Yes, I was one of the crazy ones

I left our house at about 4:30 yesterday morning for some power shopping with the crazy masses of people that think this sort of thing is fun. Every time I do this, I inevitably laugh at the sheer silliness of it all -- Otherwise normal people (for the most part) getting up super early just to save a few bucks. It was fun, though! The lines were pretty long, but I wasn't going for much and was able to get everything I had on my list (a definite plus).

Are we EVER going to eat?

Sam got plopped in his chair for Thanksgiving dinner a few minutes before the rest of us and wasn't exactly happy about it! This kid can give you some looks!

Static Cling!

This is how the girls' hair is all winter, but Nana and Papa's new couch was especially effective at creating static head.

Am I the only one?

So I made an apple pie for Thanksgiving. Follow my train of thought here...While thinking about whether or not making an apple pie for Thanksgiving breaks some code, I was wondering if there were other home-making type things Mom never taught me growing up that she just assumed I knew. Like how to peel an apple. When my sister was home in May, she and Mom were giving me quite a hard time because I don't do it the "right" way. So I thought I'd take a poll. Do you peel towards yourself or away from yourself? (In the interest of not influencing the vote (and in case no one does it my way), I'll (maybe) let you know later how I do it.) :)

Oh, and Happy Thanksgiving!

This one's for you

Because I know how jealous my CA family really is (even though they won't admit it), here's a picture of some snow we woke up to the other morning. It was all gone by noon, but sure was a pretty sight to wake up to. The alarm clock in our bedroom is set to the local radio station and it turned on right when a little boy was calling in to see if school was cancelled for the day. Funny!

Bekah Turns 4!

Nathan's really become the class clown (great) and was up by Bekah making funny faces when Chuck E started moving and swatted Nathan with his hand, scaring him quite a bit. The rest of us were in stitches!

Bekah turned 4 this past Sunday (November 23rd) and spent the morning at McDonald's for Breakfast with Daddy and then got to open her present from the Waymeyer family. I took her roller skating in the afternoon and she did very well and especially enjoyed the Chicken Dance. Her long-standing request was that we make it to Chuck E. Cheese that day, so we ended there for supper, cake and presents. She's gotten to be quite the little lady and I love her to pieces! :)

I'm Thankful for Family!!

Inspired by my pastor's wife's blog on things she's thankful to God for (what a great idea!) and the fact that my kids are currently watching our Schut Family Vacation '06 video, I'd like to say that I'm very grateful to God for my family! While I miss my sisters and their families especially at this time of year, I am thankful that Brad's family and my parents are close. I'm looking forward to getting together with Brad's family tomorrow and will enjoy the day spent with family -- one of God's most precious gifts here on earth.

I wonder...

Is it wrong to only make an apple pie for Thanksgiving? I think there may be some unwritten (or written?) code that says if you're in charge of making dessert for Thanksgiving, at least one of said desserts must be a pumpkin pie. But...during my weekly grocery trip last Thursday I completely overlooked planning for Thanksgiving and would really like to avoid the grocery store today. So can I just make an apple pie instead? Whaddayathink?

Lipstick?

Last week, the girls had their first "Awana store" where they get to buy items with the money they've earned for reciting their Bible verses (among other things). One of the things Emilie bought was some finger nail polish. And yes, you're drawing the right conclusion. Nathan thought it was lip gloss and proceeded to covertly steal it away and hide behind the chair to apply some. Cute, eh?

Can You See It?

It's snowing here today...Can you tell? The kids are really excited, but don't really get the fact that it'll be awhile (thank goodness) before it sticks. Time to pull out scarves, hats and mittens...and boots...and ear muffs...and long underwear...and....

Stinker!

Sometimes I really struggle with disciplining Sam because he can be just so darn cute! This was one of those times. Like Nathan, this kid was climbling up ladders and onto countertops before walking and like Nathan, the primary purpose of this trick was (is) usually to get food. At least Sam picked an apple...Nathan used to go for cookies!

Nathan's New Bed

I think we've cured Nathan of climbing into Sam's crib with him at night. For the last few weeks, his new place to sleep is under Sam's crib. I might as well de-clutter their room and just put his bed in the basement! The only real problem with this arrangement is that the furnace is set to kick on at about 5:30 in the morning and the vent that's right under Sam's crib seems to be waking Nathan up. I've joked with Brad that we're going to have to put Nathan on the bottom bunk when we get the boys bunk beds!

Trick or Treating

Grandma helping Sam (Elmo) walk.

Checking the goods. She did this after every house. And I think she asked to eat a piece of candy after every house, too.

Halloween this year was one of our 70+ days and for once, the kids were warm enough in their lightweight costumes (which meant we didn't have to stuff them into their winter coats). It actually made trick-or-treating more pleasant for the adults, too.

We stopped at my Grandma Schut's house for some goodies (Sam was in one of his "I'm not too sure about this" moods) and then went trick-or-treating down my parent's street in Clinton. We ran into my mom by accident and she joined us for the second half of our journey. Afterwards, we got pizza and then headed over to Brad's parents' house for a little more trick-or-treating. Once we got home I told the kids they could stay up and eat candy while we watched a movie. A perfect case study in why young children need parents -- they would've eaten candy until they were sick if I hadn't intervened!

The Almost-Walker

"This is the only thing I can figure these things are for," says the boy who is still not walking. I give him a hard time, though...He's really taken off in the last few days and is probably walking at least 50% of the time. I'm sure it won't be long now until the only time I see him crawl is when he's pretending to be a puppy. Even this one grows up too quickly.

Playing at the Park

We had some spurts of warmer weather (70's) late in October this year and we made good use of one of those days by going to the park. While we didn't really think about this when we bought this house five years ago, having a schoolyard in your backyard makes trips to the park quite convenient. People who don't know we're homeschooling will often joke that we could just toss the kids over the fence when it's time for them to go to school. :)

The kids have asked in recent days if we could go to the park -- days on which the high was only 40 or so -- and they are quite disappointed to hear it'll be a long time before we go to a park again!

No one wins!

Well, no one won the baby pool. Ethan James Johnson arrived on November 12th, weighing 8lbs 11oz and measuring 21" long. Mom was quick to point out that she was the closest and only had the date and the ounces mixed up (she guessed November 11th and that he would weigh 8lbs 12oz). If you'd like to see some pictures, check out my sister Sandy's website (she and her kids got to visit them in the hospital) at http://thepoolfamily.blogspot.com/. He's a cute little (big?) tike!

There's a "Rarr" under my Bed

I think the girls have successfully scared Nathan into believing there's a "Rarr" (translation "Monster") under his bed. After a morning of playing in the boys' room (they typically play in the girls' room), nap time with Nathan was quite a battle. He insisted there was a "Rarr" under his bed -- and the only source of this sudden insistence that made sense was that the girls had said something about monsters while they were playing in his room. After repeatedly placing him back in his bed, I checked on him after he had been quiet for awhile and this is what I found.

Where is that Baby, anyhow? :)

Well, it looks like I didn't win the "Baby Pool". My next pick is the 7th. :)

T-R-O-U-B-L-E

"What, Mom?"

Yes, that's this kid's nickname. While the other kids were napping one afternoon, I had made Emilie some hot chocolate and mistakenly left the container of chocolate powder on the counter. Nathan woke up while I was finishing my shower and this is what I saw when I walked around the corner into the kitchen. I guess I can't totally blame him for this one.

Any Day (or Minute) Now!

My youngest sister, Kathy (or Katherine, depending on how long you've known her) ;) is due with her first baby (a boy) in 4 days. However...during the weekend us sisters surprised our Mom for her **th birthday out in CA, we did a "Baby Pool" to guess the birthdate, weight and length of the little tike (the only prize being bragging rights). The day I picked was today. So come on, Kath! Let's get this show on the road!! :)

Stowaway

Can I just say that Brad has a really big lunch box? Although Sam still seems really small to me, too...People will ask if he's walking yet when they find out that he's over 16 months old and before I answer "No," I kind of think to myself that he still doesn't seem big enough to walk yet! (But I really wish he would!)