"Pretend You Are A Missionary"

Last night we had spaghetti for dinner. However, when I was making the noodles for some reason some of them burned to the bottom of the pan. The noodles smelled smokey and had a burnt taste to them. Unfortunately, I did not have a back-up plan for dinner and I figured it wouldn't taste too bad if we covered it with sauce. It definitely wasn't horrible but it wasn't the best tasting spaghetti by a long shot. As we started eating I told my two older kids to just "pretend you are a missionary" when eating it because when you are on a mission you have to eat everything put in front of you even if it is not something you would normally choose to eat. Not only did they eat it but they acted like missionaries and told me how wonderful it was (even though I know they were only being nice). I think I will use this phrase from now on when I want the kids to eat vegetables and other things they might not otherwise try. It is definitely good training for not only a mission but also any other situation they might be in where they don't like the food put in front of them.

SNOW!!!

It actually snowed today. It started snowing when we were at church and we drove home in quite a bit of snow falling. Right when we got home Machella, Joshua and Elyssa wanted to go out in the backyard and play in it. Elyssa didn't even want to change out of her church dress. It has been a long time since we have actually seen snow fall from the sky. It was a lot of fun for the kids. Unfortunately, it didn't snow for very long and David and Machella are disappointed because school will probably not be closed tomorrow. They have never had a snow day from school before and I think they were hoping to be able to experience it.

We Have a Teenager!

David turned 13 and is now officially a teenager. It has been both fun and very interesting. He is doing great in school and Scouts. He is very into sports and has favorite teams that he follows and watches their games on T.V. One of the teams that he likes is the Boston Celtics and he was happy to get a team jersey.

Merry Christmas 2010

We had a great Christmas this year. It was very relaxing and low key. The kids slept in and we just stayed around the house and played games and enjoyed spending time together.

"The Babies" are 4!

I can't believe Joshua and Elyssa are 4 years old! Time is going by so fast. They are doing great. They are learning and discovering so much. Joshua loves to play with his toys and video games. He loves being outside and riding his tricycle. He loves playing football with his big brother. Elyssa loves to color in her coloring books. She can honestly sit at the table for hours non-stop and just color. She loves it. I am always on the lookout for new coloring books for her because she fills them up so fast. She loves to dress-up and pretend and play house with her big sister.

Everything Just Got a Little Clearer

Machella got glasses last week and she is amazed at how much clearer everything is and that she doesn't have to squint or move to the front of the classroom to see what is on the blackboard. She loves her glasses and loves being able to see.

Halloween Fun

We had a fun Halloween this year. If you couldn't tell - Machella was a Pirate, Elyssa was Snow White, Joshua was a Ninja and David felt he might be too old for the whole Halloween festivities so decided just to be himself (and show his Texas pride).