2009...

• encouraged us
• disappointed us
• excited us
• delighted us
• challenged us
• frustrated us
• surprised us
• blessed us in so many ways

We can't wait to see what 2010 brings! Happy New Year!

Sopapilla Cheesecake

2 pkgs. crescent rolls
3 pkgs. cream cheese
1 1/2 c. sugar
1 t. vanilla
1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. sugar
1 t. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350. Roll out one pkg. crescent rolls in a greased 9x13 pan. Seal seams. Mix cream cheese, 1 1/2 c. sugar and vanilla until smooth. Spread on dough. Cover with second pkg. of rolls. Melt butter, remaining sugar and cinnamon in microwave. Pour over top layer of dough. Bake for 45-55 min.

Family Reunion

On Thursday, most of my mother-in-law's extended family (on her dad's side) joined us here on SPI for the annual Burnett Reunion. Since then, we have been playing games, laughing, telling and hearing wild stories, opening presents, taking pictures and EATING. It has been a blast!

A day at the beach

Last one in the van is a rotten egg

And the van is just where we'll be today, tomorrow and Monday. This extended tour will cover a goodly amount of the Lone Star State, and will put us in contact with most of the family on both sides. I will try to update when I can. It's going to be a blast!

Long-Overdue School Update

I can't believe it's been two months since I updated on Ruth's school work! Wow! Where does the time go?! Anyway, things have been going well. Ruth continues to amaze us all the time. And, we are all enjoying this homeschool experience so much.

The last couple of months have brought a bit of a change in our school structure. Ruth (self-motivator that she is) has really taken more responsibility for her school work. Of her own accord, she decided to start setting her alarm 30 minutes earlier so that she could get through her school day faster. She has also been tackling more of her classes on her own, and has been reading more school books just for fun. Jeff and I introduce new material and quiz her very regularly (and very thoroughly), but she is completing the work without much hands-on help from us. She is doing most of her Music and Grammar on her own now, and continues to complete the Portuguese and Spelling lessons (except for Spelling tests) entirely on her own. She is writing longer and nicer stories for Writing class and is also writing more in-depth personal letters to friends and family. She is reading and retaining great amounts of information for History and Science. And she continues to push herself to new places in Math. What a joy it is to see her so enthusiastic to learn anything and everything! And what a blessing to be a part of the process!

Here are some of the interesting school things Ruth has done in the last couple of months:

• Memorized all the prime numbers up to 100
• Memorized the first 20 rulers of England
• Visited the Texas Renaissance Festival in Plantersville
• Finished her Super Friday semester with a parent open house and 2 performances with her chimes group.
• Worked on fractions
• Learned how much of one equals another (i.e. how many cups in a gallon, etc.)
• Made a Moorish feast
• Continued practicing for PSIA Writing and Spelling
• Studied about the times of knights and castles in England and samurai warriors in Japan
• Continued her studies of earth science, including: rain forests, glaciers, endangered animals, jungle animals, desserts, caves and avalanches
• Memorized several new songs on the keyboard, including "Happy Birthday to You," so she could play it for her dad and brother for their birthdays.

The Day the Kids Ran the House

About the time I laid down for bed last night I thought to myself, "Hmm. My dinner doesn't really seem to be agreeing with me." About 1:30, it showed me just how much it didn't agree with me, and then proceeded to remind me every hour. And at some point I began to think that it wasn't just my dinner disagreeing with me, but the whole universe conspiring to kill me.

Now, as you know, full-time stay-at-home-moms aren't allowed to get sick. We don't have days for that. But add to that the fact that the timing of this couldn't have been worse--with my house in serious need of cleaning, my snacks in serious need of baking, my bags in serious need of packing and my errands in serious need of running, etc. And, add to that meetings for my hubby all over the state of Texas (but no where close to home).

I spent the first half of the day lying on the couch, trash can handy, wondering when death would finally take me, and occasionally wondering what would happen to my kids when it did. But then, all that was just too much to think about, so I closed my eyes and tried to block out the sounds of complete chaos and house destruction around me.

At noon, I forced myself to get up and get the kids some lunch, which just almost did me in. So, I spent the second half of the day lying in my bed pretty much repeating the first part of the day, but with one fewer child adding to the chaos, since Max was also napping.

By 4:00, I felt like death might actually pass me by, but I still wasn't sure if I would ever be the same. And, frankly, that's kind of where I still am. But, I'm hopeful that with a descent night's sleep and the benefit of actual nutrients in my body, obtained from a handful of dry cereal and a Sprite, that tomorrow will be a better day.

Bringing up the average

Weston had his check-up with the pediatrician yesterday and is generally healthy. She said he does have some fluid on his ears, but we have a new battery of meds that should help with that. We will give these to him for the rest of the month to try to get the congestion cleared up, and then will have his hearing tested again in January. If that test doesn't come out well, we will see an ENT and figure out where to go from there. So, that's the ear update. But the really awesome part of the visit was where we found out just exactly how huge Weston is. He's the kid that is bringing up the average, for sure. He weighs 47 lb 9 oz (98th percentile) and is 3 ft 9.25 in (99.8th percentile). I think it won't be long before he is bigger than I am!!

First Basketball Game

Ruth is playing basketball this winter. She is on the Lady Rams, and Jeff is her coach. Today was the first game, and it was so much fun to watch. Most of these girls have never played before, but even so, they all did really well and were so cute. In this league they do not keep score for the 7-8 year olds, but Ruth did make a basket, which was VERY exciting! She will be playing every Saturday from now until the middle of February (with a couple of weeks off for Christmas), so you should come out and see her play if you can. My pictures are not of the greatest quality, since I was trying to take them while simultaneously keeping my little guy corralled and off the court.

Snow Day

It's beginning to look a lot like...Festivus*

*What is Festivus?

What's that you say?

For a while Jeff and I have suspected that Weston was in training to become a professional ignorer. The boy just doesn't seem to hear a thing we say. And today we found out why. It's because, according to the hearing test administered at the preschool today, he can't hear. Well, he can hear, of course, he just can't hear well. And the administrator was too kind to say that he failed the hearing test. She simply said she thought he needed to be retested. In a way, it's a relief to know that he isn't just tuning out our voices. The tester said she thought it was due to his congestion, which seems to be fairly perpetual. So, we are off to the pediatrician next week to discuss. We will keep you posted on the course of action recommended. In the meantime, we will be adopting the "Slower and Louder" method of communication with Weston, and we will remind ourselves not to be frustrated if he doesn't respond the first three times we say something.