Girl Time!!

We love dress-up time!

Christmas time begins

The kids holding the Christmas ornament from their very first Christmas :)

Thanksgiving was full of surprises this year. The night before Joshua threw up. Which changed our Thanksgiving day plans. It actually turned out awesome. We stayed home and decorated for Christmas. It was a great time of taking it slow and just enjoying some time as a family. We all agreed that it was a great day.

A few days later three of our family visited the doctor. Joshua and I have sinus infections and poor Elliana has pink eye. But we are on the mend !

Good Article...

Half of Americans Facing Diabetes by 2020

http://www.cnbc.com/id/40332640

It is good to remember that while obese individuals are at a higher risk for type 2 diabetes due to their decisions, genetics play a major role as well. I ran a half marathon three days before I was diagnosed as prediabetic.

After completely changing everything that I eat I am now healthy. If I eat even a little too much sugar or carbs I am sick for an entire day. Sugar is the enemy people! We do not need to be consuming hundreds of grams of sugar per day. At this point I eat less than 15 grams of sugar each day. Give it a try. What do you have to lose, other than the risk of becoming diabetic.

And It Begins!

Joshua making the pie crust..

A very busy kitchen..

Elliana helping make the rolls.

Uh Oh!

Asher measuring the sugar for Aarons apple pie crust. He had to taste test the sugar :)

Joshua breaking the eggs for the rolls.

Elliana taking the wrapper off the butter for the rolls. She was so proud of herself.

It is harder than it looks..

Asher measuring the milk for Grandma Sandy's Famous Thanksgiving Rolls.

Joshua will have fun doing whatever you ask, when I directed him to get the milk he made up a game- balance the milk :)

And the turkey is in the oven! It already smells yummy!

Elliana telling me how to cook the turkey. She shocked me when she told me "to cut holes in the bag". I checked the box and sure enough that was the next step. She was watching what was going on and comparing that to the pictures on the back of the oven bag box. She is brilliant!

My three little cooks ready for an adventure!

It's Thanksgiving!!

Well not really, but at our house it is :) I always make a big Thanksgiving meal for our family a few days before the official day. I want my kids to know how to cook a big meal with confidence.

Today we will stop our normal school work at noon. Then the fun begins! All three kids will be instrumental in making every part of our meal. Things will get messy and mistakes will be made. But we will also be making some great memories and learning some new skills.

On the menu:
-Turkey
-Stuffing
-Broccoli & Cheese Casserole
-Grandma Sandy's Thanksgiving Rolls
-Real Mashed Potatoes and Gravy
-Homemade Apple Pie

(No, I can't eat anything on this list- except of course the turkey. But I love to cook! So I don't care one bit :)

Stay tuned for what I am sure will be some fun pictures of messy children :)

Killer!!

I love hard workouts. Weights, cardio, spinning, swimming, and running are my favorites. I recently picked up a new weights DVD at Wal-Mart for ten bucks. In the past I have enjoyed the Biggest Loser series- Last Chance Workout, Cardio Max, Yoga, and Power Sculpt (also ten bucks each at Wal-Mart).

Why do I use videos when I have a gym membership? Two reasons 1) I save in driving time and as a result I can sleep in 30 minutes longer, which adds up in the course of a week. 2) They are harder than gym classes. The classes held at the gym must be easy enough for older and overweight individuals. If they had killer workouts few people would come back. I use my gym for swimming, AMT, and sometimes running.

Back to my new workout, it is Bob Harpers: Inside Out Method-PureBurn/SuperStrength. It kills me every time! If you want to challenge yourself, buy this video and stick with it!

Halloween 2010

We had a great time trick or treating on Halloween. Our new neighborhood is much larger and thus we obtained a ton of candy :)

Joshua was Captain Kirk, Asher dressed as Mutt from Indiana Jones, and Elliana was our little dragon :)

She is the cutest dragon.

wonderful

Connecting

That is one of my goals throughout the day. I want to make connections with my kids. To really look into their eyes and speak to them. To pour wisdom, love, good character, and Jesus into their impressionable minds.

I am fortunate to homeschool my children. I don't know how parents find the time to do this when their children are gone all day at school. Not to mention how busy families can be with extracurriculars and homework every night.

But just because I am with my kids everyday doesn't mean that it is easy to spend this quality time with them. I have the normal mom duties that are endless added on to the daunting task of educating all three of my little ones. It is easy to get wrapped up in household chores and to-do lists. But when I feel that happening I know I need to step back and look at the bigger picture. Dishes and laundry can wait. These blessings that are growing before me need me now.

A cute homeschool moment- Joshua is reading a biography of Thomas Alva Edison. He came to me all excited and said "Mom, did you know he was homeschooled!" My response- "Yes, isn't it cool that one of the greatest inventors of all time was homeschooled!" He just beamed :)

2 Hiccups and an Astrid..

We have several drawers filled with dress-up clothes to choose from for trick-or-treating. Every year the kids and I wait until after Halloween to buy new costumes. I refuse to spend 20 dollars a piece for a costume (that would total 60 bucks!). After Halloween I can get them for 75% off!

The costumes they get after Halloween are to play in and if they wish; to wear next Halloween. I know I am biased, but I have the cutest dragon trainers in the world!

Everyday Life

More fun at Raders!

She is gorgeous when she eats breakfast.

Cowboy Asher!

Just standing in the kitchen and she is beautiful.