Time flies and we are busy having fun! ;o)

Wow! How in the world did the last few months go by so fast?! I looked at our blog and realized that I haven't updated since Halloween. Oops!

To bring everyone up-to-date on our lives from the beginning of November...

• the kids continue to do well in school and are really enjoying it. We are definitely keeping busy with homework in the afternoons/evenings.
• Brett continues to take a Tae Kwon Do class on Tuesday nights. He is finally getting the hang of it and really likes it. Over the past few weeks, Brett completed several different exercises that Master Kurtz had assigned and was able to get his initials written in Korean on his outfit (I know the outfit has a special name but I don't have a clue what it is). ;o) It is a very big deal to have this done and we are very proud of him!
• In the girls' Kindergarten class, each week there is a new Student of the Week. At the beginning of November, Kameron was selected as the Student of the Week and at the beginning of December, Kendall was selected. When they are the Student of the Week, they help the teacher out with various activities/projects, get the opportunity to each lunch with the principal, Dr. Nafziger, and also get an "award" which consists of getting a free item from McDonald's. Both of the girls are doing well in writing and learning to read and we are very proud of them!
  
• Kendall & Kameron are still taking ballet classes on Wednesday nights. They learn a new dance just about every week and are really enjoying the class. I am excited to see their recital in May!
• Brett is playing basketball this year. Mike is the assistant coach on Brett's team. It is really neat to watch both of them at the games. They practice on Thursday nights with games being held on Saturdays through March.
  
• I signed up to be a Room Parent for both Kendall & Kameron's class as well as Brett's class. For Christmas, I helped at the girls' party. I volunteered to make the cookies for all of the children to then decorate at the party. After baking 60 cookies, I was extremely happy that the children were going to decorate their own cookies at the party and I didn't have to. ;o) The party was really a great time and I thoroughly enjoyed watching our girls as well as their classmates play games, sing songs, and just enjoy themselves prior to the holiday break. For Brett's class, I have "volunteered" to be the coordinator for the Valentine's Day party. I'm a hoping that the planning will be easy and will hopefully fall into place. Keeping fingers crossed. ;o)
  
  Enjoying decorating their Christmas cookies.
  
• During the holiday season, I worked at Bath & Body Works (at Northwoods Mall). I absolutely love it! Besides the fact that the pay is almost non-existent, I really love interacting with people, helping them shop, working a few days a week on Mondays through Fridays during the hours the kids are in school (if they need me), and having no work stress. When I leave work, I am honestly leaving and don't have to worry at all about it. ;o) They have asked me to stay on staff and since Cat hasn't called me back, I accepted and will continue working there one to two days a week.
• On Thursday afternoons, I continue to volunteer in Kendall & Kameron's class for their Center Time. I love going in and working with not only our girls but also all of the other children in the class. I also volunteer with the parent helpers and assist in the elementary school and intermediate school offices when they need me. We have been lucky this year as many parents signed up to help, so I have only been going into each office about one time a month to help out.
• Over the holiday break, we all enjoyed sleeping in a spending lots of time together. Playing games, sledding, and just enjoying each other's company was absolutely wonderful! I was very sad when the break was over and Mike had to go back to work and the kids had to go back to school. ;o( Here's hoping the next vacation/break arrives quickly...
  
• We were lucky enough to be able to spend time with just about everyone in our family (except for Keri, Chris, Taylor and Pyper -- missed you all this year!) over the Christmas holiday. Fun times were had and memories were made that will last a lifetime!
  
  
• And last but not least, Mike and I decided to get the kids a puppy for Christmas. We fretted for several weeks (okay -- I fretted) on what type of puppy to get. I didn't want one that shed much and we had to be very careful as we weren't sure how allergic Kendall would be to the little one. We decided on a Cairn Terrier (just like Toto in the Wizard of Oz). On Christmas Eve morning, we took her up to the kids' rooms so she could wake them up. They were very surprised and extremely excited! ;o) We named her London in an attempt to help the kids remember all of our great times in England. So far so good... ;o)
  
  
  Crazy hair was had by all of the kids as we had just woken them up with the new puppy. ;o)
  

Well, I keep thinking that I am forgetting something...but I guess if I am, I'll create another post. Our 2009 turned out to be a wonderful year and we are looking very forward to a phenomenal 2010! We are truly blessed...