Noah's Student of the Month Award!

Tonight we went to the PTO meeting so that Noah could be recognized as kindergarten student of the month. He got called to the front, given a certificate, and a medal. He was so proud and wants to go to walmart tomorrow to get a frame and hang it over his bed. Love this little man!

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Have you ever done anything to annoy your spouse? Matt and I were joking one day about things he could do to drive me crazy. One would be wierd facial hair. I should have known with him growing a beard, that he could carve it into anything he likes. So one day last week he came out of the bathroom with this, the Foo-Man-Chu. Laying in bed last night I asked him if he could name one person who was "cool" who had this type of facial hair. He mentioned the bad guy from back to the future (8os), that mexican guy who's always the bad guy in every movie, and John Travolta in Pelham 123. So all are bad guys, it was made famous in the 70s and 80s, and to spite me, he will be sporting it to after Christmas. At church this morning our Life Group leader laughed and encouraged him to keep it. At the birthday party last night my bud Kim was speechless. And of course, Matt's brothers (and my brother JohnMark) are encouraging him to sport it proudly. Am I embarrased? Slightly. Annoyed? Sort of (when we are in public). But he is proud of it, and promised me it will be gone right after Christmas. Until then, this is what greets me at the door every day, and the last thing I see before I go to bed. The "foo."

Avery's 4th Birthday Party

My best bud Kim invited us to her little girls birthday party this weekend. She always takes a party to the next level, you should have seen the cake! She emailed me these pictures since she knew my camera is caput.

Weekend Update

My second Sony Cybershot that I have bought in 2 years is now official dead. I don't know what I'm going to do without a camera, but I will have to come up with something! Since I don't have any photos to share, I thought I'd give you a little update on what we're up to. Ella had her 3 year check up this week, she is 75% for height and 50% for weight. The doctor has encouraged me to give up on potty training for a little bit and revisit it in a few months. Ella is choosing not to do it, and forcing her will not work. Noah is absolutely loving kindergarten. He has a new girlfriend (no one tell Emma!) and is getting to do some really neat projects everyday. He doesn't want to miss his class Christmas party, so we are leaving for Alabama this Thursday after school instead of Wednesday night. They currently are obsessed with the song "Born in Bethlehem" off of the 3rd Day Christmas Album. It's on repeat. But it makes me smile so much to see them passionately singing "Hallelujah, the King is here..." that I'll listen to it as much as they want to. Matt and I got a good deal on some restaurant gift certificates, so we are looking forward to a few good dates in the new year. We are almost done with our Christmas shopping. We have eaten too many peanut butter cookies (with the kisses on top) this season already, and haven't given one to anyone yet. My children are now super interested in baking, and beg to stir something or butter toast or anything so that they can say they helped. This past weekend some of Matt's family came up and we had fun watching them break in Matt's new video game (he opened a present early).

We have so much to look forward in the next few weeks, our trip to Alabama, Christmas Eve at our house, Christmas Day at the Cannon/Siaks, a weekend at our house with Matt's Dad. But all the while I don't want us to lose focus on why we are celebrating this season. "Hallelujah... the King is here."

The Thrifty Mama

A lot of my friends and I have gotten into couponing and finding ways to stretch every dollar. I am loving this new website I found, www.thethriftymama.com. Not only does she update you on sales, coupons, and freebies, but she does it as a ministry. Check it out!

Monkey Bread

A few weeks ago a lady brought Monkey Bread to our Common Ground meeting. Kim and I kept sneaking back for seconds :) Then, for Ella's birthday she received a Paula Deen's Kid's Cooking recipe book, and the Monkey Bread recipe was in it! After a busy morning at Lowes, lunch, and then boredom from the rain, I decided to make it with the kids.

Here's the recipe if you want to try it:

What you'll need: Pie plate, cutting board, butter knife, small pot, wooden spoon, bundt pan, oven mitts, wire rack, big cake plate, 1 cup sugar, 2 tsp cinnamon, 3 cans of refrigerator biscuits, 1 stick butter, 1 cup brown sugar, cooking spray.

What you'll do: 1. Turn the oven to 325 degrees.

2. Put the white sugar and cinnamon in the pie plate and mix them together with your fingers until they are completely mixed. Remove the biscuits from the tubes. Place each biscuit on the cutting board and cut eachone into fourths using the butterknife. Place each piece of biscuit into the cinnamon sugar and shake it around until its coated.

3. With an adult helper nearby, but hte butter and brown sugar into the pot and heat it over low until it is mixed together. Stir is with the wooden spoon. Turn off the heat.

4. Spray the bundt pan with cooking spray. Place the biscuits pieces evenly in the bundt pan. Pour the brown sugar mix over the biscuits.

5. Bake the biscuits in the oven for 35 minutes. Have your adult helper use oven mitts or hot pads to remove the bundt pan and place it on the wire rack to cook for 10 minutes.

6. To serve, turn the bundt pan upside down onto the cake plate. The biscuits should fall right out. Let the monkey bread cool for a few minutes so that you don't burn your fingers or mouth. Pinch off pieces to eat.

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