It'sBEGINNINGtolookALOTlikeCHRISTMAS

around here. We put up our tree today. I'm stressing a little about getting all the decorating done so I started with the tree. The kids wanted to put it up anyway so we did. It has been a very busy weekend. CAroline and myself spent a few hours at the mall today and yes Santa is there. Now I'm just working on cards, ordering some gifts, and watching a movie with the kids.

Ok here is the most exciting thing I have for. This is a movie of Nick playing his drums. It is so funny. He makes these drums everynight on his bed and "practices". Mr. Seibert thinks he has talent. He has asked Santa for a drum set. It is number one on his list. We'll see if he agrees. We found a place that gives drum lessons and the kids play in bands. I really think Nick will love playing in a band. You never know you might get an invitation.

The kids and I have school Mon, Tues and then we are off 5 days. Whoo hoo!

Reportcard Day!

We got our 1st official report card today. The last one was a progress report. Both the kids did great. S= successful, O=outstanding NI= needs improvemet. Caroline got all S's. With an O in music. Nick got all s's with an O in music and an NI in science.

Teacher comments: Caroline continues to make strong progress in all subject areas and is an enthusiastic student. She is a pleasure to work with.

Nick continues to make steady progress in all areas and is an enthusiastic student. Nick just needs to slow down a little and not rush through his work. My expectations for Nick remain high. I admire his energy and enthusiasm.

John and I are very proud and Grandma and Grandpa gave them some money for good report cards. I'm excited about the O in music. I love that they get as excited about music as John and me do. They love Mr. Seibert and he loves them.

Granny saw the derm. yesterday and they are going to wait until after the first of the year before removing the spot. He told her it was more important to fix her eyelids first. She is feeling better about things now. She was worried about Thanksgiving. Aunt Carol and Uncle Danny are planning on moving back to L'burg very soon. Caroline (especially) and Nick are excited about them being here and getting to see them more often.

The kids and I have 3 days off next week that we are looking forward to. I'm hoping everyone stays healthy and we can have a fun 5 days. Ok that is about all from here. We love and miss you all!

ENT says

she would like to wait another month before deciding if Caroline needs to have another set of ear tubes put in. I was so happy I could have kissed her. I was afraid the pediatrician was rushing a bit. Yes she has had 3 ear infections since they took her last set out in August, but it just seemed a little to soon for me. She says this is the age they start to outgrow ear problems and if we could make it through the winter she didn't think she would have any more trouble. She did warm me it might be a long winter though. It has already been a long fall so I think I can handle a long winter. I felt much better after hearing her opinion and talking it through with her. She did tell me if at any point she started having more trouble or I felt they needed to be put back in I could call and they would schedule the surgery. Hopefully we won't need it.

The kids fall festival at school was Sat night. It was really cool and the kids had a blast. I didn't even think about taking my camera. I wish I had. Nick dunked Mr. Seibert (the kids favorite teacher) in the dunking booth and he was very excited about that. Caroline danced in the disco room with her friends from class and they all played lots of games. Each classroom makes a basket to sell in a silent auction. Grandma came and bid on 2 baskets and won. John got into a bidding war with another person for a New Year's Eve package that included seeing Mr. Seiberts (the kids favorite teacher) band play. They are called V-groove and have been voted best jazz band in L'ville for the last 5 years. They are very good. Luckily he got outbid by $10. I didn't take my checkbook in. Oops!

We are back to school tomorrow and I am hoping everyone is better and won't get sick for a while. I've had it with all the sickness. Nick seems to be doing well on the new asthma med combo. Please pray it continues to work.

I did get a lot accomplished last week while we were off sick. Things listed on ebay, basement cleaned, toys weeded through, and my Christmas cards are almost finished. I have never been this far on them this early. Usually I'm still working on them the week before Christmas. Not this year.

That is all from here. Hope everyone is doing well. We love and miss you all! I haven't taken any new pics so I posted my favorite from the park pics we took.

QUICKupdate!

More sickness here....John took Caroline to the dr on Friday and she was diagnosed with a double ear infection. We started an antibiotic. She has been waking up in the middle of the night screaming with pain in her ear. We haven't been to school all week. I took them to the dr on Wed. to hear .....

Caroline's ear infection is worse so we are back to the ENT tomorrow to see about putting tubes back in her ears. Yes you remember correctly she just had them removed in August bc the dr said they had been in too long. Can you believe it?????

Nick has a sinus infection, ear infection, an eczema breakout and an asthma flare up. Whoo Hoo!
They changed his asthma meds a little and we are still on nebs 2-3 times a day. Yes we thought he was growing out of the asthma and we are stilling praying he is and it is just this season that bothers him.

John has been in Tampa, FL this week. He left Tues afternoon and gets back some time Thurs night. I took the kids Tues morning to vote. They were very intrigued by it and actually got to vote too. They had no idea who they voted for they just picked ovals to color. It was cute though. I didn't know they did that.
This weekend we have the Fall Family festival. it is kind of like a carnival we used to have. Including cake walk.

Chris, Beth, and Katherine are in town for Beth's birthday. They are going to Churchill Downs Friday to present a race. They are having a race named after Katherine. So we will be seeing them this weekend too.

I haven't taken any pictures this week bc we have all been sick. I will try to get some this weekend. We got a good update on Reed. His new medicine is working great and he is doing much better. They are visiting DD and the girls in Idaho.

Hope you are all doing good. We love and miss you all!

Happy Halloween!

Here are my very cute trick or treaters! This is my favorite pic from the night. I love the way they are standing and the looks on their faces. They did this on their own. It was a great night for treatin'. The weather was great. We had lots of company that walked with us. Grandma and Grandpa, Jim, Melissa, Lesley, Eric, and the kiddos. Then Jennifer, Ashley, and Charlotte came over when we got back home.

The kids have always been shy about going to the houses, which is why we always just go to the neighbors. This year they were totally pumped and ran from house to house. Caroline couldn't get there fast enough with Nick hot on her heels. John and I laughed so hard. We got tons of candy. Buckets full. Too much. Everyone had a great time.

Here is the crew!

We discovered none of our clothes from last winter fit so we did a little shopping this weekend. Caroline got lots of very cheap stuff at gymboree and Nick got cool stuff at Target. He loves these pants and baseball long sleeve t-shirts. Nothing too fancy. I can't believe how big they have gotten. I guess that is to be expected.

Caroline has another ear infection. This is the 4 or 5 since they took her tubes out. I'm really worried they are going to want to put another set in. She is so hard to deal with after the anesthesia. I guess we will deal with it if is comes up.

We are having a restful weekend playing, watching movies, and resting. We are off on Tues and looking forward to it. (at least Mrs. Potts is- I need a break)

Hope everyone is doing well. Have a good weekend.