gretchie's hat.

And here I thought this little face couldn't get any cuter... 

snow.

Lots of snow earlier this week! (Not enough for a snow day, but that a whole different post...) The kids wanted to go up to "sled hill," but I knew that Gretchen wouldn't be able to stand the cold for that long. And this was her first real snow! Last year she was too tiny to be out in snow. This year, when we walked outside that first morning, big snowflakes falling... she kept looking up... smiling... giggling... sticking her little hands in the cold, cold snow... so much fun! So we really wanted her to be able to be able to be a part of this, too. (a little bit, anyway.) 

We all have a patio outside our classrooms at my school. My patio looks down on a pretty good hill. So we decided to go there. That way Gretchen and I could watch from inside if she got too cold. 

The smallest boots I could find were a size 10. Gretchie wears a 4. So they were a tiny bit big on her. :) She couldn't move much, but she still loved being outside! 

Sledding without a sled...

Gretchie loved sledding down with Daddy!

Until they hit a snowdrift at the bottom and she got a face full of snow. She didn't love that part.

We went inside for awhile after that to let her thaw out. She sat on a box and had a little snack... watching out the windows the whole time. 

Lawson wanted to try out the new snowboard Corey got them for Christmas... 

Gretchen loved her little sled, but neither one of us was crazy about the cold, blowing snow. Snow is much more fun when it's not in your face.

britton.

Thank you so much to all of you who have been praying for Britton and her family today! Danielle emailed that it was almost as if she could breathe easier, knowing all the prayers that were going to be sent up for her sweet baby!

They were all ready for surgery, had Britton under anesthesia and the surgeon determined that her mouth is too small. For some reason, they weren't able to tell this until she was put under. Something about the breathing tube and the device used to stretch her mouth. The surgeon said that even with his smallest knife, it wouldn't be safe for him to continue.

So they are headed home. Britton will have a sore mouth, so she's on a liquid only diet for 24 hours. Surgery was rescheduled in 3 months.

So the trauma has been delayed. Poor Danielle, who spent time doing 6 weeks worth of sub plans... now gets to do it again. And speaking as a teacher... 6 weeks of sub plans are not fun to prepare.

So thanks again for all your kind thoughts and prayers and support for their family today! We'll try this again in 3 months!

prayers.

I have two friends named Danielle. 

They are both as sweet as can be. The kind of women that you just love to be around. They are sweet and encouraging and kind and thoughtful... just awesome, awesome Christian women. Two of my favorite people. I am blessed to know them both. 

One Danielle has kids that are older than mine. Her youngest is one of Sophie's best friends. She is the friend I go to for parenting/mommy advice, encouragement when I feel like the worst mommy ever, help with carpooling and so many other things. She stops by my classroom most mornings and always puts a smile on my face on those stressful mornings.

The other Danielle is my organizery twin. (We make up words like organizery and listy.) When I found the idea for the Christmas planner... I knew she would love it. When I wanted to go shopping for a cute new bill holder and notebook... I knew she had to be the one to go with me. We talk about doing things like spending an evening in each other's classrooms, sharing ideas and organizing tips. (She teaches 1st grade at another school across town.) We laugh at how similar we are sometimes. 

Would you do me a favor? Would you pray for this Danielle? 

Her sweet baby girl, Britton, was born one month after Gretchen. Although you can't tell by looking at her perfect little face, Britton was born with a cleft palate.

Britton has a 3-4 hour surgery scheduled for Thursday afternoon. After surgery, Britton has a not-so-fun recovery ahead of her. I've been trying to think about what it would be like to have Gretchen in arm restraints for 2 weeks... and I cannot even imagine. Poor baby. A liquid only diet for the first two weeks... applesauce, baby food and broth-like substances for weeks 3 and 4. It's going to be a long recovery... for Britton and her mommy and daddy.

I wanted to do something for Danielle, but at this point, all I can do is pray. So I asked her if she would mind if I asked for others to pray, too. She was very grateful ("the more prayers, the better!") and even sent me these super sweet pictures of their adorable little family.

So would you pray for Miss Britton? Pray for her doctors and nurses? Her surgeons? All her family? Especially her mommy and daddy? I know they would appreciate it! 

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." 
Philippians 4:6-7

So many thoughts and prayers headed your way, Danielle! 

Love you! 

organized.

Organization makes me happy. Organizing things makes me happy. 

The last two days of Christmas break, I had a bit of a panic attack. 

I had this list of all these areas I wanted to organize... and none of it had gotten done! 

(This is my new favorite notebook. All my lists, projects, ideas, more lists... it's all in here. I love it.) 

My problem was that there were so many areas I wanted to organize (and that those areas were in such bad shape) I had trouble staying focused on one area. I think I started in Lawson's closet. I ended up with a bag of things that needed to go to other areas of the house, a bag of little toys to take to school and put in my prize box, a bag of baby girls clothes to return to a friend, a bag of little boy clothes to offer to another friend, a bag of clothes to donate/sell and a big bag of toys to donate/sell. As I was putting the things from the "bag of things that needs to go to other areas of the house" where they go, I would end up starting to organize those areas as well. Which was good... and needed... but created an even bigger mess than what I already had. 

It was at about this point that I was telling Corey, "I am making progress, I promise. It just doesn't look like it." Oh my word, our house was a mess. Seriously. This is just a tiny portion. Take this little area, times 6 or 7 different rooms. That was our house. (and still is in a few places. Darn job and having to go back to work.) 

But I did accomplish quite a bit... 

This may not look very organized... but everything in this box is either dishes or food or toy kitchen related. That's what I was going for.

Luckily, a certain little girl was staying with Grandma and Grandpa for a couple days. I was able to go in her room and do some major cleaning. I filled up an entire trashbag of "treasures." All her valentines from 1st grade, at least 3 Kleenex boxes, covered in paper, decorated and stuffed with cotton... little beds and houses for various animals and people. I kept all the important things, but Sophie's a bit of a packrat. I was a little nervous, but the only thing she said when she got home was how clean her room was! (This little corner was basically filled with "stuff."

I didn't get a picture of her closet. My 50mm lens was too close up and I was too lazy to go change my lens. But I did major work in there. She has a walk in closet and we keep all the out of season/Gretchen will grow into them/special baby clothes that I'm not willing to give up/extra sheets/wrapping paper/gift bags/miscellaneous things in there. You couldn't see the floor. Now you can!

How cute is this little box?

Now full of Pet Shops! (Speaking of... remember the two that I found living in our Christmas tree? When we took the tree down we found 7 of them hiding in there.)

All this hair stuff and most days she goes to school with absolutely nothing done to it except being brushed. All these girls at school with their cute clips and barrettes and bows. We just can't do it in the mornings. Occasionally we manage a ponytail or pigtails with ribbons. But that's about it. But we've got lots of cute stuff!

Another new system. The big clipboard has a list of things to do. I decided that each day I'm going to try and cross 2 things off. They may be little things, like "order slipcover online," but it's something. Crossing things off makes me happy. The little clipboard is a list of projects for Corey to do. Unfortunately, he doesn't care about crossing things off a list. Sad for me.

The house is still a mess.
I still have lots of things on my "To Organize List" and lots more things on my Project list.
And now I have all these bags to get to people or to donate/sell.
I'm thinking that my organizing may never be done.

cookies.

This week was hard. 

Getting back into routines... getting up early... reminding all my first graders of our routines and rules in class. 

I've been exhausted. Corey's been exhausted. 

Our house was a disaster. Truly. 

I came home this evening short on patience. Which is never good. 

I started cleaning. Clean and organized always makes me feel better. 

So the house was looking better (still not great), but I was still short on patience. 

On a whim, I grabbed the gingerbread dough from the fridge. (The dough that we never got to use on Christmas Eve.) Corey and Sophie were upstairs, so Lawson and I rolled the dough out and I let him dig in our big jar of cookie cutters. We made a batch and then had Sophie come help with a batch. (Love, love, love that ready made dough!) 

I fed them a fabulous supper of string cheese and cereal and then pulled out a stash of frosting and a few jars of sprinkles and let them go to town... 

Selfishly... I knew this would be a fun and entertaining activity for them... that I wouldn't have to be involved in. Mommy needed some quiet and some down time. The quiet was totally worth the 30 minutes it took to throw the cookies together. 

Our sweet baby in her gingerbread jammies just toddled around and spent lots of time snuggling on the couch between Corey and I.

We told the kids they could each have one for dessert. I think they each ate 1/2 of one.

Gorgeous, aren't they?!

penguins.

I'm usually pretty good at explaining things in "kid language."
But today I was stumped.

"How do penguins stand up at the bottom of the Earth?"

Lawson thinks that God probably glues their feet down.
Sophie thinks they just fall off the world.

I told them to ask their Daddy.