Snapshots from Christmas

David, Noah and my great-neice playing on Rock Band.

Ethan opening Backyard Baseball for Wii.

Noah loves his Florida Gators!

David opening another Wii game.

The kids are loving all of their new "stuff". Noah is currently building his 2nd lego set that he received. David has been playing Rock Band everyday and Ethan has been enjoying his new Star Wars toys.

Stimulation Overload

My 3 boys are all on stimulation overload. Besides playing too many hours with all their new electronic gadgets, they are also spending a few days hanging out with cousins at our house. There are currently 6 kids in my house, 5 are boys and 1 girl. It's noisy, chaotic and fun all at the same time.

Merry Christmas

From our family to yours, we wish you a wonderful Christ-filled Christmas. I pray that we all enjoy our time with our families and that the real reason we celebrate is not forgotten.

How many days left?

Today is the first day of Christmas break for the boys. They kept busy for most of the day and have now reached the "I don't know what to do" portion of the day. Noah cleaned his room - and he's our pack rat. He did this on his own mind you, I am so proud. David cleaned their bathroom and vacuumed the 1st and 2nd floors. Ethan put away his clothes and made his bed. After lunch, Noah had a saxophone lesson and sounds much better thanks to Zach. We have friends coming over in 2 hours for dinner and yet, they don't know what to do. I am already thinking of what we can do tomorrow to fend off the "I don't know what to do"s. Oh, they found something, I hear them jumping upstairs - my guess is it's off of David's futon. Sigh.

Peace on Earth

"Peace on Earth, Goodwill towards Men" is running through my head. This verse sums up what I witnessed at the Cincinnati Ronald McDonald House last night. Our family served dinner for the families that are staying there. Along with 5 of our neighbors, we prepared food for 75 folks. Families stay at Ronald McDonald House while their children are being treated at Cincinnati Children's Hospital and Shriner's Burn Institute. The reason "Peace on Earth" is resonating with me is that there are 47 families currently at the house from as far away as Kuwait, to as close as Lexington, KY. All nationalities, all there for one purpose: healing their children. They gather for meals, donated by volunteers, and support. Our family has helped with meals 6 times and we always are amazed at their strength, their gratefulness and the spirit of the children we see. I see Jesus with skin on in the faces of the volunteer staff. I thank God for Ronald McDonald House and pray for all of the families there.

Christmas Party Hop

Today was Ethan's Holiday Party for 1st grade. The kids wore their pj's to school, Ethan chose to wear sweats, and they watched "The Polar Express". I got to help out since I have become fanatic about reading labels for his egg allergy. The kids were definately wound up, but were very well behaved. They had snacks, exchanged books and made a really cute craft. The craft was a bell like in the movie. Ethan hung his on our tree. I found it so cool that all of his teachers and the principal came in and wished the kids a "Merry Christmas" not have a happy holiday.

I am looking forward to our break and the excitement of celebrating Jesus' birthday!

Today's Lesson: Chemistry

COSI on Wheels came to Ethan's elementary school this week. COSI, located in Columbus, has a science program that school's can bring in for the students to have hands-on experience. This is great for our students since our school district eliminated field trips. Josh volunteered yesterday and I went today. Now, I was not very good at Science in school, so I wasn't sure how I would be helpful to students - basically I didn't want to give them wrong information.

COSI set up 10 stations for the kids to have fun at. I chose the Ultraviolet Light station for 2 reasons: 1. I didn't want iodine on my clothes 2. It didn't have too many "big" science words to say. It was fun, and exhausting and I am more appreciative of our wonderful teachers after spending a day at the school.

Ethan's favorite part: making slime and bringing it home:)

Nerf Update

Noah does have a corneal abrasion. He has to have antibiotic eye drops 2x day in each eye with a follow-up appointment with our doctor on Wednesday. Tonight, the boys and I will be gathering all Nerf material and placing it in a cabinet until I feel comfortable with them playing again. Life with boys, sigh.

Nerf Battle

Ethan and Noah were playing Nerf Battle today with a few of the Nerf guns that the boys have. I have never had a problem with them playing before,the nerf darts are soft and majority of the ends of them are rubber. Well, Ethan must have aimed right at Noah's face and shot. Noah was hit directly in his left eye with a dart that had a velcro tip on it. His eye is red and you can see where it hit. I am calling the eye doctor in the morning to find out what can be done. The Nerf guns have been banned for a while with strict instruction that if they get them back, they have to wear the goggles that came with them. Adventures with boys, what can I say.

Countdown is On

The boys have one more week of school until Christmas Break. This year they get 2 weeks off, usually it's about 1 1/2 weeks off. I have a lot on my list to finish before next Friday. I bake pumpkin bread for gifts that they can give to their bus drivers, Art, Music and Gym teachers and our dear neighbor that drives them to the bus stop in the cold months. I use my Pampered Chef mini-loaf stone and they little loaves of bread are wrapped in treat bags. That is my goal for Monday - to finish baking. On Tuesday, I am helping with the 7th grade party and on Friday I am helping with the 1st grade party. Think there is much difference with 1st and 7th graders? Should be fun!

Gotta Love It

Me: What did you do for indoor recess?

Ethan: I played Chest.

Me: You played what?

Ethan: Chest, you know the game that's like checkers.

Me: Oh. (Thank goodness it wasn't something else!)

Meeting the Queen

Today our family met the Queen ... of Hearts. We went to the Cincinnati Art Museum today for Family Fun Saturday. The boys went on a Scavengar Hunt in Alice in Artworld. Very cool way for the boys to see different styles of art and have fun at the same time. We also had our family picture taken in front of a piece of art from Rookwood Pottery. One of the best things about the museum is that it is free!

Memories From a Tree

One of my favorite things when decorating is putting the ornaments on the tree. When I married, my mom gave me all of the ornaments that I had been given as a child. On our honeymoon, we bought 2 ornaments to remember Gatlinburgh. Each year, the boys receive an ornament in their stocking so they will have them to take when they move out. Some of my favorite ornaments are our "First Christmas" ornament, the boys "First Christmas Baby" ornaments and anything with snowmen on it. I kind of have an unhealthy thing for snowmen - shh don't tell hubby! I do love how all of the ornaments add to our memories of Christmas each year.

Baby it's cold outside!

Brrrr! I am listening to the wind howling outside of our windows and seeing some snow flurries. Oh, I wish we had a fireplace right now. This would be a good day to stay inside and hide under the covers, but with 3 boys, that doesn't happen often. It has been a busy day already for our household and it's only lunchtime. I took David and Noah to school (before the sun came up) since they had their band instruments. I then took Ethan for a routine ENT check-up and left with a prescription for antibiotics. His virus that I blogged about before is now a sinus infection. Took him to school - hey no fever, he goes to school. I am meeting a friend for a quick lunch, then off to pick up the older two after school to go to David's physical therapy session. Rush home, get Ethan off the bus, do homework and then we are all going to Costco. I hope they have some yummy samples today - like chocolate!