How Do I love Thee? Let me count the ways

Today is my DH (dear husband)'s 44th birthday.



Here are 11 things I love about him:

1. He is funny. Not everyone gets his sense of humor, but he is very funny.

2. He is handy. He can fix almost anything.

3. He is adventureous. He likes to try new things.

4. He is hard-working. He works hard every day to provide for his family.

5. He is optimistic, and hopeful for the future.

6. He is a great cook!

7. He will grill in the snow and cold for me.

8. He has created 4 beautiful children with me.

9. He puts up with my odd behaviors.

10. He likes to surprise me when he gives me a gift.

11. He is loyal to those he loves.

National Western Stock Show

We got tickets to the Stock Show from Hubby's work. It was rip roarin' good time. We got to ride a shuttle - a shuttle pulled by a tractor.

We're Going to the Zoo, Zoo, Zoo

We had a fun, interesting & exhausting trip to the zoo today. First, we saw a lioness cough up a hairball. Disgusting!! We had a bird that did not care for us being in front of his enclosure. He got so riled up it made the cockatoo in the next enclosure get upset too! Then, we had a silverback gorilla get furious with us. Ted & the kids were sitting by the glass where he was sitting. He suddenly got up, threw his fists and body into the glass as if to say "Leave me alone!"; he ran to the other side of his enclosure. We also saw an adorable baby zebra.

The angry gorilla:

The disturbed cockatoo:
The baby zebra:

Sculpey Clay

The kids love creating with Sculpey Clay. Their aunt and uncle gave them a bunch for
Christmas, including glow-in-the-dark clay. The two in the front glow.

Here are some of their creations:

Looking Back at 2009

2009 : A Year of Many Changes

January

• New Year's Day started with a hard knock: My mom died this first day of the year. Even though she was in poor health, the news still came as a shock.

• Pocahontas and I traveled to upstate New York for my mom's memorial service.

February

• Pocahontas had her 9th birthday. She is growing up fast.
  

• Elective classes this year included: sewing, karate, photography, newspaper writing, and art.

• T's parents came to visit and we had a nice visit. We took them to the zoo while they were here.

March

• HIM Homeschool Conference - I had a very short time here due to sick kiddos.

• Leif turned 5 this year. I no longer have any babies.

• Thomas Edison is now 11 years old. The years are quickly passing by.

April

• Davy Crockett turns 7.

• Pocahontas lost her sweet guinea pig, Toffee.

May

• The search for a new house was in full swing. This consumed our days and nights.

• It is soccer time again.

• A new dishwasher was a great blessing when the old one died.

June

• Kidz Day Camp "Crocodile Dock" for all 4 kiddos - Thomas Edison worked in the preschool again this year.
  

• Packing, Packing, Packing: Too much Stuff!

• Park Days, Field Trips, and more packing.

• T headed up replacing the roof on the cabin.
  

• We had a great visit with my "oldest" childhood friend and her mom.

July

• Frantic Packing! (Have I yet mentioned packing?)

• We continued our annual Fourth of July celebration with our good friends. Despite their baby's cancer treatments, we were still able to keep our tradition.
  

• Closing on our new home and Moving Day finally arrives! T's parents came for the weekend, and we were ever so grateful for their help!

• And then the UNpacking began.

• Fun "Princess" birthday party for T's cousin . . . a nice break from unpacking!

August

• Blinds, Blinds, Blinds . . . how many windows does this house have?? We are very happy with our faux wood blinds.

• I attended a weekend conference: Educating the Wholehearted Child. Kids had a fun time with their cousins.

• We now have 3 new guinea pigs: Butterscotch, Oreo and Gumdrop

• T and Thomas Edison begin expanding our deck.

September

• We are back to our school schedule.

• Still working on the deck.

• Fall Soccer begins.

• We attended the MacDonald Family Singers Concert. It was a night of beautiful music.
  

• We attended the Living History Day in Arvada.
  

• The deck is finally completed. Thomas Edison made the new railing all on his own. He did a great job!
  

October

• Soccer continues.

• Our new patio is poured between snow storms. It turned out better than we dreamed.
  

• We had good visits from T's parents and sister and BIL.

November

• Thanksgiving at our house was a good time. We had some delicious new recipes that added to the standard faire.
  

• Zoo Lights - Member's only weekend. It was COLD, but a great time.

December

• We continued our annual tradition of going to the Festival of Trees with our good friends. Their baby is finally done with his chemo treatments and surgeries!
  

• Christmas Caroling with our Awana Club - It was a first for the kids, but we had a break from the below zero nights, and they had a fun time.

• Cookie baking with kids and Daddy; then decorating with friends.

• We had a nice relaxing Christmas at home. Our kids all love Lego and palyed happily for hours with their new Lego kits.
  

• New Year's Eve: We had a fun time playing at friends' house during the day and a fun New Year's Eve Open house in the evening. Thomas Edison and Pocahontas stayed up to see the new year in. Davy Crockett woke up just long enough to see the ball drop. Leif slept right through the festivities.

Here we begin with a new beginning in our new home.

Neglected Blog

I have neglected my blog for the past 6 months. I am hoping to be more consistent with my blogging in 2010.

My Sensible 5 Year Old

The common sense of a 5 year old . . . I asked Leif yesterday if he wanted me to wake him up in the middle of the night to see the ball drop and say "Happy New Year". He said, mattter-of-factly, "No, 'cause then I'll be tired and grumpy in the morning."