grapes and yogurt. She wakes up hungry and demands a cookie every 10 minutes. She sings herself to sleep with mostly "shake your sillies out", "abcds" or "la la la". She also lists every person before she goes night night and tell every possible thing night night...to the point of exhaustion...nigh nigh monkey, nigh nigh tigger book, nigh nigh dress...you get the picture.

She is starting to tell us No when we ask her to say "sorry, thank you, welcome or please". Most of the time its done in the cute mischievous way but sometimes its very defiant. She will wear a bow for a longer time period now and tells herself " don't touch it" if she reaches up for it. She sings " Happy Birthday to Elmo and Uncle Chris" constantly and reminds me to "shake your body mommy" when we are listening to music in the car. She loves loves loves her brother and is always making sure he gets the same thing she does.

She helps me with laundry by taking her and Goob's clothes to their room once I have folded them on the couch. Of course she then throws them in the floor but we are working on it. She has to be with mommy when I am doing my make up and she puts lotion and powder (barely any) on her face every morning. She gets completely dressed and then runs out of our room and finds daddy to tell him how pretty she is.

She plays very rough and her sheets have black stains on them from where her feet are.....I think that gives me license to buy her new bedding :). She is sleeping in a big girl bed without too much trouble...falls out maybe once a week but just cries and waits for us to come get her. She goes potty in the toilet at least once a day...more for daddy than she will for mommy. She makes sure that everyone knows about all of her boo boos and if you aren't paying her attention she puts on a face and says " mommy boo boo" with quivering bottom lips. She doesn't like to be chased too much (she is my daughter huh?) and if Goob chases her she run to Adam and or I and say " lijah scare me".

During prayer she bows her head and sometimes repeats certain words she hears...it becomes quite comical. She always says AMEN really loud and looks rather pleased with herself. The minute she gets home and we pull into the garage she will say " HOOOMMMEE " (3 syllables long) and then run in, hold her arms up and say "dress, shoes" meaning take off all of my clothes now!!! She likes to wear mine, adams and Goob's shoes around the house and is mesmerized by my purses....she will take things out and put them back in for an hour or so.

I know this is all random things but I just want to document all the fun things she says and does at this age. Here are some fun recent videos......
btw....Goob got a sticker today....thank you Lord!!!

Artsy Fartsy

2011-09-26T04:56:00.001+03:00

Here are some recent art projects from some of my students....and some crafty stuff at home.

This is a project by my Intro to Art class...blind contour portraits with a patterned background of an opposing color scheme. We looked at cubism as well.

Two of my very favorites...one on left is very suggestive of this girls personality :) and the one on the right is from my most challenging student who becomes a very quiet focused young man when he begins to draw.

A still life by my Intro to Art class where I was encouraging them to use 4 different types of lines and to "push those dark"-thanks Mrs. Johnt!

This student has major talent and has a good eye for composition

Good use of scumbling in the background and I can tell she didnt guess what the objects looked like...she actually looked at them!

This student is quiet and shy but creates bold drawings....she also has no clue how talented she is :)

A mural by my Drawing class....I chose a painting, cut up a copy and gave them each 20 by 5 strips of blank black paper. They didn't know what they were composing but it had to match the part of the painting I gave them. They were allowed to use oil pastels only. It looks amazing...its a very abstract, painterly portrayal of Golgotha.

Now from some craftiness for a baby shower I hosted at our home.

My friends are naming their baby girl Stella...made this out of scrapbook paper.

Made a diaper cake...Bre helped me roll them and put rubber bands around them. We practiced counting while making this.

Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb

2011-09-25T05:15:00.000+03:00

I think I jinxed Goober's good behavior with that post I wrote recently praising him.
Friday was no good. He was in a foul mood when he got to my classroom and was in tears most of the afternoon....he knew he disappointed me. However, it just got worse when his teacher and I spoke once we got home and I found out other things that have been repeatedly happening. Everything she said that has been happening is a product of his past...every little sterotypicial, warned us about it in class, product of coming from an abusive (in several ways) thing. I cried so hard for him that I gave myself a headache. I had to tell her that she can't be lenient with him but that she needs to understand why he acts out. We've gotta nip this behavior in the butt and fast, but we also have to show him grace and show him that the behavior he saw others partake in is not what the Lord wants from us. He knew that he was in deep trouble when his teacher called so he went straight to his room during the phone call.
I went in there and just took one look at his sweet little face and just sat on the bed and cried and held him for the longest. I want that pain and those memories he has to just somehow seep over onto me and to leave him for good. I told him that I was crying for him and because I couldn't save him from those bad situations sooner. He got it, he looked at me and said " my mom was bad, she hit me but you talk to me". I told him that I know everything about his past (something we haven't shared before) and that whether he ever told me evrerything or not that I knew. I told him that his past will not define his future and that Jesus died so that we have clean slate. I reminded him of Steven Curtis Chapman's testimony...we had listened to it on the way to school one day earlier this week. We talked about how his (chapman) family took a tragedy and are just now findings ways to see God's glory in it and find things to be joyous about. We applied that to his situation and how all those times that he was with his mom where he was scared, had to protect himself, had to see dispicable things....that God has a purpose for that and that God can redeem that and turn Goobs life into a joyful celebration of God's grace....how that is already happening.
I told him that I cry for him because I know that God has a hold of his heart but that sometimes he doens't let that show to others. He cried with me for a while...but most of it was rethinking memories. He also asked me if his mom was going to hell because of how she acted. His exact words were " if you don't marry one person, but you marry lots and if you hit lots of people and say mean words then you don't have eternal life". Adam took this one over at dinner devotion and told Goober that his mom has the same chance as we do to go to Heaven, but that God is the only one who knows her heart and that we should pray for her.

This was a huge night....Goob admitted to us lots of things and told me stories that make me want to track her down and repay wrong for wrong. His stories make him cry and make him curl up. He told me that he likes that Dad and I are married and that he doesn't have to worry about us hitting each other or him, especially in the face. He had tons of remorse for his behavior at school and prompty wrote 3 apology letters...those made my cry too...go figure. He did spend the night in his room after dinner, thinking about his clean slate and what he is going to do to change some behaviors.
He really does have the sweetest heart, he always tells me thank you for the smallest things and if I am mad or sad he is always comforting me. He is a great athlete and impresses Adam everyday as they toss the football and practice skateboarding. He knows the bible and he so desperately wants to know more and more about God. Please pray for him, I think his life is going to be a great testimony to the redeeming power of Christ but I know that there are some hurdles for him. As he gets older and begins to digest things he saw as a small child I know there will be more acting out. Pray for Adam and I to have the right words, to be godly in our guidance and in our discipline and that Goob will come to know Christ as his savior very soon.

Impressive

2011-09-22T04:55:00.000+03:00

Goober blew us away at tonight's family devotion. He pretty much took over and told us the Creation story as if he was reading it straight from the bible, not forgetting one small detail. He even got to the part where God asks Adam and Eve to come out and they don't because they have realized they are naked without giggling or smiling. Then Adam asked him " What does it mean that we are made in God's image?" and without missing a beat he said " We don't look like him but we have love in our heart like him". Adam and I just kept looking at each other in disbelief, not because we don't think he is smart but because we aren't always sure that he is paying attention during devotional or church....but HOT DOG he is!!!!!
It got even better when he noticed something new on the dining room table. Goober ran over to it and immediately said " MY BIBLECASE". He has been asking for one for about two months now and we were waiting for a spurt of good behavior to reward. Adam got it for him yesterday and its perfect. It' black and white camo and Adam told him its because he is in the Lord's Army. It also has a compass on the zipper and that blew Goober's mind....he has been asking for one of those too! After dinner he put his bible in, his copy of his new testament, 4 pieces of paper and three pencils in it. Then he took it to bed with him!!!!
I am just thrilled to death that he loves getting those kinds of presents and that he is taking an interest in the bible.

Here is a video of Goob and one of my students playing at school.

Best Behavior

2011-09-20T04:07:00.000+03:00

Goober is on a roll!!
He has been saying "yes mam and yes sir" to almost everything for the last three days. He hasn't been fussing when we ask him to do something and he has willingly gone to bed without asking for 5 more minutes every night. His phone manners are improving and he is sooo eager to talk to his family. We are still working on skyping skills but most of the time he does okay. Sunday at church our pastor opened the altar for prayer and Adam went down....Goob without any hesitation went down with him. Adam's face was glowing when they walked back together. He has been including several other people in his prayers and asking that Ribbit can love Jesus when she gets bigger :). We have been talking almost every morning on the way to school about how Jesus can live in our heart and change our outside attitude too. He has a friend who is getting baptized soon and she invited him to come see...i think he is eager to see it and I hope we can go. One of the other teachers told me that during Grammar School Chapel Goob sits in the front row and sometimes answer questions...AWESOME!!!
Tonight he told us that the 8 months he has been with us have been the longest he was ever with a family and that he wanted to stay with us for 10 hundred million more years. He said when we get old he will sleep with us and take care of us and still live with us :). He keeps asking me if I would rather him be an army man or a football players. I keep saying " neither, I want you to live with me!!"

Now about Ribbit, well she is Ribbit and even though she is cute as anything she is a 2 year old. She is definitely doing her own thing and getting lots of redirection and love taps :). In Target the other day I asked her to sit down in the cart at least 50 times.....finally the last time she stood up really fast, slapped her hand and said " you gotta sit down" and then sat down all on her own ......and then burst out into hysterical laughter. I mean how do you discipline that kinda cuteness?
She is getting better at potty training....she poo pooed in the potty this morning and proudly wore the sticker Adam gave her all day!

Here are some pictures of my students with the kids from the social the other night!

Sophie and Benta-two of my girls from last year.

Chelsea and Brynlee-two of my sweet girls from this year...Brynlee is the one Goober was referring to when he said " Mom I like that dark girl!"...hehe

Chelsea loved on Ribbit all night! Chelsea's mom also teaches at Covenant!

Goober and his friend Braxton, one of my sweet boys this year and a fellow teacher's kid!

Goob and his 14th sucker and 114th piggy back ride..notice he is wearing his "muscle shirt"..I am no longer allowed to call them tank tops!

9/17/2011

2011-09-18T02:07:00.001+03:00

I couldn't think of a title for this one...we have kinda been all over the place this week.
Goober got 4 out of 5 behavior stickers this week which meant he got to go to one of his best friends birthday parties this morning. This sweet little girl was in his class last year too and he knew all week long that he just had to go. When we got there this morning, her mom pulled me to the side and asked very bluntly what happened to Goob's and Ribbit's mom. I told her. Then she said that her daughter had come home and just cried and cried for Goober because he told everyone that he reason he had to be adopted was because his birth mom (what he calls her now) was dead. The mom wanted to help me and offer some advice if that was the truth because she had lost both of her parents at age 3. I assured her that was not it but cried with her over how sweet this little girl and Goob's friendship is that she would cry for him. It also hurt my heart that Goob is telling people this. I talked to him about it on the way home from the party and he said he knows she isn't dead but he doesn't want people to know that she did bad things. I assured him that despite all those bad things she did love him but that we had to come up with a better answer for others that was not a lie about his mom. He was not into the conversation at all fell asleep (3 hours of swimming and partying will do that to you). Adam and I are going to handle this later on this weekend when we both have a better answer but I'm still shocked that Goob came to that lie on his own.

On a happier note, both Goob and Ribbit went with me to a 7/8th grade event that I was sponsoring last night. Let's just say I didn't see them for 2 solid hours as the girls all loved on and toted Ribbit around....including feeding her and one offering to change her for me. Goob was in his element and wrestled with the boys, did flips, played games and just soaked up all the attention. My students are so great with the both of them and it again reassured me that we are at the right school.

This week of switching into a big girl bed for Ribbit has gone rather smoothly. She has been a little snotty so that has kept her up some but not to much. So now instead of standing in her crib yelling " eat mommy, eat daddy"...she waits until we open her door and then runs out saying " EAT"!!

Gooberism: He told me one day while I was driving that I was driving like Uncle Chris, kinda crazy :). I said Uncle Chris doesn't drive crazy...and if he does then I will have to get him, what's wrong with that boy (laughing). Goober answered " What's wrong is two things. ...one he is my uncle, two he is a Chris....thats why he drives crazy :)"

Speaking of Uncle Chris....

Surprise...Tickets to a Rangers Game.

Neither one of them wanted anything to do with us.it was all about Uncle Chris

Good Guys

Sweetness

Front row seats!

Our view!

Love for Uncle Chris after church.

Hanging out at Daddy's party.

Bye Uncle Chris

My not so little brother...I miss you!

They have a weird relationship...and now everyone knows it.

She loves her Uncle Chris

Please don't go!!!

Leaving the airport with Daddy.