The Fort

We have been on Christmas break for almost 2 weeks now. Mike had decided before break, that he would really like to build a for with/for the boys. Now, knowing Mike, I knew that he was not talking about the kind with blankets and chairs. Nor was he talking about attaching box es together and cutting windows. They would be too...weak, too...ordinary, too...temporary.

When Mike builds a fort he starts with craft sticks, and builds a model
es together and cutting windows. They would be too...weak, too...ordinary, too...temporary.

When Mike builds a fort he starts with craft sticks, and builds a model.

Once he has his ideas mapped out, he heads to the hardware store.

He got 2 willing boys to help him. Austin was able to tighten screws. Adam was pulling off stickers, and doing other odd jobs.

Austin was asked to get the camera at one point. Of course...

He had to have a little fun while walking to the fort site. :)

This is the beginning of the first level. (Mike does not tend to build 1 level play things. Just remembering our tree house at our old house)

Mike is putting in interesting windows, hinges, etc. I will be sure to post finished pictures.

We were coming home from my sister's today, Mike said, "I can't wait to work on the fort again." Sometimes I wonder who this is really for...Mike or the boys :)

The Funny Things They Say

When my boys are talking, sometimes the things they say are SO close to what they want to say.

The other day, Adam was looking at some recycling. He was telling me about the arrows, and what they mean. He said, "They mean 'Reproduce, Reuse, Recycle.'" Adam, you are so close...it is actually, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. :)

Recently, when Austin was with my two year old niece, he was making some comment about her bottom. The comment ended with "big bottom." He got a funny look on his face and looked at me and pointedly said, "I don't know how to talk to women." Austin, you will learn how to talk to women, just remember to NEVER tell them they have a big bottom. :)

Events This Week

December tends to be a busy month. With Christmas this months and many different events that accompany it, the days can fill before we know it.

Last Sunday, the boys were in the church Christmas play. Austin was a Bethlehem Kid, and Adam was a Shepherd Kid. The "teams" did not get along well, but they realized that Jesus was born so we could have peace on earth. In the end the kids became friends.



In Adam's Sunday School class there are several girls, but only 4 boys. The director of the play decided it would be really cute to have those 4 boys be in something of a "Barber Shop Quartet"


She went as far as to add the hats. They had about 2 lines to sing as a quartet. I thought they did a magnificent job.



It's not the clearest picture, but aren't they cute?



This is the whole group. There were about 50 children in all. Austin is in the group on the right. He is in the middle row, second from the right. Adam is in the group on the left. He is on the right hand side (He is actually looking to the side.) It was a great performance. They practiced a lot, put a lot of work into and the play turn out beautifully.

Friday they had a Christmas school sing-a-long. The whole school got together, sang some Christmas carols. They also had the violin students come up to play some songs.


I couldn't be there, but Mike got video for me and still pictures for my blog :) Austin is second from the right.

Then the Waterman singers got up to sing some songs.

Austin is on the right hand side--just down from the boy in yellow. They sang some of the same songs they did a week earlier at Barnes and Noble. But, they did such a great job. I am really proud of Austin and the groups he is in this year.

Several weeks ago, a neighbor brought over an invitation to a Mexican Festival of Las Posadas (meaning "the Inns") So, Friday night the boys attended this party. They actually dressed as Shepard's and went to several houses and sang:

Who will offer a place to sleep
for the weary pilgrims
they are so tired from their walk
on these long and dusty roads

They were denied at the first 3 houses, but at the 4th house (the house where they started) they were at first denied, then they realized it was Mary and Joseph, they let them in. They had cookies and empanadas (it reminded me of deep fried cheese tacos--they didn't taste bad, but I'm not sure how healthy they were). Then the children went tot he basement and made pine cone bird feeders, then they had 2 pinatas to break. They had so much fun! I do hope they do this again next year.

Saturday, we went to my parents church where they had a walk through Bethlehem. It was interesting to watch the boys. Austin went ahead, then came back with us, then went ahead, then came back. I'm sure he saw everything several times. Adam would stop at each "station" and ask questions: "How will we know which stable the baby will be in?" "How does the potter make the pots?" "Why does the potter need warm water?" "What does the Hebrew scroll say?"
I have to say, some of his questions were pretty impressive. Then we went in for cookies and fellowship. The boys would go in and out. When I asked what they were doing out in the cold the replied they were hanging out by the fire. When I thought later about that response, I thought I wonder if that is what the kids of that time did. Instead of hanging out at a shoppe, they might hang out by the fire by the Inn (or something of the sort) :)

We have had a busy week, but it has been filled with wonderful Christmas activities. I hope the boys are enjoying them as much as I did.

Austin's Concert

Austin has joined the Waterman Singers this year. It is a group of 3rd and 4th graders that get together about once a week, sing, practice, and have an overall good time.

Yesterday, they had their Holiday Concert at the local Barnes and Noble. Our school was having a "Barnes and Noble Night," so this just added to the fun.

Austin is on the far right (with his hands in his pockets).

They did a great job singing! They had really fun songs. All the kids seemed to enjoy singing, and the audience enjoyed hearing their beautiful music.

As they were singing I looked at Austin. I couldn't believe how grown up he looked!

My little boy is not so little anymore.

Adam Graduated

I got this news a few months ago. It officially happened the end of October, and it has taken me this long to post this wonderful news!

ADAM HAS GRADUATED!!--from speech.

Adam had some speech issues as a young child. When Austin entered 1st grade, I was talking to his teacher about this "problem." She said, "Amy, have him evaluated for speech." She told me that her son had to do speech, she would bring her magazines to school once a week. She got to catch up on her reading while he was in speech. I started the process immediately!

I started writing the words that he said incorrectly, and how he pronounced them. About 4 months later, he entered into speech.

This was actually a fun time for him. Adam had not entered into school yet. So, we scheduled the day and time. That morning was busy, but Adam loved it. First we packed his lunch, then went to the library (he didn't want to miss story time), headed to school--Adam went to speech, I went to volunteer in Austin's class. Then we went to eat lunch with Austin.

The next year he was in Kindergarten. By that time there were only a few sounds that needed work--rather than the pages of sounds that he started with.

Adam loved his time with his speech teachers (they changed once he went to Kindergarten), they are both lovely ladies, and fun to work with. In fact, he would talk about the fun things he did with them. One time I heard Austin say, "I wish I could go to speech." Adam told him, "Just mix up some sounds..." I told him that he did not need to do that! We had a discussion afterward about that!

The funny part about him having speech in school: His teacher would have about 2 students to work with at one time. That way they could play games, it just made it more fun. When I would ask Adam how speech went, he would be sure to give me an update on the sounds that the other student was working on, and how they were doing as well.

He no longer needs to go. His speech is great! I am so impressed with these ladies that have worked with him over the years.

Signs

For Thanksgiving we went to Mike's brother's house in Erie, Pa. On the way there, we decided to stop for lunch, we pulled off interstate and we waited at a light. Adam looked out his window and said, "Wow! Look at all those signs!" We all acknowledged the signs. Then Adam said, "Really, I can't believe all those signs!" "Do you see all those signs?" "That is a lot of signs!" I was starting to laugh at this, so I handed Adam the camera, so he could record all the signs that he saw.

He was quite pleased with the picture! (Really there are a lot of signs, but probably would not have taken as much notice, if Adam had not pointed it out!)

Musical Fun

We are preparing for a Christmas musical at our church. The lady that is leading the musical has a lot of great ideas how to make the practices fun.

The other Sunday we were to go to a local caverns to sing some of the songs in their "choir room." The morning of this event we were getting ready to leave for church (we went to the caverns directly from the church) so we had to pack everything up to be ready to go. Adam comes out of his room and says, "I'm going to pack my hat to take to the caverns...in case it is sunny." We had a nice lesson on caves and caverns before church! :) --We all had a great time at the caverns!

Last weekend, this same lady was brave enough to have all the children from 2nd-5th grade for a lock in at the church. Saturday morning I think I counted about 25 children. I'm not sure they all stayed for night, but I know she had a pretty good number of children. They had the children in their sleeping bags (and asleep, I believe) by 11:00. Not bad for a lock in! They boys really enjoyed this event. (Mike and I enjoyed a night out as well!)

It is amazing how the musicals come together. Diane has a knack for taking about 50 children and turning out a beautiful performance. I can't wait to see the production.

Austin's Math

Austin is in 4th grade. In math they are going over their multiplication facts. To make this mundane chore more fun, his teacher is having them "build" a sundae. For each fact family that they have memorized 100% they get that assigned topping. Fun, right?

Well, Austin had another way of thinking about it. He came home and said, "I already know this one, that one and that one. But, I don't need to learn this one or that one, because I don't like those toppings."

My mind flashed forward to when he is 20 something. Austin sitting somewhere and trying to do a math problem and not being able to do it---because he did not like that sundae topping.

I looked at him and said, "You WILL learn all the fact families, whether you like the topping or not. You can just say "no, thank you" when it comes to topping your sundae. But, you will know every single one of those facts."

Oh, to think like a 10 year old boy!

Weather Changes

Earlier this week, the weather was cool in the morning but got nice by afternoon. I remember at least one day I told the boys they could wear a short sleeve shirt and long pants to school.

How the weather changes! This morning we woke up to a couple of inches of snow on the ground.


The boys were up and ready to play in the snow before it was light outside! Once they got outside they were out for about 2 hours. They tried the hills in our new neighborhood, met a neighborhood boy that lives (somewhere) nearby.

Adam insisted on wearing this hat that covers his nose as well. However, it shifted and I think it was crooked on his face the entire time he was out.

The boys enjoyed their time outside, but I enjoyed the quiet of the house, seeing the boys play and...


...the beauty of the snow.

***The leaves have not fallen off all the trees yet. We have had one large branch break off of a tree in our back yard, due to the fact that leaves hold more snow and make it heavier on the branches. This is really weather I would expect in January or February--definitely not October. I'm going to make a pot of soup and enjoy the warm indoors.

When Adam cooks...

...it is not a simple matter of putting ingredients in a bowl, mixing, pouring in a pan and baking. That would be WAY to easy!

I have a sourdough bread that I make. I feed the starter one day, that night make the dough, let it rise over night, put into loaves the next morning, then bake around supper time. This recipe is really hard to mess up (I have done it though, but it was my fault. I forgot the salt...)

Friday while we were at work and school, I fed the starter. Friday evening Adam help me make the dough. Saturday morning I showed him how the dough had risen and needed to be punched down. Then he asked, "Why? Why do you have to punch it down and let it rise again?" Well, to be honest about it, I didn't know. I just knew that is what you did when you baked bread and never questioned the theory behind it. I told him I would find out.

After he punched it down, I told him to flour his hands because the dough might be a little sticky. "What does the flour do?" I explained that the flour makes it so the dough won't stick to your hands. "How?" "Really, I do not know. I will have to find out for you." We got the dough in the pans then I was on my mission to find out this information.

I called my sister and her husband and they answered my questions. I knew that he had been interested in one chef who explained the chemistry behind baking, plus they have a good all around knowledge. :)

Last night we went to a harvest party and I was retelling my bread baking experience with Adam. She told me, "And that is why he is going to be getting paid a lot someday." If nothing else, I am learning the chemistry behind baking.

I do have to admit, his bread looks beautiful. I can't wait to try it!

Fall Flowers

Having a new house, I am getting to see what flowers and other plants are planted around this house. We have this beautiful flower garden, that is shared with our neighbor.

It has some lovely mums in bloom right now.


II just want to make sure that Diane (our neighbor lady) knows that, in the past I have favored flowers that thrive on neglect. I will try to do my part to try with this flower bed, but really...

...It's best if they want neglect.

How Austin Feels

Austin has always been a child who wants to express himself through notes. When he was little (even before Kindergarten) he would tell me what he needed to tell Mike and we would write notes and put them in his mailbox at work. Sometimes the notes were lovely (I love Daddy because...) other times they were (I am so mad at Adam...) I'm sure Mike loved getting the first example, not so sure about the second!

As I was unpacking a box this morning, I found something that Austin made for Mike.

The bottom says, "What a Awsome great Dad I have." I'm not sure how he did the "#1 Dad" but it is engraved in the wood.

The other Sunday Austin wanted to know when Father's day was. I told him it is always in June, in fact sometimes it is the same day as his birthday. (in those cases Austin's birthday often overrides Father's Day. That is what happens when you become a parent.) Austin wanted to make a card for Mike. I thought is was really cute, so for memory sake, I'm going to type it in.

Dear Dad, (This is a late father's day card)
Your the best dad I ever had.
You let me go places I'm begging for (and I thank you.)
you let me go out to Klines ice cream.
And other fun stuff.
I gave you a gift.
You might not like it but just try it out and see if you like it.

**Side note**Mike is the ONLY father that Austin has ever had (just to be clear!). Secondly, I had to chuckle about the "begging" really it is just that he asks to check out new places (stores, etc.) begging makes it sound so much worse than it really it! Lastly, I love how he wrote in parenthesis "and I thank you".

I love how Austin expresses himself on paper (or wood). We do save some of these things and like to look back and see how he has grown and changed.

Hello

Several days ago I did a post saying goodbye to the house we just moved from. I decided that to follow that up, I should say, "Hello" to our new home.

We are looking forward to many good years here. We look forward to the memories that we will have here, and the boys milestones that will happen. We feel very blessed to have this home.

The Mural Room

When I was pregnant with Austin, Mike decided he wanted to know if the baby was a boy or girl. He wanted to paint a special room for the baby. We found out that Austin was going to be a boy. It didn't take long for Mike to start sketching out his ideas.

Mike worked really hard on this room. I remember being on complete bed rest in May and as I would be heading towards the bathroom, I would peek in to see how the progress was coming. I was always pleased.

Recently, Adam had started to ask if he could have the room painted. I could not bring myself to paint over the hard work that Mike put into the beautiful walls.






Some of the pictures were resembling different parts of our lives (or a a life of someone in the family)
A pick up truck. My Dad has a pick up truck (but what little boys doesn't love pick ups?)

playground equipment.
A big truck. I think this is suppose to represent the truck that Mike drove at the ice company through his College years.

A fun race car.
The sun :)
Mike's dad had a motorcycle.
Tornado slide
swings
slide
Mike's mom's first car was a VW bug (The door has her initials SJG --maiden)
Who doesn't love a hot air balloon
My Dad was driving a dump truck at the time (the door has his initials GEK)
Sand box
Slide

School bus that says Harrisonburg City Schools (the system that Mike works in)
Fun helicopter
Playground equipment

I loved this room for 10 years. The boys have out grown the mural, but now I have the pictures to remember this wonderful room by. I am glad that my baby boys had this fun room to stay in while they were little.

Adam's Thoughts

The other day we were headed to church. The boys were in the back seat, unusually quiet. All of the sudden Adam pipes up and asks, "Where do ticks go in winter?"

I have to honestly say that I have never, ever thought of this question. But that is exactly how his mind works.

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The other week I had to take Adam to piano lessons. That is usually Mike's "job". During the lesson he started to ask questions about how the piano worked, and what it looked like inside. His piano teacher is a wonderful lady, who promised that if he did his lesson she would open the piano for him. She followed through. He loved seeing the works and when she played, he was fascinated at the works moving.

He loves to see how things work, and I'm glad Diane is willing to work with him in this way.
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One evening this week, I walked down the street to get our mail. Adam was riding his bike with me. He was, of course, a step or two ahead of me. He stopped and was looking at a rock wall in the front of the house across the street. He had found some cocoons hanging on the rocks. One caterpillar was in a J, 2 had hatched, and 2 were in their cocoons. He was so excited about this. He wanted to do an experiment. He took something fluffy, and tried to tickle the one in a J.

This was very much "up his alley." This is just an example of how Adam's mind works.

Good-bye house

Mike and I bought our first home right before we got married 12 years ago. In the past 12 years we have had lots of memories form in this house. It served us well, but it was time to move on...

This was our living room. I remember bringing Austin home from the hospital and asking Mike, "what do we do with a baby?" Then when we brought Adam home at 2 days old, I asked Mike, "What do you do with a 2 day old baby?" I had barely held Austin at that point, I really did not know!


The hallway to the bedrooms and bathroom. What beautiful floors!

Austin's room.

This was the first time he was able to make choices like wall color. Orange would not have been my choice, but he liked it.

This was Adam's room.

This room was the nursery.

Mike drew and painted all the pictures.

Adam had been asking to repaint the room recently. I could not bring myself to do this


I loved this room. I will do a longer post on this room later.

Basement rec room. (Where we had our guest "room")

This was a great room to play in for the boys (Mike included). It was a great place for Mike and I to watch movies after the boys were in bed. Our "in home" date nights.

Our dining room.

Our kitchen. I prepared many meals in this kitchen. Some were GREAT, some were...not so great.

It was a nice kitchen.

Mike installed these cabinets for me when Adam was a few months old. They looked really close to the ones that were installed already. It was great to have the extra space.

We added this sign for the new owners.


We have many great" memories in this home. It was a wonderful home to start our family in. Now it is time to say, "Good-Bye." It is time for this house to be a great home for a new young family.