Leah's 3rd Birthday

We had a family party at Vicki and Keith's house to celebrate Leah and Vicki's birthdays. Vicki made a yummy rib dinner and decorated the table with everything Snow White and Disney Princess. Leah received lots of nice gifts and we enjoyed birthday cake. We put the Snow White movie on for the kids, but halfway into it they decided playing slots and ping pong downstairs with the adults sounded like more fun. We all had fun celebrating a wonderful aunt and a beautiful little girl.

Build-a-Bear

Ever since the origin of Build-a-Bear, I have been looking forward to going in there and enjoying the experience. However, knowing that I was too old, I waited paitently 'til I had children and those children aged to an appropriate level of development. Well, the time arrived. We took Leah and Jadon there for Leah's 3rd birthday. They had so much fun and so did I, living vicariously through them. We came home with Sandy the Monkey and Goober the Army Bear. It was mostly for Leah, but Jadon is the one who truly loved the whole experience. He has been inseparable from his bear.

We treated the kids to Whitey's before heading over to Build-a-Bear.

Presenting...Goober and Sandy!

Leah received these dolls from Aunt Vicki and has enjoyed dressing them. I especially like the "hat" accessory. Leah is also very into dressing and redressing herself these days. She loves to button and unbutton and button again her clothes.

Fun Fair

Leah LOVED the clowns!

Giving instructions for the night is Pastor Myles, our Childrens' pastor.

All year long, the kids go to Awanas on Wednesday nights. Each week they earn points for bringing their bibles, memorizing verses, and bringing show-and-tell items. Their points add up and can be spent at the annual Fun Fair and in the Awana "store". This past Wednesday was the fair and Jadon and Leah had so much fun. They played lots of carnival type games, ate fun food, and shopped in the store. They each had memorized extra Bible verses to earn tickets for raffle drawings. Leah's group doesn't have to memorize verses, but she does whatever Jadon does. At the end of the night, Jadon and Leah each won a raffle prize! Leah won a Baby Alive doll and Jadon won a Buzz Lightyear Lego kit and a tow truck. It was like Christmas morning for them. I feel so blessed to belong to a church that is able to do such nice things for the kids and make church such a positive experience. It isn't all about the stuff either. All the pastors and teachers are great and Jadon and Leah really are learning a lot about God and how He wants us to live.

Boys Night

Brian is a an Awana leader for the Truth and Training group, 3rd and 4th grade boys. On the 18th, he and Tim, the other leader, took the boys out to Pizza Hut and then back to our house for Uno Attack and general run-around-the-house-and-attack-each-other time. Leah and I crashed the party. It is a fun group of boys and Brian strives to invest in their lives and be a mentor to them.

Valentine's Day

Last week Jadon and Leah worked really hard on making their valentines. Jadon, who has become very interested in reading, writing, and drawing, sat down and wrote his name and each of his classmates names. He then stuffed envelopes and decorated each one with stickers. He focused on this project for 1 1/2 hours, which amazed me. Leah traced her name and the other students' names and decorated the envelopes with stickers. Watching the kids make their valentines was the highlight of this holiday for me. Leah had a cute little Valentine Party in her class and Jadon was home sick on the day of his party. Here they are with all their loot, which they're having fun sorting and playing with constantly.

B-rrry Scurry '11

On Saturday I ran in a 4 mile race in Clinton (one of the funnest races). I rode up with Anita and Pat and we did a little shopping beforehand. My goal for the race was 32 min., to run an 8 minute pace. I ran it in 31:21, a 7:51 pace, so I was very happy! My running continues to improve thanks to sticking with it over time and the support of the running club.

Here are some of the Rock River Road Runners present at the awards ceremony. We won for biggest turnout from a small organization.

My Little Sweetheart

On Friday, Brenda hosted a little Valentine's Playdate while Jadon was at school. Leah got to play with Emma and Charles and they decorated heart-shaped cookies. Leah turns 3 at the end of this month. She can be a stinker, but so cute!