One Last Thanksgiving Giggle

Up until a couple days ago, Marek called just about everyone "daddy". Occasionally he would say "mommy" but for the most part, everyone was "daddy". It was fun explaining that to the man in the electronics department at Walmart when Marek looked at him and said "daddy". Nice . . .

Anyway, now he is at least saying "papa" and "Chasey"!!

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow

And it did! It really IS beginning to look a lot like Christmas! It was 84 deg two days ago which made it very difficult listening to Christmas music! Walking in a Winter Wonderland has a different feeling when you're in shorts and flip flops and it's HOT!

Nana kept Marek warm - he LOVED the snow!

Gobble, Gobble

Is what we did today. I'm still stuffed and we ate at noon. We're off to Houston tomorrow - please pray that we get there safe and that Marek endures the long drive - or all of us for that matter!

Some shots from today . . .

Marek really loves the Christmas tree with all the lights - he'll just stand there and stare at the tree . . .
A new tradition was formed today. Nana pulled out a box of ornaments and the kids put them all on the tree. There was such a sense of pride in their little faces . . .

Marek was napping so he didn't hang the ornaments . . .
This is the one group photo I got this year of the kids - it's really hard to get them to hold still for this long!
Everyone piled on Tommy after lunch. Madelyn was very concerned and kept telling everyone "that's enough"!
The turkey is setting in . . . or maybe it's the fact that I got up at 4:30 am to help Nana . . . I'm not quite sure but my eyelids are shutting on their own . . .

Happy Thanksgiving

The smells, the sounds, the weather, the love of family and friends - I LOVE this time of year! We have so much to be thankful for.

"Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise - the fruit of lips that confess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased." - Hebrews 13:15-16

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." - Philippians 4:4-7

Happy Thanksgiving!

Preschool Thanksgiving Feast

Madelyn’s preschool had their Thanksgiving feast last Thursday complete with Turkey, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie!

Hands behind the back and bubbles in their mouths they walk to their feast!

Madelyn's super fake smile . . . looks painful . . .
The kids' teacher put us all at the same table together!

The Posts (minus Ashlynn) . . .
The Whisenants . . .

I love the Holidays!

Cousins Reunite!

It's so great that our kids are all so close in age - they have so much fun together. It’s been a while since all of them were all together. We all met up at Nana’s and Papa’s house (our current residence!) last Tuesday and brought the kids to the park.

Group photos are hard to come by these days . . .

They held still (sort of) for three shots and they were off!

Phone

Marek loves to “talk on the phone”. One of his favorite toys is my cell phone, of course, just like it was Maddie's favorite toy when she a baby. . . He will stick it up to his ear and talk and chat it up. In fact, it doesn’t matter if it’s a phone at all – even a pink calculator will suffice . . .

Balloons!

I love the fascination that kids have with balloons . . .

St. Joseph and me in the Paper!

Front page of the Ft. Worth Star Telegram! Here's a link to the link online article:

http://www.star-telegram.com/news/story/300716.html

If you're trying to sell your home - it works!!

Sara's Birthday Party

Little Sara Semmler turned 3 on Saturday. Susan and Scott threw a cute Mickey & Minnie Mouse party at Let's Jump - oh what fun!

Bedtime Stories

. . . sometimes put daddy to sleep, too. . .

Lips Like Sugar

Sugar Kisses . . .

Utensils

Part of Marek's new found independence is his use of utensils. He gets very excited when I give him a spoon or fork. He's actually pretty good with a fork - the spoon will take a little more practice . . . He just likes to show off . . .

Tomato soup + grilled cheese + spoon = MESS

Madelyn doesn't like to be left out of any pictures . . . :)

Click

Marek is into everything - his little brain is constantly trying to figure out how everything works. He's trying to be independent already which really freaks me out. He learned how to buckle himself into his high chair and is now focusing on mastering his car seat 5-point harness. . .

Tongue out . . . almost got it . . .

*CLICK*

ZOO

We continued our weekend in pursuit of fun outdoor activities by going to the zoo on Sunday. Surprisingly, it wasn't very crowded and the weather was perfect. Maybe the time change threw everyone off . . .

We saw the monkeys first but there was some serious "monkey business" going on in their habitat that we didn't want the kids to see so we scurried them past the monkeys - no pictures either . . .

The elephants are usually Madelyn's favorite . . . However, she has a new favorite animal every time we go to the zoo. This time she was most excited to see the giraffes . . .We went into the bird cage and Madelyn got to feed the birds. We actually made it out without being pooped on!
Marek sat back and soaked it all in . . .
My little model . . .
We rode the carousel while waiting for the train . . .
Marek was getting so sleepy . . .
Even the Flamingos were enjoying the beautiful afternoon sun . . .

After our 3 hour zoo excursion, we took the train ride to the entrance and headed off for home. The kids were so exhausted - they fell asleep in the car after about 5 minutes.

Warm Weather

No home searching this weekend. There has been a real slow down in the number of houses going up for sale in Coppell. We decided to enjoy what might be one of the last warm weather weekends. We went to church Saturday night and let the kids play on the play ground afterwards. We are so blessed.

Madelyn still remembers her gymnastics moves!

CHEESE!

12%

I received a call this weekend from a telemarketer trying to get money for a very well known sick children's foundation. In her monitone telemarketer voice she thanked me for asking her how she was doing as if she was reading it from a sheet of paper. Here's how the conversation transpired:

Her: "It's hard to admit that these sick children will die but they will. Some of these children won't live to see their birthdays and most won't live to see the holidays. We would like to count on your contribution by sending a donation card . . ."
Me: "Could you tell me what percentage goes to the children (Foundation) and what percentage goes to your company."
Her: "Well ma'am, we have worked out an agreement with the Foundation and they have agreed on a percentage because they really need help in getting money. They get 12% and the rest goes towards making the calls, paperwork, . . . " blah blah blah blah . . .

I didn't care to hear the rest. 12%. She then continued to ask me if she could count on our much needed contribution of at least $15 or $20. I mentioned to her that my $1.80 wouldn't be much help to the kids and that I would look into other charitable organizations. She thanked me and gave me a website to look at. 12%.

We always ask these telemarketers what percentage goes to the charity because they are required by law to give that information if asked. It's usually astounding but this is the lowest I've heard. I really believe in giving back what we've been so blessed with but 12% won't go very far. This year our family is going to try to give some of our time at Cooks Children's Hospital with some of the sick children there over the holidays. We also got a couple of angels from our church Angel Tree this weekend - a girl Madelyn's age and a boy Marek's age.

I think everyone reading this should consider what they will give back this year - not just money but time. Our time here is short and we need to get back to the basics of why God put us here. We get so caught up in the day to day (self indulgent) "stuff" that we sometimes lose sight of what our purpose here is.

What will you give back this year?

GNO

Madelyn and I had a Girls Night Out this past Friday. We went to see the "Bee" movie together and the boys stayed at home and did "boy" stuff. Cute movie and I love spending one on one time with my girl. :)

Stir Crazy

With everyone being a little sick and cooped up in the house for several days - we needed to GET OUT! The kids and I were all a little stir crazy so we headed to our favorite park - Castle Park!

Marek loves to follow his big sister around at the park . . .
The weather has been so beautiful but the fall weather is coming soon!

Trick or Treat!

Happy Halloween!

Madelyn's 5th and final costume - Sleeping Beauty! Pictured here with Ashlynn as Snow White . . .

Chase with his puffy chested Superman costume smiling at the ladies . . .
All of our Trick or Treaters . . .
Tom and I wore fake arm tatoos . . . don't we look tough?
Marek got out of the stroller for a little bit and did some trick or treating. Then he was off to bed!
Hope your Halloween was Happy and Safe!

Halloween Dance Class

Madelyn wore her 4th costume to dance on Wednesday. She has been wanting to wear this outfit since Aunt Stephanie gave it to her so I figured this would be the perfect occasion. She was so excited until she got to dance and saw everyone in their princess costumes. Then, of course, she wanted to change. . . After a small fit, she was fine and danced with a smile!

My little ballerina . . .

Marek is always such a trooper at dance class. He just runs around and checks everything out. His favorite thing to do is hide in between the vending machines. . .

Carving Pumpkins

More like Pumpkin (singular). We got two but Madelyn was more interested in watching Charlie Brown than reaching in to touch the yucky pumpkin goo.

School Halloween Party

Madelyn wore her 3rd Halloween costume to school on Tuesday! She was Belle from Beauty and the Beast - same as last year. It fit her perfectly this year.

Here she is with a couple of the other Princesses in her class . . .

Her teacher dressed up as Dora - she looked just like her - too cute! Madelyn was being shy . . .
Marek loves all the festivities!
Madelyn shakin' her groove thing . . .The Princess dancing with Uncle Jason . . .

After their dance party, they went back to the classroom and decorated Halloween cookies . . .
Super Heroes eat cookies, too . . .
Marek even got in on some cookie action!
After cookies, they went outside and swung at the pinata - Madelyn's hits broke it open! That's my girl . . .

My dancing babies . . .