11/15/09-11/21/09

Sunday 11/15/09

It was pretty weird to go to church without Morgan and Cole at church today. It has been nice to spend more time with Alysa and Laina. There's also been a lot less fighting!!

The kids returned safely this evening after having a great visit at their aunt Teresa and uncle David's house in Arizona.

Monday 11/16/09

I am officially back in the states! I went to several CVS stores for the 90% off Halloween sale. The first store that we went to was hilarious because another couple of women came in at the same exact time and went directly to the Halloween area. Unfortunately there was only a tiny bit left and I was pretty disappointed. As we were heading out, the manager came over and told me that she had 4 more totes in the back with stuff that she hadn't even put out yet. She took us to the back and let us go through everything! There was a bunch of really good candy even!! The kids had a blast and Morgan spent most of her money that she got from the tooth fairy!

Once we were home, the kids had a "party" with all of the stuff that they had gotten. It was definitely a cheap way to keep them happy for a while!!

Our good friends, the Lunds, invited us over for dinner and Family Home Evening. I love being with their family. They are a great example to me and we really miss being around them! The FHE lesson was on being thankful. I love hearing the things that kids are grateful for! The kids had so much fun playing on the giant rocking horse, the boys all playing soccer in the house (even with Dad!!) and the girls having a perfume fight. Not to mention how excited I was to sit down and have an adult conversation in English with friends!! I did get a little carried away with sharing stories that I forgot that some people do have to go to bed and have kids that go to school in the morning!!

Tuesday 11/17/09

Due to the fun soccer game and playing around last night, I had to take Cole in to get his glasses fixed, I decided to kill two birds with one stone and took the kids to Chuck E Cheese at the same time since they are right next door to each other. We were there for a good two hours! WOW! I am not a fan of that place but I sacrificed and let the kids have some fun!

The excitement of CEC was followed by a fun lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings. I hadn't even realized that it was wing Tuesday!! That made my day!

After all the "busyness" of the morning, I told the kids they had to have some quiet time in the afternoon. The kids complained about being bored the whole time until they finally got to go outside and play with Gator from across the street. I was very impressed that Alysa actually stayed on the ground and didn't scream while he was out. She's getting so much braver. Laina was still really nervous and had to stand up on the ledge of the house. She did pet Gator a little though. Baby steps....

Wednesday 11/18/09

Sharon took Rich to the airport today then came by and took us out for lunch. The kids really enjoying getting to spend time with their Grandma. They sure love being spoiled!

After Sharon headed back to Mesquite, the kids and I went to the storage unit. Ouch! I need to learn when to stop! My ribs are still bothering me and I am still coughing but I still moved around all the boxes!! I do have to say that it is more organized now.....maybe. Every time I am there, I wonder when it will be that we will actually open all of those boxes again and use our own stuff. 2 years....4 years....10 years??

We got out of the storage unit just in time to take Cole to his long awaited Cub Scout meeting. Once again a disappointment for Cole! This week the Scouts were delivering bags for the canned food drive. Instead of going with his friends, he had to go with me and his sisters to delivery bags. After the initial disappointment, I think he actually enjoyed himself. He'd take one side of the street and Morgan the other while I drove ahead a little ways to let Alysa get a few houses. It was dark and cold by the time we got our area done so we decided to have some hot chocolate when we got home. I don't know what it is about hot chocolate but it just makes me think of the holidays. It is definitely a comfort food!!

Thursday 11/19/09

What a beautiful day! We packed up a picnic and headed to the park for a while. The parks are definitely different here than in Guatemala! Everything is plastic and aimed at safety! In Guatemala it is all cement and if it's broken, wire it back together with a piece of barb wire and call it good!

We have become frequent visitors to the public library again! The kids seem to be enjoying the chance they have to check out books in English that are at their level.

Friday 11/20/09

What an enjoyable day. We began with a garage sale on our way to the bowling alley. The girls got some cheap clothes and cheap doll accessories to use while we're here. We were almost late for bowling by the time that we left the sale!! Gator's owner, John, asked to take the kids bowling. It was his day off today so we all met him at the bowling alley for some fun. Morgan and Cole both did pretty good. Alysa needed a little warming up but once she got comfortable she did well. Laina was a crack up. She insisted on doing it herself and she could barely get the ball down the lane. Once the ball stopped and we had to go get somebody to get it. The next time that it happened, John went out on the lane to get it and about killed himself in the process. By the time we finished, Laina was more than ready for nap time!! We had to stop at a couple more garage sales that we passed on the way home though!

Instead of quiet time today, we had school time. Morgan and Cole started going through their homeschooling stuff and Alysa and Laina got to work in the notebooks that I got them at the garage sale. I never thought I'd see 4 kids so excited to do homework! I am a little worried about what I have gotten myself into. I am beginning to wonder how hard it is going to be for me to homeschool Morgan and Cole, teach school, and then try to be a decent mom and wife on top of that!

When it was time for "p.e.", the kids got to run around at the park with the Gadeski girls and with Gator. They ran nonstop until the sun was gone!

Saturday 11/21/09

O.K. So it is an addiction. I was going to go to 1 garage sale by our house....that didn't happen! I have been trying to find clothes for Cole and I haven't found a single garage sale that has anything for bigger boys! Well, the kids saw more signs on the way to the one garage sale and talked me into going to another.....then another.....then another.....and another. The only thing that I found for Cole was an NBA basketball book to read! Poor kid. He did get his soccer ball several weeks ago though. When we got home, the kids went next door to Mary's and I went to take care of a bunch of errands that I didn't want to do with kids. I felt so productive! I even worked in the yard when I got home since the kids were busy making cookies with Mary still. After Mary's house, the kids went to the Gadeski's and played on their trampoline with them until the sun was gone! Poor Laina was so worn out that she fell asleep on the floor in the middle of the family room instead of playing with her friends!