Maruschak Mommy

Groceries?

What happens when a very sick Mommy and a little guy go to the urgent care clinic at the local grocery store?

This:

2 clearance turkey sewing kits

3 clearance turkey pop-up timers

4 Uncle Ben's Ready Rice

2 bags Animal Crackers

1 clearance Christmas craft kit

1 Angel Food cake

1 tub frosting

1 rotisserie chicken (not pictured)

Not pictured because they were eaten before we got home...

1 loaf of french bread,

1 lollipop,

and 2 donuts

We waited for the urgent care to open.
    Then we waited for the pharmacy to open.
         Then we waited for the prescriptions to be filled...
              Then we waited for a Rotisserie chicken...
         And finally, we left.
             ...with prescriptions for Mommy,
                 a chicken for dinner,
and a whole lot of other things we didn't technically "need".

Kids Art

Love these pictures that the kids colored at school!!

Giraffe, Elephant, and Snake by Allison

This is a picture of something you might see in Africa.

Colorful Snowman by Carter

I LOVE all the colors he is using. A few months ago, he'd

put one scribble on a page and say he was done.

So, this is great progress!

She's Toothless!

Allison lost her first tooth today! Woo-hoo!

She was at school when it happened (during "rest time") and everyone in the class wanted to see. When I picked her up, she was smiling at me with her mouth closed...until I got close and then she grinned a big toothless grin!

In true Mommy fashion, I got tears in my eyes. I am so proud!

I'd like to send out a big thank-you to God for blessing me with two beautiful kids who add so much sparkle to my life!

Allison's 1st Loose Tooth

Allison's first loose tooth is almost as exciting as when it first came in!

She's been spending a lot of time wiggling it with her tongue and is hoping that it comes out soon!

Take a look...

It's her bottom right tooth... the crooked one on the left in this picture.

Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle...

Karate Group Picture

Here's a group picture of the kids karate school, CG Martial Arts. Master Guffy, their instructor, is in the back row next to his wife (who is also an instructor!) and my Lil Dragons are in the front.

This was taken Tuesday at their annual Christmas potluck!

First Needle Point

I bought this little needle point project for Allison... I knew she'd like the horse picture, but I wasn't sure if she would have the patience to do it. But she did! And she was very focused! She started it in the car last Saturday and worked on it all day Sunday until it was completed. And now, she can't wait to do another one!

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas!

All the Advent calendars are out and ready to coutdown the days until Christmas!

Our Nativity countdown calendar.

Our Hallmark Christmas Tree countdown calendar.

A new addition this year... A felt Advent banner with Advent candles to "light".

Our Advent candles. This is our third year having Advent Candles. I buy simple white candles and tie purple and pink robbons around them. So much easier than trying to find purple and pink candles!

The Jesse Tree. Our second year doing this. It's a small tree that we will hang handmade ornaments on. The ornaments are based on stories from scripture of the lineage and life of Jesus. The first ornament is about how God made the world... then, Adam and Eve, Noah's Ark, Abraham... etc. The kids love it!

A bed for baby Jesus... For each "sacrifice" or "good deed" that the kids do, they get to put a piece of wool yarn in Baby Jesus' basket. The goal is to fill it with lots of strings to make a soft bed for Him to lay on on Christmas Eve.

Angels and a paper chain.

Paper chain decorations on the stairs!

I have worked really hard this year to get a lot of the christma prep done BEFORE Thanksgiving...so we can really enjoy Christmas as a family this year. I surprised myself when I remembered to get our Christmas CDs in the car the day after Thanksgiving... And the Advent calendars were all out the day before Advent started. (Well, all except one... But we'll just have to play "catch-up" with that one!) I am looking forward to making chex mix and decorating cookies... And also putting up our Christmas tree! (We never put it up early... I can't imagine having it up the day after Thanksgiving. I like to wait a little longer. This year we are going to put it up the weekend of the 18th.)

I hope everyone has time this year to enjoy some Christmas traditions with their families!!

Train Park Birthday

We had such a good time at the train park for Carter's birthday! It's the same park we went to last year for his birthday. We think it might become an after Thanksgiving tradition...