KU game

Kevin has been promising to take Maddy to a KU women's basketball game & Thursday night he made good on his promise. Our plan was to meet him for a quick dinner and then he would take Maddy to the game and I would bring Elly on home.

Well, when I picked Maddy up from late pm, I noticed that she was not using her right hand at all. It was hanging limply at her side. She could not move her little thumb and apparantly had fallen and bent it backwards. Great. I called our doctor & the x-ray tech had already left for the day. They said to take her to the ER. I wanted to get Kevin's opinion...so we met him for dinner & he checked it out. He thought she was fine and by the end of our dinner...we were thumb wrestling! :) She must have just jammed it. Thank goodness!

So, off to the game they went...

She was excited to meet Baby Jay & Big Jay!

Maddy had a fantastic time cheering on the Lady Jayhawks! They won!

Good luck in the next round of the NIT! :)

bowling.

The girls have so much fun bowling on the Wii that we decided to take them bowling for real over spring break! They were suprised that it was a little more challenging than they thought it would be...but, a great time was had by all! :)

Maddy (who is pro status on the Wii in bowling!) was quite suprised that real bowling is much trickier than Wii bowling. She did really swing her 6 lb. bowling ball, though... Elly rolled hers at the line...sometimes with help from mommy or daddy. Elly did not walk back when she was done bowling...she ran back almost every time! :)

Elly has quite a personality... So...can you guess who the winner was? Yep, Elly! LOL! She bowled a 108!

Maddy bowled an 86 and Kevin bowled a 107. I, who used to have my very own purple personalized bowling ball and light blue bowling shirt, did not even crack 100. Nope, I bowled an 88. :( I bet my Grandpa Sam would think that was pretty funny!

a big thanks...

A BIG thanks to this special guy...

...shown here napping with the Wade girls. He gave up a Saturday to come down and help Kevin put in a new water heater! Thank you, Uncle Randy! Your advice and expertise was much appreciated.

PS~The next time you come down...you will be expected to play the Wii with your mii. We can't believe how much that looks like you! :)

PPS~Thank you, Aunt Cindy for the new books & cookbook! It was fun to play bowling on the Wii with you! :)

Little Things

Last night, Maddy told me that she wanted a striped blanket/comforter. She was tired of the plain hot pink one that she has had for awhile... It didn't exactly go like that...let's just say she was sleep-deprived & cranky & ready for bed!  It was kind of ugly, actually.  But, in the end, I told her that the next time it was time for her to get some new bedding that she could pick out whatever striped bedding she wanted.  She was content with that & fell asleep.

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Fast forward 12 hours...after church, Kevin was talking with his good friend, Mike and was telling him of his weekend adventures (putting in a new water heater & scraping 6+ layers of paint off a headboard for Elly).  Mike pulled his wife over and said, "We have a day bed with a trundle that we want to get rid of.  It's less than one year old and we have 2 new mattresses and all the bedding & pillows to go with it!"  Wow!  We stopped over after church and Maddy loved it!  Of course.  :)  We told Mike & Lea that we would love to take it and to let us know how much they wanted for it.  Well, it turns out they didn't want ANY money...just wanted it out of their house!  Wow!  So...Maddy has a beautiful new day bed with a brand new mattress & a trundle bed with a mattress (sleepover, anyone?) and our little Elly...has Maddy's bed complete with new sheets & a blanket that she picked out.  Smiles all around.  Thank you, Mike & Lea (and Madison!)...we are blessed to call you friends.

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Oh, did I forget to mention that the bedding that Mike & Lea gave to Maddy had STRIPES ON IT!  That's right...sheets, pillows, & comforters!  Isn't it amazing how God really does care about the LITTLE THINGS?

I am feeling so thankful for a God who really cares...who cares about what the heart of a little 7 year old girl wanted in her sleep.  :)

a halloween birthday party...

The last 2 years, Maddy has had really simple birthday parties. She had a movie/sleepover for her 6th birthday and an ice cream/swimming party for her 7th birthday. She begged for a Halloween party last year but I knew I couldn't pull it off with such short notice (and I had pnuemonia...so it turned out to be a good idea to wait!) So, I have started to plan this 8th birthday bash and it is going to be so much fun! ;) I scoured the internet a couple of weeks ago and got some amazing ideas (zombie tag without the zombie mask to be played in our side yard, a mummy wrap relay, "trick or treat" where the children will pull paper out of a cauldren and either get a treat (like a Halloween pencil) or have to do a trick (like walk like a spider or cackle like a witch), and bobbing for apples, of course! Then, I checked out these... I already have the party itinerary planned...date, time, length of party, invitations (boo OR boo~hoo to me), games, and a spooky story (not a SCARY one, which was suprisingly hard to find!) which I need to start memorizing! It might ruin the mood if I have to use the flashlight to read the story! LOL! I am working on the food spread (caramel apples, bugs in a bowl with popcorn, gummy worms, & choc. chips and a witch's brew with dry ice!) & the decorations (orange/black balloons on our mailbox, spider webs stretched out with these craft spiders, and a black wreath for our front door) right now...just gathering ideas and forming a game plan. I have found so many fantastically spooky things that I can't list them all here! I am a planner and my time is sporadic. I probably won't blog about this again (because it is only MARCH! Ha!) but, when I start making the decorations...I might post a picture or 2. I mean who doesn't want to see a candy corn garland in the month of July? ;) Just remind me to make sure I leave enough time for the opening of presents & singing "Happy Birthday!" ;) PS~When I was 8 years old, my family threw me & my friends a fantabulous Halloween party with spooky music, low lighting, and a creepy story with food disguised as body parts...having trouble finding an appropriate story so I can do this to...any ideas?

flashback friday

I adore this picture of the Wade girls...Maddy is gazing adoringly at her baby sister & something far away has captured Elly's attention. Love it. *photo from 9/1/06

guess

Can you guess what I'm planning?

*a follow-up post about the party I have planned coming soon! ;)

channeling twinkle...

Does this little one remind you of someone who likes to drop in on us?

Twinkle, perhaps? Ha! :)

For the life of me...I could not find a picture of Twinkle sitting like Elly! I know he did...I must have not taken pictures of him those days. Oh, well!

fever.

Elly has a fever. Again. I'm feeling pretty frustrated. Less than 2 weeks ago, we were home with her because she was sick. Her little cheeks are so red and she has this crazy rash on her cheeks...

We'll be heading to the doctor tomorrow...

As for tonight...these helped bring a smile to her face...

Bubbles. :)

Backseat Jesus

I am feeling challenged to let someone REALLY take the wheel... You wanna come with me? ********** Don't forget to pause my blog music at the bottom of the page before you watch!

flashback friday

It makes me so sad to think that Gracey girl might be our last Wade baby... :(

*photo from 2/2/06

i just read...

Last night, the girls & I came in the garage door at the same time that Kevin was letting Polly in from the backyard.  As Polly ran around the living room, we noticed some mud on her paws.  We corralled her in the kitchen & got her wiped off.  I noticed Maddy's shoes on the floor which happened to have some mud on them, also.  I commented that it could have been Maddy's feet that got mud on the carpet, too.  She told me, "I just finished reading this book on how to read footprints at school & these definitely don't look like human footprints to me.  There's no way they could be mine!  I couldn't possibly have brought the mud in, mom."

LOL!  What am I gonna do with that girl?  ;)

A parent afternoon...in Feb.

Kevin & I were lucky enough to be able to attend Maddy's second parent afternoon on a lovely warm day in February. Maddy was thrilled to give us a geometry lesson but, she gave us a grammar lesson first.

She laid out her work...

She wrote out her phrase... "the bitter taste" "the sweet taste"

She was to identify the noun, adjective, and article in the phrase & fill in the symbol...

This lesson helps her identify the parts of a sentence & will prepare her for diagramming sentences. ( I have to admit I loved diagramming sentences in high school! I am so weird.) A photo of the goodies prepared for us... Next, came the geometry lesson...

Similar, Congruent, and Equivalent Triangles...

After our lessons, we peeked around the classroom...I enjoyed reading what some classmates had written on the clipboard to be discussed at the next class meeting...

...no chewing gum, no coloring in books, 3 people sitting at 2 person tables, and no chewing on pencils...the children "notice" rules being broken and write them on the clipboard to be discussed. I love it!

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I snuck some photos of Maddy with her friends inside...

and outside... Kevin & I feel so blessed that the girls are able to go to such a wonderful school that nourishes them intellectually & recognizes the need for lots of outside physical activity.

a parent afternoon...in Nov.

Twice a year, the lower elementary invites all of the parents for a "parent afternoon." The children can give their parents lessons and show them their files of work. It is always a fun afternoon of socializing with the teachers & other parents, and seeing the work that Maddy is doing...

Look how excited our girl was to give us her favorite lessons! :)

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She gave us a lesson on the multiplication board first...

Next, she gave us a flag lesson...

She took a break to sharpen her colored pencils...

Then, the 3 of us took a break and sampled some snacks some 3rd years made for the parent afternoon...they were so yummy! In fact, Maddy ate most of the strawberries! :)

Maddy had just been given a lesson on the checquerboard and was so excited when she could so off her new skill! She got out the beads, the board, her pencils, & her workbook.

Jan gave her a problem...

She laid out her tiles... She counted her beads & exchanged...

Writing down her answer...

Success!

We had so much fun! Thank you, Maddy, for the new lessons! :)