Happy Thanksgiving!

Delicious food, great fun, entertaining movie, perfect company. What a great day!!! I'm feeling so grateful for so much!

The Three Musketeers Reunited

Otto Roger, Debbie, and Simone arrived today from California. The kids took all of two seconds to reacquaint themselves and run off playing together. All the family came over and we ate a lot of pizza to prepare our stomachs for tomorrow. Aaron built a fire outside with the kids, we all watched the Warriors game. So happy they're here.

Fairyland

The kids spent hours outside today making this intricate home for fairies. When I asked Noah more about it later he said, "No fairies came, but there was a fly that laid on the bed...with his eyes closed...actually, it was a fairy TRAP!" I have no more details, just that they play so well together. I love it!

Parent teacher conferences

Today Aaron and I visited the kids teachers to check in on their progress. We learned that they are both doing very well. Mary's teacher said she takes home some of Mary's stories to read to her husband. She gave us a file folder full of her creative stories. I was also impressed with Noah's work. He was able to write a full sentence on his own with correct spelling. His story was about a snake, I wonder why that was on his mind (missing snake next door, maybe)?

Both teachers gave us samples of their work. I thought these Thanksgiving papers really matched their personalities. Noah is thankful for family and food; and Mary for trees because they give her paper to write on. So cute.

Meet the author

The second Mary sees a piece of paper and a writing utensil her hand involuntarily grabs it and begins to write. Mary loves to doodle, draw, create stories, notes, songs, poems, just about anything. This is one that she wrote at church today. I am going to type it out to make it easier to read. Just so cute. And I love her illustrations, especially Cameron's bottle and diaper.

All about the Nadauld Family

So this is the Nadauld family. So the oldest is my mom. Her name is Allison Nicole Nadauld. She does a lot of things for our family. I'll name some things she does. She packs my lunch, she makes dinner, and breakfast, she cleans the house, she pays a lot on us (I think that means she spends a lot on us--I'm good at that), she makes projects with us. So she does a lot.

Next is my dad. His name is Aaron Dyreng Nadauld. And he does a lot too. He drives us to school. He makes money for us. And when he is at work sometimes we come visit him. And I hope he has a good time at work.

And next is ME! My name is Mary Elizabeth Nadauld. My most favortie thing to do is to play outside, color, and play with my brothers and sister. So ya, that's me.

Next is my brother Noah. He is 6. Noah, he is just the best brother you could ever have! We always spy on people together and I just have to say I love playing with him. And the next is my sister...Nicole Christine Nadauld. She is soooooo cute and sooo fun. And the last, but not least is Cameron Dyreng Nadauld. He is soo cute. I love him. Ya, that's it.

Bless My Parents

A few weeks ago, when we were living in the sick house I was aching for a good night's rest. So I asked my parents if they would stay at our home while Aaron and I went to sleep in some quiet cozy hotel room. They agreed...bless them. When it got closer and things became a little more normal I realized I didn't need the night of sleep as much. So, I told my mom we weren't going to do it anymore. She then offered to have my kids at their place and since she insisted I didn't fight it much (or I should say, I didn't want to fight it much).

Yesterday after my mom babysat while I went ot lunch with a friend, she babysat again. The kids got the royal grandma treatment...dinner, snacks, movies, games, questions---except with all the grandkids, making it a real party. Aaron and I went out to a dinner and movie and then we came home and went to bed early. I felt like I was on my honeymoon again. I loved it. I ended up sleeping for nine uninterrupted hours in the dark, no night lights, no leg pains, it was amazing!

And the kids? They had the best night ever. Cameron keeps asking when he can go sleep at Grandma and Grandpa's.

With all that rest the morning started with a bang...chores went so quickly I felt like I has been granted a day of super powers. After watching the tragic loss of our Cougars I even had enough energy to complete a few projects from my "forever" to do list...like, clean and organize the laundry room. I'd take a before picture, but that would be too embarrassing.  There isn't a lot of space in there, but I managed to make it my catch all for a long time now. Every cupboard, bin, and shelf was cleaned, organized, and it feels so good! All thanks to the help of my blessed parents. Love them so.

Frost

The kids woke up this morning to a blanket of frost. "Snow!" they shouted. But it wasn't. That didn't stop them however from spending the next hour gathering and layering up with snow gear. Out they marched around the field collecting the couple millimeters of frost to make a snowman ("frosty" pictured below...can you see the face? carrot nose, eyes, and start of mouth?). There were frost angels, slides across Sarah's frosty porch, and perhaps a little licking of frosted grass and icy trampoline poles.