Thanksgiving at the coast

After a few days at the farm we headed down to the coast to see the Kinsey side of the family. We enjoyed cousins, good food, some fishing and a little time at the beach. I didn't get any cousin shots - I'll have to wait until Angela sends some :) But we do have a few from the beach...both kids went swimming and loved being there building sand castles and getting wet - though, having cold wet feet was enough for me. What a great way to spend Thanksgiving -

Thanksgiving at School

Samuel had a little feast at school to celebrate Thanksgiving...he chose to be Samuel "Thunderbird" for his Indian name.

Sweet girl

Sugar and Spice and everything nice, that's what little girls are made of!

Walking with Daddy

Walking with General

Sugar and Spice and everything nice, that's what little girls are made

Continuing to give thanks in all circumstances

This song has been on my mind today...as we end Thanksgiving and head into advent

Blessed be Your Name

Written by Beth Redman & Matt Redman

Blessed be Your name in the land that is plentiful Where Your streams of abundance flow Blessed be Your name And blessed be Your name when I'm found in the desert place Though I walk through the wilderness Blessed be Your name Every blessing You pour out I'll turn back to praise And when the darkness closes in, Lord Still I will say Blessed be the name of the Lord Blessed be Your name Blessed be the name of the Lord Blessed be Your glorious name Blessed be Your name when the sun's shining down on me When the world's "all as it should be" Blessed be Your name And blessed be Your name on the road marked with suffering Though there's pain in the offering Blessed be Your name You give and take away You give and take away My heart will choose to say Lord, blessed be Your name

Advent

As we head into the last day of the month I'm so excited for Christmas and the Advent season. I don't think I've been this excited for Christmas than when I was about 8 years old. For this 34th Christmas I'll be finished with school and ready to spend some time with my family - choosing to be thankful, choosing to share what we have, choosing Christmas gifts for my little ones and enjoying sitting in my cozy house smelling the cinnamon and being reminded that I am cared for, loved and forgiven.

As I start the season we have some ideas for advent but I thought I would share some of the sites I have liked getting ideas from

Impress your Kids - a blog with great ideas for creative ways to engage your children in this time of anticipation and HOPE in the coming Christ.

Design Mom Blog - She doesn't have many advent ideas but I've gotten some ideas from her about sibling gifts. Last year my kiddos made each other gifts and we will be doing the same this year. She has five kids of different ages and they have a variety of ideas. At the end of the post I linked there are a few ideas from several years of gifts.

I have lots of ideas but I don't use near all of them. If you want to read some of my posts last year about books, gift ideas or advent stuff enjoy. I'll let you know how we are celebrating this year. When my kids get older I would love to do something like this but for this year I'm thinking about make an advent calendar out of tomato cans - I think with some hot glue it will work!

Giving Thanks!

We have a thankfulness tree again this year that is helping us remember what (and to Whom) we have to be thankful for. Each night - or most nights - we talk about what we are thankful for and write it on one of the leaves...boy, do I need to be reminded! To see last year's tree see HERE and look below at the final tree from last year.

Lucy's heart

Last Saturday Lucy woke up and came and cuddled with me for a few minutes before we got up. She went to her room to get something and when she made it to the living room she had her penny love box/piggy bank. She started taking the money out and separating it. I asked her what she was doing and she said, "Mama, I want to give this money to another little girl." Of course my heart melted. We went on to have a little conversation about who she wanted to give the money to and what she wanted to do. She wanted to give lots of girls a dollar with several coins and began to separate it all out.



I was trying to think of some way to channel her desire without having to go to the street corner and find a girl to hand $1.27 to. I thought about the Operation Christmas Child and we looked it up online and watched some of the videos about the program.

Lucy said "Yes, Mama, that's what I want to do...can I go give it to them now?"
Mama said "No, but we can go this morning and buy things to put in a box and send."

Lucy was super excited but she thought all she needed to bring were the pennies in her box because she has the most of them. She did not want to bring the dollars because "I only have 12 of those, Mama and a lot of pennies." I convinced her to take some of the dollars too and we loaded up - after breakfast and headed to the dollar store. Lucy picked out things for the little girl - with some guidance and Samuel caught on and wanted to buy things for a little boy. He told me he would give me money for it when we got home. So, Lucy spent $7, Samuel spent $7 and I pitched in $7. What a great morning! They were both excited and only asked several times if they could have something for Christmas.

The children were so excited to pack it up but we didn't actually do the packing until this Friday night when I said - "Hey, why don't we pack our boxes." Samuel jumped up and found the plastic boxes we bought and said "Yeah, that will be great - its for other kids and that is important!" (FYI - 2 second earlier they were fighting over who go to hold a silly band). They had a good time figuring out how to fit everything into their boxes. Then when the boxes were full we prayed for the little girl and little boy who would receive these boxes. Lucy's prayer was so sweet "God, I hope she likes these toys, help her to be happy, help her if she is sick to feel better. Amen." and Samuel "Dear God, thank you for giving me lots of toys, help this boy if he is feeling bad to feel better when he gets this box, I hope he really likes the monster trucks. Amen."


Carefully decorated boxes with love.

Sweet, sweet reminder of what is important - help me to remember their little hearts are growing and do enjoy giving even when I get frustrated with their selfish hearts - isn't my heart just as selfish and often less giving I'm just better at hiding it? Lord, make me thankful and grateful, especially this Thanksgiving season!

Saturday

Today (sometimes I forget the day to day - here it is for posterity)
6:50 am - Samuel crawls in bed with me this morning and says, "I'm so glad I get to sleep in this morning." Mama, with a cold, stuffy nose and sore throat thinks "Well, atleast we got to sleep until 6:50"
7:02 am - Samuel says "Mama, what are we having for breakfast? When can we get up?" after trying to whisper to himself ...6:54...6:58...7:zero,zero...7:01....
7:10 am - Lucy comes and curls in my bed
7:12 am - Mama and two kiddos are out of bed and in the kitchen getting breakfast.
7:30 - 8:00 am - the one morning a week the children get to watch TV and they love it. We watch a show on PBS kids about Engineering Design (A bunch of highschoolers are challenged with a task to make something and they are in two teams)- Samuel loves it and after it he says - "I can't wait to take things apart and make stuff...do you still use your old bike, Mama?"
8:00 - 8:20 - finish watching the last few minutes of Strawberry Shortcake video Lucy watched several weeks ago while Samuel finishes his second breakfast - Egg and spinach omelet, cinnamon toast, banana, cheerios, juice and apple.
8:30 - 9:45 - Cleaning time. The kids get busy with the bathroom. Usually Samuel does the toilet but this week Lucy does it while Samuel catches the vanity and mirror. We start the laundry and clean up their clothes and closets, the kids play and get into painting clothes.


10:00 am- We get our painting supplies, the nature stuff we collected yesterday and some paper and head outside in the glorious sunshine. Samuel is so ready to make some pet rocks and acorn people - a wrestler, a life guard, an alien and a monster. Lucy paints some pretty rocks and a pine cone. Mama makes the tree trunk for our thankfulness tree. We play, paint, and add leaves to the tree.




12:00 noon- We put away the paint stuff and Mama makes a picnic lunch - yogurt, leftover shrimp, raw carrots and pretzels.
1:30 pm - Our friends and babysitter arrive and Mama gets ready to go study. Mama studies and writes while Lucy and Samuel play with Irene and Abbie, watched by Ms. Rachel (thanks, Ms. Rachel!!!).
4:00 pm- Mama returns and irons some melty beads for the kids, starts dinner and makes tea while the kids get ready to go home. Samuel is eating graham crakers, peanut butter and bananas - he says "Mama, you know I'm an eating machine"
5:30 pm- After returning from dropping off the kids its time to eat our "Daddy is out of town for the weekend and Mama doesn't want to cook meal." Hotdogs, broccolli & cauliflower, and chips with sweet tea.
6:15 pm- Time to finish cleaning the kids rooms - Saturday night, usually before dinner, the children have to have their rooms clean. Most other days they just make a path to their beds.
6:30 pm- Shower time - Lucy and Samuel get clean, hair dry and ready for bed.
7:10 pm- Reading time and snack on the couch. With popcorn in hand and water to drink the kids settle down for a 4 book marathon - one about Mermaids, the Mickey version of The Gift of the Magi, a Star Wars book and part of a book about Explorers from 1500 - 2000.
7:50 pm- The kiddos brush their teeth, pee and cuddle up in bed. Both are tired and ready for sleep - Samuel says "It even feels good just to think about sleeping". After prayers and blankets set just right they are settled in the for night.
8:10 pm- Mama checks on the kiddos and finds them fast asleep. Ahhh! What a day!

PS - In the future also remember that this wasn't all smooth. There were complaints about cleaning the rooms, having to go inside to pee rather than pee in the yard, trying to negotiate cleaning the bathroom tomorrow rather than today and playing with the toys in the yard even after several attempts to clean up before dark. But its the good memories that last - right?

Fall Nature Walk

We love being out side and fall is especially good for that. Yesterday we went for a nature walk to collect things - mostly rocks, pine cones and a few acorns - and enjoy the beautiful day. We had a great walk and I enjoyed seeing the children explore the ant hills, the fallen leaves, the dirt, the sounds and the animal footprints. Great time had by all!

Reading

Lately we've been reading The Hobbit by JRR Tolkein to the children. Samuel absolutely loves it and Lucy likes it but has to have her blanket for the goblin parts. We read a little each night and it is so neat to see their enthusiasm and ability to listen, laugh and enjoy the story.

Samuel has been listening to books on CD for a while and listened to all 7 of the Chronicles of Narnia this summer. He can recall names of obscure characters and the description of the ships and armor. Amazing how little minds work!

When we started reading the Hobbit, Jeremy got to the part where Gandalf, the wizard is introduced. Samuel, said "just a minute dad" He put his head under a pillow on the couch and said "go ahead". Jeremy continued to read and when the description was over Samuel exclaimed, "I can almost see him in my head right now!"

I love that. That is what is amazing about reading - you create and order a whole new world in your mind using written word. Samuel loves the story and asks about each creature "So it didn't say if Gollum was taller than Bilbo, so is he, Mama?" "Mama, please keep reading, just a little more." I love his heart for adventure and reading and laughter!

Just guessing...

Several weeks ago I was thinking this is going to be a boy...then for the last week or so I was convinced the baby was a girl...today I'm guessing....


... a Whale or a Hippo!

Be on the look out...return if found

*********APB**********

Be on the look out -

Missing - Kelly's brain
Time last seen - sometime in August
Needed to write her paper, take care of her kids, have a coherent conversation with her husband and generally function.

If you know where it is or have any information leading to discovery of Kelly's brain please contact her - multiple times if necessary. If you know this woman please forgive her forgetfulness, falling asleep at 8:22, her not returning calls and not completing her assignments - she really has lost it!

Thank you for your attention with this matter.

More Random pregnancy thoughts

I heard baby #3's heartbeat yesterday. What is it about the heartbeat of a baby inside me that brings tears to my eyes? With Samuel I cried when I heard his little heart beating at 8 weeks. I did the same with Lucy and now this little pumpkin did the same to me. For me, heartbeats seem even more real than ultrasounds. Maybe it's because we didn't have an ultrasound with Samuel - but a heartbeat - a heartbeat seems so real, so alive, so definite. I can't believe I am 15 weeks along. With Samuel I knew how many days along I was, with Lucy I was good at keeping up with weeks and with this one I was shocked when she reminded me I was 15 weeks - really?

The other night Lucy and I were praying and Lucy said "Dear God, thank you for the baby in Mommy's tummy. God, we need a name for this baby because it is going to come out of Mommy real quick and it needs a name. Help us with a name for the baby, we don't even know what kind of baby it is! We need your help." What a sweet prayer from a big sister.

Samuel suggested we name the baby Samuel and just give it a different middle name and Lucy thought we should name the sister "Cutie Pie". I'm thinking both of those names are out of the running, but it's fun to see their little minds working.

I still have no taste for coffee but I did have a yummy pumpkin chocolate chip muffin and some Halloween candy this weekend. Yummy!

I was told I need to drink more and eat more. I swear I have NEVER heard those words before - me, eat more - really, are you sure you have the right chart ma'am?

The baby is about the size of an apple right now - the children are enjoying hearing how big the baby is in relation to fruits and veggies from a website I found www.babycenter.com

How to make a viking helmet / hat

I found the main idea for this from Family Fun magazine but there was little instruction. I like pictures - so I took some pictures in process of making my son a viking helmet.

1. Get a hair head band - a plastic or sturdy one - and shape tin foil horns onto the head band.
2. Wrap the tin foil horns with masking tape. You can paint these white if you want but the tape looks fine without it.
3. Take a old baseball cap and cut the bill off. Place the head band with horns on top of the hat.
4. Start taping the head band onto the hat with silver duct tape. Make sure the hat stays the right size by placing it on your child's head or finding something like a ball to put the hat on.
5. The hat can be decorated with electrical tape of different colors or leave it plain. Make a shield out of cardboard painted a color and then lined with silver duct tape. Tadah! Your viking is ready to sail the seas.

October's Party

October's Party
by George Cooper

October gave a party:
The leaves by hundreds came --
The Chestnuts, Oaks and Maples,
And leaves of every name.
The Sunshine spread a carpet,
And everything was grand,
Miss Weather led the dancing,
Professor Wind the band.

The Chestnuts came in yellow,
The Oaks in crimson dressed;
The lovely Misses Maple
In scarlet looked their best;
All balanced to their partners,
And gaily fluttered by;
The sight was like a rainbow
New fallen from the sky.

Then, in the rustic hollow,
At hide-and-seek they played,
The party closed at sundown,
And everybody stayed.
Professor Wind played louder;
They flew along the ground;
And then the party ended
In jolly "hands around."

Halloween stories

I read the above poem to the children and they loved acting like leaves dancing around in the wind. Samuel wanted to be a tornado - Lucy wanted to dance. They then wanted to make their own poems and stories - here they are - dictated from the children's mouths.

Samuel wanted to write a Halloween story - here it is - and Lucy's version after Samuel dictated his to me.

The First Day of Halloween
by Samuel Noonan

There was a frankenstein. There was a zombie and a bat and a witch. There was a vampire. They all had a Halloween party with a big cake. They sat down at the big, big, large table and took a slice of cake. Then they went outside and raked and raked and raked the leaves. And then there came a ghost and he said, "Can I join in?". "Sure" cried the witch, "Sure", cried the bat. "Sure" cried frankenstein. "Sure", cried the zombie.

Then the ghost joined in. They played "Put the hat on the witch". Kind of like pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey but you try to put the witch's hat on the witch. The End.

Frankenstein by Lucy Noonan

A witch was inside her house. And then the zombie came in and said "Can I play with you witch?" The witch was having a Halloween party. Then Frankenstein said "Can I join in?" And then a ghost showed up. And asked "can I join in?". The witch said "Yes!" When the bat showed up "Can I join in?" And the witch and the zombie and frankenstein and the ghost said "yes." And a vampire showed up. And then he said "Can I join in?" And the ghost and all of the people who were at the party said "Yes!" And then the ghost got in. Then a ladybug showed up. And then another vampire showed up and they played games and ate cake. The End.

Halloween 2010

This year for Halloween Samuel wanted to be a viking and Lucy wanted to be a ladybug. I saw a great idea in Family Fun magazine for a viking and tried to figure out how to make it work since there was only 1 sentence of instruction. I think his homemade outfit turned out great and he was super excited he got to wear his dwarf beard from his birthday party. He couldn't take a weapon to school but he was glad a shield was not a weapon. And Lucy the ladybug was as cute as a bug and super excited about being "a real ladybug!" and helping me get all those dots all over her.

The fierce viking and his beard
Cutie bug


Playing with the guys
My sweet kiddos.

Random facts about pregnant me

With each of my pregnancies there have been certain constants - nausea, weight gain, pickle consumption and joy. Here are a few random facts you might not know

1. When I'm NOT pregnant I love to drink coffee, smell coffee and enjoy it's afternoon pick-me up. But while pregnant - no way. I don't even like to smell it. Usually by the end of the pregnancy I'm enjoying the warm goodness again but not the first trimester. I guess my body knows what is best. I keep trying to convince myself that I should just try a cup and I'll probably like it again but I just can't bring myself to do it. Crazy huh? It just doesn't seem right for it to be October and no pumpkin spice latte has crossed my lips.

2. My sweet husband bought me a bag of dark chocolate over 6 weeks ago and not a single piece has been eaten - usually it would have been long gone by now - but I haven't even eaten a single piece. No not even one. What a shame! I'm just not into sweets - not even a pumpkin muffin. I'm sure that will change about Thanksgiving time.

3. I usually enjoy flavorful foods while pregnant - Heinz 57 sauce, garlicky pickles, spicy hummus, spicy Chinese hot sauce on plain rice, root beer and salt...maybe even straight out of the shaker.

4. We've always waited until the last minute to be surprised with our children. We didn't know boy or girl until they popped out. Not sure what to do about number three? I'm wavering - I've never wavered before - maybe I'll just find out sooner rather later.

5. Both of my children have virtues as middle names - Wisdom and Hope - and number three will too. Samuel was due on July 2nd and if he was born on July 4th his middle name would have been Freedom or Independence. My dear sweet husband wasn't into talking about names until late in the game but he was ok with us coming up with a template for our naming. First Name = name with meaning that we liked/embraced/and had significance for us. Middle Name = virtue.

6. S and L want to make the baby some presents - their first suggestions for gifts - toilet paper rolls, of course!

OK - enough tidbits - wanted to share my thoughts and remember these little facts.

Ballet

A sweet girl at church started teaching several girls ages 3-6 ballet two times a month. Lucy is so super excited about the whole thing. Today was ballet class again and she was excited she would see her friends, excited she would get to wear her tutu and excited she could wear her hair like her ballet teacher. At 2:00 she was so worried she would be late for her 4;00 class that she asked if she could just go and sit at Anna's house and "wait for everyone for 2 whole hours." Fortunately this is a low key class so that girls don't have to wear certain clothes or ballet shoes - though she did do the class barefoot rather than in her boots and they have such a wonderful time. I'm so excited to see her enjoying dancing - one of my loves - and I enjoyed seeing Samuel excited for Lucy. He sat at the window and waved to Lucy and got excited when he saw her doing something. I love their love for each other and I love watching my little sweetie girl dance.

Pickles

Dear Claussen Pickles -

I love you. You are great. I love your garlic-y goodness and your crispy crunch. Why do you taste so darn good? Please don't ever go away - or go out of business - or cost more than you allready do. You are truly amazing!

Sincerely -
Your pregnant admirer who just ate 4 pickles before bed and would have eaten more if there had been more.

Circus and Fair

In the last 2 months we've been to a local fair and a local circus. Grandpa Noonan joined Jeremy and the kids for fun at the fair and Mama took the kids to the circus. We had a great time and have enjoyed spending time together.

Cotton candy was a highlight at both places!

Crazy rides at the fair
The little ferris wheel
Lucy and the bunnies.
Riding the Ferris Wheel with Grandpa Noonan

Fun in the Fall

We have been loving hints of fall weather lately and even take our homework and coloring outside. One of the best finds of the last few months were these "Doodle Books" I found on the discount book rack at TJ Maxx. The kids have the "Girls' Doodle Book" and the "Boys' Doodle Book". The book has parts of a picture and a suggestion for what to draw. My children are a little young to fully appreciate and use the book but they have LOVED them. We even got one for cousin Thomas.

Another thing we have been crazy about has been silly bands. Those bracelets on Lucy's arm are silly bands and she loves them. She doesn't interact with anyone else daily - except brother - that will trade with her so she gave me some silly bands so that I can trade with her. Both of them LOVE their silly bands. I guess it's better than the garbage pail kid cards I was into for a summer in 4th grade.

Samuel making shields with scary pictures on them.
Lucy drawing bunnies in their burrows

An alien invasion

Coming Soon....April 2011

Coming soon to the Noonan house...a new addition to the family! Samuel and Lucy are eagerly awaiting the arrival of their new sibling sometime in April 2010 (Lucy would like a little sister who will slobber all over 'Brudder' and Samuel wants a brother to slobber all over sister). Mama is about 12 weeks along and waiting for the lack of nausea that comes with the second trimester. Please pray for all five of us as we wait and anticipate the arrival of a healthy, happy baby in 2011. We will start taking bets on hair color sometime soon!

The above was the note I left Jeremy to let him know we were pregnant. We heard a sermon that morning from the Old Testament that had lots of those names that no one uses anymore - the Pastor joked about naming the next kids born in the church one of them. Zoar was one of the ones I remembered...not bad.

Expected and Unexpected Celebrations!

For the last three years I have been in school working toward my Bachelor of Science in Nursing and preparing to take the NCLEX - RN professional licensing exam. Only a few more weeks and I will be finished with this journey and I couldn't be more excited - except if that last paper was allready written. Over the course of my nursing school career I've spent time in the operating room, ICU, hospital floors, community agencies and various specialty areas. I had the chance to precept (work one on one with a nurse) in the Emergency Department this Fall and LOVED it! I have greatly anticipated this expected celebration and can't wait. I feel though that I certainly haven't accomplished this alone - there are so many of you who have encouraged me, watched my children, taken up the slack and put up with a scatter brained friend. I just want to tell you THANKS! Thanks for everything!

I ordered my cap and gown a few weeks ago and was faced with an unexpected choice...an accommodation for an unexpected celebration...I had to ask for my gown to be a little extra full to fit my pregnant belly. Yep, folks, we're having another baby! Our little one should arrive around the end of April. What an exciting next few months we will have and what a great reason to celebrate!

Summer Reading

I wrote this at the end of the summer and never posted it. Thought I would hit post so I can remember what I read. I just can't wait until I can get back to reading after nursing school is over in less than 9 weeks....

Summer reading list

1. Wuthering Heights - much more dark and depressing than I thought it would be - but great to read some good British Lit.

2. Gilead - really an amazing book. The book rambles on and is hard to get into for the first 100 pages but is so worth the perserverence. It is written from the perspective of a 80-something year old man in Iowa. I needed that perspective - the wisdom, the longevity, the slow pace in the midst of my whirlwind.

3. Girl with the Dragon Tatoo and Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest- one of the best sellers and the first in the trilogy of stories by a Swedish author. The story was captivating and the underlying theme of the treatment of women in the society was interesting. Certainly won't be a book for everyone but I enjoyed it.

4. Pillars of the Earth - epic story of a stone mason's family in the early 1100's and the relationships and entanglements of that family with the local monastery and Earl of the region. I was surprised I enjoyed reading about how cathedrals were built...and the family story was good.

5. The Help - good summer read. The book is set in Mississippi in the 60's and written from the perspective of the Help. Good read - especially in the sticky heat of summer when I could almost hear the screen doors slamming on the wooden porch and taste the chalky dust from the roads in my mouth while I read beneath the cool of my ceiling fan.

6. Harry Potter Books 1-7 - I haven't really had the chance to read these until now but I can totally see why they are so popular and why everyone has told me to read them. Rowling really created an amazing world with stories that draw you into the magical world of wizards. And I also see why there is some caution in letting your kids read them. But I'm so glad I had the chance to read them--- of course from my perspective I don't identify with the kids in the story as much as I do Mrs. Weasley, the mom of the large red-headed family who knits sweaters for everyone at Christmas!

7. Love and Respect - it had a good point and good reminder of the truth of the Bible of Ephesians 3:22. The book read something like a info-mercial for the book (numerous letters from those who read it and wrote to the author) and I skimmed some parts because of the repitition but worth the read though not a literary masterpiece.