Christmas time is here!

Ok, so if you noticed the date of this posting, you’ll see that Christmas is not only here, but it is the day after. I really don’t know what happened to November and December. They both seemed to just fly by. I had an idea for a Thanksgiving post, but the later it got, I just figured, why bother?

So here it is the day after Christmas and I’m trying to get something posted. This year we really had three different Christmas events, so I will tackle them one at a time.

Breakfast with Santa

This year we went to “Breakfast with St. NICUlas”. This was a charity event benefiting the NICU at Harris Methodist Hospital in Fort Worth. Steve was one of the photographers, so we got to tag along. It was held at the Fort Worth Club and was really nice.

Nathan was very excited about seeing Santa, so when we walked in the door and he hid behind me, I was a little surprised. But after eating a pancake and warming up a little, he was fine.

We waited in a line that thankfully wasn’t very long, due to the fact that it was a private party, and shared with Santa what he wanted to Christmas…Mario Kart for the Wii, Outdoor Challenge for the Wii, and Deca Sports, or course for the Wii.

At the party they also had limbo and cookie decorating. Check out the Christmas Image Gallery for more pictures.

Christmas at the Colwill’s

The Colwill Christmas tradition is to celebrate together as a family on Christmas Eve. This works out perfectly since we spend Christmas day with my side of the family.

At the Colwill’s, the kids play games, ride four-wheelers, jump on the trampoline, and take part in many other activities while waiting for it to get dark. Once it gets dark, the festivities begin.

A couple of years ago, we decided to start doing a Gift Exchange with the adults. Everybody buys for the kids, and the adults do the gift exchange. We have a good time.

Even though the gift exchange is technically for the adults, Steve and I have always let Nathan help us. This year seemed to be the year to steal from Jesse. Out of the first 5 presents, Jesse opened 4 of them. Everyone just seemed to like what he opened. So when it came to be my turn, I was #7, I told Nathan to go steal Jesse’s present. The look on Nathan’s face was priceless.

After the festivities, we said our good-byes, and made our way to Donna’s house so that we could be there bright and early for Christmas morning.

Christmas Day

For the last 16 years, possibly more, we have spent Christmas at my older sister’s house. She was the first one married with kids, so Christmas moved to her house. As mentioned above, Steve and I drive from his parent’s house to my sister’s house on Christmas Eve. Thankfully, this is only an hour drive. My dad and my brother only live about 10 minutes away, so they and their families both wake up early and come on over. Santa has always delivered everything for all the kiddos at Aunt Donna’s house. With 8 adults and 6 kids, ranging in ages from 2 – 16, it has become quite a scene.

Everyone shows/wakes up at about 7 – 7:30 ‘ish. First, we check out what Santa brought, then the stockings, then the presents. While it sounds like a lot, it is usually over very quickly. It’s just amazing.

The rest of the day is spent eating, playing, visiting and napping. It is kind of a controled chaos. This year seemed to be the year of the video game, so the kids spent a lot of time trying out the new games. It is nice to see the patience that the older ones have with the younger ones.

All in all, it’s a good time. Even though we see my family several times a year, we don’t often have time to just hang out. I wouldn’t change it for the world.

How did it get to be mid-November?

Where has the time gone? I can’t believe that it has been 2 weeks since Halloween. And, do I dare say it, 6 weeks until Christmas!

I intended on posting these a lot sooner than this, but time just got away from me (obviously). So here goes…

Halloween 2008

This year Nathan decided he wanted to be a Ninja. I don’t really mind buying Nathan costumes because he usually gets to wear them at least three times. Blue Ivey usually has a Halloween “Parent’s night out”, where the kids get to dress up in their costumes and go and play games. We have done this the last two years and Nathan really seems to have fun. Plus it gives Steve and I a chance to go see a movie, not something we get to do very often anymore.

In addition to the parent’s night out, we also usually get to go to the church’s Fall Festival and Tunk or Treat. This is the 5th year we have had the Trunk or Treat. For those of you not familiar with the Trunk or Treat, people go to the church and park their cars in the parking lot, and the kids “trick or treat” from the cars. It’s a fun safe way to trick or treat, because you typically know everyone there. It is usually pretty low key, but the kids seem to enjoy it. Plus the get a TON of candy, which they really like.

Trunk or Treat

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This year, because it was on a Friday night, we also incorporated a showing of Charlie Brown’s “It’s the Great Pumpkin.” So after the trick or treating, everyone grabbed a juice box and settled in for the show. They really seemed to enjoy it. 

Its the Great Pumpkin

Because Nathan has always gotten so much candy at the Trunk or Treat, we have gotten away with not doing the traditional door to door trick or treat. However, I think that is coming to an end. On the way home from the Trunk or Treat, Nathan mentioned that he really wanted to go trick or treating. So next year, I think we might have to give in. Just another sign that my son is growing up and becoming wise to the ways of the world. 🙂

Do you wish you were still a kid?

One Sunday on the way to church, Steve and I were discussing plans for that afternoon. Steve made the comment that he needed to work a little bit. From the back (Nathan) comes the question, “Dad, do you have to work everyday?”

“Yeah, I have to work some everyday,” was the response.

The next question caught us by surprise, “do you wish you were still a kid?”

After we stopped laughing, I asked Nathan what he meant. He said, “Well, I don’t have to go to school everyday. If you are a kid, you don’t have to work everyday.”

How wise is my 5 year old to realize that as a kid, he has it pretty good. Hopefully, this child-like wisdom will last into the teen years. One can only hope. 🙂

State Fair

Parking…$10

Admission….$24

Corny Dog and Funnel Cake…. $8

Seeing this smile…..priceless.

So, this post is a little late, but it has been a busy week and a half. 

We had a great time at the fair. As I posted before, it was a last minute decision to go the day we did. So we got there a little later than we normally would. But we still had time to do pretty much everything that we wanted to do.

We rode rides, looked at exhibits, and lots of new cars. Nathan exclaimed with each one, “Mom, you have to get this one.” But he did have one condition, whichever one I chose had to have a “pop-up” roof (sun roof). While we aren’t immediately looking to buy a new car, it’s fun to look.

Because we went later this year, we also stayed later. So for the first time, we saw the “parade of lights.” While it doesn’t compare to the one at Disney World. It was not half bad. Steve even said, “That was cool, and I don’t even like parades.” 🙂

Check out additional pictures on the State Fair page.

How old is…

Ok, so I love children’s concept of time and age. Nathan and I were having a discussion yesterday about his cousin LB and when he got his Wii. Nathan informed me that LB got his Wii whn he was 5 and just didn’t tell me about it. I asked Nathan how old he thought LB was now. He thought for a moment, then answered “50”. (LB is actually 16). After I stopped laughing, I went through the rest of the cousins.

Q: How old is Rachel?
A: 20

Q: How old is Shelby?
A: 15

Allison? 4
Tyler? 2
Adam? 2
Gracie? 6

It was really interesting to me that if they were younger or very close to his age, he actually knew their age. If they were more than a year or two older, he had no clue. It was a conversation that made me smile. 🙂

Then later that evening, we were at our friends house, the Halleen’s. Mattie informed me that she had a stuffy nose. When I inquired how long her nose had been stuffy, she replied, “Oh, about 10 minutes.” Once again, I had to laugh.:-)

Hope this makes you smile, like it did me.

Wow! What a weekend!

So we came out to the lake house for a nice relaxing weekend. While I’m not sure it was what you would call relaxing, we did have a lot of fun.

Saturday we spent riding 4/6-wheelers, playing outside, and enjoying the fall weather. We took the boat out for quite an adventurous trip. The last time we took the boat out was in August. Well, the lake level has dropped a bit since then. And the cove on which the lake house sits is pretty shallow. We got the boat stuck on a sand bar twice! In two different spots! Once going out and once coming back in. It added quite a bit of stress to what would otherwise have been a nice boat ride. Needless to say, we won’t be taking the boat back out until the lake level is back up.

So the original plan was to spend the Saturday and Sunday at the lake house, go home Sunday evening, then go to the State Fair on Monday. It was a good plan. However, the weather didn’t seem to think so. Every weather report we looked at said rain on Monday. So at about 11 am Sunday morning, we decide the better plan was to go ahead and go to the State Fair on Sunday.  But we had to decide…do we pack up and go home first? Then go to the fair? Or leave everything at the lake house, go to the fair, then come back here Sunday night? Keep in mind we are an hour away from Dallas and we have Maxi, our dog, with us.

We actually decided to do a combination of the two. Steve loaded up the dog and his stuff to take home. Nathan and I got ready and met Steve in Dallas. We spent the dat at the Fair, then drove back to the lake house afterwards. Yes, I know. We are crazy. 🙂 But it all worked out, because it has done nothing but rain this morning.

So we arrived at the fair at about 2 pm and had to park in Mesquite. Not literally, but I don’t think I have ever parked so far out. We were able to catch the shuttle in, so it wasn’t too bad. We had a good time. Nathan rode rides. We ate corny dogs, funnel cake, and roasted corn. We checked out the new cars. And, I think for the first time ever, we watched the night time parade. It was a good day.

So today, we are back at the lake house. This morning has just been a lazy morning watching TV and playing the Wii. But after lunch, it’s clean up, pack up and back to real life. (Sigh!) Weekends out here are never long enough!

I have pictures to post, but I have dead batteries in my camera and my sync cord is at home. So those will come later. 🙂

On a lighter note!

We are spending the weekend at the Colwill Lake Lodge spending some quality family time together.  We are so fortunate to have this place to come to to relax and unwind. It is so nice to just to sit out on the porch, eat lunch, watch Nathan ride his bike, and just BE. And we couldn’t ask for better weather. It is so nice outside today!

So this week, Nathan got his first report card ever. In Kindergarten for the first six weeks, they focus more on the socialization versus academics. So Nathan’s first report card was just OK, not great, but not bad. We have had some issues adjusting to the structure of things. But recently he has been working very hard to improve his behavior in school and we are very proud of him.

Academically he is doing great. On the Kindergarten fall assessment he missed only 4 out of 80 items. On the TPRI (The Texas Pre-Readining Index) he missed only 1 item. AND he is already starting to sound out words, so reading is right around the corner!

One quick funny….Monday night we had a meeting at the church. On the way, we came to an intersection where there must have been a couple of hundred birds sitting on the wires. Seeing all the birds, Nathan commented, “Wow! the birds must be having a meeting, too!” 🙂

Well that’s it for now. The boy child is calling me to come play some game with him. So off I go….

Stressful times

So many of you have called the last week to ask about the status of my job at Dallas ISD. When I talked to you, I actually felt pretty confident that my job was OK. I wish I could say that I feel the same way now.

For those of you who don’t know, Dallas ISD had a $64 million budget deficit last year and is anticipating an $84 million budget deficit this year if changes aren’t made. Thursday evening the Board voted to start a reduction in force. This means that 1,100+ employees will lose their jobs. Over half of these positions will be teaching positions. 

As of last Monday, September 29, 63 central administration staff members (my category) were laid off. Another 100+ vacant positions were eliminated. For a couple of reasons, the cuts at the central admin level, and the fact that I still had my job, is what made me feel somewhat better about the situation.

First, let me back up and say that this situation is bad for all involved. I already know teachers that have been told that their position is being elimintated. They still may have a job, but the teaching assignment that they have had for the last 15+ years, no longer exsists. That’s tough to hear and you hurt for those that it effects. And the reason that this is happening, is what makes it the hardest. It boils down to people not doing their job correctly. For the most part, they hired people too many people and didn’t have the money to pay them. There are many people that approved those new positions, and I suspect that those people still have their jobs. But I digress.

The fact is that people are losing their jobs, and for reasons I don’t understand, they are not the same people that were last hired. But back why I am once again somewhat concerned about my job. With the Board’s action on Thursday, and the plan they had laid out for the reduction in force and other cost saving measures, there is still a $7-15 million dollar deficit. And the Board was quite insistant with questioning why there were not more cuts made at the Central Admin level. So even though our department has already lost 5 positions in the last two years and we have cut our budget by over 10%, we are likely going to have to look deeper. The one hope that I keep in mind is that very little of our departments budget (even less now) comes from the local general operating fund. Most of our department is paid for out of the Texas state technology allotment. But that doesn’t mean that they can’t take that money and redistribute another way.

So I pray every night that God takes away the worry and gives me peace for whatever happens. And that He will give me the ability to focus at work and take care of the daily tasks. But I could use your prayers as well, because these are stressful times and they are not likely to be resolved anytime soon.

A couple of quick funnies!

So I’m at home with strep throat, not feeling like doing much, so I thought I would post a couple of miscellaneous funny stories and pictures from the last week or so.

We were coming home one day and I was telling Nathan that his teacher said he had done really well on his Fall assessment. He scored 86 out of 90 items correct. I told him that Ms. Jenkins, his teacher, thought he was really smart. First he said, “I know”. Then he proceeded to tell me that they had one more test to take, “the PRM?” “The TPRI (Texas Pre-Reading Index)?” I asked. He relied, “That’s it. It’s kind of like Cash Cab, so I need to watch Cash Cab in case Ms. Jenkins asks me any of those questions.” I don’t think he bought my explanation (after I stopped laughing) that the TPRI wasn’t like Cash Cab so I didn’t think he needed to worry about it.

This past week Nathan, like his mom and dad, has been battling some allergy issues. Not bad, but enough that it bothers him at night. One particular night was a little worse than the others, so I asked him if he wanted some medicine for his nose (Zyrtec for Children.) He said he did, so I gave him some and he went to sleep. In the morning, he woke up lamenting, “Mom, the nose medicine didn’t work. It made my nose madder!”

Now for a couple of funny pictures. The mohawk happened when a friend of ours kept Nathan over night. Her teenage daughter had a good time giving Nathan a new look. Nathan, of course, thought it was the best ever! Click on a picture to view it larger.

Nathan…the next Einstein?

What happen’s when your child spends the night with a friend who has a teenage daughter.

Mohawk view 2

Soccer season has begun!

Nathan loves playing soccer.

 

Wow! I can’t believe that it has been almost 4 weeks since I posted something. Time just really flies by! Between preparing for meetings at work and adjusting to being a parent of an active Kindergartener, things have been really busy.

One of the things that keeps us busy is soccer. The season is well under way. We have had 3 games and a couple of practices. Nathan is actually doing pretty well. He has become a little more agressive this season, which is a good thing. He will actually now go after the ball instead of waiting for it to come to him. I was beginning to think that he got his athletic and competitive genes from the Smithson side of the family, rather than the Colwill side. 🙂