12 Nights Before Christmas

‘Twas 12 nights before Christmas and all through the house,
all creatures were stirring, even the mouse.

Our ornaments and stockings were all hung up last night,
Then Ben found them and broke them or hid them from sight.

Our presents were wrapped in paper, ribbons and sacks,
Then Ben found them and hid them or fed them to Max.

Mom was in a panic and Dad in a rush,
as relatives made plans to come visit us.

Chaos was rampant and moods were quite heavy,
as winter concerts and programs made us all very weary.

The house was a mess and Ben was not well,
The dogs were always barking and Ben liked to yell.

Between breathing treatments and laundry, Mom was quite busy;
she dreamed of the day when life would be easy.

As we shop for presents with our dollars stretched thin,
we have visions of maids, nannies and a lottery win.

But, as Christmas comes near, we cannot lose sight,
of the peace, promise and hope of that night.

We pray that as we lay down for our long winter’s nap,
Peace will fall over us and we will have our sanity back.

Lori's Big Announcement

Take a deep breath. I am NOT pregnant. I have made a big decision. Gerry and I have been struggling to make it work financially since we gave up my job and half our income. Instead of going back to work, I have decided to open up my own home childcare business. I am excited about it. I feel this is what God is leading me to do. I really like this plan of his because I really don't want to go back to teaching full time. My babies need me at home. I plan to open in May. I will be keeping little ones during the day and maybe a few elementary age kids before and after school. The website is still under construction but you are welcome to visit it now if you like www.loveandlaughterchildcare.blogspot.com. If you live near me, feel free to pass along my info. Thanks!

Big Gerry's Big Award

In addition to being runner up in this year's 4A state honor band competition, Gerry is going to be the recipient of an award from UIL. This award is given to UIL sponsors who are outstanding not only in encouraging and supporting their students in UIL competitions, but also leading them to success. For those of you who know Gerry, you know how hard he works and how much he cares for each and every one of his students. It is nice to see him be recognized for his efforts and success. This award is given to only 12 UIL sponsors in the state and Gerry is the only recipient from the Dallas area. The Dallas Morning News will be doing an article about him. The superintendent from Frisco ISD, all the Frisco ISD board members and representatives from the state UIL office will be at his winter concert to present him with the award. Next time you see him, be sure to offer him congratulations. This is definitely a huge milestone in his career and we couldn't be prouder of him!

Adkison/Miller/Weaver Thanksgiving

We have survived another holiday! This year's Thanksgiving was jam packed with visiting, cooking, crafts, cooking, entertaining children, cooking, shopping and cooking. As always, we prepared enough food to feed an army. We started cooking on Wednesday and finished shortly before the meal was served on Thursday.

We arrived at my parent's house on Saturday afternoon and watched the OU game with them. Sunday was spent at church for the most part. On Monday, we made our first trip to Lawton in order to buy all the craft supplies I needed for the crafts I had planned for all the kids. We also spent the afternoon making Turkey Treats (thanks Debbi for the recipe). Gerry thought it was fun until he got a little messy. Ben really wanted to help so I put him in his booster seat and handed him a cookie- the foundation of the turkey. Just as I was getting his rice krispie turkey body ready, he decided to eat the cookie. So that was that.

On Tuesday, we headed to Walmart to buy groceries. By the end of that shopping trip, I was not in the holiday mood to say the least. They ran out of canned yams and we waited about 30 minutes to check out. I had never seen a Walmart that packed with people! That afternoon, Ethan and Gerry made the turkey centerpiece for our table. They had a great time and were very proud of their art work.

Wednesday, my Mom and I got up and started cooking. We finished at about 4:00 that afternoon. I was exhausted and we hadn't even reached thanksgiving day! That evening, Ethan and Gerry made the place cards. They used their fingerprints to make turkeys on each card. Unfortunately, I failed to notice that the stamp ink was permanent ink. They had some colorful fingers for several days.

Finally, thanksgiving day arrived. We started cooking again. We managed to get the green beans out of the pot and safely into the serving bowl this year- last year was not so good for the green beans. Brad fried up a turkey and Lisa cooked a ham. I think we set a record for the amount of food we prepared! Our cousins Bill, Judy, Nadine and Shawn were able to join us. It was a lot of fun! Enjoy the pictures.