Dressing Up!

Long time since I've updated and a lot has happened this winter. Vince accepted a job with Westar in Emporia and we will be moving there once our home sells. He's busy commuting and I'm busy teaching and holding down the fort. Here are some pics of the kids dressing up with our friends and other random dress-up photos. Poor Titus! The girls brought him downstairs all dressed up in a homemade toga.

From Alex

Hello Everybody! Alex here! It has been too long since mom or I last posted... So I am going to try to catch you up. In November I was in The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe play for my homeschool group! This is a pic of my face paint... I look like a member of Kiss. It was awesome, and so fun! My drama teacher will be posting the video on youtube soon. As for right now I am in the middle of another play, You Can't Take It With You. I am playing a young man named Donald,(they were one man short). In February, I was in Dinner Theater at GEPC doing "Godspell". As for the whole fam, we have been busy with school and trying to sell our house! Dad got a new job and we have to move to Emporia :( I am very sad. Anyway, we have to keep the house clean 24/7! Here are some random pics... See ya later!

Sincerely,

Alex/Sparky

Abraham's Sacrifice (told by Lila)

We are reading "Jotham's Journey" by Arnold Ydtreeide, an Advent fiction book for kids. It is a series and it is fabulous!!! I read one last year for Advent and one for Lent, and with both of them, I bawled my eyes out!! Ydtreeide is an awesome storyteller and this is such a great devotional to do with your kids. Well, after we were done reading at the kitchen table tonight, we started talking about our favorite stories in the Bible and Lila, not surprisingly, jumped right in there and told of us the time that "God sacrificed His Son, no, no, when someone, was going to kill their son because they were going to obey God! AND THEN, a ram got caught in the bushes and he didn't have to. He burned that thing RIGHT UP for the offering!" I would capitalize all the words, because every single word was full of expression, with eyes wide open as she's telling the story. It was so stinkin' cute!

Choir Concert with Haley and Lila

Haley and Lila performed with their homeschool choir a couple of weeks ago for their Christmas concert. They did awesome and each had their own solos and Haley had her own Bible verse she had to recite in front of everyone. I loved hearing them perform and sing praises to the King. We also got to hear our homeschool friends play instruments in the band. It was really a good show!

Crown Center

Every Year we go to Crown Center for the Mayor's Christmas Tree lighting. This year Jenny and Luke and Mae got to come and we had a great time! We went to Crayola Land, Kaleidoscope, the fudge factory and Union Station--although there were no Christmas trees decorated or trains set up :( It's so much fun to see my kids enjoy Kaleidoscope and see them doing the same things I did when we went for my 3rd grade field trip.

Thanksgiving 2011

What an amazing Thanksgiving we had--one for the history books! This year was very special because we got to see our cousins from Wichita and their kiddos. We had it at Nana and Papa Avila's and just to reconnect with our family was such a blessing. Vince's two cousins, their spouses and amazing kids came and slept over at our house. We stayed up till 1:00 am playing Mexican Train Dominos. Our kiddos all played school, Wii, and watched movies. It's just an instant connection and they are all best friends even though they don't get to see each other that much. I absolutely adore Prissy and Lilly--They are the most generous and loving ladies and I am so thankful to have them in my life!! It was just a wonderful day filled with good food (Vince's Sangria Ham), Corn Hole, and kids running everywhere--so thankful for the beautiful children!

Vince's Best Friend

Today, Vince had vacation due to Veteran's Day. He spent the day with Titus while I took the girls to see the play "Robin Hood" with the homeschool group. Tonight, when Vince tucked him in he said "Titus, thanks for helping me today. I had fun with you."
Titus replied "I had fun with you. You're my best friend."

Vince was so touched and then he proceeded to tell me "Julie, don't feel bad. You can't be his best friend, you have to be his mom."