:)

Pinewood Derby

Reece was so proud of his bat mobile this past Saturday. Mo was super dad running all over town with the kiddos. Raine was very proud of her big brother and cheered him and his car on from the sideline. Reece found his buddy Dominic as soon as he walked in the door. He earned two second places and a third and was on top of the world. It was a good day for his car!

It's been a month

and his memories are more prevalent now than ever. I cherish this pic and the time I was able to spend with Matthew and Abbey during one of our summers in Buffalo. He sure did love being a dad and boy does this beautiful girl look like her daddy.

Baseball Season Begins

Reece is playing coach pitch baseball for Mountain Ridge and Daddy is so excited.  Mo is going to help coach and make sure Reece loves the sport as much as him.  I can't wait to watch my little guy speed around the bases.  Raine looks forward to cheering him on for the stands.

So grateful

The friends I have here in Nevada will never realize how much I consider them my family! I enjoyed a very yummy breakfast with two dear friends today. I consider both to be as awesome as sisters and would be honored to have my children call them aunts. Thanks girls for letting me share about such a hard time in my life. Love ya!

Hoping I can do this tomorrow!

Be the kind of woman that when your feet hit the ground each morning,

the devil says, "OH CRAP, SHE'S UP!"

Wordless Wednesday

God Surrounds Me

Feeling exhausted, I want to go to bed but I am afraid I will just lie there with my brain in overdrive. My trip to Buffalo was led by God every step of the way. From the people I met on the plane into JFK and BFLO, to the snow falling outside the window as I lay with my mom. From the sunshine that was felt on Friday to the words spoken by family. The list could go on and on. It was a whirlwind of errands and emotions I thought I had experienced last November when Dad was in the hospital for his heart. Never did I expect to have to fly home again so soon, especially for something like this...

A God Hug~I felt one of these today!

Dear God: This is my friend, whom I love And this is my prayer for her Help her live her life To the fullest. Please promote her And cause her to excel Above her expectations. Help her to shine In the darkest places Where it is impossible To love. Protect her at all times, Lift her up when she needs You the most, and Let her know when She walks with you, She will always Be safe. Do not ask the Lord to guide your footsteps. If you are not willing to move your feet.

Thankful Thoughts 05

Thankful for a job that challenges me daily. One that I love and am blessed to have. I teach with the most amazing teachers and staff in Las Vegas. My children attend a five star school where expecting the most from our students is normal. I have been fortunate enough to open the school and continue working there for the past nine years. In those nine years, I have expanded my knowledge of curriculum by teaching first, second, fifth and special education. I think this year has been the most challenging but also the most rewarding. I am thankful for all the support I receive daily. Lord, Thank you for closing one door so I can experience special education at my favorite elementary school, with teachers I can learn from. Your are so faithful.

Eggs

Today Reece made himself eggs for breakfast. He was very excited about cracking them into a bowl, stirring in some milk and cheese.  His favorite part was standing over the pan, watching and waiting for them to cook.  He was quite impatient and was very eager to flip them when they weren't ready yet.  Overall, the eggs tasted delicious.

Wordless Wednesday

K'nex Roller Coaster

Santa brought Reece a K'nex Roller Coaster and he has been waiting for weeks to open it. Today he was finally able to spend the day building it with his dad.

First they had to sort out all 637 pieces into separate piles.

Then it was time to start the massive assembly.

Here it is only part way finished. They needed to take a break for lunch.

I...

i was … just thinking about how I need more time to craft & scrap.
i am … exactly where I want to be in my life right now.
i think … I am incredibly fortunate to be surrounded by an amazing family.
i wonder … what it would be like if I got 8 hours of sleep on a regular basis.
i wish … everyone knew their divine worth and used it.
i need ... to start running again.
i save … Box Tops for my kids to turn into school.
i always … crave a little silence.
i never ... want to miss making memories with my little ones because I am too busy.
i hope... for another awesome summer of adventures.
i can't imagine … existing without my family.
i believe … everybody is stronger than they believe.
i cherish ... moments with my mom, as they are few and far between.
i promise … I really earned a 1.8 my first semester of college, but made up for it by getting a 4.0 in my entire Master's Program at UNLV.
i love … being at home with my kiddos.
i try ... to be optimistic.
i pray ... for PEACE, WISDOM and JOY.

Valentine's Day presents from Noni & Pe Pere

My kiddos are so spoiled by all of their relatives! They receive more packages than anyone I know. Pe Pere is very good about sending his grand kids special presents around every holiday. Raine was more excited about her Tinkerbell card than the actual present she received. I love how much she enjoys holiday cards. She saves them all in a special box in her bedroom.

Reece and Raine each received a soft little bug filled with a bag of Jelly Belly Valentine goodies.

So excited to open yet another package from the Hauguel Grandparents!

Baseball Season Stress

We have been trying all week to get Reece released from Cheyenne Little League so that her could play coach pitch with his friends from Bilbray at Mountain Ridge. A parent of one of my students gave me some very good suggestions on Wednesday after school. I called the list of people he recommended and then emailed them as well. Now we sit and wait to hear back. Thursday right after dinner the president of the Division 4 Little League called and asked about our situation and said he would speak the president of Mountain Ridge and look into our situation. Praise God something is brewing between the leagues.

Fast Forward to Saturday morning. I was going through both of the little league web sites trying to find waivers and registration forms to complete and hand deliver to the appropriate people in charge. It was then that I decided to call Beth the president at CLL to make sure she would be at the fields today. She confirmed knowledge of the email we sent and said she would be meeting with the president of Mountain Ridge on Monday. I was so glad to hear this because I wasn't in the mood to drive all over Las Vegas. I will call Tuesday morning to see what the next steps are. Thanks Lord for all your favor in this matter!

life

I don't want to get to the end of my life and find that I lived the length of it.

I want to have lived the width of it as well.

~Diane Ackerman

Thankful Thoughts 04

Today it is hard to find something to be Thankful for when my plate has been so full. If I look hard enough, I know can find something:

1. My friend from Reno came into town for a visit and I was able to spend some time with her.
   



2. My hubby made dinner a lot this week




3. My son is reading James and The Giant Peach and enjoying it as much as I do!




4. I have amazing colleagues at work who help me with all that I need to accomplish during my day.
   



5. The Lord is my Savior and he is always, always there for me.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

Tonight at the dinner table, Reece told us that he was no longer going to be a scientist. Instead he wants to be a meteorologist who studies the weather in Antarctica in hopes of meeting a chinstrap penguin. Who knows what he will want to be next week! Thanks Mrs. S & Mrs. O for teaching my son so much science!

Raine stated a little while ago that she wants to be a cooker like her daddy. I am so grateful for my hubby who is an example of a cooker to my daughter. If it weren't him our kiddos would eat a lot of pasta and breakfast for dinner. I love my chef Mo.

Now if only I could grow up and be a stay at home mommy!

Today our day looked like this...

I MAKE A DIFFERENCE

You want to know what I make?
I make kids wonder,
I make them question.
I make them criticize.
I make them apologize and mean it.
I make them write, write, write.
And then I make them read.
I make them spell definitely beautiful, definitely beautiful, definitely beautiful
over and over and over again until they will never misspell either one of those words again.
I make them show all their work in math.
And hide it on their final drafts in English.
I make them understand that if you got this (brains) then you follow this (heart) and if someone ever tries to judge youby what you make, you give them this (the finger).
Let me break it down for you, so you know what I say is true:
I make a goddamn difference!
What about you?

~Taylor Mali

January has been a very hectic month at school and I have been feeling rather discouraged. I was making a present for Raine's student teacher when I remembered this poem by Taylor Mali, a high school teacher and slam poet. It was just what I needed to read and hear again. While teaching on Wednesday and Thursday, I felt like I got my groove back. I reminded myself that my job is not to have the students like me, but to help them appreciate the joy of knowledge and let them know that they are capable of reaching the stars. It also helps when a co-worker tells you how much her daughters still call me their most favorite teacher even after having several others since me. Thanks Lord for reminding me that I DO make a difference in children's lives.

Thankful Thoughts 03

I have so much to be thankful for:

I attend an amazing bible study about the names of God and really enjoy the ladies I fellowship with.

My children are so successful in school.

Our weekends have been blessed with such fun activities.

We were able to video chat with my sister in law and brother in law, my sister and mother on the computer.

My bunco group of teachers from Vegas Verdes.

Thank you Mrs. Sterling

I am so very thankful that my daughter was taught by the wonderful Mrs. Sterling. She was a very kind and caring teacher, who will be successful where ever she ends up.

Thankful Thoughts 02

I am so thankful for our fantastic Saturday spent at Disney on Ice, In & Out Burger, Barnes & Noble and church. It's these kinds of days that make me appreciate how hard my hubby works on the weekends. We are so blessed by his generosity which help us make these awesome memories.

Three day weekends

should be the rule. January has had two of them already and I have really, REALLY enjoyed them. The kiddos and Mo will have another one next weekend too because of Staff Development Day for CCSD. I will be at a training on IEP's and my family with have a wonderful third day off.

Saturday we went to see Toy Story 3 On Ice and had a ball. It was surprise Christmas present from Mo to the family. We were all very excited and enjoyed the great seats not too far from the ice. Reece enjoyed a yummy snow cone inside a green alien head cup and Raine loves her stuffed unicorn Uni. I took bunch of pictures and made Mo take a few too. The show itself was very funny and well done. Barbie and Ken were quite funny, I laughed right out loud, a lot! Raine said she loved when Jessie skated to her song "When She Loved Me", which was really heart wrenching to me. I love Sarah Mclachlan and that song always brings a tear to my eye. Reece said his favorite character is Rex but he loved the green aliens and the claw scene the best. It was such a fantastic show, even Mo enjoyed it!

2012 has already been so blessed! Our weekends have been great, lots of family time! I pray it continues that way.

23 ADULT TRUTHS

1. Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.

2. Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.

3. I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.

4. There is great need for a sarcasm font.

5. How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

6. Was learning cursive really necessary?

7. Map Quest really needs to start their directions on # 5. I'm pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.

8. Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.

9. I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind-of tired.

10. Bad decisions make good stories.

11. You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren't going to do anything productive for the rest of the day.

12. Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after Blue Ray? I don't want to have to restart my collection...again.

13. I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten-page technical report that I swear I did not make any changes to.

14. I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.

15. I think the freezer deserves a light as well.

16. I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Light than Kay.

17. I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.

18. I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.

19. How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear or understand a word they said?

20. I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars team up to prevent a jerk from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers and sisters!

21. Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.

22. Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, finding their cell phone, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey - but I'd bet everyone can find and push the snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time, every time.

23. The first testicular guard, the "Cup," was used in Hockey in 1874 and the first helmet was used in 1974. That means it only took 100 years for men to realize that their brain is also important.

Ladies.....Quit Laughing. NO! This was an email I received today at work and had to post it on here because it had me laughing right out loud!

Growing Pains

The kiddos are growing and have a lot of complaints to go with it. Raine has had a pain in her right thigh and said she can't walk fast or run, not even at recess. She told me this on Monday and then again today. I wish I could help her but both Mo and I can remember having horrible growing pains as kids. Why is that? Why do we have to feel our muscles stretching and growing?

Reece said his legs were bothering him this week also. Every pair of jeans he put on looked like he was ready for a flood. He doesn't care but I do and I just bought those pants. On Tuesday, I stopped at the Gap to see if they had any pants on clearance. I only found one pair of windpants which probably won't last him very long.

It's been a pretty mild winter here in Vegas so let's just bring on spring then my son can where shorts. Do boys wear jean shorts?

Saturday Savings Shed Built

Today we brought the kiddos to Home Depot to work on their hand eye coordination. They built a savings shed; perfect for our New Year's resolution to save money for our summer vacation. It was nice and relaxing because daddy was able to come with and help out. Raine was given a good amount of assistance but Reece was quite capable of building it all by himself. Their favorite part is painting their projects. Both children were very creative and patient when it came to creating a pattern of stripes. We earned another pin for our apron but more importantly had fun as a family!

Thankful Thoughts 01

I am so glad she loves her dance classes as much as she does. Dressing up and dancing around a room with other 5 years makes Raine's Tuesdays so special.

Wordless Wednesday 01

Reece's first bike ride

Look who learned how to ride his new bike! Pops is such an amazing grandpa, he bought both the kiddos new bicycles for Christmas. Reece and daddy spent the morning putting it together as a team and then Reece learned how to ride with in 5 mins of getting on it! He then rode around the neighborhood 10 times for a total of 4.5 miles with his daddy. I am so grateful to Pops & Grammie for the helping foster this awesome new adventure for Reece!

On the TWENTY-SIXTH day of Christmas

we were blessed to hike around Pennypack Preserve with Uncle Travis. It was so much fun to walk along the railroad tracks and learn about all the adventures our daddy and his brother had as kids. Reece and Raine collected 5 different types of balls and a bunch of other junk they wanted to bring home. Daddy stopped and fished along our hike and caught three rainbow trout and two small mouth bass. As daddy fished Reece and Travis searched for treasures and found a snake. Travis decided it would be fun to play with it. When the garter snake was picked up, it released a very strong, bad odor which went all over his was hands and shirt. Luckily, he was wearing gloves and found some sort of tee tree oil hair product laying near the creek to clean off some of the stench. It was quite a sight to see. Raine and I laughed while watching Uncle Travy dance around like a crazy man with the snake coiled around his wrist. Seconds later, Raine had to use the bathroom so I taught her how to pee in the woods, she did pretty good. It was getting late so we ventured down the tracks to a super old bridge, crossed the creek and started to head back to the truck. We saw our favorite house which we would love to buy and even spoke with a neighbor about the woman selling it. Please Lord provide us with a way to buy this home, it is spectacular!

It was almost 1:00 and the Williams family was meeting us at Village Pretzel in Hatboro so we had to motor through the rest of the hike. We were cold and hungry anyway and ready for some delicious Philly style pretzels and hotdogs. First we made a pit stop at home so Uncle Travis could change his stinky shirt. He decided it would be fun to play with a snake. When the garter snake was picked up, it released a very strong, bad odor. which went all over his was hands and shirt. Luckily he was wearing gloves and found some sort of tee tree oil hair product laying near the creek to clean off some of the stench. It was quite a site to see as Raine and I watch Uncle Travy dance around like a crazy man with the snake coiled around his wrist.

We caught up with the Williams clan at the Village Pretzel and enjoyed the best soft pretzels around and then headed to safe street at a local park. The kiddos played hide and go seek for almost an hour, it was so nice to be out running around like kids should do. It was also so fun the the aunts and uncles ran and hid as well. The cousins had a blast and didn't want to leave but out was getting too dark and cold. We returned home for Christmas dinner leftovers. It was like Christmas dinner all over again. We are so blessed to be spending the holidays with our Pennsylvania family. Thank you Lord for answering my prayers!

On the TWENTY-FIFTH day of Christmas

pictures are worth a thousand words...

On the TWENTY-FOURTH day of Christmas

we celebrated Christmas Eve with our family in Hatboro, PA. It was a special morning for Raine and I because we were able to get a manicure together. It was the first time Raine had ever received a manicure at a salon. We do mani pedis at home all the time and she just loves it. She was very cute and asked if we could be twins with red polish and gold glitter. She waited very patiently for the polish to dry and then was amazed at how pretty our nails looked.

While we were at the salon, Reece, Daddy & Uncle Travy went into town to a local thrift store to purchase Thor comic books. It was a fun adventure for them because they scored some other cool books too.

After the hustle and bustle of showers and cleaning up for church we made it there with some time to relax and actually get a seat. The kiddos went into the second grade classroom with Aubrey while Mo and I waited for Doug & Amber. Unfortunately, they stayed out in the family cry room with baby Rory. The worship service was amazing, I was quite weepy and somber. Every Christmas I am reminded about the birth of our Savior, but Pastor Joe's teaching was something different. It's hard to explain all the details but even as the two punk teenagers distracted me from the teaching, (several times) I was still able to feel the Holy Spirit's presence.

We met up with the Willams family who were kind enough to grab our kiddos from class and then drove back to Noni & Pe Pere's for Christmas Eve dinner. A feast of pasta with your choice of clam sauce, shrimp sauce, a meat sauce and a plain marinara. Mo & I were able to help roll all the cheese and meat for the antipasto salad. It was neat to hear Mo say that he thought his mom bought the amazing tray of salad delights. Aubrey, Reece and Raine played while dinner was prepared and once Amber & Doug were back from their house we were able to enjoy a Christmas dinner like no other. It was a pretty wonderful sight in Noni's dinning room, peace and joy on the eve of Jesus' birth.

On the NINETEENTH day of Christmas

I am ready to fly to the East coast and visit the Hauguel side of the family. We are just about packed and ready to go. I am trying to figure out some way to make it more of an adventure for my kiddos but I can't think of anything creative right now. 6 am is going to come rather early and I'm not sure how chipper I will be. Can't wait to see what the kiddos will think of it all.

On the EIGHTEENTH day of Christmas

I was given three hours of the alone to pack our suitcases for our winter travels. We are just about ready to go east. Two bags are just gifts and two others are clothes. Mo has to pack his bag and then it will be just getting the little stuff organized and situated. Kids still don't know and I am bursting at the seems wanting to tell them but I know it will be more fun when the figure it out on the plane or as we travel. Mo and I are so excited to spend Christmas with extended family!

On the SEVENTEENTH day of Christmas

Mo and I were able to go on a long awaited date! After a long day of fun at their holiday parties; the kiddos and I picked up Shelby to babysit. Reece and Raine were wired from all the treats and excitement of the day so Shelby had her hands full. Superdad had a tasty dinner ready for the kids when we walked in the door and I ran to change my clothes. Mo and I were blessed with tickets to the Wranglers hockey game. We met Tina and Tori at TGI Fridays for some yummy bar food and fellowship, then it was off to the game. The hockey game was quite intense, the score kept going back and forth. The Wranglers ended up winning it in the last 15 seconds of the third period. It was pretty awesome. Mo and I thought about running over to the movie theater to catch the opening night of Sherlock Holmes but we were too tired. How lame are we?

On the FIFTEENTH day of Christmas

On the FOURTEENTH day of Christmas

my kiddos make me such a proud mama at parent teacher conferences. Our squirrely second grader made straight A's and our creative kindergartner is meeting and exceeding standards! We are extremely proud of them and love the comments the teachers gave about them; chatty, inquisitive, detailed and energetic. Daddy took the day off so he could be a parent of the conference and hang out with them all day. Did I mention how super he is at that? Well he is!

They headed to McDonald's for a celebratory breakfast and then all around town. When I called Mo to see how things were going, he said they skipped driving around and just came home to play. The kids were having a blast building, coloring and discovering long lost toys. I loved hearing that and went back to my work. I treasure the time my kiddos get at home with their daddy, it is such a blessing to all of them.