Nutcracker time!

Well... I started this post last Friday and tried to finish it MOnday and it wouldn't publish and I am finally getting back to finishing it!!!

Last Monday, the 3rd, I took Caroline and Will to see the Moscow ballet perform the Nutcracker on post.  The show started at 6 so even though it was a school night we were home a little after 8.  Perfect!!

They both throughly enjoyed it and I loved taking them.

Ready to go!  

Will's favorite part is the fighting mice!

Caroline and I both had a favorite dancer and when I told her which ballerina was my favorite it was also hers!! 

Advent wreath making

Saturday morning I took the kids (plus Caroline's friend from her class Grace) to the chapel to make an advent wreath.  4 kids and 1 parent.  Justin was doing homework.  

Singing Christmas carols.  They stood like this for all the songs!!  Caroline had spent the night at Grace's house and they had a blast together!

Will isn't so sure how this whole wreath making is going to go!

Caroline and grace made a wreath for Grace's family.  On the long table behind them  is a selection of different live greens, ribbons, bells, and berries to choose from.

Making his silly face!

He had a great time helping push the pins in to hold the branches on.

While Eric had fun decorating his donut!!

So proud!

The girls made theirs pretty fancy.

 I tried to get a picture of all 3 kids.  Eric wasn't very cooperative since it was past his usual lunch time and getting close to nap time.

Siblings

I love my kids and how well they get along with each other.  Especially Will and Caroline.  Will and Eric have their moments and are getting better.  But Eric is still a screamer and not the best at using his words to tell Will to back off!  Eric has started coming up to me and telling me "Will hit me" and of course wants Will to get in trouble, but it happens after Eric has hit Will first!  It's a work in progress with those two!!

Caroline reading out loud while I'm making dinner.  See that look in Eric's eyes?  Right after I took the picture he hit Will!

Then this!!  Caroline's still reading and I'm burning dinner!

Then there are moments like this where Eric is sharing a seat at the table with Will and they are so sweet to each other!!

Eric loves his big brother and would rather have him home than anywhere else.

Figured out how to do a fishtail braid!

On the sidewalk at terminal A

Thanksgiving was a blast and if you haven't checked out Susan's blog post about it you should (she has all the fun pictures!).  We picked Susan and Ryan up from the airport Tuesday at 5pm and came home to have dinner.  Wednesday we went grocery shopping and made some of the food.  Wednesday night Justin and the big kids went to pick Graham up from the airport.  Justin texted me that Caroline just threw up.  I was hoping that she could have avoided it since it had been a few days since I had been sick.  But that wasn't the case and she did throw up on the sidewalk at terminal A.  Which sounds like that name of a song or a book title!  Oh how I was hoping that all the cleaning and spraying of Lysol would stop the germs and the Morris family wouldn't get sick.  AND.... it worked!  They didn't get sick!!

What a sweet cutie pie!  You fall in love with him the instant he walks right up to you and holds his arms up for you to hold him, then lays his sweet little hot head on your shoulder all nestled in!  Boy do I love that boy!!

Didn't think to get a before picture but this was after.

We had: turkey, ham, stuffing, corn casserole, two types of green beans, sweet potato casserole, onion casserole, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, sweet potato yeast rolls, sour dough rolls, pecan pie bars, and chocolate pumpkin pies!!  YUMMY!

The crew minus Graham and Eric.  We ate in the basement at our dining room table!  Our basement is surprisingly very unbasement like since it doesn't smell like a typical basement and it is warm down there!

Did I mention that after they got home picking up Graham, Caroline comes in sits in my lap and then pukes on me?!  Then Will and I both end up getting sick again Friday night and me again Saturday night!  This past week was a healthy one for our family and today (Saturday) marks one of the few in the past month that I haven't been sick!

Cranberry pecan shortbread bars that I made the other day.  Wow are these things good!!

Thanks for coming Susan, Graham, and Ryan!!  We loved having you.

Stomach bug

Last Wednesday before breakfast Eric threw up.  He seemed fine the rest of the day and then threw up again at dinner.  Thursday was fine and then Friday he had diaharrea all day.  Friday we headed to the Great Wolf Lodge (indoor water park) for a Strong Bonds retreat (marriage retreat) paid for by the Army.  We got there, checked in, had dinner, dropped the kids off at child care, and went to our first session.  We picked the kids up around 9:15 pm and went to our room to get ready for bed.  Will said he felt sick and sure enough threw up his dinner.  We all went to bed but it was a rough night.  Will continued to throw up all night finally stopping at 6:15 am.  Justin was not feeling well either and we made the decision that we should just head home.  Caroline, Eric and I went and got breakfast and told the chaplain that we had to leave due to illness.  So home we came with some very disappointed kids (and parents)!  During Eric's nap time we all slept.  Will on the sofa, Justin in the lazy boy, and Caroline and I in our bed!  We didn't rest well at the hotel all being in the same room!  Justin never threw up but had it coming out the other end.  Sunday saw an improvement with the boys but by that night I wasn't feeling so hot.  I made it through the night just fine but when I got moving Monday morning it wasn't good.  I had it coming out both ends but by 4:30 pm I was done and have felt increasingly better since then.  Caroline has yet to get it!!  

And with Susan, baby Ryan, and Graham coming for Thanksgiving I have been spraying everything with Lysol and Justin deep cleaned the kitchen last night!

Caroline on Friday after having her hair in french braids for 2 days has what she calls "aunt Karen hair"!

Talking on the phone at the Great Wolf Lodge

Here's hoping no one else gets this bug and all the cleaning/disinfecting works!!  It's warm enough to open some windows to air things out too.

Operation Christmas Child

The chapel on post participated in the Operation Christmas Child ministry this year.  What a wonderful  thing for the kids to help with!  This year the church was hoping to collect 500 boxes!!  I'm not sure how close they got but it sure looked like that many.

Our 3 boxes.  I paid shipping on line so we can track them and see where they end up!!

They kids (ages 6-11) filed in carrying the shoe boxes.  Will is in the red and Caroline behind him in the blue.  They came through 3 times I think!

The kids standing in front of all the boxes.  I think all of them are in there!

I'm excited to see where our boxes end up!!

Gymnastics

Eric is now taking a mom and me gymnastics class on Friday mornings.  I am sure it's the highlight of his week!  He tells me all week "nastics Friday!"  He has lots of fun bouncing on the tumble track, rolling down the mats, and hanging on the bars.  At the end of class the teacher blows bubbles and gives them all a stamp on their hands.