Who's the Boss?

I had to remind Madison who the boss was because apparently, she has forgotten after five months. I gave her a six pack of whoopin'

Then she reminded Jensen who her boss was. Notice Jensen already has an ice pack.

O Christmas Tree Part Deux

Lew did this...

...and this
...and this ...and this I even told him I wanted a square wreath that I saw on a Lowe's magazine and he made this...( the red bow is Jensen's idea. It's not part of the wreath)
He refused to decorate the tree. Madison and I devised a plot. We would make the tree really ugly. He would get frustrated and take over then we wouldn't have to do it. We carried through with our plan but Lew wouldn't give in. He even had to go outside to avoid looking at the decorating carnage. Our sinister plot had failed. Our tree is still ugly. Oh well, everything else looks nice and festive.

O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree!

We waited for Madison to get home to carry out our tradition of cutting down a Christmas Tree. We loaded up and went to Santa's Tree Farm. We have been doing this for at least 12 years, if not longer. We usually make a day of it, but since we waited so long we had other errands to complete so it was a quick trip. The kids take this tradition very serious, as you can see by their expressions. We loaded up on the hay ride around the farm and got dropped off in our usual location. We decided we wanted a wee 'ittle tree this year. We are always suckers for the Charlie Brown trees. Madison and Parker worked as a team to cut it down. Jensen caught it.
Parker and Jensen carried it up to be measured, tagged and bagged.
Lew tried to kill Madison.
Then Madison tried to kill Lew.

Best Christmas Present Ever

Whether it was by trickery, coercion or divine intervention, all of my duckies were with me at sacrament meeting today. It didn't really sink in that it was going to happen until I saw it happen. Sometime between the opening prayer and the opening song, my face started leaking. I was so overwhelmed with joy. I felt like this is what it must be like when we are reunited as a forever family. I also felt like this is what it is all about. I have suffered more than my share of adversity this year. If I knew it was going to culminate with such joy and hope and peace, I would faced the adveristy more cheerfully.

After church, it was Christmas at my mother's house. She made stockings for everyone this year. They are super cute.

I know this looks like my skirt but it is a blanket. I know I am fat, but not that fat.

After a short nap, or quiet time for some of us, we went to the Ingalls' for dessert. Not that we needed more dessert, but we just wanted to enjoy their company before the holidays really set in.

Mike taught us how to make Christmas mice and then Roxanne taught us how to play "nertz." (sp?)

We ate some of the mice, watched the Christmas devotional, played nertz (Roxanne won) and overstayed our welcome.

Christmas just can't get better than this.

Madison's Home

Danette showed me this cool website where we could track Madison's flight. http://flightaware.com/live/flight/SWA2655 After watching it all day, when she had an hour left of her flight, Lew, Jensen, Melena and I hopped in Franklin and shot down to the airport. I was a nervous wreck until she texted and said they had landed. (I love cell phones!) It was so good to have her home. It seems like she was never gone.

Guess Where I'm Going Today?

Give up?

TO PICK UP MADISON AT THE AIRPORT!

WooHoo!

I'm nervous for her because she has never flown by herself. Please pray for her and me.

I wonder if I will recognize her? hmmm!

21!

This is my late birthday blog dedicated to my eldest. That's right Madison turned 21 on December 2nd. I don't know why I took so long to write this. Maybe because when your oldest turns 21 you are now officially old. Maybe because she is 2,000 miles away and we didn't really get to celebrate Madisonpalooza. Maybe it's just I took crazy pills and I'm just now gettin' rountuit. Regardless, I had to get it done because she comes home in 5 DAYS! I can't wait!

I wanted to share a few reasons why I celebrate Madison's birth. I'll do it in the style initiated by Mary Gronlund.

makes Me laugh, always

moved Away and followed her dreams

oldest Daughter and a great example

She & I have our own language

Mad Skillz as "stylist to the stars"

she ain't no Ordinary girl

Has the Niftiest decorating skillz

I miss your funny self, LaFonda.

Hurry home, Love Mom

Carry On or Carrion?

Our Alpacas Will Capture Your Heart…

…and that is exactly what happened. One of my co-teachers bought an alpaca. She has been talking about it and showing us the wool that she is spinning that she will eventually knit into a sweater. I had to go see what all of the fuss was about. I have to say I am in love.

 

This is a baby that was born yesterday. That is not her mother.

That is the Kisser. The one that kisses everyone.

This is the mother, Surprise

 

Brittni, Santa, OP (Optimus Prime) and Jensen

My favorite. She was my buddy.

 

How can you not love that face?

Black Friday

I started out celebrating my holiday, Don’t Change out of your Jammies, Sit on your Fat Tookus etc. Day.

Jensen came up to me and said, “I need clothes.”

Me, “Now?”

Jensen, “Yes.”

Me, “Ok".”

I don’t usually just jump up when she says she wants something. I knew she really did need new clothes. She has gone through a growth spurt believe it or not.

I was leery because I had just read the story on AOL about the security guard who was trampled to death by Black Friday shoppers! I was outraged! I hope you guys are feeling grumpy about the holidays now, too.

We headed to Target. I have to admit that I partook in some of the sales. Jensen played with the hats.

Afterwards, we went to “Light Up Eustis,” with Alana.

Thanksgiving 2008

I'm grumpy when it comes to holidays. I haven't figured out what it is yet.

Maybe it's all of the commercialization? I hate spending money on nonessentials.

Maybe it's all of the stress?

Maybe it's because I think we should celebrate the purpose of holidays every day? We should give thanks, fly the flag, respect veterans, contemplate the birth, life and death of the Savior everyday.

Maybe it's because I abhor all doemstic skills because I am no good at them? I hate cooking, decorating, shopping, and crafting. I think this is the real reason. Why don't holidays center around things I am good at? Like National Weeding Day, Car Washing Day, Home Repair Day, Blog-O-Rama Day, Read a Good Book Day, or my favorite Don't Change Out of Your Jammies, Sit on Your Fat Tookus and Eat Carbs Until You Slip into a Coma Day. These are reasons we should get time off of work. this is what I am good at.

I decided to celebrate Thanksgiving the traditional way. We went to the Strickland/Boone house in Wildwood. There weren't as many in attendance as in days of yore. It was enjoyable none the less.

Reagan Chase
Jensen on the bag swing.

Morgan Boone, Andrea Watkins,Crista and Lew

Mink & Talmadge

Layle, Mart & George

Jensen & Makynna

Lew & Debbie

Then we stopped by my mom's house where my brother Jeff is staying for a few weeks. His girlfriend Debbie was visiting also. It's weird having a sibling with a girlfriend with the same name as me. It's hard for me to say it.

We came home and I weeded my flower bed. (See I'm making my own holiday.) Then we went to the Garrett's for dessert. Yummy Turtle Cheesecake.

This is what Lew will do for a living if we move to Montana with the Garretts.

Lew's Blog

Lew is crying because no one reads his blog. I told him we could share friends. Please go to his blog and comment so he will stop the insanity. Here it is http://lewsartstuff.blogspot.com/

Peer Pressure

Tonight I succumbed to peer pressure. (My peer group being Jensen and Lew). We went to see Twilight. Does it count as Family Home Evening since the author is Mormon? I think so. The movie brought to mind some questions and concerns for me to ponder.

1. Does Bella ever close her mouth? Is that supposed to be sexy? All I could think was that at any minute a fly was gonna buzz in and never come out. Maybe she had a sinus issue and could only breathe through her mouth. Who wants to kiss that?

2. What's with Edward's pompadour? Pompadours make me uncomfortable. It's like, "Pass the creepy." I didn't like them on Elvis, Brandon or Dylan. I guess since vampires don't eat or sleep they have lots of time to play with their hair. I would prefer the tossled look of Heath Ledger or Owen Wilson. I guess because that is how I style my own hair.

3. Isn't Bella a co-dependent? Edward tells her he is a killer and she says, "That's ok." Listen here Missy, IT IS NOT OK!!!! Young Women, if a Young Man tells you that he is a killer, quickly turn around and high-tail it out of there. It reeks of women who marry men that are in prison, What?!? Bella needs to sign up for Co-Deps Anonymous. "Hi my name is Bella, I'm a co-dependant."

4. I wanted to be in love with Carlisle. All of you women who are in love with Edward...I worry about you. Unless, of course you imagine yourself at 17 and he is 17, then that's ok. I prefer the older men. According to the book, I pictured Carlisle as a hunk o'burnin' love. He wasn't. In fact, he reminded me of my own doctor. Who is cute, but not a hunk o'burnin' love.

5. Rosalie was not the most beautiful woman in the world. Why does Emmitt look like John Travolta? I fell for him as a high school teenager in Grease, but his glory days are over. He can't possibly be a high school vampire. And what about Jasper's hair. What the heck? It looks like they took my grandma's wig, parted it down the middle, gelled it up and said, "There, that looks good". And he being a new actor said, "Ok." Again, it is not ok! I liked Jasper in the book beause of his struggle of who he really wanted to be. In the movie, I am just embarrassed for him. I don't know if he will even get his SAG card for this, but if he does I hope he has the backbone to stand up for better hair.

As you can tell, I'm a visual person. I had their looks all planned out in my mind and I was wildly disappointed.

My rating is Wait For Video. Unless, of course, you've read the book. I know you won't wait so go ahead.

I Said it Would be Worth it

Today I got one of the biggest paychecks of my teaching career. This is my "Little Buddy". When he came to our school he was very angry and aggressive. I latched on to him immediately and he became "my buddy". I showered him with love and stability. I worried about him if I took a day off. I cried when he was suspended after only a week at our school. Even though I only work with him for half an hour a day this year, the other teachers consider him "my buddy" and give me updates on how he is doing.

I was reviewing his vocabulary words with him. One of the words was priorities. We discussed his priorities as a second grader. His priority is to pass the second grade and move onto third. I asked him what my priority is. I figured he would say to teach him or help him with his work. He said, "You love me Ms. Clayton". It was so rewarding to know that my efforts have paid off. His behavior has improved so much and I love him to pieces. I am glad that I can make a difference in his life. He has made a difference in my life.