She must take after her Daddy. Today Chloe made her first Power Point presentation. She has been working on it for a couple weeks. Today she had the opportunity to present it to her class.
Maybe all 2nd graders are working on Power Point presentations, but I have to say I was quite impressed. We feel blessed that Chloe has such a wonderful teacher and awesome school to attend!
So, today it was 50 degrees and when I stepped out on the deck it felt pretty nice. Although I love the winter season, I’m ready for spring. So I decided it would be a good day for Emily and I to ride bikes to school.
In my head I had visions of a nice leisurely ride enjoying the warmth (50 is warm compared to 20.) Emily and I put on hoodies. Who needs winter coats when it is 50 out? Both Em’s and I prefer to go without coats anyways.
We were a couple of blocks from home when it began to rain lightly. Brad was on his way to a lunch appointment and stopped us to see if we would like a ride instead of continuing our journey to school.
I was SO tempted but then I looked at Emily’s sweet face. She was pleading with me to continue on. So, we continued. By the time we got to school it felt like it was 30 and the rain was picking up.
Let’ just say that by the time I got home, I was soaked and freezing! But…. it was worth the excitement on my little girls face as she bravely peddled her way to school.
Needless to say, I will be picking her bike up and we WON’T be riding bikes to school for a couple more months.
This isn’t Lisa. This is her husband Brad and I’m taking over her blog today!
In case you didn’t know, today is Lisa’s birthday. So leave her a comment, pop on Twitter and wish her a happy birthday!!!!
Happy birthday sweetheart! I love you!
These guys crack me up! My sister took a pic of them at a fair.
What are they thinking?
Ok, so it has only been 2 months since I have written a post. I don’t think I will be getting the “Blogger of The Year” award. 
“Addition To The Family”, for those of you who immediately thought baby. Umm….. you must not know me too well. Except a miracle, this body of mine doesn’t plan on getting pregnant EVER again. Hmm…. as I reread that sentence I realize it is a bit harsh. :) Maybe I need some counseling to get over unresolved issues. LOL
Anyways….. as many of you know Chloe is my little animal lover, and her life just wasn’t complete without a little animal to take care of. So…. I started looking to see what animal would be the perfect fit for her.
Cats: I would take one but I’m highly allergic to them. No thank you!
Dog: We are still traveling a lot and I will use any excuse I can to hold off the puppy phase.
Horse: Definitely to much work and money!
Llama: Well, I heard they spit.
Rat: They just creep me out.
Guinea pig: I was a bit hesitant but one day I decided to just run in the pet store and check them out. They had some out but they were sorta boring little pigs. I asked for assistance and was shown to the back room where they had 3 more baby guinea pigs.
And that is when it happened, I was shown the most adorable little pig ever! She looked me in the eyes and I knew she was the one! I laugh as I’m writing this because if you know me, I really could live without animals but this one won my heart.
And so, I introduce you to Flower (as in the skunk from Bambi):
She looks like a little skunk and we love her!
Christmas is coming and some crazy people have already started decorating!
Our family tradition is to decorate the weekend after Thanksgiving. This year we will be celebrating Thanksgiving in Michigan, so the decorating will start this Sat. morning.
Brad and I have spent the last couple months thinking about what we want our Christmas to look like. This Christmas is going to be a little different. We have decided to join the ADVENT CONSPIRACY.
As a family we have decided to drastically cut back on our Christmas present spending. Brad and I have will not be buying for each other (although I did buy him one gift before we made this agreement.)
We will still buy Chloe and Emily a couple small gifts and take the rest of the money to send oversees to starving children. What does this look like? For our family, we will:
I love that World Vision has a gift catalog with pictures of what you can purchase. It really helps the girls get excited about giving.
As you are shopping this year consider adding one more child to your list. It is hard for us to comprehend but the gift of 5 ducks can change a whole families life.
I can’t think of a better present.
I did, I bought a cow yesterday. A full grown heifer, this one will be grass fed and free from all the hormones and antibotics used in the meat industry.
Over the last three or four years I have been gradually moving toward purchasing organic food. I try to buy my beef, chicken breasts, milk and eggs organic.
The least expensive way to purchase beef is to buy a side. It actually works out to be cheaper than buying the “regular” meat at the store.While it cost more all at once, over time we end up saving quite a bit of money compared to buying the meat (full of antibiotics and hormones) at the grocery.
My parents are taking half and I will have the other half.
For those of you thinking, will she take the front half or the back half. Neither, I will take a side of beef. I can’t wait for my freezer to be full of good meat! I call and let the butcher know how I want it cut up. Steaks, roasts, hamburger, swiss steaks, stew meat, Yummy!
If you are in the Indiana area and are interested in purchasing beef let me know.
I constantly find myself turning off the girls bathroom lights. A couple months ago I wrote Save the Dolphins While this helped the girls to become more environmentally conscious it required me to continue reminding them to turn off the lights.
The novelty soon wore off.
Over a month ago I decided to add incentive to keeping the lights off.
Here is how it works:
Often they forget to ask me for the money, but a good habit has been formed and the bathroom light is usually off when not in use.
Last night while taking a shower I suddenly felt the need to look outside the shower quickly. As I looked I saw my dear hubby with a very mischievious grin and and a huge container of water. Based on past experiences I knew it would be very cold and coming over the shower curtain quickly.
With my stealth like moves I managed to push the container to the side and for the most part avoid being frozen. Not only did the water end up all over the bathroom but it also started an all out war in the house.
The girls were quick to come to my rescue. For the rest of the evening we were chasing each other. Girls against the one boy. Emily and Chloe were so cute. At one point we (the girls) were locked in my bedroom and they were using skype to try and negotiate with the enemy (their dad) in the office. He looked pretty scary on there. :) I should have taken a screen shot so I could put it up on this post.
We all had a fun filled evening with lots of laughing, screaming and tickling. Although it took the girls about an hour to settle down and fall asleep at bedtime. Oh well.
So, are you a prankster and if so, what are your favorite pranks?
For those of you who know me, know that I can do without animals in my life. I think I know why.
Growing up, we had a outdoor dog and barn cats. I grew up spending the summers chasing them around and loving my animals. My brother and I would pull all the blood engorged ticks off of our dog Shotzie. I remember doing it but it never bothered me a bit. I had stronger stomach as a kid.
We moved from the farm and I begged my parents for a sweet little indoor dog. Finally my wish came true. A beautiful white American Eskimo. We named her Sammy. She was a lot of fun in the beginning. We soon found out that she had really STRONG hunter instincts. Every time we would let her out of the house she came pouncing back so proud of herself. She would find either manure or a dead animal and roll in it to cover her scent. I remember many baths until I finally decided I didn’t want her anymore. My brother volunteered to take over her care.
I think Sammy cured me. I would be happy never owning another animal in my life. I don’t like cleaning them, picking up thier bodily functions or anything else. In fact just writing this makes me want to go sit in the corner and suck my thumb. :) Maybe I need counseling. Just kidding.
Anyways, God gave me a daughter that is in love with animals. She has a built in dog radar. If there is one within 50 feet she’s asking to pet it.
Last week we babysat our neighbors guinea pig Tiny. The girls fell in love with her and I have to say it melted my heart to watch them love on her.
This little fella would chirp back to the girls as the cuddled her.
It did something special for my girls and has me thinking. Hmmm……
If anyone knows of a animal that is warm and fuzzy but doesn’t go to the bathroom, please let me know. That would be my first choice.
