the weekly recap {December 15-20}

Last week was fun, but very busy!

 The kids painted Christmas ornaments!

Tuesday night, I went to the home of a friend from church. A bunch of us donated things to help a family in need and we needed to get it all wrapped and ready to deliver.
It was so fun to talk and hang out plus the joy of being able to help others!

On Wednesday evening, I met friends for dinner to celebrate our friend, Amber's 40th birthday a little early!
Dinner was so good and the conversation was better!

Thursday was a marathon of a day.
It started with a field trip to the Amazeum with B Boy!
We had a lot of fun and I even was in charge of a group of kids for our time there.

That afternoon was the kiddos' school Christmas parties!
They were at the same time and Tim got to come too!
We spent time at one and then went to the other.

The kids had a lot of fun!

After school was piano and then dinner at Chick-fil-a. 

We had to be at the Trec Center at 6 pm for B Boy's showcase!

This is one of the Trec teachers that was also their Sunday school teacher!

 B Boy's unit this semester was called, Mad Scientist.
They learned about a lot of different scientists.
For the final project, they were put into groups to present about a specific scientist.
B's group had Louis Pasteur. 

 They taught us about his germ theory, sterilization, pasteurization, and his work with vaccines.
He did so well and is so talented in retaining knowledge and speaking in public.
We are so proud of him!

 His teacher came to see the presentation! She is precious!

 On top of everything, both vehicles were in the shop during the week.
We are so glad to have them both back and fixed!
By Friday, we were all so ready for Christmas break!
My mom wanted the kids this weekend, so Tim and I had a very rare 2 days alone!
We had a relaxing, fun time!
I got a ton done at home, Tim did some shopping, we went to dinner (sushi!), watched a movie and slept all night without an interruption!
We went to church together and then had lunch and headed to get the kiddos!
We made the Pioneer Woman's chicken tortilla soup tonight and it is our new favorite soup!
The kids even love it!
I just used diced tomatoes instead of Rotel and 1 can of black beans instead of 2.
We are watching Home Alone and enjoying treats and time together!
I'm looking forward to every minute of this break!!!

TREC showcase

Last night was B Boy's TREC showcase (his gifted & talented program.)

His unit this semester was called Experimentality. 

They learned about gravity, friction, magnetism, electricity, light, air, and sound. 

They did really neat experiments with all of these!

Here, he is lighting a Christmas light with a battery and foil.

Conductors and insulators

B Boy's teacher came to see the showcase! We were so happy to see her!

So thankful for his TREC teachers!

A weekly recap

I'm a miserable failure at posting every day this month. I feel like a miserable failure at everything right now, actually. There is no way I could have fathomed what these last two weeks had in store for me. People seem to ask me everyday how I am feeling. Some days are ok and some are terrible. 

Night time has been the worst. I guess after I get the 2nd and 3rd doses of the steroid, the pain intensifies. It's been awful stomach pain. So awful that they prescribed me some pain meds. It's to the point now, that those aren't really helping. They've mainly just took the edge off. I decided last night to stop the steroid. My quality of life has been horrible. I feel worse than I did before starting them. 

Sometimes, I feel that if I told people how awful I feel, it might scare them. I have grown so used to it, but I know it's not normal. I just want to know what normal feels like again. 

My Bible and church are really helping me get through this. I'm reading the book of Job in my read-through-the-Bible-in-a-year. I just don't think it is a coincidence. I feel so afflicted, but I still know that God is good and faithful. 

I'm blogging on my Blogger app on my phone. I have no desire to go and get my laptop. There are other pictures on my camera from this week, but again, no desire to upload them right now. 

Praise Jesus for phone cameras. 

So the lowdown on the past week:

Friday evening was low key at home. 

Saturday, I took C Girl to a birthday party. Five of my church girlfriends were there and that was fun to catch up with them. I was introduced to the show Branson Famous by my friend Kacy. I watched it last night. So dramatic! And I don't even have words for it!

Sunday, we had church, a Sunday school class pizza fellowship, a care group leader meeting, and that night, our church hosted a concert by Charles Billingsley. It was wonderful!

I'm really enjoying by Tuesday morning Bible study on the book of Ephesians. I've learned a lot already!

Tuesday evening, we were double booked. We had a "meet the teacher" for C Girl's new teacher and the TREC showcase for B Boy. 

We were able to meet her teacher a little earlier than the scheduled time. She seems very sweet and had gracious things to say about C Girl. I think it's going to be a great rest of the year. 

I was so excited to go to B's showcase. He has been working so hard on his "Strike it rich" unit. They studied about money in every way possible- history (way back before money as well- bartering and trading), the way it's made, markings and their meanings, how to use it, federal districts and mints, and lots more. 

He made his OWN PowerPoint presentation- like literally created it. He's in 2nd grade people! I was impressed! He also had a checkbook he made and kept up with. He learned how to write checks, what debits and deposits are, and how to keep a register. They even created and printed their own money! 

I'm incredibly proud of both of these kiddos. They are so different, but they shine brightly in their own ways. We treated them to Braums after the showcase- they were thrilled. However, B Boy tried his first banana split and came to the realization that bananas and ice cream do not mix!

Yesterday, we had 70 degree weather. I did not feel well, but I forced myself to get them to the park. It's not often that you have weather like that in January. In fact, today it is back in the forties. 

I don't know what is about blogging that is good for my soul. It felt SO good to write all of that stuff out. 

Today, I don't have anything planned. I need to write out my menu and grocery list and do some laundry. I will feel accomplished if all of that gets done! I've still been trying to keep up with the organizing challenge. I've been able to do stuff early in the day before I start feeling crappy. I finished the kitchen and laundry room- for the most part. The kitchen never stays clean long! This week is the master bedroom. I did a little yesterday morning. 

That's a wrap for now :)

the weekly recap

B Boy started TREC last week. It is our district's one day a week, all day gifted and talented program. He had an awesome time!

Last Tuesday, I got to hear my sweet friend, Berkli share her testimony at church. It was wonderful and I was so happy to learn a few things about this lovely lady!

Thursday evening was supposed to be my monthly book club meeting, but our leader broke her foot recently! :-( My friend, Amber and I decided we would still go out to dinner. We ate at On the Border and had great conversation! I'm so glad to know her!

I bought these leggings at Walmart. They are a little outside my comfort zone, but I really love them!

Friday morning, I was so nervous because Garth Brooks tickets for Little Rock went on sale and Tim & I really wanted to go! Thankfully we did get seats and we are so excited to give this Christmas present to ourselves!!!

Saturday morning, we had a "Mugs & Muffins" event at our church and we heard from Clay and Renee Crosse. We are so blessed to have him as our worship leader. They shared a great word about their ministry, Holy Homes.

(this helped keep me occupied on Sunday)

Sunday, I had to be on a liquid diet to prepare for my GI tests on Monday. I dreaded drinking the "prep." It ended up making very sick and I couldn't drink very much of it. I had to cancel my colonoscopy, but did have my EGD done. It was normal, thankfully.

Yesterday was Veteran's day and my very dear friend, Kelly's birthday. I'm so thankful for our veteran's, especially all of my family and friends who have served/are serving.

We made chicken and dumplings last night and the kids insisted on cutting hearts out of the dough! I love that they love to cook!

Today was a hair appointment for me and a big grocery run. It was 28 degrees and felt like 19 degrees when I got home this afternoon. It is FRIGID!!!