Preschool Program

Ms A and her classmates had a Christmas Program their last day before their break. She was so excited to sing the songs for mom, dad and her surprise visitor: Grandma Valerie!

Ms A and her friends did a wonderful job! Here are a few pictures:

Miss JoAnn

Santa Craft

Singing and Dancing Reindeer, Reindeer

Class Picture

And video. It's a bit long and not the best quality, but the children are adorable, especially during Reindeer, Reindeer.

Car Accident

Reed, Ms A and I were on they way to our Ward Christmas Party when we were hit head on by a pickup truck. The other driver was coming around a curve and hit us. Reed's car is totaled. Reed and Ms A have a couple of scrapes, but I have a spiral break on my left hand and six possibly seven fractures on my right foot. I have a wheel chair, boot on my foot and a splint on my hand.

My mom is here until the 26th and Sara will be here for Christmas. We feel so blessed that there wasn't more injuries. Heavenly Father had His protective hand over us.

Here's a picture of Reed's car.

Annual Gingerbread House Night

Ms A has been waiting, somewhat patiently, to make our annual Gingerbread House. She picked out what she wanted on Thursday, then because of schedules, we put it together last night. Her and Reed's eyes lit up when I laid out the *CANDY*. They willingly went right to work. We had one small problem. Reed and Ms A enjoy putting on EVERY piece of candy available while I like to have it look pretty. We were doing fine, Reed and Ms A had one side of the roof and I had the other, but when they ran out of space, they covered my side. There was so much candy on that side that when we woke up the next morning it had slid down about a half of an inch! It was fun, so I won't complain too much! I loved watching them decorate!

After the pictures were taken, Ms A and Reed started to eat the candy. It looks a bit more bare this evening: more to my liking (but not very pretty).

Thanksgiving in Spokane

We were very fortunate to be able to visit Reed's entire family for Thanksgiving. Reed's dad came home for a couple of weeks from Afghanistan. Cindy and her family were able to come from New York. We enjoyed visiting and playing with everyone. We also enjoyed crafting, ie: making clippies (Cindy makes them for her small personal business), stamping Christmas cards and making various crafts (Thanks Aunt Suzanne!). The most popular activity was Grandma and Grandpa's ATVs. Ms A LOVED them. Every morning she would ask if she could go for a ride. She was all smiles when she was done, except for her cold fingers.

We had a wonderful time! It was hard to leave, but we missed our beds! ;)

Thanks for the WONDERFUL time and
THANKS Suzanne for the use of your room!!

Little House On The Prairie

Ms A was invited to a "Little House On The Prairie" Birthday Party for her friend, Ms G. I loved watching Laura as a child, so I was more than excited. I found a great pattern (Thanks JoAnn's for your $1 Patterns). Ms A chose her fabric and I got to work. She also chose one of her dresses to wear. I {Heart} the final result!

Doesn't she look ADORABLE!

A Close-up

In other news: Ms A has the sweetest little heart and perspective. Aunt Sara was visiting over the weekend. Ms A had a sweet little conversation with her. It went something like this:

Ms A: Do you know how we are going to get a baby?
Aunt Sara: No.

Ms A: We are getting a baby the adoption way, not the tummy way!

Isn't she so sweet! I love that she said it so matter-of-factly. :)
Yes, we have been working with LDS Family Services to bring a new little one into our family. We've just begun, so no announcements, yet. ;)

All Hallow's Eve

Ms A and Reed have been counting days down to Halloween since the beginning of the month. I don't know who was more excited! Whenever we'd ask Ms A what she was wanted to be, she'd have a list of several ideas. We finally reached a decision with two costumes, a Unicorn Pegasus (thanks B and B) and a Cowgirl Princess (thanks to Aunt Sara and Ms E).

Friday was the big preschool celebration. Ms A gave me very DIRECT instructions as far as face painting. She wanted a rainbow with a blue star under it. She loved the pink boots and hat and was TICKLED PINK when she discovered how much the dress would twirl. (She's definitely a girl.) I enjoyed seeing her preschool buddies all dressed up. Everyone had a match except for Ms. A. :) She had a great time with her friends and was tickled when I showed up and demonstrated how to make edible spiders (ritz crackers, cream cheese, pretzels and raisins - Thanks Sara for the AWESOME idea!).

We carved our pumpkins that night and much to Ms A's disapproval, we made sure she had the FULL carving experience by getting the seeds out by hand, spoon or shaking. She DID NOT like to feel of the pumpkin insides. Once they were cleaned out, Ms A gave us instructions on how to carve the pumpkins. She wanted hers to have a happy face on one side and a scary face on the other side. With Reed, she told him what shape to carve for the face.

Saturday was a full day. Our church group had a Halloween Party with a Trunk or Treat at the end. We had a great time! Later that evening, we went Trick or Treating. Ms A was joined by Mr A to do a bit more candy hunting with daddy! She had a wonderful time with her best bud and her daddy.