Gone Fishin'

The boys with their haul

John and Sam had a "guy day" yesterday. They headed to Stockton Lake where a guide took them out fishing. They both caught their limit of crappie, although Sam had some help catching some of his. They also fished some for walleye. They both caught some large fish and had a great time.

Sam said his favorite parts of the day were getting to drive the boat and just the talking. It is nice to just have time to visit without a lot of other distractions. Maybe I should take up fishing with John again :). Now we are all looking forward to a big fish fry!

Paine Family Christmas

My cousins and their spouses. Hopefully somebody got a better pic than mine that they can pass along to me.

The kids!

We spent our Christmas Eve and Christmas in Kansas City again this year. We arrived on Christmas Eve just in time to change clothes and head to mass with the Siegels and my family. We took up a whole pew and as Aiden said, "we have a crowded family." It is so nice to be together with everyone celebrating the birth of our Lord.

Then it was off to dinner with John to celebrate his birthday. I don't think his birthday celebration would be complete without a steak at Houstons. The dinner was delicious and I was so glad to have time to celebrate him!

Christmas morning is just with my parents and brother and sister's families. Everyone enjoyed some breakfast and gift opening. Then the house begins to fill as all of my mom's family comes over to celebrate. There is nothing I love more than a house full of my family. It is so nice to see everyone and enjoy time together. It was a wonderful holiday.

Medley Christmas

Last night we hosted Christmas for John's family at our house. It was a yummy potato soup and chili supper. Ella was so excited when she saw the gifts come in that she actually just sat and looked at them for a while. Sam was just happy to have his buddy Caleb at his house to play. We enjoyed some snacks, opened gifts and then the kids played while the adults visited. It was a nice evening and the type of the thing we should do more of throughout the year. The gifts were a success too because Ella and Sam have been playing a lot with their new things.

Gingerbread Houses

Sam's class made gingerbread houses this year. Ella and I were able to go in to help out in the classroom. We thought Ella could just help her brother a little but there were enough supplies for her to make one of her own. She was very excited! All of the kids seemed to have a great time making the project and it was fun to watch them create. Sam just kept building and decorating and came up with some neat ideas. It was a project we might have to make a yearly tradition.

Cookie Time

After a year off, we got back to our tradition of making Christmas cookies with the cousins. The skills have definitely improved this year, there were some very impressive cookies! The kids young and older all had a good time creating some beautiful cookies. It was a fun time with family that I hope we can continue for years to come.

Christmas Program Time

Can you find Ella the cow?

Today was Ella's Christmas program and party. She had a great time up on stage. She knew all the words to the numerous songs and as the head of the program told me later, "Ella is my best dancer." She was really moving up there on stage.

I was a little worried about the Christmas party because Santa came to the party, and last year she didn't want to go anywhere near him. When were going to visit Santa last night (before we knew the line would be so long) she told me she wanted me to go with her to see Santa and she did not want to sit on Santa's lap. So, I thought we might have a repeat of last year. But, this year when Santa called her name she walked right up to him and posed by him for a picture. She had a great day and is counting down the days until Christmas is here!

Guns, Crossbows, Carousels, and Santa?

You know you must be going to visit Santa at Bass Pro when your trip involves shooting guns, crossbows, and racing cars. Bass Pro is the place to visit Santa in our neck of the woods. It was such a popular place to go that the one hour line actually prevented us from seeing Santa. We did get to do a lot of other things though like make a craft, ride a carousel, shoot at targets, race toy cars, slide and much more. The amazing thing is all of these activities are free. Of course some of the toys they are trying to get you to buy but the kids had a wonderful time. It was actually our second time visiting Santa's wonderland this year and this time was as big a hit as the last. I wish we would have seen Santa the first time when there was no line but I had this great idea we would dress up for a picture, not my best plan.

O Christmas Tree

So the Medleys have their first artificial tree. The real trees were just getting too expensive. Also, trees are not picked up with the trash here in Springfield so you have to find somewhere to dispose of them. I think the artificial tree looks pretty nice but I do miss that smell.

Reindeer

Sam had his Christmas program last week. He was Dancer the reindeer. His best buddies were all reindeer too.

Caroling

I didn't take any pictures of our Christmas caroling but wanted to write about how wonderful my kids are. Our church makes baskets and goes caroling each year to the homebound of our parish. I've been trying to think of something that my kids can do to help others for Christmas and after talking to them this seemed like the perfect project.

Saturday evening Ella and I made cookie dough and Sunday morning Sam helped me bake the cookies to add to the baskets at church. After mass we gathered and divided up the places to go and carol. The kids and I went with a small group to an assisted living facility and a nursing home. We visited seven parishioners in all. We sang at each person's apartment or room and visited with them briefly. My kids were so kind and patient. The visits took about two hours and they never once complained.

Sam even sat down next to a lady that wanted someone close by and tied another woman's shoes when he noticed they were not tied as she walked around her apartment. While they didn't know all the words to the carols they were the highlight of the visit for a lot of the people. They loved seeing the kids and I loved seeing their kind hearts.

Craft Day

I absolutely love Ella's preschool. The teachers there are so creative! Ella is always bringing home amazing projects and the things she learns astound me. Once a year they have a craft day before Christmas. An adult comes to school with each child and helps them make different craft projects in each classroom. It is a great experience to share with your child and the things they make are really neat. Ella and I had a great time working on all of her creations. They are currently hung in places of honor on our Christmas tree.

Thankful

Ella's turkey disguised as a gymnast

Nick and Sam playing catch

Meghan playing dollhouse with Ella

Ella's turkey

We had so many things to be thankful for this Thanksgiving that they are too numerous to list. Most of all I am happy to have my family together and to celebrate all of our blessings. We got to enjoy a Thanksgiving meal at AC and Uncle Al's house and while not everyone could be there this year it was nice to visit with those who were. The dinner was amazing, as always, and so was the company. I think we all had more than our share of what Sam has dubbed, "AC's famous rolls."