Mary

Andi played Mary in one of the performances of the Nativity story at preschool. She was very impressed with Mary when we went to One Night in Bethlehem a couple weeks ago. So when she was offered the part at preschool she OWNED it. And was devastated when she had to give another girl a turn in the role.

I gave a talk in Church yesterday. The topic was "Protecting our Families", specifically our children. Went well. I always enjoy the opportunity to speak. I usually learn a lot and this time was no exception. There was a lot that I wanted to talk about but, despite having wonderful paragraphs on a topic, I scrapped a lot and went with what I really felt Heavenly Father wanted me to say. So truly wasn't my talk. Emailed it to a few people who asked for it, I hope it helps them. I can't talk about the object lesson because it is a Christmas present for family. Maybe I'll mention it later. Remind me. ;)

Moving forward with the house hunt. We submitted an application for a house, waiting to get the final word on how that went down. In the mean time I finished my daycare website, am getting fingerprinted tomorrow, and going for my TB test ASAP. So many steps to getting licensed! Glad it will be worth it.

The difference a nap makes

Andi has not taken naps since she was 18 months old. She has still needed them, but for the past two years getting that girl to nap has been a nightmare (napmare?). Unfortunately, the need for the nap and the lack of the nap has often led to horrific moments like this:

She actually woke up crying on Tuesday. And she didn't stop crying. all. day. We went to dance, her favorite place to be, and she was a wreck. We left early. It was actually her dance recital practice, too! I was really afraid that she was going to be a mess for the recital. So we on the drive home I formulated a plan: she wouldn't be in trouble, she was just going to take a nap. So I gave her a snack, calmly told her she had to sleep, tucked her into my bed, and took David and Peter with me to look at a house. I then made her favorite meal: pigs in a blanket, smackeroni (macaroni, that's how she says it), salad, and strawberries, with "strawberry juice". Jonathan went up and woke Andi up, we fed her, I washed her hair, I put make up on her, and then got her into her costume. Crossing our fingers and hoping for the best, we hauled the whole family down to the school for her recital. And wouldn't you know, the nap made all the difference:

She smiled and danced the best she could, and she was happy the whole time we were at the recital. Her teacher, Miss Cindy, was amazed! (Pathetic, right? She wanted to know who'd we'd switched Andi with... Ha!)

When all was said and done, I was more happy about the end of ballet than anyone! I've decided that extracurriculars like that will have to wait for an older age. Andi needed dance for a while, I have no doubt about that, but I believe it has served its purpose and we are done. So after David's shenanigans in martial arts, and Andi's antics in ballet the last three months, we have decided that sports and activities will wait until the kids are at least eight. And I couldn't be happier about that!

Break

November sucked. The end.

December is looking great!

Jonathan got a real job (WAHOO!!!!!).

We survived puke-ageddon and pink eye in ONE weekend (Thanksgiving weekend).

Jonathan starts his real job soon (WAHOO!!!!!!).

Chandler is coming to visit!!!

Emma is coming to visit!!!

Christmas!!!

Yes, there is also a lot of work to be done. The biggest one is that of acquiring a new place to live. Our landlady's mother is retiring and needs the townhome. We have to be out by March 1st. Not really a problem because Jonathan's new job (WAHOO!!!!!!!) is about an hour away. We figure we can commute to school now, and live near the job (WAHOO!!!!!!). After we move I am also opening an in-home daycare. Something I can do to help us out while still being home with my littles.

We've got plans so we don't feel so stuck anymore. Hopefully "Well, crap." won't be such a common phrase around here anymore. ha!